Memorandum from HM Government (EM3-02)
1. POLICY BACKGROUND
1.1 In 2007 Machinery of Government changes
were announced that created two new agencies to replace the Learning
and Skills Council (LSC) from April 2010:
— the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA)
and
— the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), responsible
for adult skills funding.
1.2 The changes were introduced to rationalise
and make more coherent the funding mechanisms for both young people
and adult skills; to reduce the bureaucracy involved in commissioning
and delivering skills training; to ensure both young people's
and adults skills provision are closely aligned to regional strategies;
and to ensure that the needs of learners, businesses and training
providers are integral to the system.
1.3 The YPLA and SFA are now broadly ready
to start work in the region.
— YPLA will support Local Authorities to
undertake their new responsibility to secure education and training
provision for all their 16-19 year olds. YPLA will be responsible
for the funding and performance management of Academies on behalf
of ministers.
— SFA will allocate budgets for adult skills
provision and manage the overall relationship with colleges and
training providers.
— The YPLA and SFA, including the National
Apprenticeships Service, will work together to ensure that appropriate
links are made with the post-19 system.
— Annex A sets out roles and responsibilities
in more detail.
1.4 The new arrangements give Local Authorities
(LAs) a central leadership role on 0-19 skills. LAs will have
a greater ability to focus on improving outcomes for people aged
0—19 through a coherent, integrated and responsive offer
to all young people, particularly the most vulnerable. They will
lead 14-19 reform, making strategic links with the local and regional
economic development agenda, and ensure that provision enables
young people to develop the skills that employers value to respond
to the challenges of the economy. LAs and emda will need
to work together to ensure the progression of young people and
their continuing skills development is in line with the future
needs of both the local and regional economy.
1.5 The Machinery of Government changes
are part of as series of policy initiatives has shaped the development
of the new skills infrastructure, including:
— New Industry, New Jobs (NINJ, April 2009),
setting out a strategic vision for Britain to grasp the opportunities
the post-recession world will offer including through having the
right skills.
— The Higher Education Framework: our vision
for the success of Universities in more challenging times. The
framework emphasised the need to draw more of the existing workforce
into HE; support universities in making a bigger contribution
to economic growth; strengthen the research capacity of universities
and translating this into economic impact; and position RDAs as
a key channel for aggregating and articulating demand from businesses,
and to help universities respond to key priority NINJ sectors.
— The National Skills Strategy—"Skills
for Growth" (November 2009) sets out the Government's vision
for ensuring people and businesses have the skills they need to
drive economic growth. This addresses how RDAs will lead on the
development of Regional Skills Strategies as part of the new Regional
Strategies; and will influence the priorities for adult skills
through annual Regional Priorities Statements;
— The National Framework for Regional and
Local Economic Development, "Partnerships for Growth"
announced that Regional Skills Strategies will need to address
the whole of the education and skills continuum, from schools
through to Higher Education.
2. PARTNERSHIP
WORKING
2.1 Partnership work on employment and training
is well embedded in the East Midlands.
2.2 For example Business Link, Jobcentre
Plus, emda, LSC, TUC and ACAS are working together to provide
businesses with flexible and responsive support in coping with
redundancies. A joint publication also has been issued to explain
what services are available.
2.3 The regional Employment, Skills and
Productivity Partnership (esp), chaired by emda, was launched
in 2005, to deliver the Government's National Skills Strategy.
The esp is currently under review under the new arrangements for
the regional skills strategy.
2.4 Jobcentre Plus chairs an Integrated
Employment and Skills Group which seeks to improve the seamless
service for employers and the public on employment and training
programmes
2.5 There is a network of sub-regional Employment
and Skills Boards, which take differing forms but are characterised
by strong employer involvement to focus on local skill needs.
2.6 The Regional Economic Cabinet, chaired
by Phil Hope, Minister for the East Midlands discussed skills
in depth at its meeting on 15 March 2010. emda alerted partners
to the details of the changes noted above and progress towards
ensuring new structures for skills delivery will be robust, as
well as the progress the region has made in recent years on increasing
skill levels. Cabinet members including representatives from the
public, private and voluntary sectors will provide support to
emda and other regional partners to continue to drive the region's
performance.
3. SKILLS, QUALIFICATIONS
AND EMPLOYMENT
IN THE
EAST MIDLANDS
3.1 The recent draft Regional Priorities
Statement produced by emda for BIS provides a summary of
the skills picture in the East Midlands showing:
3.2 The East Midlands has low demand for
skills on behalf of employers reinforcing a lack of incentive
amongst the workforce to improve their skills. Key indicators
of this situation are:
— Comparatively high levels of employment
coupled with lower than average pay.
— Lower proportions of total employment
in higher skill occupations.
— Lower proportions of the working age
population with higher level skills and spatial concentrations
of low skilled workers.
— High representation of businesses engaged
in low value activities eg routine manufacturing or services,
which are spatially concentrated, for example parts of Lincolnshire.
3.3 emda will provide further detail
on the regional skills picture.
4. DEVELOPMENT
OF THE
REGIONAL SKILLS
STRATEGY
4.1 emda is responsible for producing
a Regional Skills Strategy (RSS) which will be a component of
the new single Regional Strategy. emda will prepare the
RSS in partnership with the East Midlands Local Authorities' Leaders'
Board, sub-regional bodies and other partners such as the SFA,
YPLA, JobCentre Plus, Sector Skills Councils, Business representative
bodies, FE providers and Universities. The Government expects
all regions to have produced a first Regional Skills Strategy
by July 2010. As this is ahead of the timetable for the overall
Regional Strategy, an interim Regional Skills Strategy will be
produced, which will be updated as part of the forthcoming Regional
Strategy.
4.2 As well as being informed by regional
priorities, the RSS will also have regard to national policy—some
of which is summarised above—and the advice provided to
Ministers by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The
Commission was set up in 2008 in response to recommendations of
the 2006 Leitch Review of skills.
4.3 LAs' Local Economic Assessments will
provide vital intelligence to ensure that the Regional Skills
Strategy reflects local as well as regional economic needs. In
the coming months, the contribution of LAs will be vital, both
from an economic development perspective and in relation to Children's
Services departments in the 14-19 agenda.
5. SKILLS AND
THE LOCAL
AREA AGREEMENTS
5.1 GOEM is responsible for negotiating
each local area agreement (LAA). Table 1 shows current local population
levels of attainment by NVQ level for each locality. The final
column shows the relevant LAA targets (which are selected from
Levels 2, 3 or 4) which each locality will endeavour to achieve
using the resources available to it.
Table 1
HIGHEST QUALIFICATION LEVELS OF THE POPULATION
AGED 19-59/64 (MALES AGED 19-64 AND FEMALES AGED 19-59) AT 2008;
AND LAA TARGETS
Locality |
Qualification level | |
| | |
| LAA Target | |
| | | |
| L4 | Up to L3
| Up to L2 | Below L2
| |
Derby | 28.7% | 48.3%
| 66.7% | 18.8% | L3 within 1.8% of regional average (Current performance +2.0% of regional average)
|
| Derbyshire | 28.3% | 47.1%
| 69.1% | 20.6% | L2: 76%
|
| Leicester | 23.4% | 36.9%
| 57.0% | 20.9% | L2:61.9%
L4:23.1%
|
| Leicestershire | 29.2% | 50.7%
| 71.2% | 17.5% | L2: 76.5%
L4: 33.6%
|
| Lincolnshire | 22.7% | 43.6%
| 66.1% | 23.3% | L3:45.1%
|
| Northamptonshire | 27.7% |
45.9% | 65.6% | 20.2%
| L3:52.7% |
| Nottingham | 24.6% | 43.6%
| 62.8% | 19.3% | L2:67.4%
|
| Nottinghamshire | 29.0% | 48.4%
| 68.8% | 19.9% | L2:70.6%
|
| Rutland | 32.5% | 54.5%
| 78.0% | 16.1% | L2: 74.5%
|
| East Midlands | 27.0% | 46.3%
| 67.0% | 20.7% |
|
| |
| | | |
Annex A
NEW ARRANGEMENTS TO COVER SKILLS TRAINING
1. YOUNG PEOPLE'S
LEARNING AGENCY
1.1 The YPLA will be a streamlined body, providing support
to LAs in their new role ensuring young people access the learning
and support they need. From 1 April 2010 local authorities, supported
by the Young People's Learning Agency, will have the duty to secure
enough suitable education and training for 16-19 year olds (and
up to age 25 for learners with learning difficulties or disabilities).
1.2 LAs will have to take into account the requirements
of the young people being provided for: eg their ages, abilities
and aptitudes; learning difficulties; quality of provision; and
the locations and times at which the learning is being provided.
LAs will identify the volume and sectoral mix of Apprenticeships
that are needed to deliver their plan but the actual contracting
will be carried out by the Skills Funding Agency, on behalf of
the National Apprenticeship Service. LAs are coming together to
work in Sub-Regional Groups (SRG) that reflect the travel to learning
patterns of young people. Each SRG has identified a lead LA to
act as commissioner in the area. The SRG will review the commissioning
plans developed by each LA.
1.3 At a regional level LAs will come together with emda,
GOEM, Young People's Learning Agency, Skills Funding Agency and
other key partners in a Regional Planning Group. This will provide
regional oversight of the commissioning of 16-19 provision and
to help Sub-Regional Groups make commissioning decisions that
meet regional needs and economic priorities, are coherent across
travel to learn patterns and are within regional budgets. RPGs
will consider education and training issues that have a regional
as well as local impact eg capital, travel, LLDD and Young Offender
provision.
1.4 The National Commissioning Framework (NCF) will set
out the core systems for planning, commissioning, procuring and
funding for education and training. Key planning assumptions for
YPLA include:
— continuing to improve the learning offer and support
for young people;
— drive towards full participation by 2013-15
— narrowing the gap in attainment; and
— LA responsibility from April 2010 dependent on effective
partnership across the whole system.
2. SKILLS FUNDING
AGENCY SFA
2.1 The SFA will be a customer focused body, responsible
for funding colleges and training organisations in line with demand.
It will take responsibility for routing funding swiftly, efficiently
and securely to FE colleges and adults following the purchasing
decisions of adults and employers. It will have oversight of the
whole FE service, with a particular focus on its responsiveness
to the skills needs of employers and learners.
2.2 The SFA will:
— Performance manage FE Colleges and other providers,
and be the single point of intervention where either pre- or post-19
provision delivered by those providers does not meet nationally
agreed acceptable standards.
— Manage the National Employer Service, the single service
for employers with 5,000+ employees.
— lead the creation and management of the new England-wide
adult advancement and careers service, which will play a key role,
with Jobcentre Plus, in boosting individual demand for skills
and in guiding people to the right training to meet their needs.
— Hold the National Apprenticeship Service to account,
to make sure there is effective management of the Apprenticeship
Programme.
2.3 The changes to the adult system will:
— ensure it is better placed to respond quickly and
flexibly to national, regional and local skills needs;
— reduce bureaucracy, freeing up colleges and other
providers to be innovative and entrepreneurial in how and what
they deliver;
— stimulate demand-led provision that meets the needs
of learners and employers
— bring coherence to the FE service; and
— establish a single customer gateway for adults and
employers.
2.4 In the BIS Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11, Lord
Mandelson set the challenge to this sector to: "focus resources
even more closely on skills that underwrite our economic growth
and support high value-added employment." He went on to describe
the shift once again of resources into Apprenticeships and Train
to Gain whilst re-stating the commitment to prioritise provision
which helps people to get into and to stay in work. This sets
the backdrop to the planning and funding assumptions of the SFA
for the next academic year.
2.5 In the 2010-11 financial year, the resources available
to the SFA for adult skills increase by 3% to £3.5 billion.
Within that figure, there is a further shift of funds into apprenticeships,
Train to Gain and programmes for the unemployed, with lower investment
in lower priority developmental learning. This is not a new trend,
and it will require continuing shifts in delivery by colleges
and training organisations.
3. EUROPEAN SOCIAL
FUND (ESF) 2007-13
3.1 There are two main priorities in England for the
2007-13 ESF programme:
— Priority 1 is "Extending employment opportunities"
by tackling barriers to work faced by people who are unemployed
or disadvantaged in the labour market; this includes young people
who are Not in Education Employment or Training (NEET).
— Priority 2 is "Developing a skilled and adaptable
workforce" by training people who lack basic skills and good
qualifications.
3.2 The programme is delivered by four Co-financing Organisations
(CFOs) in the region, including the LSC. From April 2010 the SFA
will take on the responsibility of the LSC for adult provision.
In order to avoid a proliferation of CFOs, the Agency also will
act as a CFO on behalf of the YPLA and LAs as a shared service
for the NEET activity in Priority 1. For the second half of the
ESF programme (2011-13) a Joint Co-Financing Plan covering adult
provision and 14-19 will be coordinated and managed by the SFA
as the Accountable Body.
22 March 2010
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