1.

Training and development can help employees to become more productive, improve their employability and enhance their ability to command higher wages. When the minimum wage was introduced, we were concerned about its possible impact on training and skills. We recommended Development Rates for young people and older workers to encourage employers to invest in training so that their employees acquired transferable skills. We also recommended the exemption of apprentices to support this important means by which young people can acquire skills. We have continued to pay close attention to the impact of the National Minimum Wage on training. This appendix provides background information on the Government’s initiatives designed to improve the employment opportunities for young people by ensuring that all those leaving full-time education and entering the workplace have the maximum opportunity to gain the necessary skills and qualifications.

2.

The appendix is in three sections: Government-funded work-based training for young people, training and development initiatives, and lifelong learning. We have summarised new initiatives and outlined developments in existing initiatives; we have also included initiatives for older people.

3.

Many of the developments have arisen from the White Paper Learning to Succeed (June 1999) and the Learning & Skills Act 2000, which gave all 16—19 year olds a statutory entitlement to learning and created a single system for all post-16 education and training outside higher education. Many of these initiatives are still relatively new and further time is needed before we can assess their full effects. The White Paper Opportunity for All in a World of Change (February 2001) announced further measures to improve skills and training. New initiatives and developments on existing initiatives are detailed below.

Government-funded Work-based Training for Young People

4.

This section describes work-based training available in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

5.

Modern Apprenticeships, which were introduced in 1995, have been rebadged as Advanced Modern Apprenticeships. They are open to young people aged 16—24 and the training must be completed before the twenty-fifth birthday. Apprenticeships involve development of key skills and lead to an NVQ at level 3 or above. They are available in 81 sectors. National Traineeships, aimed primarily at 16—18 year olds, were introduced in 1997, and are available in 50 sectors. They have now been rebadged as Foundation Modern Apprenticeships. These lead to an NVQ at level 2 and some people move from a Foundation Modern Apprenticeship to an Advanced Modern Apprenticeship. The aim of rebadging was to clarify the distinctions between the schemes, encourage progression, raise standards and bring them up to date. Advanced Modern Apprenticeships are being enhanced to include a technical certificate to ensure that there is underpinning knowledge and understanding, adding a further dimension to the existing competence-based qualification. There will also be other reforms to Modern Apprenticeships which will help to improve quality and ensure a higher number of young people finish their training. At the end of December 2000 there were 90,200 Foundation Modern Apprentices and 135,300 Advanced Modern Apprentices.

6.

In addition to Modern Apprenticeships, some 53,500 young people are pursuing vocational courses at various levels within ‘Other Training’. The Government has announced that by September 2002 Other Training will be replaced by better training opportunities for young people to progress. This will be achieved by an expansion of Modern Apprenticeships to encompass all on NVQ level 2 courses, and by developing a new pre-apprenticeship route for young people at NVQ level 1. The review of training arrangements sub-NVQ level 2 will address the issues of coherence between the Life Skills element of the Learning Gateway and NVQ level 1 courses, and of how best to maximise progression to higher level training within Modern Apprenticeships.

7.

Work-based training for young people in Scotland is delivered under the Skillseekers programme, which includes Modern Apprenticeships. The key elements of Skillseekers are training leading to a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) up to level 3, an individual training plan and employer involvement. Modern Apprenticeships provide on-the-job training combined with study for SVQ at level 3 or above and include core skills. Trainees must have employed status. Following the Opportunities and Choices consultation paper, a Working Group has been established to advise on how to design courses which integrate non-advanced further education and training. There were 22,000 Skillseekers trainees in March 2001, and 17,000 Modern Apprentices.

8.

Work-based training in Wales for young people is delivered through the Skillseekers programme, which has three components: Modern, Welsh, and Higher Modern Apprenticeships (NVQ levels 3—4); National Traineeships including Welsh Traineeships (NVQ level 2); and Skillbuild (training below NVQ level 2), which aims to motivate young people and give them the skills and competencies they require to progress to further education, skills training or a job. Welsh Modern Apprenticeships and Traineeships are developed by Education & Learning in Wales (ELWa) and employers through National Training Organisations (NTOs) for sectors where there is little or no likelihood of an Apprenticeship or Traineeship and there is demand from employers for such training. From April 2001 the upper age limit for completion of Modern Apprenticeships (level 3 and above) has been removed. At December 2000 there were some 21,300 in the Skillseekers programmes of which 8,500 were Modern Apprentices (level 3 and above).

9.

The Skillseekers/Skillbuild Mentorship Initiative was introduced in April 2001. The aim of the initiative is to increase Skillseekers/Skillbuild completion rates through the provision of support and encouragement to trainees and apprentices participating on the programmes. The Mentorship Initiative has two objectives. The first is to assist employers, training providers and other organisations involved in the delivery of Skillseekers/Skillbuild to identify young people who are at risk of dropping out of training and to ensure that trainees receive encouragement and suitable help and support to enable them to complete their training plan. The second is to encourage employers to increase the training content of jobs offered to young people.

10.

Work-based training for young people in Northern Ireland comes under the Jobskills framework. Modern Apprenticeships are available to employed trainees following a training framework which has been approved for delivery under the programme. ‘Traineeship’ provision focuses on NVQ level 2. ‘Access’ offers NVQ level 1 to young people (including those with learning difficulties or a disability) who are not ready to start level 2 training. At January 2001 there were just over 12,850 trainees on the Jobskills programme.

Training and Development Initiatives

11.

This section describes the initiatives available in the UK (paragraphs 12—14), England (paragraphs 15—18) and Wales (paragraph 19).

12.

The Right to Time Off for Study or Training was introduced in England, Scotland and Wales in September 1999, and in Northern Ireland in September 2000. All 16 and 17 year old employees who are not in full-time education and who have not achieved NVQ level 2 or equivalent are entitled to reasonable time off for study or training for a qualification at that level. Although take-up has been low, employer awareness is good and it seems to have encouraged participation in mainstream training programmes. There remains a concern that young people who are trained in-house may have skills and qualifications which are not readily transferable, and may therefore lose out in the long run.

13.

The New Deal for Young People is aimed at 18—24 year olds throughout the UK who have been unemployed and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for six months. It helps them find work and, more generally, improve their longer-term employability. Young people initially receive the support of a personal adviser for up to 16 weeks. Over 60 per cent move into work during this period but those who remain unemployed move into one of four options, each of which includes a training element. As of January 2001, almost 220,000 young people had entered one of the options, of which over 90,000 undertook full-time education and training. Some 280,000 young people have been placed into work through the New Deal. The impact of the minimum wage on the New Deal is discussed more fully in Chapter 2.

14.

The National Skills Task Force’s remit relates to England, but much of the data in its reports relates to the UK, and the Task Force has expressed the hope that interested parties in the rest of the UK might find their analyses and conclusions useful. There is now a Welsh Skills Task Force, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have separately published skills strategies. The Task Force published its fourth and final report in June 2000, Skills For All: Proposals for a National Skills Agenda. The Government provided an initial response in the pamphlet, Opportunity for All: Skills for the New Economy, in which the Task Force’s concept of a National Skills Agenda was endorsed. The Agenda consists of four themes: strengthening links between what people learn and the jobs they will have; creating excellence in vocational learning; reaching out with basic skills training and beyond to adults whom the system failed the first time; and working with employers. The Government’s final response, Opportunity and Skills in the Knowledge-Driven Economy, was published in February 2001 alongside the Opportunity for All in a World of Change White Paper. The Government will forge partnerships with the new Learning and Skills Council, Regional Development Agencies, National Training Organisations, employers, trade unions and other key partners to take forward the National Skills Agenda.

15.

The Learning and Skills Council, together with 47 local councils, became responsible from April 2001 for the planning, funding and quality assurance of all post-16 learning and skills delivery in England, as well as for working with partners at all levels to promote workforce development and economic regeneration activity. The Council’s priorities are to maximise the participation and achievement of all young people in education and training as a route to participation in society and work; to drive up standards of education and training and raise the level of achievement for all age groups; and to stimulate demand and maximise opportunities by the provision of attractive and relevant courses. The Council supersedes the Further Education Funding Council and Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and a complex transition process is under way.

16.

Connexions aims to provide every young person between the ages of 13 and 19 with the help and support they need to participate effectively in formal and informal learning to achieve their maximum potential and make an effective transition to adult life. Young people will be able to approach a personal adviser to discuss any issue which may be affecting them. The scheme is being phased in from April 2001 and has a number of strands.

17.

As part of the Connexions strategy, New Start aims to bring back into learning those 14-17 year olds who have dropped out of education and training or are at risk of doing so. New Start involves multi-agency partnership working at local level with a wide range of organisations. It is making a contribution to curricular approaches at Key Stage 4 and to the development of the Learning Gateway for 16—18 year olds.

18.

The Learning Gateway provides a client-centred approach to support 16—18 year olds who need help to access a mainstream post-16 learning option. The priority groups are those disengaged from learning and those in danger of becoming disengaged because of a lack of the right skills, qualifications or attitudes, or other personal and social obstacles. Every young person is assigned a personal adviser. A new ‘Life Skills’ learning option is designed to help young people improve their self-esteem and motivation and develop their key skills. As young people progress into mainstream learning they will continue to receive support from their personal adviser as needed.

19.

In Wales the Youth Gateway, delivered through Careers Wales, provides an assessment, counselling and work sampling service, primarily for young people who have completed compulsory education. The focus is on extended assessment against career goals and aspirations. The Youth Gateway complements the statutory work undertaken by the careers service in schools by building on careers advice and assessing the young person’s abilities against career aspiration. It helps the young person to identify and access the most appropriate training, education or work route. The Youth Gateway aims to ensure that young people are properly prepared and ready to progress to training, education or a job (with training) relevant to their needs and abilities.

Lifelong Learning

20.

There are two Universities for Industry: the University for Industry (UfI) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the Scottish University for Industry (SUfI) in Scotland. The two Universities work closely together.

21.

The UfI became fully operational in Autumn 2000. Its mission is to improve individuals’ employability and career prospects, and organisations’ competitiveness and effectiveness by: inspiring existing learners to develop their skills further; winning over new and excluded learners; and transforming the accessibility of learning in everyday life and work. Its training is delivered through a service which provides access to innovative and high-quality courses, over 80 per cent of them on-line, called learndirect.

22.

The SUfI will perform similar, but not identical, activities to UfI in the rest of the UK. SUfI’s training service, called learndirect scotland, went live in October 2000 and will identify gaps in current provision and work with existing learning providers to fill these gaps. The service will provide information and advice on learning opportunities for everybody in Scotland, regardless of age, background and previous learning experience. It will act as a broker between the individual or business requiring learning and the learning provider.

23.

Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) give financial support to individuals investing in their own learning. They enable people to enhance their skills so as to boost their employability, earning power and quality of life. They are being targeted particularly at people who have not undertaken much learning. The Government has given a commitment to contribute £150 to the first one million accounts opened, provided the individuals invest at least £25 themselves. Subsequently, discounts on the cost of learning will be available to ILA holders. ILAs are available through a wide range of financial institutions. They are available to anyone aged 19 (18 in Scotland) or over. The scheme is administered in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland by the ILA Centre and by ELWa in Wales, on behalf of the relevant Government departments.

24.

In September 1998, the White Paper Opportunity Scotland set out the Government’s agenda for lifelong learning, and was followed by the consultation paper, Opportunities and Choices (1999). The Government has two goals: to raise the skills levels in the workforce and to help young people achieve their full potential. The main policy objectives which should underpin the design and delivery of post-school education and training are: to help young people to acquire skills and qualifications; to assist young people in finding work, including jobsearch support and careers guidance; to encourage employers to support the training of young people; and to provide additional support to young people who face particular barriers or difficulties in finding employment.

25.

On 1 April 2001 Education and Learning in Wales (ELWa) replaced the four TECs and the Further Education Funding Council for Wales. It will also take over the responsibility for Adult Continuing Education from local authorities and at a later date the funding of sixth forms. This will bring together educational values and business needs within what will be the largest Assembly Sponsored Public Body.

26.

Careers Wales was established in April 2001. It draws together and builds on the work of the eight Careers Service Companies and the TECs in Wales in the promotion of careers information and advice. The initial platform for Careers Wales will include Assembly-supported programmes for the provision of the Careers Service, Youth Gateway, information and advice for adults under the Adult Guidance Initiative, including the helpline called learndirect, and Education Business links.

27.

In April 2001 Wales introduced the Modern Skills Diploma for Adults, an entirely new publicly-funded programme to help over-25s in employment upgrade their skills by providing structured training and assisting them to achieve an NVQ level 3 or higher. This work is the start of the National Assembly for Wales’ longer-term goal of a bespoke all-age skills programme.

Northern Ireland

Strategy 2010, the report of the Economic Development Strategy Steering Group (March 1999), contained proposals for the new Northern Ireland Assembly which included ‘an education and training system which is fully contributing to the development of a strong, dynamic, participative economy’. Progress is now being made in a number of areas. Reforms to make the post-16 curriculum more flexible were introduced in September 2000. Resources have been provided to increase the number of higher education places by 2001/02, most of them in universities, directed mainly towards meeting skill needs and to addressing access issues. Following a consultation exercise on the form a new Funding Council should take, consideration is being given to the best way forward.