Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2001): Education - UK - Training
CLASSED UNDER ONE ROOF
N. Merrich
Public Finance, Mar. 30th-Apr. 5th 2001, p. 23-24
The new structure for further education in England places colleges, school sixth forms and private training providers under the aegis of the Learning and Skills Council. All will eventually bid for funds from 47 local learning and skills councils, but the funding formula itself is still under discussion.
THE MIX OF GRADUATE AND INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL SKILLS IN BRITAIN: WHAT SHOULD THE BALANCE BE?
G. Mason
Journal of Education and Work, vol. 14, 2001, p. 5-27
Recent evidence of employer difficulties in recruiting graduates suggests that concerns about "quality shortcomings" in some graduate job applicants (in particular, lack of practical work experience and commercial understanding) reflect a continuing demand by employers for skills and knowledge which are most easily acquired through employment - based intermediate skills training. In order to remedy this the article proposes a two fold strategy:
- expand the employment - based training elements of university studies;
- develop new linkages between full-time education and employment-based training which would recognise many intermediate-level occupations as "transition categories", ie: occupations in which there will be regular opportunities to progress to graduate-level qualifications.
SKILLS FOR LIFE: THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING ADULT LITERACY AND NUMERACY SKILLS (PDF format)
Department for Education and Employment
Nottingham: 2001
The government aims to have 750,000 adults improve their literacy and numeracy by 2004. In order to achieve this the education and training system will be improved through:
- new national standards, new materials and a common core curriculum leading to national tests;
- rigorous national inspections;
- establishment of a national research centre for adult literacy and numeracy;
- use of ICT in delivering training.