The Skills Plan
The Skills Minister, Nick Boles, has this month launched ‘The Post-16 Skills Plan’, due to be implemented in 2019. The Skills Plan, developed in response to an independent report into technical education by an expert panel chaired by Lord Sainsbury, proposes replacing the current outdated system of more than 20,000 courses provided by 160 different organisations with 15 high-quality routes, developed and respected by employers.
At the age of 16, students will have to choose between the ‘academic option’ – comprising A-levels leading to an undergraduate degree – or the new ‘technical option’. In the ‘technical option’, students will embark on one of 15 technical education routes, for example, in agriculture, construction or social care, and can choose between a two-year, college-based programme (including compulsory work experience), or an employment-based programme, such as an apprenticeship.
Read ‘FE Sector Response to Lord Sainsbury’s Skills Plan’ in FE News, by Gavin O’Meara