Skip to main content

Proceeding contribution from Bill Rammell (Labour) in the House of Commons on Thursday, 2 February 2006. It occurred during Adjournment debate on Further and Higher Education (Employer Engagement).


Further and Higher Education (Employer Engagement)

: I am not going to quote those figures off the top of my head. Once the figures for the number of people who are in work are built in, we are close to squaring the circle. If the hon. Gentleman wants to write to me about that, I will respond and seek to give him full clarification. On the hon. Gentleman's final couple of points on Foster and whether we should seek greater specialisation, there is strong merit in what Andrew Foster has said on that issue. A historical critique of further education colleges can be made. It is a bit like the flip side of my response to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham. FE has been very good at picking up every ball thrown at it, but that sometimes means that it is a complex organisation. Crucially, it is not immediately there in terms of community understanding and empathy for its role, because it is too complex. We are considering that issue in our response to Foster and we will urge greater specialisation. We are already moving down that road, for example, through the national skills academies. We have four of those in prospect, funded with the private sector. That is a positive move. My one word of caution—I am making it clear that there is a case for greater specialisation—is that we should bear in mind the limits. More A-levels are being taught in general further education colleges than in school sixth forms. We cannot suddenly say that we will have exclusively vocational education. It is about having a balance, but I take the point on specialisation.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
442 c178WH 
Session
2005-06
Chamber / Committee
Westminster Hall
Subjects
Employment Further education Higher education Training Skilled workers STEM subjects
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk