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MPs critical of govt's skills approach

02/08/2007

A parliamentary committee says it has uncovered "serious concerns" with the government's flagship skills scheme.

According to MPs funding for the Train to Gain initiative is "unduly restrictive", leaving a "demand-led" learning system a distant possibility.

Launched last year, the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain scheme sees skills brokers offer advice on training to businesses in England.

The government is pinning its hopes on the scheme to help its meet the Leitch review target of increasing the proportion of adults holding level two qualifications to 90 per cent by 2020.

The education and skills committee says it welcomes the government's commitment to skills, but is critical of the skills brokers employed by the Train to Gain scheme.

It describes the brokers as an "extra, unwelcome layer of bureaucracy" and emphasises that employers need support with "wider sustainability issues such as capital investment, innovation and workforce planning".

Today's report also calls into question the complexity of the government's skills approach, claiming there is still "significant work to be done" to tackle the overlap between the various agencies.

"We very much welcome the increased focus on skills, but some crucial issues need addressing if the government's high ambitions are going to be realised," commented committee chairman Barry Sheerman.

"More 'demand-led' learning is a good idea in principle, but it is not currently being translated into practice. It is vital that we get skills policy right."

Lord Triesman, minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said that the government would continue to pursue a "more market-oriented service" for employers and learners.

"The government is committed to strengthening the UK's economic position, ensuring that employers have the right skills to support the success of their business and that employees have the necessary skills to be both employable and personally fulfilled.

"There's never been a better time for people to take advantage of the many training opportunities on offer," he concluded.

Dr John Brennan, the chief executive of the Association of Colleges, commented that the committee's report reflected many of the "key college concerns about post-16 skills provision".

"It highlights the limitations of the Train to Gain scheme and current inefficiencies of the brokerage system, acknowledges the potential bureaucracy in assigning to sector skills councils responsibility for qualifications approval and recognises the need to reduce duplication and overlap in the training system.

"The call for a shift in priority to encourage more provision at level three and four is both very welcome and an economic necessity. We strongly endorse the recommendation that the innovation, universities and skills committee continues this enquiry."

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