In the immediate aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is easy to forget that there were wider revolutionary forces at work on the UK's economy before the virus outbreak.
With issues such as Brexit, the rise of automation in the workplace, longer working lives, and poor UK productivity brought into even sharper focus, education and skills organisations, NCFE and Campaign for Learning (CfL), have jointly commissioned a new discussion paper which explores the actions Government needs to take to enable the skills and employment sector to respond to economic recession and mass unemployment and promote economic and social renewal.
Drawing on expertise from across the worlds of education, business and economics and mental health, the paper, titled Revolutionary Forces’, urges Government to ensure that the plans outlined in its forthcoming post-16 white paper are sufficiently flexible to meet the immense changes facing the UK economy.
Promising to provide a vision’ for the further education sector and hailed by Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson as revolutionary’; the white paper has been hotly anticipated by the FE sector since it was first announced back in April. Four months on however, the scope of the paper is still unknown.
Anticipating a comprehensive review, which will cover all aspects of post-16 education, including further and higher education, apprenticeships and adult and community learning, the authors of Revolutionary Forces address some of the key challenges facing the nation throughout the 2020s. It is vital that the Department for Education takes these issues into consideration when writing their recommendations.
Commenting on the paper’s findings, David Gallagher, Chief Executive at NCFE, said: “While the government rightly prioritised short term fixes to support the economy through the height of the Coronavirus outbreak, now is the time where we need to start looking forward at what needs to be done to restabilise the economy, taking all factors into account.
“The challenge facing the government is twofold. With the imminent threat of job losses, mass unemployment and huge shifts in how the UK does business in light of both Covid-19 and our impending withdrawal from the European Union, the government needs to act fast to enable the education and skills sector to respond to meet the needs of employers, adults and young people in the 2020s. At the same time, in order for the sector to play an active role in the longer term economic recovery effort, assurances must be made to improve the post-16 education and skills system.
“Our new discussion paper in partnership with the Campaign for Learning draws on expertise from across the sector to explore the policies that we hope to see introduced as part of the post-16 white paper which will provide the flexibility required to ensure learner success against a backdrop of uncertainty.”
Julia Wright, National Director at Campaign for Learning, added: “There are dramatic and profound forces affecting our economy and society. Some are long-term, others like Covid-19 rapid. Together, they present a situation that requires radical thinking and swift action.
“As our experts show, post-16 education and skills has an integral role to play in the country’s economic recovery. Training and retraining will help people navigate employment so they stay in work and improve their prospects. Educational opportunities will help people get on, particularly full-time education for young people who are likely to have fewer options in the jobs market and be at risk of long-term unemployment. We hope the issues raised by our authors inform the discussion and thinking for the post-16 white paper.”
Revolutionary Forces is the latest in a series of discussion papers published jointly by Newcastleheadquartered, NCFE, and Campaign for Learning. The registered charities, both of which operate under the NCFE Group umbrella following the acquisition of CfL earlier this year, are committed to their joint purpose to promote and advance learning to increase social mobility and help learners of all ages to achieve their life and career goals.
Reacting to the paper, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, Gillian Keegan MP, commented: “We welcome the findings of “Revolutionary Forces” as we develop these important reforms. We are absolutely committed to levelling up opportunity across the country, and will continue to do all we can to make sure no-one is left behind as a result of coronavirus.
“Further Education will play a vital role in delivering the high-quality skills employers need and that will support our economic recovery. We will announce more detail in the White Paper this autumn.”
