The 157 Group has responded to the election of a majority Conservative government.
Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE, executive director of the 157 Group, said, “We congratulate the Conservative party on this resounding election result, and look forward to working with a new ministerial team to ensure that the UK’s skills system is world-class. The key role of Further Education Colleges in enabling people to develop the skills they need to secure employment – and to progress in their careers – is clear, and we know that the government understands that. We are committed to working with the government to ensure greater access, not only to high quality Apprenticeship programmes, but also to a far wider range of professional and technical learning.
“We believe that Colleges will be able to act in a dynamic, innovative and responsive way if they are granted additional freedoms over how they run their business operations – and we will be seeking support from the government to enable this to happen in the short term. The Conservative party has made it clear that Colleges must act more as social enterprises, and become less reliant on public funding, and many of our Colleges are already demonstrating the possibilities of this approach
“However, it is also important that government takes a fair approach to those areas of the education system that it continues to fund. We believe the inequities in levels of funding for 16-18 year-olds must be addressed, and that it is time to take a proper look at funding for all post-18 education to ensure that public funding is targeted where it is most needed – on those who need the most help to secure a successful pathway to employment.
“Overall levels of funding in support of adult skills development have now fallen to a place where any further cuts will mean that we are not able to tackle the very real issues of youth unemployment and adult skills development that we need to address, and we will be delivering that message loud and clear to the new government.”