Employment and skills providers give guarded welcome to CSR announcements
Training providers have given a cautious welcome to many of the employment and skills measures in today’s spending review announcements.
Graham Hoyle OBE, chief executive of the Association of Learning Providers, said:
Skills and Apprenticeships
“We welcome the government’s confirmed commitment to apprenticeships as the flagship skills programme that can make the most difference to helping businesses leading us out of recession.
“The end of Train to Gain was not unexpected, but it is important that ministers recognise that some continued investment in other work based adult skills training is necessary to help sustain the recovery.
“Independent providers can deliver much more for less but this requires the government to open up the further education market entirely in the same way that it is for the rest of the education system.
Young people
“The abolition of the educational maintenance allowance will be a cruel blow to the thousands of disadvantaged young people that our members help every year to find employment via training unless the promised replacement of targeted support is applied to them. Ministers must recognise that many of these young people come from broken homes with no access to financial support other than what the state provides. We urge them to think carefully on this issue if they are serious about their recent pronouncements on the importance of vocational learning and social inclusion.
“We are working closely with ministers to develop a coherent package of pre-apprenticeship provision which could transform the career prospects of many young people and today’s announcements recognise that we have a big challenge on our hands that we need to address urgently.
Welfare to work
“ALP is pleased that private and third sector providers have been earmarked to play a major role in helping people back to work. It is important though that ministers recognise the importance of skills training in enabling individuals to hold on to new jobs and progress within them.”
ENDS
Contact Aidan Relf on 07710 305182
Notes to editors
1. About the Association of Learning Providers
The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) is the leading trade association for vocational learning and employment providers in Britain. The majority of its 508 members are independent private, not-for-profit and voluntary sector training organisations. Membership is open to any provider committed to quality vocational learning and it includes over 50 FE colleges involved in work based learning. ALP members train a significant majority of the apprentices in England and are the major deliverers of New Deal and Train to Gain contracts on behalf of government. More information is available at: www.learningproviders.org.uk.
