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Further Education and Training Bill [Lords]

It is entirely true that what we in the trade call small, bite-sized chunks of learning can play a valuable part in building adult returnees’ confidence and capacity so that they can move on to the more formal accredited learning opportunities that FE offers. I understand that the Government’s direction has always been that colleges and other training providers should be encouraged to make such bite-sized chunks of education available as part of a package of progression for individuals from the moment they walk through the door of a learning centre so that they can go on to FE and then formal learning courses. FE at its best brings out the best. It brings out the full potential of young people and adults, whatever that potential might be. For example, the expectation and culture of maturity associated with FE, through which young people are expected to take responsibility for their behaviour and learning, brings on a 16-year-old who has just left school as an individual more than anything else. There is no patronising in further education, or any sense of drilling things into people. Those in further education are independent learners. Many young people find independent learning valuable and are natural independent learners who are capable of finding their way through the material and concepts on offer. We underestimate the extent to which young people learn in a variety of ways. The best can be brought out of young people by further education, rather than school, because it offers an alternative culture and a different approach to delivering education and learning. It thus creates incentives and motivates people. I hope that I can entertain the Chamber with another anecdote about my A-level days at night school. In my third year, when I was studying for the Bernard Crick A-level in government and politics, we suffered a serious misfortune in that our lecturer was suspended from his post two or three months before our exams. I will not go into the details of the suspension, but we thought that the reasons were pretty paltry. Everyone in the night class got together to visit local dignitaries and politicians and to make a fuss. We secured an offer from a local barrister—I pay tribute to him; he was a Liberal Democrat candidate in the local elections—to the effect that we could set up a Saturday school in the premises of his bridge club so that we could continue our studies with our tutor, in addition to attending the classes at the college. The students on my course were ready to give such a commitment to their learning. They gave up their Saturday mornings to turn up at the local bridge club and set out their materials on a series of card tables so that they could make the most of the opportunities that were provided for them. We did that all the way through to June and even took a week’s annual leave so that we could have a study school so we could catch up following the disruption that we had suffered. The group’s results were absolutely stupendous. I think that an overwhelming number of us got grade As and secured our places at university because of the commitment that we gave to our education and course. To this day, I remain proud of what we did. We took control of our destiny and learning and ensured that we got what we needed. Again, that is something that further education often cultivates. All that makes further education especially fit to meet the skills challenge, about which we have heard a great deal in this debate. FE develops the rounded and mature individuals for whom employees are looking. The stats have already been cited, but I will point them out again. We all know that Leitch has said that by 2020 we will need 40 per cent. of adults to be qualified at level 4 and above. However, it has not been mentioned that we will need 95 per cent. of adults to achieve the basic skills of functional literacy and numeracy, and that more than 90 per cent. of adults will need to be qualified at level 2, at least. I congratulate the Government on making it clear that FE provision up to level 2 will be free of charge. That represents a significant contribution towards making sure that we deliver the skilled workers this country requires and the skills we need to compete in a global economy. Although this is often said, it is worth repeating: our country can survive in the global economy and make the most of the opportunities created by the opening up of markets in China and India only if it meets the skills challenge. The only way to do that will be to work at the high-value end of the employment, job-creation and manufacturing markets. In my city and constituency, Corus is dedicated to the high-value end of the steel castings market. Corus is now under the ownership of Tata, so I suppose that I should call it that, but old habits die hard. The company has told me that it does not think it could consider moving the Stocksbridge plant, which is in my constituency, abroad because the skills that are needed to produce such sophisticated engineering products are available only in such cities as Sheffield. We have to ensure that things stay that way and that further education, higher education and our schools are geared up to continue to deliver such very skilled workers for good, well-paid jobs that are highly satisfactory and rewarding. Rollem Patent Products, which is in Ecclesfield, is less well known than Corus. It is dedicated to the production of bespoke engineering products, which are special solutions requested by the customers it attracts. The firm exports all the way across the world, to China and south America. Most of Ronseal’s products are manufactured in my constituency, and they really do what it says on the tin. It is a chemical engineering company that makes an incredible contribution to the wealth of my constituency, which is higher than average for Britain as a whole. The managing director of Ronseal has told me that the quality of the local provision in our schools and further education college is critical to the future success of the company. We must meet that challenge. In Sheffield we also have the teaching hospitals and the medical expertise not just of the doctors and nurses, but of the technicians and researchers. We have growing expertise in sports and leisure, and Sheffield is the world climbing and mountaineering centre. We have an engineering company called Gripple which manufacturers the equipment used by our mountaineers. That is a neat example of engineering and sport coming together. For a city like Sheffield, the challenge is to ensure that Gripple, the sports and leisure facilities, the teaching hospitals and the universities continue to get the excellent, highly skilled staff that they need, and the Bill will contribute towards that. It is the natural vehicle to deliver the skilled workers we need. As we have heard, there are 4 million students in further education colleges, the vast majority of whom are adults studying part-time. That point is often overlooked. There are more 16 to 18-year-olds in colleges than in school sixth forms. Colleges deliver more than 800,000 vocational qualifications every year and provide 44 per cent. of entrants to higher education. They deliver 11 per cent. of higher education provision. They are already proven deliverers of higher education opportunities. Nearly 300,000 college students are over 60. That is a tribute to the capacity of human beings to study at every stage of life. The importance of further education is illustrated by those facts. FE has taken on the lion’s share of post-16 education delivery, and long may that continue. I welcome the proposals in the Bill to restructure the Learning and Skills Council, particularly the requirement that the new learning and skills councils consult more closely with employers. They should also consult more with schools, parents and young people. We need a more co-ordinated strategic approach to what is delivered in further education if FE is to move from its excellent base to meet the challenges that the Bill requires of it. I would welcome the Minister’s comments on how local learning and skills councils are responding to the needs of employers. We feel the need to move forward, but how far? In my view, based on the experience of Sheffield, we need to move some way. We have had serious engagement with employers in Sheffield, but I still do not think that we have forged the important links with employers that will change FE and make it more responsive to their needs. However, we will at some stage have to say to employers ““Put up or shut up””, because they too must engage seriously with the system and demonstrate their commitment, not necessarily always in terms of resource but in terms of expertise to ensure that FE is able to deliver what employers say they need.