Skills matter for growth
Today’s guest blog, written by Tom Wilson, follows on from NIACE’s initial thoughts on the upcoming Spending Review and kick-starts a series exploring different perspectives from the further education sector. Tom Wilson is Director of unionlearn – the education, learning and skills organisation of the TUC – and a NIACE Board Member.
Skills matter more than ever, for both economic and personal growth. NIACE’s recent submission to the government’s spending review clearly sets out the evidence to back this up. The TUC and unionlearn endorse both the analysis and recommendations. Any further cut to learning and skills budgets is likely to prove a “double whammy” by hitting economic growth and a range of social outcomes.
While some research findings show that employer investment in skills has held up better during the economic downturn compared to previous recessions, the latest official data revealing the employee experience provide a different picture. According to the National Employer Skills Survey nearly half of the national workforce received no training in 2011 (compared with 37% before the recession began). A central challenge for government is to consider what it can do to boost the amount of money that employers spend and how they spend that money to best effect.
The stark reality is that many individuals will miss out if government spending falls further. As the TUC highlighted in its Budget Submission earlier this year, we think the government is right to prioritise spending on apprenticeships and functional skills for adults who would miss out on any training if left to the vagaries of our highly deregulated labour market. Union learning reps, supported by Union Learning Fund, are playing a crucial role in supporting individuals and employers to access, and maximise the benefits, of those two funding streams.
Nevertheless, too many apprentices still face major barriers because of poor standards and low pay. One in five employers are breaking the law by paying less than the statutory minimum rate, hardly generous at £2.65 per hour. The Chancellor should send a clear message that this is unacceptable. Simultaneously he could immediately drive up the number of quality apprenticeship by giving a commitment that all parts of government will require companies bidding for public contracts to recruit a specific number of apprentices.
Other groups of young people engaged in learning, such as college students, also face huge disadvantages. Recent government research shows that 1 in 6 of these young people face significant financial barriers. The TUC has recommended that the government should review its previous decision to abolish the Education Maintenance Allowance and also address other inequalities, e.g. FE students aged 16-18 being ineligible for free school meals.
When it comes to adult learning, the NIACE submission makes a persuasive case for boosting spending and TUC/unionlearn endorses the central message. But what I would add is the need for a culture change in how government takes forward some of the current planned reforms of skills policy.
This required culture change should incorporate the “social partnership”model used by other successful European economies. This involves co-operation between employers and employee representatives (usually unions) as the norm. All the evidence shows that this approach delivers higher levels of investment by employers and a greater quantity of high quality training opportunities for young people and adult employees.
To be fair, the government is currently piloting major changes to the skills regime that do potentially incorporate this approach. For example, under the Employer Ownership Pilot the government is testing out the impact of offering employers the opportunity to bid for direct access to public investment to design and deliver their own training solutions in partnership with other stakeholders, including unions. In round 2 of the pilot there is a welcome emphasis on supporting a more strategic approach by encouraging funding bids from industrial partnerships who take wider responsibility for skills development. This looks like a golden opportunity to build a new social partnership approach. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills – with lead responsibility for the pilot – is also encouraging this drive.
The TUC has also broadly welcomed Doug Richard’s recommendation that employers and unions should have a greater say in the development of high quality apprenticeship frameworks and standards through collaboration. Given the experience of other European countries it is essential that the Government looks to the “European model” when it takes forward the recommendations of the Richard Review.
Unionlearn is supporting unions so that they can engage in Industrial Partnerships linked to the Employer Ownership Pilot and the implementation of the Richard Review. Unions, in partnership with other stakeholders, will play a key role in driving up quality and employer investment as well as prioritising other key issues, especially the equality and diversity agenda. The Chancellor must continue to invest in skills – and so must employers.
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