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Below is the text of the speech made by Matthew Hancock, the Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, at Wellington College in Berkshire on 20th June 2014.

Thank you very much for that introduction. It’s great to be here.

In this country – and, for that matter, in this room – all our fast and furious debates about schools, teachers, exams, curricula, are overshadowing an unsung success story.

Britain’s educational Achilles heel – our failure to provide world-class vocational education – is finally getting fixed.

The reforms this government is introducing are potentially the most profound and far-reaching since the 1944 Education Act – affecting thousands upon thousands of young people every single year.

This is a huge change. It’s a massive opportunity.

Hiding in plain sight

It is a vital subject, but it hides in plain sight.

GCSEs, A levels and university – that’s not just the typical path for most journalists, it’s the typical path for their friends, their families, their colleagues, their children and, for that matter, the politicians and business leaders they spend all day writing about.

More than half of young people study vocational courses at some stage of their education – either before or after 16.

But for far too long and far too often, vocational education has been overlooked and undervalued.

So I’m here today to redress the balance.

I want to celebrate this country’s excellence in vocational education just as we celebrate its academic achievements.

I want to champion the new norm – when every young person leaving school or college can choose between university or an apprenticeship, confident that each option is just as well-respected and gives them just as great a start to their future.

And I want to encourage everyone in our education system – and our society – to join me. To celebrate and champion success – and to celebrate and champion our young people who are working harder, and going further, than ever before.

Rigour and responsiveness

We know that education is increasingly important. Data released by the ONS just this week showed that the more educated people are, the more likely they are to be in work – while fewer than half of those with no qualifications are employed.

So this government is taking urgent action to improve our education system.

You know about the academic reforms: to GCSEs, A levels and the curriculum.

But here’s a well-kept secret: everything we’ve done for academic qualifications, we’ve also done for vocational qualifications. And we tackled vocational first.

One of our first priorities in government was to ask Professor Alison Wolf to review the quality of vocational education.

She produced one of the most important pieces of work on the subject.

Her report found that between a quarter and a third of young people – 350,000 teenagers – were being fobbed off with poor-quality qualifications that were not valued by employers and did not prepare them adequately for employment or further study.

It was a tragic waste of talent, on an industrial scale.

No more.

We accepted and implemented every recommendation in the Wolf report, and in some cases went even further. And 3 years on, standards have already started to rise.

Higher standards from 11 to 19

We are breaking down barriers between academic and vocational education. Because life and work need knowledge, skills and behaviours.

Our new national curriculum has much more relevant, practical content.

Under the old curriculum, pupils often spent most of their time talking about making things. Under our new curriculum – they’ll actually make them.

In design and technology, for example, the old curriculum made pupils discuss how to plan a meal – but didn’t require them to cook anything. To discuss how they might design a product – instead of actually designing it.

Now, they get real-life experience in a kitchen or a workshop, cooking, soldering, 3D printing – getting to grips with real processes.

The same goes for computing. The old curriculum taught pupils how to use existing programs. Now, they will learn how to program – how to write software for themselves in different languages like HTML and Java, to create search algorithms, set up a computer network, and encrypt devices.

Under the previous system, there was also an explosion in poor-value vocational qualifications – the sort which claimed, falsely, to be ‘equivalent’ to several GCSEs; but which were completely irrelevant in the workplace.

Acting on Alison Wolf’s recommendations, we set out clear requirements of non-GCSE KS4 qualifications – and as a result removed a staggering 97% of them out of league tables.

So we stripped them out of league tables. From 3,175 vocational qualifications available to 14- to 16-year-olds, now there are just 186. And we’re working with awarding organisations to make sure these qualifications meet the needs of industry and demonstrate real rigour and quality.

Technical Awards and TechBacc

We’ve scrapped the confusion of different pathways, at 14, 16 and beyond – and brought in a new, rigorous, ambitious vocational offer from 14 right through to 19 and beyond.

As I announced earlier this week, between 14 and 16, new Technical Awards – each one genuinely equivalent to a GCSE – will bring much greater rigour to the learning of hands on skills, putting practical and vocational and academic qualifications on the same level playing field for the first time.

With external marking; graded, not pass or fail; developed in partnership with employers; they will offer young people the chance to develop the real-life, practical skills and knowledge which employers value.

From 16 to 19, alongside or instead of A levels, students can study new, rigorous Tech Levels – every single one endorsed by employers, trade or professional bodies.

For the most talented, those Tech Levels can form part of our Technical Baccalaureate, or TechBacc – a new league table measure recognising the achievements of young people who study Tech Levels, level 3 mathematics and an extended project qualification.

On Wednesday we announced that some of the first high-performing schools and colleges to offer the TechBacc will carry out pioneering work with local employers as our TechBacc Trailblazers, spread across the country from Barnet to Blackpool.

The final part of the puzzle is a new category of Substantial Vocational Qualifications – intermediate qualifications designed for 16- to 19-year-olds who wish to progress immediately into a skilled trade, or to prepare for a related Tech Level.

All of these qualifications will need public backing from employers and rigorous assessment, giving students confidence that the qualification they’re taking is worthwhile.

But the path is now simple: GCSEs and Tech Levels at 16, then A levels or Tech Levels as the occupational options at 18.

And of course, from the age of 16 onwards, our reformed apprenticeships, now being designed and delivered by top employers, offer young people real, paid jobs for at least 12 months with meaningful training – creating the skilled professionals of tomorrow.

The building blocks of adult life

All of this work is designed to make sure that our vocational education is truly world class.

But the most important vocational skills are simple. Good maths and English.

They are essential in every job – from professors to plumbers, fighter pilots to firefighters.

But under the old system, 300,000 18-year-olds were starting adult life without crucial English and maths GCSE at grades A* to C, every single year.

Without, in other words, the bare minimum that most colleges or employers would demand as a matter of course.

Once they fell behind at 16, the overwhelming majority had fallen behind for good.

Fewer than 1 in 10 young people who didn’t achieve at least a C in maths or English GCSE at the age of 16 went on to reach that level by age 19. More than 90% never managed to catch up.

No wonder that fewer than a quarter of adults in this country have the maths skills we expect of our 16-year-olds – or only just over half in English.

Last year, the OECD released a sobering verdict on the scale of England’s problems.

It found that 16- to 24-year-olds in this country are among the least literate and numerate in the developed world.

Out of 24 nations, they ranked 22nd for literacy, and 21st for numeracy. England was the only country in the survey where young people performed no better in English and maths than their grandparents, whose education finished many decades before.

English and maths at the heart of our system

So we are putting English and maths right at the heart of our education system.

English and maths GCSEs are being reformed, for first teaching in schools from September 2015, to make them more stretching and more ambitious – with a greater focus on problem solving in maths, and spelling and grammar in English.

Our new 16 to 19 study programmes – building on the Wolf Review’s recommendations – ensure that students who don’t get at least a C in English and maths GCSE by age 16 must keep on working towards them.

From September this year, these higher requirements for maths and English will become a condition of 16 to 19 funding – and it’s been great to see how well 16 to 19 providers are responding.

Conclusion

By linking the education system much more closely to the world of work: with more relevant, respected qualifications, more employer influence over courses, and more focus on English and maths for all students, we are – at long last – ensuring that all young people, no matter what path they choose, get the best possible start in life.

We will close the great divide between vocational and academic education.

No longer are we allowing thousands of young people to be left behind, or left out.

This is an economic necessity. But more than that, it is a matter of social justice. Clear pathways. Straightforward choices between high-quality, valuable courses. Bringing together vital knowledge, skills and behaviours. That is our policy, and the goal to help every child – every child – reach their potential.

Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Matthew Hancock, the Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, in London on 2nd June 2014.

It’s a great time to be talking about apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are on the rise. For the first time, a whole new generation are seeing apprenticeships as the route to a brighter future.

As we hear the welcome news that our economy is on course to grow faster than any other advanced economy, as we hear that employment is at a record high and wages catching up with inflation, now is the moment to enhance, strengthen, and back our apprenticeships and our apprentices to make real this goal: that all young people when they leave school or college should go on either to university or into an apprenticeship.

Now is the time to reform our apprenticeships system, to make it truly world-leading and to put apprentices at the very forefront of economic growth in the years to come.

So that side by side with university, apprenticeships are the norm for young people leaving school.

Alongside that goal, I want apprenticeships to become the first choice for businesses, professions and employers of all kinds across the country to train their next generation of skilled staff.

And increasingly the first choice for Further Education providers, as all the evidence shows that this intrinsic linking of work with training works to prepare people for their career.

I know that that is what everyone in this room is working hard to achieve and I want to thank you for all of your efforts.

We must remember how far we have already come in driving up the quality of apprenticeships over the last few years.

When I started in this role, so-called ‘programme-led’ apprenticeships meant that some of our apprentices did not have the all-important link to a real employer that must be at the heart of every apprenticeship.

Some apprenticeships lasted 6 months or less, providing minimal training for entry level roles, rather than aspiring to create the highly skilled professionals of tomorrow.

And perhaps most worryingly of all only half of apprentices in England reported receiving off-the job training and 1 in 5 said that they received neither on-the-job nor off-the-job training.

We have tackled these issues head on to drive up quality.

Now, all apprenticeships must be real, paid jobs from day one. They must last for at least 12 months and they must involve meaningful on-the-job training.

And this is already paying off.

Since 2010, we have stripped out over 172,000 short duration apprenticeships and almost 14,000 so-called ‘programme-led’ apprenticeships without jobs.

I was told, with certainty and passionate belief, that tackling poor quality would lead to fewer apprenticeships.

But has raising the bar on quality dented the number of opportunities available?

No. The number of people participating in apprenticeships is at a record high.

Lower quality apprenticeships have been replaced by higher quality apprenticeships.

Having risen sharply, the number of starts has remained at half a million even as low quality provision was stripped out. As duration has increased, the numbers participating in an apprenticeship have continued to rise.

Over the last 4 years, the number of ‘full apprenticeships’ – excluding those of under a year or without a job – that number has doubled among 16 to 18 year olds and trebled overall.

The proportion of 16 to 18 apprenticeships is rising, and the fastest growth is in higher level apprenticeships, preparing young people to become the next generation of pilots, accountants and space engineers.

By raising standards, ensuring apprenticeships are rigorous and demanding, we prove their worth to employers and to potential apprentices.

And the truth is this: driving up rigour and responsiveness creates more high quality apprenticeships.

The number of employers offering apprenticeships has risen every year of this Parliament, and the number of small employers involved is at record levels.

We are putting rocket boosters under the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, getting more employers and the idea of apprenticeships into schools and working to change the culture of the whole country. And today we are launching a new online toolkit to help employers in recruitment of people with disabilities into apprenticeships. We are on track for 2 million apprenticeship starts over the Parliament.

We are getting behind apprenticeships like no government before us: making changes so they are an unimpeachable part of our country for the future.

And I want to go further: expanding higher apprenticeships – funding 20,000 more and providing an extra £20 million for apprenticeships at degree level, all the way up to the equivalent of a Masters.

So we are not just making a reality of apprenticeships and university becoming the norm young people leaving school, but combining the 2 to offer the best possible start to careers.

And as we drive up standards in apprenticeships, so we must also prepare young people with the skills, experience and behaviour employers are looking for.

AELP was one of the first voices calling for a programme for young people not yet ready for an apprenticeship or a job.

And in collaboration and consultation with you, in August last year, we introduced Traineeships. From policy idea to initial implementation in just eight months, we wanted to get the programme started, and grow and refine it based on what we learned. In the first 6 months over 3,000 traineeships started. More and more employers getting on board. Momentum is growing. From this coming academic year, we’re extending traineeships to young people up to 24, and making delivery more flexible, while retaining the controls to ensure a high-quality programme, helping more and more young people prepare for the world of work.

The changes that we have made mean that today we have an apprenticeships programme that we can all be rightly proud of. Those of you, providing apprenticeships today, are providing not just a bigger, but a higher quality programme than ever before.

There are more people in apprenticeships in this country today, working for more employers and in more sectors, than ever before.

Apprenticeships are popular with young people and that popularity is growing.

Top apprenticeships are more competitive than undergraduate places in the best universities and last year alone, apprenticeship applications rose by almost 50%.

Most importantly, they are also popular with employers.

More than 95% of organisations that employ an apprentice tell us that they are reaping the benefits in areas like increased productivity, improved staff morale and streamlined recruitment.

But I am not restful. While there are more employers involved than ever before, there are millions more that aren’t. Yes, 10% of businesses now employ an apprentice. But that means 90% don’t.

We want to build on the changes we have already made to place employers at the centre of apprenticeships and to further drive up quality.

We want to make sure that every single apprentice receives the high quality training that they need. That every apprentice who completes is a fully rounded professional in their field.

I think of our apprenticeship reforms like the digital switchover for television.

The existing apprenticeships programme, like analogue television, is popular, successful and loved by millions.

But technology is moving on and we have a unique opportunity to step up, to switch over and to create a high definition programme that will lead the world in the decades to come.

And all this is being driven by one simple insight.

For too long, the antennae of the apprenticeship system have been pointed towards government and towards committees that have tried their best to act on behalf of employers. What if we were to retune the system to pick up directly on the clear signals from employers about what they need.

To encourage employers of our apprentices to work together with providers to design the training they receive.

That would create apprenticeships that are higher quality than ever before and that deliver exactly the skills and knowledge that employers need for their future workforce.

Automatically responsive, with the taxpayer, employers, and apprentices working alongside each other.

This isn’t a vision of the far away future. It’s already becoming a reality in this room and right across the country.

More than 400 employers are already part of our Apprenticeship Trailblazers. Large and small companies working together to design new standards – developed by employers for employers.

Some of the most successful companies in the country, from PwC, Microsoft, Jaguar Land Rover and BAE Systems to smaller businesses such as The Test Factory and Walter Smith Fine Foods and many, many more are already at the forefront of this work.

The first 11 new apprenticeship standards were produced by these companies in March, creating a world-class basis for occupations from software developers to engineers, aerospace fitters to lab technicians.

They are working together to design rigorous systems of assessment for their future apprentices.

In each case these will include a clear test at the end of the apprenticeship, ensuring that every successful apprentice has the skills, knowledge and behaviour required to be a fully rounded professional in their field.

And in each case it will include grading, giving apprenticeships the stretch and kudos they need to take their place as the equal of other routes to a successful career.

The Trailblazer employers are also working with training providers including colleagues in this room.

And my message to you, to the providers of training is very clear:

You have a crucial role in the new system. Working with employers yet more to deliver the training their apprentices need to reach the rigorous new standards.

Today, you provide more than just training. You are the salesforce. You guide employers through the system. At your best, you work with them to design training that suits their needs.

In the new system, the role for these wrap around services will be in many cases greater, not smaller.

You will be the salesforce for new apprenticeships. You will support employers, responding to their needs, building long term relationships between employers and the training they and their apprentices value.

I see this in the best providers now. I want to see it in all providers in the future.

The cost of bringing any product successfully to market is made up only in part – and often a minority part – by the raw materials. The design, the marketing, the logistics, these are all part of the price of any product – and I have no doubt they will be part of your future apprenticeships too.

So my vision is clear. Committed employers leading every aspect of the apprenticeship system to ensure that it supports growth across the economy. Enthusiastic providers delivering the highest quality training so that apprentices can reach the rigorous standards employers set.

And our reforms are gaining momentum.

Following hot on the heels of the first Trailblazers, employers from 29 more industries came forward to develop new apprenticeship standards in our second phase, which will be submitted and published this summer.

We will not stop there.

We will launch a third phase of Trailblazers in September. So if employers in the industries you work with want to get involved, take control and design apprenticeships that work for you, just let us know.

By maintaining this momentum, we will see the first starts on these new apprenticeship standards by the start of next year.

By September 2017, every apprenticeship start will be on a new employer-designed standard.

Building on Industrial Partnerships, tied to the Industrial Strategy, joined up across the economy.

But we are not just putting employers in charge of designing apprenticeships. We are also giving them control over how they are funded.

At the moment, government – by funding training providers directly – holds the purse strings.

How different would it be if employers were able to apply exactly the same principles to apprenticeship training as to any other business decision. Discussing and negotiating directly with you to agree the best quality training to meet their needs.

That is exactly what our changes to the funding system will achieve. By putting funding in the hands of employers, they will be free to work with you to secure the most effective opportunities for their employees.

It doesn’t mean every employer will negotiate every price. When I go to Tesco I don’t negotiate the prices, and I guess you don’t either. But they know sure as anything I can go to Waitrose next door if I want, and that drives value for money. Getting away from a price fixed by government is a key part of these reforms – to drive value and get the most out of the public funding that’s available. Instead of looking to government and regulators, industry will set new models of delivery, using new technology to the full, innovative, responsive, and led by employers.

At the same time, we will dramatically simplify the funding system for employers and providers alike.

Just as we are replacing apprenticeship frameworks hundreds of pages long with short employer-designed standards, so we will replace hundreds of funding rates and pages of guidance with a simple grid on a single sheet of A4.

We are working already with Trailblazers to test the funding approach over the coming year, based on some clear and simple principles.

These Trailblazing funding rates are not set in stone. As the saying goes, values can go up as well as down.

But they are the rates we will use for the first Trailblazers. They are based on 3 clear principles.

First, business and government share the benefits of apprenticeships and should therefore share the costs. For every £1 an employer puts into training an apprentice, we will provide £2. These employer co-payments will be mandatory.

Second, to ensure the best value for the taxpayer, we will cap the amount of government funding. Five simple caps broadly based on the training required for that apprenticeship standard. These are not rates: they are caps.

Third, we will pay an additional incentive payment in 3 key areas:

– for completion of the apprenticeship

– for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees

– for apprentices aged 16 to 18

We will fund Higher Apprenticeships on exactly the same basis as any other. This will provide significantly more funding – and much simpler funding – for apprenticeships at these levels.

In total, we will provide substantial funding alongside employers – up to £29,000 for the most stretching – although the majority will be a lot lower – embedding rigour and enabling our new apprenticeships programme to be truly world leading.

As you know, in March this year, we set out 2 options for how the funding will get to employers. One would use the Pay as You Earn system, building on the existing model which employers of all sizes know and use.

The other would set up a new system of Apprenticeship Credits, pooling government and employer funds in an online account which employers can use to buy training for their apprentices.

I want to thank everyone – including many in this room – who took the time to respond to our consultation.

We are considering all the responses now and taking the time to get this right.

Organisations representing over half a million businesses responded to the consultation supporting the principles of our funding reform. We will take time, to get the details right. We will ensure the system is super simple for employers – especially small employers – and ensure you can work with employers so they don’t take on extra burdens. I never forget that I am also the Minister for Small Business. The new system must work for small businesses too.

But gone are the days when an employer doesn’t know the value of training paid for by the taxpayer. Gone are the days when employers’ contributions go uncollected.

The principles of employer co-funding, and a price set by value not by government, are crucial for the future of employer ownership.

Employers pay for what they value, and value what they pay for. Co-funding will lead to richer relationships with employers, deeper collaboration and partnership. And higher quality with generous government subsidy that can attract many of the 90% of employers who don’t yet have apprentices to join our movement for apprentices. And as you know, once employers take on an apprentice, they tend to get hooked.

I have heard the voices raising concerns. Some are the same who said the measures we’ve taken so far to drive up quality would hit numbers. Some of the concerns I share. We must make the system work for small business. It must be super simple. I hope this robust reassurance shows that we will listen, but we are absolutely determined to proceed.

For this is a huge opportunity. It’s a huge opportunity for you, to engage, grow, and deliver for your customers: the employers and apprentices who work for them. It’s a huge opportunity, for Britain to become that high skilled economy we all crave and apprenticeships that are the envy of the world.

And it’s a huge opportunity to millions of future apprentices, to know that apprenticeships will deliver, higher quality across the board, skills relevant to the future, and give everyone in our country – everyone – the opportunity to reach their potential.

So get alongside. Let us go forward together.

The road ahead will not be easy, but for that goal, it is surely worth travelling.

Below is the text of the speech made by Matthew Hancock, the Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, in London on 30th May 2014.

Introduction

Thank you very much.

Hello and welcome to the Makegood Festival.

I am delighted to be here today at this fantastic showcase of culture, creativity and entrepreneurship.

It’s a pleasure to see so many startups in the creative industries – and so many people who have benefited from their training with School for Startups, experience and sheer hard work.

For many of you here, this weekend represents the culmination of a year’s hard work, launching your creative business. And it is a celebration of the intensely powerful spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship that we find in Britain today.

I’m sure it’s been inspirational.

It’s pretty inspirational for me.

This weekend Makegood will play host to some of the finest new creative that London has to offer, with a line-up of speakers with a dedicated following from across creative industries.

Small businesses

Startups and small businesses like yours are the lifeblood of our economy.

In every single village, town and city in Britain, enterprising and hardworking people – like everyone in this room – are putting their energy, enthusiasm and creativity into brand new businesses.

In fact, more people than ever are rolling up their sleeves and going for it: almost 500,000 new businesses were started last year.

We are backing all of those new businesses – and all of you – every step of the way.

By extending small business rate relief until 2015 and introducing a new Employment Allowance to put up to £200 back into your business. By cutting unnecessary red tape, saving businesses over £1.2 billion already. By making it easier to access finance, like our new start-up loans. And easier to take on young people, by abolishing national insurance contributions for people under 21 from April 2015.

We want Britain to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business, bar none.

That’s my goal. Supporting you, and others like you, to grow.

Creating a stronger, more secure and more prosperous Britain.

Creative industries

All of you have a huge part to play in this.

Because the creative industries are one of the most vibrant parts of our economy – and one of our greatest strengths as a nation.

In 2012 alone, the creative industries contributed £71 billion to the economy – around 5% of UK total GVA. They’ve developed services exports worth £15.5 billion – 8% of UK services total in 2011.

In the 5 years between 2008 and 2012, they grew by 15%, almost 3 times more than the economy as a whole.

Over 100,000 creative enterprises provide 1.7 million jobs, 5% of UK employment in 2012. And if we count creative jobs across all sectors, the ‘creative economy’ provided 2.5 million jobs, 8% of UK total employment in 2012.

Because creative businesses and people help drive growth and exports in all kinds of industries – through good advertising, marketing, innovative design, software, new business models and so on.

And that’s without mentioning British films, performing arts, music, video games, crafts and fashion – from the world-leading names showcased in our GREAT campaign, which give this country such an incredible reputation from country to country and continent to continent.

These all fly the flag for Britain across the globe. And events like this are a brilliant chance to recognise their success – and spot the stars of the future.

Government is right behind you

The government is right behind you.

Over the last few years we’ve made sure that creative businesses have received special, targeted support.

Corporation tax relief has helped to secure £5.5 billion investment in a thousand British films – as well as supporting growth in TV production, animation, video games and regional theatre.

And we have provided £2.4 billion of public investment in the arts and culture in the four years since 2011 alone.

We are also making sure that creative businesses – and all businesses come to that – can rely on the sort of reliable, quick, high-quality communications infrastructure they need to survive. As I’m sure every one of you will be able to confirm, if you are well connected, and trade online, you can work from and sell to anywhere in the world – if not, it’s almost impossible to clear that first hurdle.

So we have provided £530 million to stimulate commercial investment and bring high speed broadband to rural communities; and provided £150 million to establish super-connected cities across the UK. We’re also investing up to £150 million to improve the quality and coverage of mobile phone voice and data services.

Of course, the best people to advise creative businesses on how to achieve success are those who have already done it. So we’re working with the industry on how we can encourage this vital sector to grow – including in the Creative Industries Council, chaired by Nicola Mendelsohn of Facebook – and I am looking forward to seeing the upcoming creative industries strategy written by employers for employers.

And the School for Creative Startups – who are behind this festival – are doing a fantastic job of training and backing creative entrepreneurs. I’m sure everyone here will want to thank them for all their support so far. The range and number of startups showcased here shows how successful they’ve been – and I’m sure they’re not stopping yet.

Small businesses

We want to make sure that we help, and don’t hinder. And we know that’s what you want too.

As the first government in modern history to reduce the overall amount of regulation, we’ve targeted 3,000 rules to be scrapped or amended – making it easier for businesses to survive and thrive.

And because businesses have told us that they want a tax regine which supports enterprise, a workforce with the right skills for the job, and better access to finance – that’s what we’re doing.

Thanks to our new Employment Allowance, 450,000 small businesses will pay no national insurance at all – allowing entrepreneurs to keep more of what they earn; meaning more cash for running and growing a business and creating new jobs.

And we’ve created one of the most competitive tax regimes in the world – including through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and Annual Investment Allowance.

Access to finance

But I know that creative entrepreneurs often find it particularly difficult to get finance. They’re often strong on creativity, energy and enthusiasm – with loads of high-value intellectual property – but few tangible assets.

That is where our new British Business Bank is helping.

Around a third of venture capital from Enterprise Capital Funds has gone to creative and digital small businesses.

The Bank’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee has enabled loans to more than 500 creative businesses. The Business Finance Partnership, a public / private co-investment scheme for alternative and peer-to-peer lenders, is also playing an important role.

And 23% of all Start-up Loans have been offered to new businesses in the creative industries.

But money isn’t the only factor.

Skills

Alongside proper finance, you need a highly-skilled, well-educated workforce.

Research from a successful creative cluster in Brighton suggests that the most successful creative businesses are led by people with a combination of creative, digital and business skills.

And while we know that creative businesses thrive on diverse talents, we also know that doors have not always been open to people from all backgrounds, especially those without degrees.

This is now changing for the better.

Five years ago there were virtually no apprentices in the creative industries – there are now over 4,200.

We have driven up the quality of training every apprentice receives and now offer grants of up to £1,500 to firms that hire an apprentice.

New higher-level apprenticeships, equivalent to university study, have been developed by industry, for example in fashion, textiles, advertising and software development.

And the £15 million, publicly-funded Creative Employment Programme is supporting up to 6,500 new apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships and paid internships in creative organisations.

But to make sure these changes make a real impact, we need to put employers in the driving seat – so that they are empowered to take responsibility for training and development, working with employees, freelancers, trade unions and training providers to make sure that their staff develop the skills they need to succeed.

Conclusion

These changes – and the other action I’ve outlined today – are just part of the work this government is doing to encourage creative start-ups, help small businesses grow and attract more talent into the creative industries from more diverse backgrounds.

Many of you here today are showing what can be done.

I wish you every success in the future.

Your success doesn’t just benefit you it helps the whole creative economy, the whole UK economy, to grow stronger and fairer, building a more prosperous country for all of us.

Below is the text of the speech made by Matthew Hancock, the Skills Minister, at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills event at Plaisterers’ Hall in London on 30th April 2014.

Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here.

It’s good to see an event celebrating employers and UKCES working together.

And a livery company is a good place to do it. Because these guilds tell the history of our economy.

From the medieval trades – fletchers, cordwainers or girdlers – through the early modern clockmakers, spectacle-makers – and the playing-card makers, obviously – down to the 20th-century companies of actuaries, consultants and bankers.

And the newest company of all, just a year old, is the Worshipful Company of Educators.

That couldn’t be more appropriate.

Because employment is at a record high, we’re set to grow faster than any advanced economy this year, and wages are rising faster than inflation.

And if we want to make the most of that – we need a strong education system.

People need the right skills to get jobs. And employers need skilled people to grow.

If we’re to do that, we face 2 challenges. I want to talk today about what we’re doing to rise to them.

The first challenge is the divide between academic and vocational education.

And the second, the divide between education, and work.

The divide between academic and vocational education

Taking the first – the issue is partly about attitudes.

We still hear talk of children being ‘non-academic’ or as ‘unsuited’ to vocational careers.

But any employer will tell you good literacy and numeracy are the most basic requirements for any employee.

So it’s just wrong to say a technical education is an opt-out of high standards.

And it’s just wrong to say high standards are somehow irrelevant to workplace skills.

I defy anyone to find any good job that does not need a combination of knowledge, skill and behaviour. We must equip young people with all these.

But even worse than the mindset – the divide was a matter of policy, too.

Vocational courses had no minimum standard for English and maths.

And governments tried to run a skills bureaucracy from the top down – deciding who should study what, at each level and for how long.

It was cumbersome and clumsy: and it failed.

By 2010, somewhere between a quarter and a third of all young people were on poor-quality qualifications.

Hardly surprising, then, if vocational routes lost value and status, compared to academic.

…which we want to end

We are determined to end this divide – by restoring rigour, across all education.

Now, regardless of whether they’re in school, college or workplace training – all students will now study maths and English right up to 18, to at least a C at GCSE.

And look at some of the new institutions we’re creating.

Since January we have announced new colleges, in important sectors like rail, nuclear and software.

These will be elite institutions, and they will blur the lines between vocational and academic.

They will provide relevant, technical skills – alongside top-quality academic study.

They will take students on from a young age – but go right up to university level.

They aim to be the best in the world – so they are not just an alternative to the best universities, but are elite peers, collaborators and competitors, too.

And today I can announce that we’ll be setting up the first new FE college for over 20 years.

Prospects College of Advanced Technology will involve employers as never before, providing cutting-edge technical education in engineering, aviation, rail and construction to young people over 16.

When it’s fully up and running, it will serve over 1,000 students and 1,200 young people on apprenticeships – making it one of the largest group training associations in the country.

Parity of esteem is a nice phrase: these colleges will make it a reality.

And just as technology has transformed industry after industry, it’s coming to education. New assessment, learning and planning tools can help refine teaching – making it more measurable, and driving up standards.

So we set up the Education Technology Group – alongside a group for FE, and new capital funding for broadband in colleges – to explore what more we can do.

And at every level, we are restoring faith in vocational qualifications.

We’re stopping funding per qualification passed – which encouraged chasing easy certificates. We’ve introduced grading to all apprenticeships. It’s absurd to say there aren’t different levels of ability for vocational skills: anyone who saw my welding at the Skills Show a few months would agree.

Grades must be valid, of course – but no skill can’t be graded. And in time, we want grading across the system – for better, finer measurement of achievement, and for clear, aspirational goals for students.

We’ve filtered out poor-value qualifications: over 6,500 will have funding removed.

The qualifications recognised in performance tables will be those explicitly supported by universities and employers.

That means employers can trust qualifications.

And it means young people face smarter choices, and better prospects.

And they’re starting to notice. We have a record number of young people in apprenticeships. The majority of young people say they want to do an apprenticeship when they leave school. The top apprenticeships are already as competitive as the top universities.

That’s promising. But we want to go further. And our reforms aim to create a new norm: where young people choose university or an apprenticeship – where we end the divide between academic and vocational education.

The divide between work and training

Turning to the second divide: there’s a gulf between work and education.

Again, this was a matter of mindset and a product of policy.

As governments thought they knew best, vocational courses lost sight of the needs of business, and academic courses lost sight of practical context.

Now, we’re making the entire system much more responsive to employers: Tech Levels, yes, and new GCSEs in English and maths which will be much more functional too.

This link between work and education must be based on stronger qualifications, and it can be helped by stronger relationships too. We’re strengthening careers advice – so that it’s more inspirational, with a more dynamic, refreshed National Careers Service coming this autumn.

Our guidance to schools is much firmer about the need to engage employers. No school now has an excuse not to be engaging local employers. And no employer has an excuse not to engage their local school.

And we know some young people aren’t ready for work, or a full apprenticeship. So we created traineeships – to ease that transition.

Just this week, we had a trainee, Yusuf, start in my office in Parliament – and several other MPs have taken on trainees, too.

We’re giving genuine power to employers to shape training: like our apprenticeships trailblazers, who are writing the new apprenticeship standards.

Employer-owned pilots

And today, I am delighted to announce the next stage of our employer ownership of skills pilot.

Under this scheme, employers combine their own money with government funding, to invest in the training they need.

It’s simple, direct, and focussed.

The second wave of funding started last year. Figures released today show that the first projects will create over 5,000 traineeships.

Like National Grid – who plan to provide over 3,000 – or Everton Football club, who plan 1,600 – though let’s hope that after Everton, the trainees have better careers than their former managers.

Today, I can announce the next projects: an extra £5 million going direct to employers.

Companies like Kostal, leading a new advanced manufacturing programme in Sheffield; Blackpool Pleasure Beach, investing in tourism training; and Freedom Communications in Watford, in business technology.

These companies know their training needs best: so now, they get the budget.

We’ve learnt a lot from the first rounds of funding about how to support employers. And we know that some sectors have specialist skills.

Like the automotive sector – a great British success story of recent years.

So I can also tell you that learning the lessons from EOP, we will establish a new permanent employer-owned fund and are making the first call for applicants, for companies in the car industry supply chain.

From next week, they can submit proposals to get money to train – to tackle skills shortages, and go on to ever-greater things.

We will make £10 million available immediately – and will offer a further £10 million later in the year.

I know you’ve spent time today showing what employers can do when they get directly involved in training. That’s exactly the spirit of our reforms – and these new announcements aim to find, fund and fuel even more.

Conclusion

So that’s what we want.

To end the divide between vocational and academic. It’s a false divide: only rigour in both will help our young people.

And to end the divide between training and work. It’s a dangerous divide: only responsiveness will help people get jobs, and help employers grow.

And if we can do that – think of what’s possible.

What livery companies may come in the future, no one can say.

But I hope that if we’re in this hall in 10, or 20 or 30 years, we’re still talking about the success stories of this decade – of a time when we ended the divides that have held us back.

Below is the text of the speech made by Matthew Hancock, the Minister of State for Skills and Enterprise, to the Federation of Small Businesses Conference held in Manchester on 28th March 2014.

It is a pleasure to be here, and I want to start by wishing the FSB a very happy 40th birthday. You are tireless advocates for small business and I know everyone in this room is grateful for the work you do.

The FSB came into being at a difficult time for this country. In 1974 inflation spiked at 18%, and England had a dreadful football team.

I’m happy to report progress. Today inflation is 1.7%.

It’s a pleasure to be here because for me it’s almost coming home. I was born and grew up just down the M56 at Chester. And I grew up in my family’s small business. Those dinner-table conversations about the future of our firm helped shape me as a politician.

So I know from my heart that small business isn’t just a job, but a way of life.

And to all those who’ve put their time, talent and capital into running a small business, my message to you is that this government is backing you to the hilt.

Being small forces you to think big, to take risks and innovate. It’s why you create the vast majority of new jobs each year.

And it’s why you’re at the heart of our long term economic plan to create a more secure and prosperous Britain.

We saw in last week’s Budget that the plan is working. It’s there in the numbers.

1.7 million new private sector jobs and 500,000 new businesses have been created No major developed economy is recovering faster than Britain.

Crucially, a balanced recovery. The latest GDP figures show growth across services, manufacturing and construction, and unemployment down in every region.

But it isn’t just about the numbers. What drives economic recovery is a belief that things will get better. So it’s incredibly encouraging to see the results of the latest FSB survey: 2-thirds of businesses expect to grow in the next year; a quarter plan to export more. And a marked improvement in access to finance.

Even the floods couldn’t dampen the animal spirits of British business.

And you might expect me to stand here and claim all the credit for the recovery on behalf of the government.

But I won’t…

…Because this recovery isn’t made in Whitehall, it was built in the business parks and garage offices, in the white vans and workshops, in the mills and market squares of Great Britain.

It’s thanks to you that we have record numbers of people in work.

Indeed, the lesson of the crash is that government must respect the limits of its power over the economy.

We can’t abolish boom and bust, we can’t deliver sustainable growth simply by flicking a switch in the Treasury; what we can do is to set the framework in which private enterprise can flourish.

And while the recovery is welcome, there is much more to do.

My role as Minister for Skills and Enterprise is not to create the jobs and businesses, but to be on the side of those who do.

How we are helping small businesses today

That’s why last year we launched Small Business: GREAT Ambition – our commitment to make it easier for small firms to grow.

And why we’ve taken action on the issues that you’ve told us matter to you most.

Like a tax regime which supports enterprise, a workforce with the right skills for the job; access to finance, and – through deregulation – getting government out of the way where it hinders instead of helps.

Take access to finance.

We all know money is tight. So where funds are available we’ve been careful to target them at small firms.

British Business Bank schemes are now supporting £600 million of investment each year.

Start-Up Loans have already committed over £80 million and today I’m proud to announce we’ve offered the 15,000th Start-Up loan.

Our £200 million Growth Accelerator Programme has supported over 12,000 small businesses so far, and we aim to support up to more than double that.

Businesses tell us this programme is making a real difference. In its first year, almost 9 in 10 firms that used it thought the Growth Accelerator helped increase their turnover. 97% would recommend it to others.

But while government assistance can give many firms the leg-up they need, tax cuts can reach even more.

It’s why we’ve cut the main rate of corporation tax from 28% to 23%, falling to 20% by 2015 – the joint lowest rate in the G20. Just this week I voted for lower corporation tax again.

It’s why we’ve introduced the new Employment Allowance which, from next month, will save you up to £2,000 on your National Insurance bills – a cashback on jobs.

Letting you keep more of what you earn means more cash available for what really matters to you: running and growing your business, creating jobs.

This summer the Office of Tax Simplification will be reporting back on what more can be done to improve the competitiveness of UK tax administration.

That’s my holiday reading sorted.

Of course, it isn’t just about government doing more. There are some areas where we need to do less.

I’m proud that we’re the first government in modern times actually to reduce red tape. We’ve saved businesses over £1 billion so far by cutting or reforming regulation.

What does that mean in reality?

When we came into office there were rules governing the precise design of ‘No Smoking’ signs, rules requiring a license if you wanted to show a film in school…

There were even age restrictions on the sale of chocolate liqueurs.

…Because we all know the sad sight of a group of teenagers, on a park bench, off their heads on a box of Thorntons.

Too often in recent times process and box-ticking replaced common sense and personal responsibility.

And since every new hire is a risk, we have reformed employment laws and employment tribunals so businesses – especially small businesses – have greater confidence in taking on new staff.

Our tribunal reforms are working. Jobs are up and the number of cases taken to tribunal is down 80%. The only work being hit by our tribunal reform is the workload of employment lawyers.

More to do

But we’re determined to do more.

You told us you wanted action on the cost of energy.

We listened, and in the Budget we announced a £7 billion package of support, including compensation for energy intensive industries with higher electricity costs resulting from green levies.

You told us that business rates should be more responsive to property values, and that you wanted more simplicity for ratepayers.

So we cut £1,000 off rates for retailers, and we’re going to review the whole way business rates are levied.

And as the economy recovers and your books fill up, we know that prompt payment is essential. So we will strengthen the rules on transparency, so everyone knows where they stand.

In the mean time we will keep pressing more companies to sign up to the Institute of Credit Management’s prompt payment code. Over 1,500 signatories are now committed to pay their suppliers on time, including the majority of FTSE100 companies.

Floods

Being on the side of small business means being there in a crisis too.

So we worked overnights and over weekends to put together a £10 million Business Support Scheme to help flooded properties, with grants of up to £5,000 to make buildings more resilient in the future and 3 months of automatic business rate relief.

In the Budget we increased funding for flood defences by £140 million.

Tackling these sorts of emergencies means everyone pulling together. And I want to pay tribute to the FSB’s work advising and guiding on issues like handling insurance claims. Helping to make life that little bit easier during an incredibly stressful time.

Budget

And of course while last week’s Budget will go down in history as the ‘Savers’ Budget’, saving and investment are 2 sides of the same coin. They’re both about planning for the long term, deferring the reward, taking responsibility for the future.

This government believes that the way to build a stronger economy is to trust people with their own money. And whether you’re saving for your pension pot, or investing in your business, we want to help.

So we froze fuel duty, now 20p lower than planned, and we’re extending the Investment Allowance, increasing it to £500,000 too.

But it isn’t just about investment in capital. The iPhone costs Apple around $180 to manufacture and assemble. It sells for 3 times as much, thanks to the design of that great British success story, Sir Jonny Ive.

In a world where value is added on the drawing board as well as the production line, investment in people is just as important.

So we are expanding apprenticeships and it’s a central mission of my job to drive the education system and employers closer together: making education more rigorous and more responsive to employers needs.

We will continue to do more.

You never stop looking for new trends, new markets, new opportunities. It’s what’s seen you through this recession, and it’s what’s pulling us into recovery. In turn, we will never stop looking for new ways to help you fulfill your ambitions.

Today I’m delighted to announce further progress on clearing away the barriers to growth.

When it comes to business policy, we don’t believe Whitehall has all the answers. Our Entrepreneurs in Residence scheme has brought entrepreneurs into the heart of government for precisely this reason.

So today we are launching our search for 2 new Entrepreneurs in Residence, to take the scheme into a second year.

The first will advise us on how to help small businesses achieve the scale-up and exports we all want to see.

The second will work with us on the exciting new industry of Synthetic Biology, which we believe has huge potential for the life sciences and energy sectors.

But as everyone in this room knows, coming up with ideas is the easy bit. The biggest challenge faced by any entrepreneur is getting them to market.

That’s why we’re determined to create a financial ecosystem which nurtures enterprise, one which bridges the gap between concept and commercial reality.

When it comes to financing great new products we in government want to lead by example.

Technology is poised to change education as radically over the next decade as it has changed everything else over the last. So today I can announce that the Technology Strategy Board is launching a new education technology design competition to give small firms with innovative ideas for EdTech products the chance to turn them into a reality.

Celebrating small business

Which is why I want to highlight 1 fantastic grass-roots initiative which has got the whole country taking notice of what small businesses offer. Last year’s Small Business Saturday – the first ever in the UK – was a huge success, with thousands of businesses taking part across the country and almost £5 billion spent on the day. I’m thrilled that today, we can mark the launch of Small Business Saturday 2014, which will be on 6 December.

With the support of the FSB, the media, and other supporters – I know we can make this year’s event even bigger than the last. Government will certainly be doing its bit to back Small Business Saturday. I urge all of you to get involved.

But celebrating is one thing, hard contracts is another. For some firms the greatest prize we can offer is fair access to the government’s £230 billion public procurement business. The FSB has led the call on this and we are making progress. Today I’m glad to report we’re taking more action.

I can announce that by October we will have legislated to make contract opportunities accessible in one place online, to remove a whole thicket of bureaucracy by abolishing pre-qualification questionnaires (PQQs), and to drive fair payment down the supply chain by requiring prime suppliers as well as procurers to pay within 30 days.

My message to public bodies and small suppliers is get ready, the changes are coming – it’s time for government to be open for small business.

But if we’re going to tackle unnecessary complexity in the way small firms interact with the state, we also need to get our own house in order.

We’re committed to making sure our business support schemes are easier to find and more relevant.

At the start of this year we set up a ‘star chamber’ of some of the wisest and most experienced minds, and me, to bring together and simplify government’s portfolio of business support. By June we will announce our intentions, so that reforms can be completed by March 2015.

We will be working with businesses and the FSB to make sure this new service is user-friendly for you: the customer, and fully integrated locally, connected to business schools and growth hubs across the country.

All of these measures, all of the actions taken in the Budget and in between, each one may be important, but they are but individual stones in something much bigger. Every measure matters, but I believe they are each part of a greater whole. For our aim is not a list of measures. Our aim is that each measure is a stone in the great cathedral to the culture of enterprise that we are building.

Yes, each stone plays its part – but together, stone by stone, we are striving to build something bigger than any one of us. A self-confident nation, enterprising and ambitious. A culture of enterprise which celebrates success without criticising failure, where we can build opportunity for our children and children’s children. Building that culture is no quick task. Yes it is happening but so to is it yet fragile. And I want on behalf of all future entrepreneurs, to enlist your help in that task. Today I pledge myself to do all in my command to support enterprise. I hope you will join me in that task.

Thank you.