Education Secretary Gavin Williamson promised to improve the nations Further Education offering and vowed to scrap the target of 50% of young people attending university.
More focus should be on further education in the coming years as the country looks to recover with the Education Secretary suggesting many graduates finish university without the skills to get a job.
The focused has shifted in the past number of years from companies wanting academic qualities in their workers to a more vocational approach to skilled employment.
Commenting on the Education Secretary’s plan to reform Further Education at a speech at the Social Market Foundation today (9 July), BCC Head of People Policy Jane Gratton said:
“A renewed focus on further education is welcome. Employers are crying out for more people with technical skills at all levels in the workplace to boost productivity and seize the opportunities of a more digital and automated workplace.
“Whether taking a vocational, technical or academic route to employment, it is vital that young people, who have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic, get high quality provision leading to fulfilling careers.
“Alongside formal qualifications, the system must have the flexibility to deliver bitesize learning to ensure all adults can refresh and update their skills as the workplace evolves.”
The government are looking at young people and seeing the need for them to transition into work as quickly as possible, this promise of a Further Education reform adds to the Chancellors measures announced in his summer statement where a focus was put on creating jobs for young people, it is now the governments task to ensure that there are enough skilled young workers to fill these jobs in order to revitalise the economy in the years to come.