education Archives - WA Communications

From crisis to opportunity – the Education inheritance for a Labour government

As the Labour Party gathers in Liverpool next week, flush from a big by-election win and sitting on a healthy 20-point lead in the polls, attention will turn to what Labour will say about how it is going to govern.

For any incoming government, a major priority area will always be the education system. Education and Skills is central to Keir Starmer’s five missions and is one of the most prominent parts of the National Policy Forum report that will set the framework for the Labour manifesto.

The reality is though, that from early years through to university and beyond, the sector is facing systemic challenges. Whether it is the difficulties in the recruitment and retention of teachers; the failings of the apprenticeship system; the rising funding pressure pushing some universities to the brink of failure; the spike in pupil referrals; or school buildings crumbling. There are crises to be dealt with everywhere.

To discuss the legacy that Labour will be left with and what they can do to ensure that the education system is fit for purpose, I was delighted to welcome senior representatives from an array of organisations across the education sector to a roundtable discussion on what an incoming Labour government could do to break down the barriers of opportunity.

While the demands and challenges from each part of the sector are considerable, some of the key things to watch out for that came from that informative discussion are as follows:

Crisis managing schools. The first order of business is to address the personnel and workload difficulties facing schools. It is therefore entirely understandable why Labour has decided to stand by their pledge on business taxes and VAT on private schools to fund more teachers and mental health support in schools. Solving the immediate crisis in schools must be their top priority.

Incremental change not revolution. The education sector always seems to be in a permanent state of revolution, with new Quangos, systems, frameworks and products imposed on the sector. In many ways the sector does not currently have the capacity to manage a major curriculum or structural upheaval. You only have to look at the exasperated response from the education sector to Rishi Sunak’s announcement on replacing A Levels to understand the wariness of continual upheaval. A new Labour government could be bold just by saying what it isn’t going to do, pulling back from its interventionist instincts, allowing the sector experts the room to problem solve, and adopting an incremental approach to change so as not to heap further pressure on a sector already struggling to cope.

Rekindling a love of learning. Having said the above, there is a need to address the fact that Britian seems to have fallen out of love with learning. Whether there is a need to focus less on drilling Maths and English and more on socialisation skills in early years education; bringing more creativity and diversity back to the school curriculum; using technology to reconnect people to learning in more convenient ways; or investing in lifelong learning for those embarking on a second or third career; the challenge for a future Government will be reengaging and restoring faith in an education system that delivers for the British public at all stages of their life.

Addressing the skills challenge. Falling productivity, under attainment at levels 3 & 4, poor use of the apprenticeship levy, and the challenge of ensuring people have the training and skills to do the jobs needed in our rapidly decarbonising and AI-enabled economy, will all be in the in-tray of the new Skills Minister. The question for Labour will be where and how they want to address it. Either further devolution of skills funding and power to cities and/ or taking skills out of the DfE and closely attaching them to either the departments for Business or Work could reposition skills at the heart of the economy.

Recognising cultural shifts. The last Labour government boldly committed to a target of 50% of young people going to university, recognising the importance of this to driving social mobility. As they look to return to government, they see a system whereby young people and their parents are questioning the potentially poor return on investment against the high levels of debt attached to a university education, and where the mental health crisis facing young people is encouraging families to reconsider what is valued: educational outcomes or health and wellbeing. While there is no suggestion that Labour will retreat from its long-term goal of 50% of young people in higher education, it is clear there needs to be other pathways for young people in schools, and pathways with as much opportunity and prestige as that offered by a university education.

The last time a Labour government was elected, its central mantra was ‘Education, Education, Education’, and the Blair and Brown years saw the Labour government take bold decisions and heavily invest in education at all levels, trying to make good on this mantra.

Starmer’s Labour will not be in as fortunate a position this time and will need to make choices on where they can spend limited money and think creatively about how to use the resources they do have in a different way.

For those organisations businesses and institutions looking to ensure that their particular part of the sector gets the attention and resource it needs, then you need to be able to make a strong coherent case, showing how you can make effective uses of resources and deliver opportunities for all.

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In Conversation with Toby Perkins MP – Unlocking opportunities to ‘earn while you learn’

Last week, WA Communications hosted a roundtable with Toby Perkins MP, Shadow Minister for Further Education and Skills, to discuss Labour’s approach to skills and lifelong learning, with a particular focus on the party’s views on degree apprenticeships. Bringing together key players within the HE, apprenticeships, and skills sectors, the discussion highlighted the potential of degree apprenticeships for learners, industry, and the economy.

Perkins shed light on Labour’s current thinking around the skills agenda, confirming the party’s support for degree apprenticeships, advocating for FE and HE to “work hand in hand”, and calling for more investment in skills. However, he also stressed that spending the current levy funding should be the priority.

At the event, WA Associate Director, Lorna Jane Russell previewed WA’s latest education research report on degree apprenticeships, presenting the findings from original consumer polling and setting out the challenges – and potential solutions – to expanding these qualifications throughout the UK. We will launch these publicly next week.

Key Insights from the Roundtable:

1. Degree apprenticeships have the potential to be a valuable opportunity for policy in lifelong learning, especially in the context of increasing education costs and the skills shortage. However, they are still not widely available, and there is a lack of awareness about them among the public. There is also a perception gap about the prestige of degree apprenticeships, which may deter potential applicants.

2. To increase access and participation in degree apprenticeships, there is a need for new models that can widen participation and increase access to industry placements, especially for disadvantaged students who are currently underrepresented within the sector. This should be coupled with initiatives to support young learners in making the transition from school into work, including greater support throughout the qualification.

3. The government has adopted an employer-led approach to degree apprenticeships, which means less investment and fewer opportunities for students. This approach may also limit the development of new models that prioritise access and participation, rather than just meeting the needs of employers.

4. Universities and skills providers alike want to see more flexibility and fewer regulatory burdens in order to widen their degree apprenticeship offerings. Employer investment in skills is also down, and the apprenticeship levy needs reforming to be more flexible and help SMEs attract apprentices.

5. Finally, there is also a need for investment in upskilling the existing workforce to deliver future jobs in decarbonisation and technology. Degree apprenticeships could play a role in this upskilling effort by providing a pathway for workers to gain new skills while also earning a degree and gaining work experience.

So, what’s the upshot for the skills sector?

The cross-party consensus about the need to invest in skills training and degree apprenticeships favours skills providers, though universities that work with employers to offer degree apprenticeship qualifications will benefit.

Labour’s promise of flexibility in their approach to the apprenticeship levy presents significant opportunities for skills providers to expand their degree apprenticeship offerings, and for universities to access a new funding stream.

However, higher education could lose out to FE and apprenticeship providers in post-18 education reforms, so they will need to demonstrate how they can work alongside skills providers and local FE colleges to play a critical role in delivering on the reskilling agenda.

While for policymakers, degree apprenticeships have the potential to be a valuable opportunity for lifelong learning and addressing the skills shortage, more needs to be done to increase access and participation, support new models, and revise funding and regulatory frameworks to support students to ‘earn while they learn’.

If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about WA’s education team, please contact Lorna Jane Russell, WA Communications, at lornarussell@wacomms.co.uk.

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How should the Government best plug the skills gap?

At the start of National Apprenticeship Week, WA Associate Director Lorna Jane Russell explores whether degree apprenticeships are the solution to tackling the skills gap

One of the most significant challenges facing the country today is the need to build our future economy and ensure that our workers have the right skills required to support the jobs of the future.

However, at present the outlook looks uncertain; the UK has a serious skills gap. Put simply, this means there is a mismatch between the skills needed to do a particular job and the skills that are available in the workforce.

A skills revolution is required to address this.

In recent years there has been a heightened awareness of the need for graduates to have a diverse range of skills – something that is recognised by policymakers and employers alike.

Indeed, investment in skills and apprenticeships has become a clear Government priority. Skills Minister Robert Halfon has long championed apprenticeships and believes that investment in skills is the best route for the Government to take to create economic growth and productivity, while Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is a former apprentice herself and is committed to boosting the lifelong learning agenda.

As the Government looks to rebalance the funding and focus of post-18 education, publishing the long-awaited Higher Education Bill and taking forward the recommendations from the Augar Review, we expect it to prioritise and expand funding and support for apprenticeships.

Within this context, we hope to see a significant boost for degree apprenticeships as we believe that these could make a real difference to plugging the skills gap and meeting the future needs of both learners and employers.

Significantly:

Learners earn a salary, gain professional work experience, and finish their course with a degree qualification – all without paying tuition fees.
Employers develop the courses alongside universities and professional bodies, ensuring that learners have the right skills in place to contribute effectively to the workplace and the economy at large.

Since they were launched in 2015-16, degree apprenticeships have risen in considerable popularity, while traditional university student numbers are starting to fall. Yet, despite growing interest in these types of degrees, there is clear potential to expand them further across the UK.

This National Apprenticeship Week, and ahead of the introduction of the Higher Education Bill, we hope to see the Government set out a roadmap for the expansion of degree apprenticeships – both by investing more resources in them and by working more closely with employers and post-18 education and skills providers to provide more placements and courses.

At WA, we’ll be watching for announcements closely, making sure we are one step ahead of the next developments on the horizon and supporting universities, skills providers, and large employers alike to make the most of the opportunity to expand their own offerings.

Watch this space as we launch our own research next month to take a much deeper dive to explore the potential of these qualifications to transform the country’s skills base. If this sounds of interest, we’d love to chat.

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A lifelong commitment? What to expect from the Lifetime Skills Guarantee

Skills are a key part of the government’s agenda, seen as vital for unlocking its ‘Levelling Up’ commitments in the light of skills shortages in areas like engineering, IT, and accounting. These shortages are long-standing. A 2018 study by the Open University found that skills shortages were costing UK companies £6.3 billion a year due to factors such as training and additional recruitment costs.

The government has acknowledged these shortages, and the need to ensure the education and training system is able to cope with the ever-increasing demands placed on it. In a foreword to the January 2021 White Paper on skills, the then Education Secretary Gavin Williamson indicated that more opportunities for training needed to be made available. As part of its response, the government has introduced a new policy – the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. It hopes that this initiative will address changing skills needs and employment patterns by giving people the opportunity to train and retrain throughout their lives.

What is it?

The Prime Minister announced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee in a September 2020 speech. The scheme covers a lot of ground policy ground. Pledges include increasing investment in FE colleges, introducing a lifelong loan entitlement, and a new funding system for higher technical courses. Only two policies, however, are being funded by the National Skills Fund: a new Level 3 qualification offer for adults and the extension of digital skills bootcamps.

The qualification offer, which commenced in April 2021, aims to give all adults without a Level 3 qualification (equivalent to A level) access to a fully-funded course. Previously, only adults under the age of 24 could access funding. The courses are taught by a range of state and private providers.

The government maintains a list of eligible courses, with 379 currently listed, and has made digital, engineering, health, and construction qualifications a clear priority with 37, 51, 54, and 66 courses available respectively. Whilst course lists are subject to review, investors in training providers that deliver these courses are likely to be particular beneficiaries of the scheme.

A high priority, and a long-term solution for a long-term problem

The Lifetime Skills Guarantee tackles big challenges, and the government has devoted significant effort to implementing it. The Guarantee was referenced multiple times in last month’s Budget, which also included a wider commitment to increase spending on skills by £3.8 billion by 2024/25 – a cash increase of 42% compared to 2019/20. These are not small pledges. The government has expended serious political capital on addressing the problem of skills shortages and, given this emphasis, is likely to release further funds in future years to support the scheme.

Announcing the Guarantee, the Prime Minister also made clear that the initiative is intended as a long-term scheme, rather than a short-term remedy to fill immediate skills gaps – that the nature of learning demands time and resources. He suggested that other countries have had an advantage over the UK when it comes to skills and technical education “for 100 years”. Indeed, the government’s Skills and Post-16 Education Bill confirmed that the planned rollout of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, another major Guarantee commitment and one that aims to make it just as easy to secure loans for higher technical qualifications as for full-time degrees, remains over three years away in 2025.

Considering the CBI’s October 2020 analysis that predicted around 90% of employees would need to reskill by 2030, if the government is serious about this issue– and all indications suggest it is – then funding for initiatives like the Level 3 offer is likely to be enduring. The fact that only £375 million from the £2.5 billion National Skills Fund has been allocated for 2021/22 reinforces this. There are an estimated 11 million people who would be able to access the free qualifications under the Level 3 offer. Given the political weight the government has placed on these Level 3 offers – literally labelling them a ‘Lifetime Guarantee’ – the £95 million that is currently funding courses over 2021/22 is very likely to represent a prelude to further funding in the future.

The outlook for investors

The Lifetime Skills Guarantee is a key piece of the government’s education agenda. Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have been personally involved in its roll-out and have alluded to long-term planning happening in this space. This suggests that scheme will benefit from ongoing investment, particularly in sectors which government has identified as priorities. Technicians, engineers and social care professionals are consistently namechecked by ministers as occupations that the country lacks, and current course lists reflect this. Providers with speciality in these areas look set to benefit from the increased demand that funding from the scheme is likely to stimulate. As a result, investors in the technical education sector will want to monitor the government’s developing thinking closely in order to identify potential opportunities from future funding allocations for the scheme.

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Webinar – In conversation with the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP

On Tuesday 18h November 2020, WA Communications Director, Lisa Townsend, sat down with the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP to discuss her Early Years Healthy Development Review, the first phase of which will report to the government in January.

The first 1,000 days of children’s lives are critical for their development, and hugely impact their physical health, mental health and opportunity throughout their lives. The potential for the ‘levelling up’ agenda to support the early years is vast, and something we know is on the government’s agenda.

The webinar covered a huge range of issues, providing insight on subjects such as:

An overview of the Early Years Healthy Development Review, and recap on the findings from her 2018-19 inter-ministerial group on early years
How to address the early years ‘postcode lottery’
The importance of infant mental health
Lessons learnt from Covid-19
How investment in early years can support the government’s ambitious ‘levelling up’ agenda

Watch a recording of the webinar:

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Webinar: In conversation with David Willetts

In light of the government’s recent announcement that it is scrapping the 50% university target, WA was delighted to speak to the Rt Hon Lord David Willetts on the future outlook for the higher education sector as part of our ‘In Conversation’ series on Tuesday 28th July 2020.

Lord Willetts is a former Minister of State for Universities and Science, and in 2017 he published ‘A University Education’, which offers a powerful account of the value of higher education and the case for more expansion.

The future for the higher education sector in the UK looks stark. The sector faces huge challenges over funding and the long-term financial sustainability of higher education institutions, but they also face political pressures on a range of other issues too, from grade inflation to Vice Chancellor pay. Compounding this are the challenges the sector now faces from Covid-19.

Given this, the discussion explored:

• Funding challenges, including the Augar Review, Brexit and pressures from Covid-19
• Grade inflation and the quality of degree courses
• Free speech on campuses
• Vice Chancellor pay
• How higher education institutions must adapt their teaching after Covid-19
• Conversely, the role that research and science can play in Covid-19 recovery

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Webinar: Priorities for mental health policy: the consequences of COVID-19

Clinical experts are talking of a ‘tsunami’ of mental ill health as the UK looks to recover from COVID-19; the challenge faced is not only stark for people who were living with mental ill health before the pandemic and who have struggled to access care, services and treatment, but for up to half a million additional people in the UK who are now estimated to have a mental illness.

The interplay between other health conditions and mental health is also more prominent than ever before.

All parts of society will have a role in helping to address this mental health challenge and health leaders and politicians will need to consider how health policy will need to adjust to deliver this.

To explore these issues, WA hosted a roundtable with an expert panel including:

Caroline Gordon – Director and Head of Health at WA Communications
Dean Russell MP – Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health
Will Higham – Associate Director for Programme Innovation at Rethink Mental Illness
Kathryn Scott – Director of Policy at the British Psychological Society

Amongst other topics, the roundtable meeting discussed:

Immediate and longer-term priorities for mental health care
Supporting mental health in patients with other existing health conditions
How COVID-19 has impacted on the Long Term Plan ambitions for mental health
Looking to the future – how does policy need to change to cope with the catch-up and future waves

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Webinar: What does the future for apprenticeships, skills and FE look like?

WA Communications were delighted to host this panel discussion on what the future looks like for skills and training and how a strong approach to upskilling will need to underpin the government’s plans for recovery from Covid-19.

The Chancellor’s announcements in the Summer Statement and the recent speech from the Education Secretary show that skills is on the government’s agenda – but what is needed to truly support the sector and ensure both young people and working-age adults are given the opportunities to train to meet the skills gaps businesses need to be filled?

We were delighted to be joined by a panel including:

Toby Perkins MP, Shadow Apprenticeships and Lifelong Learning Minister, was on the panel to set out Labour’s position on how skills and training should feed into the economic recovery programme, as well as the party’s wider position on the longer term outlook for apprenticeships and skills.
Tom Bewick, CEO of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, who offered a sector perspective on the impact of the pandemic, reflect on the Chancellor’s and Education Secretary’s announcements and give his take on what is still needed from the government to support longer term skills development.
Patrick Craven, the Director of Strategic Partnerships, Policy and Stakeholder Engagement at City & Guilds UK, who provided a perspective from the global leader in skills development & apprenticeship schemes.

If you missed the webinar live, you can watch a recording of the event by filling in the form below:

Watch a recording of the webinar:

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2020 vision: What challenges lie ahead for higher education over the next year?

Higher education did not feature heavily in the 2019 general election campaign, with political attention inevitably focused on Brexit and the NHS.

The election result, however, will have significant implications for the higher education sector over the next year and beyond.

As ever, concerns over funding and the long-term financial sustainability of higher education institutions will dominate discussions within the sector. But beyond funding, higher education faces political pressures on a range of issues from grade inflation to Vice-Chancellor pay.

Below is a snapshot of the five biggest challenges facing the higher education sector in 2020:

Funding and fees

The Augar Review of post-18 education and funding, published in May 2019, recommended the government reduce tuition fees to £7,500 per year, with the government replacing any lost funding through increased grants to universities. The Conservatives’ general election victory means it is unlikely the government will cut tuition fees but there is some scope for funding shifts to support subjects deemed to be of most economic value.

Funding changes will emerge from the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) which determines the allocation of quality-related (QR) funding for research and will realign the funding settlements for research institutions.

Demonstrating the impact of research is worth 25 per cent of the 2021 REF, an increase from 20 per cent in the last iteration in 2014, and institutions will have to carefully consider how best to demonstrate the social and economic impact of their research beyond academia.

This will involve higher education institutions needing to prove their research has had a positive impact on the economy, government policy, public services, the environment or society, taking into account the priorities of the REF panel.

Brexit

Despite Boris Johnson running on the promise that he would ‘get Brexit done’, the implications of Brexit still loom large for higher education.

Indications suggest the government will charge EU students full international fees for the academic year following 2021/22, which could impact on demand and create financial pressure on institutions that recruit heavily from the EU.

There also remains the question of the extent to which the government will replace the lost income of universities from EU research funding beyond the end of the transition period.

Grade inflation

The past year has seen increased media and political attention paid to the number of Firsts and 2:1s awarded to students by UK universities, prompting fears grade inflation is undermining the value of British university degrees.

In response, the UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment launched a new framework for the classification of degrees as part of a new voluntary code towards the end of 2019.

The extent to which the new code of practice is able to halt the number of top degree awards will determine whether the government seeks to introduce further regulatory oversight of the classification of degrees. How the government decides to deal with grade inflation will indicate the extent to which it is comfortable with the marketisation of the higher education sector.

As a potential consequence of institutions needing to attract students, the government may be forced to correct market incentives through increased regulation.

Free speech

Gavin Williamson has publicly stated universities must take steps to ensure free speech on campus or the government will legislate to protect freedom of expression. Writing in The Times last week, the Education Secretary warned higher education institutions that intimidation of academics by students and other protesters is unacceptable and they must do more to protect the safety of academics and their right to free speech. Williamson has pledged to change the legal framework to strengthen free speech rights if universities do not take sufficient action.

The intervention by the Education Secretary will be a challenge for universities as they try to balance the right of students to protest against the need for academic freedom and expression. The government’s demand for free expression on campus will be particularly tested when it comes to topics like transgender rights and the politics of the far-right.

Vice-Chancellor pay

Media and political scrutiny of Vice-Chancellor remuneration has continued into 2020, following recent analysis that nearly half of Russell Group universities have increased Vice-Chancellor pay over the past year. A lot of the pay increases awarded to university bosses have been above inflation, with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool receiving a 12.8 per cent increase, increasing her annual pay to £410,000.

Some universities, such as the University of Southampton, have cut pay when appointing new Vice-Chancellors, and the Russell Group has stated pay awards are down by nearly two per cent across the group.

Faced with hostility from unions and students, higher education institutions will need to work hard to justify their pay awards to Vice-Chancellors to avoid further straining their relationships with ordinary staff and students.

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Posts Tagged ‘education’

From crisis to opportunity – the Education inheritance for a Labour government

In Conversation with Toby Perkins MP – Unlocking opportunities to ‘earn while you learn’

How should the Government best plug the skills gap?

A lifelong commitment? What to expect from the Lifetime Skills Guarantee

What is it?

A high priority, and a long-term solution for a long-term problem

The outlook for investors

Webinar – In conversation with the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP

Webinar: In conversation with David Willetts

Webinar: Priorities for mental health policy: the consequences of COVID-19

Webinar: What does the future for apprenticeships, skills and FE look like?

2020 vision: What challenges lie ahead for higher education over the next year?

Funding and fees

Brexit

Grade inflation

Free speech

Vice-Chancellor pay

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