Memorandum 5
Submission from the Royal National Institute
of Blind People (RNIB)
INTRODUCTION
About RNIB
As the leading organisation of blind and partially
sighted people in the UK, RNIB is pleased to have the opportunity
to submit evidence to the Innovation, Universities and Skills
Select Committee.
We are a membership organisation with over 10,000
members who are blind, partially sighted or the friends and family
of people with sight loss. Over 80 per cent of our Trustees and
Assembly Members are blind or partially sighted. We encourage
members to be involved in our work and regularly consult with
them on government policy and their ideas for change.
As a campaigning organisation of blind and partially
sighted people, we fight for the rights of people with sight loss
of all ages in each of the UK's countries. We work to:
— improve provision within health and
social care services;
— increase the amount and range of
accessible information;
— improve the lifelong learning opportunities
for blind and partially sighted people;
— tackle discrimination in employment
and support more blind and partially sighted people into work;
and
— ensure a secure income for blind
and partially sighted people unable to work or who have retired.
We also provide expert knowledge to business
and the public sector through consultancy on improving the accessibility
of the built environment, technology, products and services.
Our employment work
RNIB has contracts or sub-contracts for Pathways
to Work, Work Preparation, NDDP, Access to Work, various ESF co-financed
projects with Jobcentre Plus, LSC and local authorities and IAG
contracts with Connexions. In 2007-08 our employment staff provided
advice services to 2,574 people, trained 361 employers and supported
906 blind and partially sighted people to gain or retain work.
We have two training centres (RNIB College Loughborough
and the Employment and Learning Centre in Edinburgh) that support
people with sight loss, many of whom have additional disabilities.
Through this provision we support LSC funded students and also
run residential training programmes for adults, funded through
the Residential Training Unit (RTU).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
— RNIB is pleased that the Government
have adopted proposals outlined in "Unlocking talent, building
skills for all" and Lord Leitch's Review of Skills;
— RNIB welcomes statutory entitlement
to an apprenticeship;
— We believe that offering skills based
learning, practical work place experience and a recognisable qualification
is a valuable and useful choice for learners;
— Skills based learning in a working
environment is especially beneficial for blind and partially sighted
young people;
— Apprenticeships will also offer employers
a positive experience of engaging blind and partially sighted
learners;
— The Government have a duty to ensure
that the Apprenticeships scheme is accessible to blind and partially
sighted young people;
— Provision must be made to supply
essential assistive technology to allow equal access for disabled
apprentices from enactment of this bill (not 2013 as outlined
in the draft);
— The Secretary(s) of State and the
Learning & Skills Council (LSC) have a duty to provide apprenticeship
places and appropriate support. We believe that this duty and
the department's general duty for disability equality should include
the provision of assistive technologies or other appropriate support;
— RNIB also believe that the Secretary
of State has a duty to ensure accessibility of the scheme through
the mechanism to approve each apprenticeship framework;
— The provision of assistive technology
or appropriate support should be made through the Access to Work
(AtW) scheme as experienced specialists although this support
must be resourced separately not from existing AtW funding (or
increases proposed in the Welfare Reform Green Paper);
— The Department's or LSC's failure
to make the necessary provision or to make the apprenticeships
scheme accessible could be considered a breach of the general
duty to promote disability equality.
Does the Bill meet with the Government's policy
objectives to set up a system of "world class" Apprenticeships
in the most effective way in a reasonable timeframe?
1. RNIB welcomes the bill. We believe that
creating a statutory entitlement to apprenticeships is a positive
step towards reducing the skills gap and the change in compulsory
participation age makes this bill even more critical to creating
a skilled workforce. It also benefits learners by creating more
learning routes. World class apprentices are achievable if they
take advantage of all of the available talent, RNIB believes that
the potential of blind and partially sighted people are too often
overlooked.
Will the Bill lead to a renaissance in apprenticeships?
1. We recognise the benefits that vocational
learning offers both in terms of gaining skills, work experience
and broadening knowledge. These benefits have added value for
blind and partially sighted learners—already distanced from
the labour market. Through widening knowledge and developing practical
skills blind and partially sighted apprentices and their employers
will build their confidence together. Work related experiences
will also help to bridge the gap between the labour market and
blind and partially sighted apprentices.
2. RNIB would like to see a renaissance
in apprenticeships that facilitates the participation of blind
and partially sighted young people, widening their knowledge and
developing skills that give them the same opportunities for work
as their peers. We believe that if the Government takes its Disability
Equality Duty seriously and makes a commitment to implementing
the Special Educational Needs Discrimination Act (SENDA) in respect
of the Apprenticeships Scheme than a real renaissance is possible
but probable.
Is there anything missing from the draft bill?
1. The Government and its departments have
a general duty to promote disability equality in all areas of
work. Failure to make the Apprenticeship scheme accessible to
all now and after creating an entitlement to an apprenticeship
would be a breach of this duty.
2. The Secretary of State and the LSC also
have an explicit duty within Clause 21 of the draft bill to "secure
sufficient and appropriate" apprenticeship places, we believe
that should apprenticeships not be accessible they would also
breach this duty.
3. The Secretary of State and LSC also have
a further duty to provide support and assistance under clause
22(b) Section 1:
"...encouraging, enabling or assisting
the effective participation of persons in England in employment
and training provided for by apprenticeship places"
4. RNIB has a number of comments regarding
this duty. We believe that this duty should cover the provision
of support or assistive technologies to enable disabled people
to access and participate in apprenticeships in the same way as
any other learner, they should be given the same information and
opportunities to take up an apprenticeship if they wish and apprenticeship
frameworks should be developed that are accessible in terms of
content, training, teaching, evaluation and examination.
5. RNIB are concerned that the above duty
is not due to be enacted until 2013 although entitlement is due
to be enacted immediately thus placing barriers to inclusion and
participation in front of potentially thousands of disabled young
people. In addition, we are seeking reassurance that resources
will be made available to facilitate disabled learners. The department
does not envisage costs to go beyond those already accounted for
in departmental budgets—this does not bode well for disabled
people.
6. To discharge the duty in Clause 22 (b)
S1 RNIB believes additional resources must be allocated to provide
necessary support for disabled apprentices. The Access to Work
(AtW) scheme is the best vehicle for the assessment and delivery
of appropriate support however,current AtW budgets nor any future
increases (as outlined in the Welfare Reform Green Paper) should
be used to fund this support to the detriment of other working
disabled people. We believe the department and the LSC should
resource this separately as part of their duties.
September 2008
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