In the Queen’s Speech earlier this year, the government said it would create a post-16 and adult training and education system that was fit for the future, where every young adult has a range of opportunities open to them and removing the view that a university degree is the only path to a good career.

The government is transforming the Further Education system with the rollout of new T Levels for those who want to progress into high-skilled employment or onto higher levels of technical education at college or university. The T Levels programme will require students to spend at least 45 days on an industrial placement, ensuring that students are able to apply their learning in a practical environment.

The government’s Skills and post-16 Education Bill, currently going through the Houses of Parliament, will introduce reforms that will help to create more routes into skilled employment in sectors the economy needs such as engineering, digital, clean energy, and manufacturing so that more people can secure well-paid jobs in their local areas and supporting communities to thrive and will bring greater parity between further and higher education.

Employers will be at the heart of the skills system by making it a legal requirement that employers and colleges collaborate so that the training on offer meets the need of local areas and so people no longer have to leave their hometowns to find great jobs.

The Bill also supports the transformation of the current student loans system which will give every adult access to a flexible loan for higher-level education and training at university or college, useable at any point in their lives.  

A new £7 million flexi-job apprenticeship scheme has recently been announced to increase the accessibility of apprenticeships, where sectors including the creative, agriculture and construction industries can bid for funding so that their apprentice can work across a range of projects and with different employers. 

Finally, the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee has now launched as part of the £2.5 billion National Skills Fund allowing 11 million adults to gain an A level-equivalent qualification for free. 

These initiatives should help further our goals to provide opportunity to untap potential and talent a tall stages of life.

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