1 Introduction
Background
1. On the education of Service personnel, the Armed
Forces Covenant states that:
Service personnel should expect to receive appropriate
training and education for both personal and professional development,
including the opportunity to gain nationally recognised qualifications,
in order to support them through their Service career and to prepare
them for life after leaving the Service.[1]
2. The Defence Training Board, chaired by the Chief
of Defence Personnel, oversees Defence training and education.
It sets overall policy, gives strategic direction, prioritises
and makes balance of investment decisions on training and education.
The three Services and the Joint Forces Command are responsible
for setting the requirements for education and training in their
areas.[2]
3. The Rt Hon Mark Francois MP, Minister of State
for Defence, Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, described the purpose
of education in the Armed Forces as:
[...] to prepare personnel for their role in
operational capability. Given that that training is progressive
and continues throughout an individual's service, the military
requirement is paramount—after all, these are people in
the Armed Forces—but where there is a comparable civilian
qualification, we accredit the military course so that our people
are awarded nationally recognisable qualifications. It is worth
adding that the Ministry of Defence also supports elective learning
and provides training to facilitate the eventual transition back
to civilian life.[3]
4. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) summarised its view
of the education of Armed Forces personnel as follows:
While the military requirement is paramount and
the focus is on training our people for operational capability,
the Armed Forces recognise the importance of education and civilian
qualifications which offer recruiting, developmental, retention
and resettlement benefits. The Services are amongst the largest
training providers in the UK, with excellent completion and achievement
rates, and the quality of our training and education is highly
respected. With support for education ranging from entry level
literacy and numeracy to full postgraduate degrees, Service personnel
are offered genuine progression routes which allow them to develop,
gain qualifications and play a fuller part in society either in
the Armed Forces or in the civilian world which awaits them beyond.[4]
Scope of the inquiry
5. This inquiry is the fourth in a series looking
at the Armed Forces Covenant. The Committee's first inquiry into
the Armed Forces Covenant was on the support and treatment of
military casualties. The Report was published on 15 December 2011.[5]
The second inquiry was into the accommodation provided for Service
personnel and their families. The Report was published on 26 June
2012.[6] The third inquiry,
running in parallel with this inquiry, is examining the education
of the children of Service personnel.
6. The scope of the inquiry covered the provision
of education to all Service personnel throughout their careers.
We focused on what happens to new recruits in the early stages
of their careers and how education and training allow personnel
to obtain civilian qualifications useful in their post-Service
careers.
7. In particular, we examined:
- The provision of education
to new recruits including help with literacy and numeracy;
- The provision of education to Service personnel
throughout their careers;
- The provision of higher education to those personnel
for whom it is relevant and useful;
- The progress made by the Armed Forces in ensuring
that training undertaken by Service personnel leads to civilian
qualifications;
- The impact of education on the resettlement of
Armed Forces personnel; and
- The adequacy of oversight of the education of
Armed Forces personnel.
Evidence
8. At the start of the inquiry, we received a detailed
oral briefing from the MoD on all aspects of education in the
Armed Forces. We followed this up with a visit to two training
centres—Army Recruiting and Training Division, Pirbright
and the Defence Logistics School at Deepcut—where we had
the opportunity to talk to recruits, trainees, instructors and
managers. We also took oral evidence from MoD officials and the
Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans. Written
evidence was submitted by the MoD, the Office for Standards in
Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) and Child Soldiers
International. The National Audit Office (NAO) hosted an online
survey on the education of Service personnel and produced a report
for the Committee analysing the results of the survey.[7]
We are grateful to the witnesses, the NAO and those who submitted
written evidence. We are also grateful for the assistance of our
Specialist Advisers[8]
and the staff of the Committee during this inquiry. We considered
other relevant reports including:
- Welfare and duty of care in
Armed Forces initial training - Ofsted's 2012 report to the MoD;[9]
- Welfare and duty of care in Armed Forces initial
training - Ofsted's 2013 report to the MoD;[10]
- Directorate of Educational and Training Services(Army)
Army Apprenticeships - report by Ofsted;[11]
and
Armed Forces Basic Skills Longitudinal Study by National
Institute of Adult Continuing Education and the National Research
and Development Centre commissioned by the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the MoD.[12]
1 The Armed Forces Covenant, /www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-armed-forces-covenant
Back
2
Ev 14 Back
3
Q 46 Back
4
Ev 16 Back
5
Defence Committee, Seventh Report of Session 2010-12, The Armed
Forces Covenant in Action? Part 1: Military Casualties, HC
762 Back
6
Defence Committee, Second Report of Session 2012-13, The Armed
forces Covenant in Action? Part 2: Accommodation, HC 331 Back
7
NAO publication at Defence Committee website Error! Bookmark not defined.
or NAO website Error! Bookmark not defined. Back
8
The Specialist Advisers' declaration of relevant interests are
recorded in the Committee's Formal Minutes which are available
on the Committee's website. Back
9
Error! Bookmark not defined. Back
10
Error! Bookmark not defined. Back
11
Error! Bookmark not defined. Back
12
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32285/12-886-armed-forces-basic-skills-executive-summary.pdf Back
| 
