Steve Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of (a) current and (b) forecast adult learner demand in Croydon.

Nick Boles

Our policy is to support the growth of high quality apprenticeship places available in Croydon and across the country as a whole. Apprenticeships are the best form of adult vocational education because they bring together in one coherent experience formal learning and personal development in the workplace. The number and nature of the apprenticeship opportunities available depends on what employers offer, but we are supporting this by doubling public funding for apprenticeships since 2010, supporting employers in developing clear new apprenticeship standards, and introducing a levy on employers to fund further growth. Our aim is that there should be three million new apprenticeship starts by 2020.

Across adult education as a whole, it is important that there is the right supply of places to meet future demand. Determining what this supply should be is not something central government can take the lead on. In September the government announced a programme of area reviews, which will be locally led and will involve key stakeholders. They will be based on the best available evidence of skills requirements and establish a local post-16 education and training offer which is high quality and responsive to employer need. The reviews will support local involvement in the ongoing commissioning of provision, putting responsibility in the hands of people who are best placed to tailor provision to local economic needs. Croydon will be included in the area review process, which is due to be completed by March 2017, and an announcement on the date for the review will be announced in due course.

There is also a role for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in ensuring that adult education reflects future economic development. LEPs are working in collaboration with local authorities, colleges and providers in the area to jointly agree key local skill needs and develop a local skills offer that responsive to local labour market conditions and contributes to improving our productivity. LEPs are responsible for decisions about capital allocations for adult skills projects, and the Skills Funding Agency requires colleges to engage with LEPs as a condition of its grant funding.