The vocational qualifications system is changing to become more responsive to the needs of employers and learners. BIS has produced a set of leaflets for the different groups interested in these changes; providers, learners, employers and awarding organisations. Further leaflets will be developed for distribution in December 09 and March 2010 that will reflect updated messages and benefits the reform of vocational qualifications brings to the different audiences. Copies of the leaflets are available here

Click here for further information on vocational qualification reform.

Article from the BIS FE & Skills Newsletter.

In 1999 Lord Moser published his ground-breaking report, A Fresh Start: Improving Literacy and Numeracy. The report highlighted the scale of the problem: one in five adults lacked basic literacy and a greater proportion lacked basic numeracy. It described this as a "shocking situation and a sad reflection on past decades of schooling” and made a series of recommendations to address it.

This led to the Skills for Life strategy which, since its launch in 2001, has enabled nearly six million adults across England to go on courses to improve their literacy, language and numeracy skills, with over 2.8 million achieving a qualification. The success of Skills for Life has been built on the ideas, commitment and hard work of people all over the country.

While great progress has been made, the Government has stressed that there is still more to do to achieve its long term ambition that, by 2020, 95% of adults have at least functional levels of literacy and numeracy. Achieving this ambition for numeracy will be particularly challenging, requiring a step change in the number of adults taking courses to improve their numeracy and a change in culture and attitudes relating to numeracy.

The actions that Government and partners are taking to drive progress towards the new ambition are set out in the refreshed Skills for Life strategy, published in March 2009.

Aritcle from the BIS FE & Skills Newsletter

The £1 million from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will enable youth charity, The Prince’s Trust, to help unemployed young people explore the viability of their business plans, develop their initial ideas and bring their businesses to life.  

Click here for the full article.

A record 234,000 people started apprenticeships in the 2008/09 academic year, according to provisional data on vocational qualifications released today by the ONS. Statistics also showed 126,900 people completed apprenticeships during the same period, representing the highest number of starts and completions ever in an academic year.

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The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced the publication of a Skills White Paper in his 'A Case for Growth' speech at Canary Wharf last week. The White Paper, due to be published next month, will outline the government's strategy to bridge the UK's skills gaps as the country remains behind its international competitors, despite considerable investment over the past 10 years:

“On skills, Government training programmes have supported millions more to improve their skills. Apprenticeships have more than trebled – with over 2 million since 1997.

But there is still a skills gap with our competitors – and we need to address it.

Next month we will publish a skills white paper, so we can focus on the areas where training can have the greatest productivity impact.

Increasing apprenticeships for young people, training aimed at the high-growth sectors of the future, and raising employer demand for skills.”

Click here for the full text of the Chancellor's speech