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Lord Leitch published his review of skills two years ago, in December 2006. It set out ambitious targets for 'upskilling' the UK population which the Government adopted enthusiastically. But since then the economic climate has worsened, and our evidence was taken at a time when the thrust of skills policy was already under review.
Some of the evidence we took questioned the fundamental philosophy of Lord Leitch's prescriptions, particularly at a time when people are moving between different types of employment, not just looking to increase their overall skills levels. Reskilling, rather than upskilling, is increasingly becoming the norm and it is our view that targets and the Government's allocation of resources must change to reflect that.
We heard pleas from practitioners for simplification. Colourful phrases were used about how training and skills provision looks to those who come into contact with it: "a pig's ear or a dog's breakfast", "a very complex duplicating mess", "almost incomprehensible", "astonishing complexity and perpetual change." One witness told us that "I do not think there is an employer in the land who understands what the elements of the new system are, particularly pre-19".
At regional level there is particular confusion and this may get worse with the abolition of the Learning and Skills Council and the creation of a new Skills Funding Agency for post-19 training. The Government must work speedily to create clarity on the roles of the many different organisations in the new funding landscape. In addition, it needs to cast a critical eye on the performance of the different RDAs, which is best described as patchy. We look forward to the review by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills of Sector Skills Councils, and we hope this will streamline the system from the sectoral perspective.
Taking the national, regional and sectoral complexities together it seems to us that much of this system is impenetrable to everyone apart from possibly a few civil servants and a handful of academics. The diagrams at the back of the report speak for themselves. And this matters. It matters because it is not the civil servants and the academics who typically have to access or deliver training, it is individuals, their employers and training providers. The Minister challenged us to say which activities should be stopped in the name of simplification—a fair point—but we challenge the Government to recognise that no-one's interests are accommodated if users cannot use the system because they do not understand it.
Lord Leitch suggested that there was a 'triangle' of skills provision, with employers, individuals and the Government all playing a role. He did not address in detail the role of training providers, whether in HE, FE or privately funded. We have taken a great deal of evidence in this area. We recommend that HEFCE's regional focus should be sharpened, to improve HE/FE collaboration. We also urge a greater recognition of the involvement of trade unions in workplace learning.
One of the central planks of the Leitch reforms is 'Train to Gain' through which employers gain access to funding and advice on training. We received evidence which was highly critical of the way the programme currently operates. We conclude that radical reform is needed.
Finally, a Children, Skills and Learning Bill is to be introduced which, among other things, will contain provisions to set up a new Adult Advancement and Careers Service. The key to making this new Service a success will be quality. Given the current challenging times the Service must serve diverse target markets—and in particular those skilled people with professional or managerial experience who need to change career. Early, expert interventions are required.
We conclude that while the Leitch review was produced during a period of economic optimism, the climate has now changed. These programmes involve millions of pounds of taxpayers money, they play a large part in the success of UK companies and the UK economy and, perhaps most importantly, they make a difference to the lives of millions of people. The current economic situation has raised the stakes: skills policy could be the key factor which determines how and when the UK economy recovers and grows. Government must accept this and drive the agenda forward.
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