The Future Landscape for Technical and Professional Education

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1 The Future Landscape for Technical and Professional Education

2 ABOUT US Collab Group is a forward-thinking membership organisation which represents leading Colleges and College Groups who collaborate, at a local and national level. We work with a wide range of stakeholders in the development of sustainable professional and technical skills to enable a transformation of the productive capacity of the UK economy. Our broader goal of collaborating with business, government, and the skills sector to transform the UK economy is serviced by our commercial and external relations work. PublicCo is a leading consultancy practice dedicated to driving the very highest standards in public service design and delivery, particularly in the employment and skills sectors. PublicCo s unique consultancy offer is characterised by: senior people with outstanding consultancy skills and personal experience of running significant public service functions and who are passionate about delivering social impact combining a practical approach to delivery with a deep understanding of employment and skills policy drawing on a partnership with the Learning and Work Institute striving to bring different ways of working to the employment and skills sectors from new insights from the experience of other countries, to innovative models for working collaboratively within and across different areas of public service 1/2 This paper is the first in a series of two. This first paper focuses on what the future landscape for TPE will look like. The second What Will the Technical and Professional Education Provider of the Future Need To Be Successful? will focus on the organisational capabilities that TPE providers will need and how they will need to change. 2

3 INTRODUCTION Successfully reforming our system of technical and professional education (TPE) has become a critical national challenge. That system needs to play a central role in raising our economic productivity, enabling our citizens to move into skilled jobs with better pay, supporting investment in those parts of the country that have been left behind, and dealing with the impact of Brexit on the supply of skills. KEY TPE REFORMS Technical routes (including T levels) Apprenticeship reforms (including the levy) Institutes of Technology Recent and planned policy reforms, such as the apprenticeship levy and the introduction of T levels, have the potential to add up to a transformation of the TPE system. But it is far from certain that this potential will be realised. For that to happen, central and local government, employers, education providers and other stakeholders need to work closely together to lead that transformation, with a shared vision and as part of a coherent strategy. The purpose of this point-of-view is to help shape a vision for the future of TPE that is shared across providers, employers, government and others. We therefore view it as a contribution to a dialogue with our stakeholders, with whom we will be discussing it over the following weeks and months. It takes as its starting point the potential impact of three key sets of reforms of the TPE system and five key contexts (see tables right). Given the devolution of skills policy and delivery to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the primary focus of this paper is on the future landscape for TPE in England. As a UK-wide body, however, Collab Group believes that the four nations have much to learn from each other in this area and therefore that this point-of-view should also inform a UK-wide conversation about transforming TPE. This paper is the first in a series of two. This first paper focuses on what the future landscape for TPE will look like. The second What Will the Technical and Professional Education Provider of the Future Need To Be Successful? will focus on the organisational capabilities that TPE providers will need and how they will need to change. KEY CONTEXTS Industrial strategy Devolution Higher education reforms Brexit Income sources 3

4 KEY TPE REFORMS The reforms briefly described in this section are arguably the most important recent and forthcoming changes to the TPE system, but they are not an exhaustive list. Other policy changes, such as the new careers strategy, will also have an impact. One key question is the extent to which changes across different parts of the system from examination and accreditation, to maths and English, careers guidance and teacher training will all contribute to the transformation of TPE in a coherent way. Technical routes (including T levels) We are unashamedly ambitious for the new technical education system. We are not setting out to make incremental improvement, but rather to make a transformational change to the quality of the system, achieving parity of esteem between academic A levels and technical education routes. We will achieve this by simplifying the options available to students, promoting high quality provision, and removing poor quality provision. Department for Education, consultation on implementation of T level programmes, November 2017 The 2016 Sainsbury review of technical education recommended the establishment of a common framework of 15 routes for technical education, as a means of radically simplifying the current landscape of technical education qualifications. Both the Government and the Opposition have backed this approach. Technical education, structured into the 15 routes, will be delivered through a work-based option, apprenticeships, and a provider-based option, T levels. The Government published its T level action plan last October. This confirmed that the first T levels (for three of the 15 routes) will be introduced from September T level panels, made up of employers, professional bodies and providers, have been convened to develop the content of the new qualifications. The Government has announced increased funding per student; support to ensure that staff are well prepared to deliver T levels; a new programme to attract industry experts to work in further education colleges; and a fund to build providers capability to deliver the large number of work placements that T levels will require. Funding has also been provided for pilots, to test ways of adapting T levels to meet the needs of adult learners. Apprenticeship reforms (including the levy) Key recent reforms to the apprenticeship system include: new apprenticeship standards designed by employers; a mandatory apprenticeship levy for large employers; new funding rules for apprenticeships with SMEs, under which 90% of the training cost is publicly funded and the employer makes a 10% co-investment ; and the establishment of an Institute for Apprenticeships, responsible for maintaining quality standards (and soon to become the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education). CONTINUED OVER > 4

5 KEY TPE REFORMS CONTINUED Through these reforms, the Government aims to deliver 3 million apprenticeships by 2020, including more higher and degree apprenticeships. A recent drop in apprenticeship volumes has caused some concern about the implementation process for the reforms and the business sector has called for a more flexible approach. Arguments have been put forward for broadening the scope of the levy beyond apprenticeships, for giving large employers more flexibility to fund training within their supply chains, and for devolution of the levy to local areas. Nevertheless, as they bed in, the reforms have the potential to substantially increase the volume, quality and status of apprenticeships. Over time, the levy will influence the behaviour of many large employers. For both large employers and SMEs, the new approach to funding represents a shift to direct commissioning of apprenticeship provision by the employer, with the potential for price competition and considerable disruption to the established provider market. A recent drop in apprenticeship volumes has caused some concern about the implementation process CONTINUED OVER > 5

6 KEY TPE REFORMS CONTINUED Institutes of Technology The Government is currently running a competitive process under which partnerships of employers, further education providers and higher education institutions are putting forward proposals to establish Institutes of Technology. Institutes of Technology will be prestigious, high quality, employer-led institutions delivering higher level technical education with a clear route to skilled employment. Operating at a regional or sub-regional scale, they will focus on technical skills, particularly STEM, primarily at levels 4 and 5. They build on the recent establishment of a number of sector-specific, employer-led National Colleges and as was the case with the National Colleges, their establishment will be supported by one-off capital funding from the Government. Institutes of Technology are intended to address the gap in the current TPE system at levels 4 and 5 i.e. beyond the end of secondary education but below full degree level. More broadly, however, they have the potential to be testing grounds for new and innovative approaches to: involving employers in the leadership of TPE institutions and the delivery of TPE provision; partnership working by colleges and universities; raising the status of TPE with learners, in particular by demonstrating a strong link with employers and employment opportunities; and offering new opportunities to a wide range of learners, including people from disadvantaged groups and deprived areas. 6

7 KEY CONTEXTS In addition to these reforms, there are several key contexts that will have a major influence on the environment within which TPE is delivered. These include the following. Industrial strategy. Industrial strategy had a central role in both the Conservative and Labour manifestos last year, as a key means of raising the UK s productivity and narrowing the economic gap between regions. The Government s industrial strategy, published in November, emphasised the importance of skills as a driver of productivity, and of putting technical education on the same footing as our academic system. Universities and colleges will play a key role in the development of local industrial strategies, which will be informed by new Skills Advisory Panels. The current political emphasis on industrial strategy represents an opportunity for TPE, strengthening the imperative to make a success of TPE reforms and integrating TPE more closely with economic strategy. But there will also be an increased expectation on TPE providers to demonstrate how they can contribute to industrial strategy, and to deliver career-long reskilling as well as education for young people. Devolution. Although some key aspects of TPE funding and commissioning (such as apprenticeship funding and learner loans) are not scheduled for devolution, mayoral combined authorities will nevertheless play an increasing role in shaping the TPE system, whether through commissioning of the Adult Education Budget, setting local industrial strategy, or playing a wider convening and influencing role. TPE providers will need to develop further their relationships with sub-regional and local stakeholders and support local efforts to integrate skills with employment, health and other public services. Higher education reforms Recent reforms of the regulatory framework for higher education are designed to enable new and more diverse providers to enter the market. In future, more providers are likely to be operating on the boundary between further and higher education for example, to deliver higher and degree apprenticeships. The current drive to enable students to base their higher education choices on published outcomes data may have a knock-on effect on further education, in due course. Brexit The nature and effects of Brexit will be a source of uncertainty for some time. It clearly has the potential, however, to impact on the TPE system in several ways: on the supply of both higher skills and low skilled workers; on learners from the EU; on European collaborations; and through the replacement of the European Social Fund with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Brexit can only increase the political focus on equipping workers in the UK with the right skills; this is both an opportunity and a challenge for the TPE system. Income sources Apprenticeship funding, including the levy, represents an opportunity for income growth. The Government has also announced funding, rising to an additional 500 million a year, for the delivery of T levels. This suggests that the outlook for further education funding in the medium term will be an improvement on the steep reductions of recent years. Nevertheless, the overall fiscal climate will continue to be tough, and competition between TPE providers for both public funding and commercial fee income will continue to be intense. 7

8 The impacts of these key reforms and contexts have the potential to add up to a transformation of TPE. If the reforms are successfully implemented and if learners, employers and providers respond to them, then the future landscape for TPE will look very different from the one that we have now. Some of its key features will include: A radically simplified curriculum built around apprenticeships and T-levels. The TPE system will present both learners and employers with a set of options that is far simpler and easier to explain, embedded in a single framework of technical routes. Clearer progression pathways and easier switching between academic and technical routes. One benefit of that simplification will be to make it easier for TPE providers to define progression pathways from school, through TPE, to a skilled job and lifelong learning and to work with universities to enable switching between academic and technical routes, in both directions. Both progression and switching should be supported by systems for recognising prior learning and transferring credits. More specialist, industry standard capabilities and resources within the TPE provider base. Government investment in National Colleges and Institutes of Technology needs to be part of an ongoing programme of co-investment by central and local government, employers and providers. Further integration within the TPE provider base. Integration can take several different organisational forms, from full mergers, through joint ventures, to partnerships. Using a mix of approaches, TPE providers will continue to look for opportunities to integrate vertically (across schools, FE and HE) and horizontally (across geographies), in order to unlock economies of scale, increase financial resilience, exploit synergies between organisations with different specialist capabilities, and enable progression pathways. Stronger strategic partnerships between TPE providers and others. These will include partnerships with schools, employers and providers of careers advice, focused on promoting TPE to young people; and partnerships with combined authorities and LEPs, focused on local industrial strategies and local integration of TPE with other public services. A system that is increasingly employerdriven and responsive to learners. Employers will be at the heart of curriculum design and will directly commission apprenticeship provision. Reforms to higher education that emphasise choice and outcomes for learners are likely to have an impact on the TPE system as a whole. Increasing importance of newer forms of funding. TPE providers will be increasingly reliant on apprenticeship funding, learner loans and commercial fees, and will need to learn how to maximise these income sources and package them in creative ways. THESE FEATURES ARE SUMMARISED IN THE DIAGRAM ON THE NEXT PAGE 8

9 THE TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM TPE STRUCTURE EMPLOYERS Integrated PROGRESSION PATHWAYS at all levels LIFELONG LEARNING Simplified TPE structure with two pillars - apprenticeships and T-levels APPRENTICESHIPS T-LEVELS 15 TECHNICAL ROUTES SWITCHING between academic and technical routes SHAPED BY AND INFLUENCING Increasingly involved in designing, commissioning and delivering TPE LEARNERS Focused on employment prospects, pay and progression Choosing between a wider range of providers, drawing on IAG PARTNERSHIPS TPE PROVIDERS Delivering industrial strategy Connecting with schools Delivering devolution INTEGRATED VERTICALLY across schools, FE and HE, using a range of different models INVESTING IN SPECIALIST RESOURCES i.e. industry standard equipment and staff INTEGRATING HORIZONTALLY across geographical areas INCOME SOURCES Apprenticeships are a growing slice of the pie Uncertainties include: - total funding - ESF replacement - policy change 9

10 LEADING THE TRANSFORMATION OF TPE Of course, the policy reforms discussed in this paper are only part of what needs to happen albeit a crucial part in order for the TPE system to be successfully transformed. Effective implementation matters just as much as intelligent policy design. A wide range of other policies and practices need to be aligned with the vision for the future of TPE, as part of a coherent strategy. The basic shape of the new landscape needs to be stable, with a sufficient degree of consensus across parties and at central and local levels. At the same time, the system also needs to be capable of learning and improving. With all of these conditions in place, we can start to make real progress towards the longheld ambition of parity of esteem between technical and academic education, and build a world class TPE system that is at the heart of a successful industrial strategy. There have been many previous attempts at reform, however, that have failed to have the impact that was expected. Making sure that things are different this time will require at least one other condition strong and sustained leadership, not just from central and local government but also from employers, TPE providers and other partners. Collab Group is committed to playing that leadership role, alongside others. The large colleges and college groups that make up our membership are already providing a lot of outstanding TPE, working in close partnership with major employers and developing innovative approaches to the design and delivery of curriculum. Large colleges and college groups bring a unique combination of strengths to the leadership challenge presented by the transformation of TPE, including: The capability and scale to invest in industry standard skills and facilities, while offering a range of solutions to employers. Large colleges and college groups have the capability to be multi-specialists. By developing and maintaining a number of TPE specialisms, they can: meet employers expectations for expertise and quality in specific sectors; join up the skills system for employers; and achieve the benefits both of specialisation and of size and breadth. Their role as anchor institutions within their communities. Large colleges are visible and recognised at the local and sub-regional level; have a strong historical commitment both to providing educational opportunities to local people and to providing education for the workplace; and have a strong track record of working with a diverse range of learners. CONTINUED OVER > 10

11 LEADING THE TRANSFORMATION OF TPE CONTINUED Their potential to be the key integrators of the TPE system. When many large colleges or college groups are teaching 14 year olds, delivering degree-level courses and providing commercial training services, further education is too narrow a label for what they do. The breadth of large colleges capabilities means that they are uniquely placed to join up the TPE system, working with schools, universities and other providers. They can also play a key role in integrating TPE with other local strategies and public services. Collab Group is committed to playing that leadership role, alongside others. At the same time, we recognise that as the landscape for TPE changes, TPE providers including colleges also need to change. The second paper in this series will look at how. 11

12 Contribute to the debate Collab Group looks forward to a dialogue with employers, other education providers and government, about how we can best work together to lead the successful transformation of TPE. If you want to respond to this point-of-view and contribute to the debate, you can do so by contacting Collab Group LINKEDIN.COM/COMPANY/COLLAB-GROUP INFO@COLLABGROUP.CO.UK