Highlights of the week ending 26 May
The sign of an approaching Parliamentary recess is a raft of government announcements, and this week has been no different. The Department for Education (DfE) published the latest information on the reforms to post-16 qualifications, and the defunding of qualifications deemed to overlap T Levels (more below). It also revealed arrangements for the fourth and final year of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) in England, starting in September 2023. The Government announced funding for school buildings and local skills, and we also saw the ONS publish the latest NEET estimates.
Meanwhile, the Lords Industry and Regulator Committee held the next session in its Work of the Office for Students inquiry, hearing from Skills Minister Robert Halfon MP and Anne Spinali, Director of Higher Education Reform and Funding at DfE on matters including the financial health of the Higher Education sector, and international students.
Elsewhere, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has published a new report assessing what skills will be needed in the future labour market. The report says that while many occupations will experience greater demand for specialist knowledge and skills, it is transferable skills such as collaboration, communication, problem-solving and decision making that will be vital for powering the economy and individual careers in 2035.
Meanwhile, another report this week from WorldSkills UK and BAE Systems, in association with the Learning & Work Institute, warned that young people are not entering the manufacturing sector in sufficient numbers to replace workers leaving the industry.