Raising Expectations: Staying on in education and training post-16

TUC Submission to DFES Consultation

Summary

The TUC welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Department for Education and Skills consultation paper 'Raising Expectations: staying in education and training post 16'. The ambition in the green paper is very welcome. If young people are to be given the best chance of succeeding in the world of work, it makes sense for them to remain in education or high quality training until they are 18. This is also important to ensure that the UK is able to compete internationally.

However we do have some reservations and would recommend a shift in focus, as outlined below:

The TUC is uncomfortable with a compulsory approach which could result in young people being forced into learning or being penalised via the criminal justice system;

Rather, the primary focus should be on support, encouragement and an attractive offer. All young people need access to independent advice and guidance, which particularly takes into account the needs of young people most at risk of disengaging;

Appropriate financial support is also crucial, and in particular should include increasing the support available to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds;

Adequate resources are required to increase participation, including resources for education, training and support services.

The balance of responsibility as set out in the green paper lies with the young person. The TUC believes this responsibility should be more evenly balanced across the system, for example there should be more of an onus on employers to train young people, including levers to increase employer engagement in training for young people such as through sector levies and procurement policy;

There is a strong role for trade unions in supporting young people in the workplace, including bargaining with employers to expand training opportunities, which would be supported through statutory rights to collective bargaining over training. Unions and in particular union learning reps also have a role in providing information to young people as well as mentoring support to young people. Young people should be actively encouraged to join trade unions.

The TUC prefers a more positive approach, for example around the idea of entitlements to stay on in education and training including via the workplace. This should be backed by a right to paid time off for young people in the workplace.

1.1 Introduction

1. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is the national centre for trade unions representing 6.5 million workers in 62 affiliated trade unions. The TUC welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Department for Education and Skills consultation 'Raising Expectations: Staying on in Education and Training post-16'.

2. The TUC agrees with analysis in the green paper about the importance of staying on in education and training for young people themselves, and for future economic and social prosperity. It is also the case that increasing participation will help tackle poverty and social exclusion and improve life chances.

3. If young people are to be given the best chance of succeeding in the world of work, it makes sense for them to remain in education or high quality training until they are 18. This is a bold vision, and the TUC agrees that young people should be supported in this endeavour.

4. However some of the proposals in the green paper require more thought, and there are others where we have concerns, in particular the prospect of criminalisation of young people.

5. We believe a more positive approach would be beneficial, for example through the notion of 'entitlement' for young people to stay on in any route to education and training, including via the workplace. This should be backed by a statutory right to paid time off for young people to achieve their first level three qualification.

6. More detailed views on the green paper are set out below. The structure of this submission reflects the chapters of the consultation.

2.1 A new requirement to participate

7. The TUC agrees with the notion that young people should stay on in education or training until their 18^th birthday. It is right that this could be through a range of routes in school, in a college, or through work-based training. Further, we agree that young people should be working towards accredited qualifications, as it is crucial that the training undertaken is recognised and transferable.

8. Measures to develop a credit based qualification system along with the Foundation Learning Tier should help support those who have had poor attainment due to family problems, disability or English language needs. However it is also important for workplace learning in particular, that the needs of young people remain paramount and employers should not be able to 'cherry pick' parts of courses.

9. The TUC does however have strong reservations about a compulsory approach which could result in young people being forced into learning or being penalised via the criminal justice system. This may create negative associations with learning that may mean young people are less likely to re-engage with education and training later in life. Further, the use of financial penalties may have unintended outcomes and create additional barriers for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

10. The balance of responsibility as set out in the green paper lies with the young person. This responsibility could potentially be placed on vulnerable young people, many of whom may have had a negative experience of learning. The TUC believes this responsibility should be more evenly balanced across the system, for example there should be more of an onus on employers to train young people.

11. The TUC has some concerns about accredited training provided by employers counting as participating. If this approach is to be taken, it is essential that the training undertaken is high quality, transferable and not just focused on employer specific skills. Employer training would need to be independently assessed, with assurances that the long-term development of young learners was paramount.

3.1 A suitable route for every young person

12. Enabling 16 and 17 year olds to stay on in education and training to 18 requires a suite of options that will engage and motivate them. This requires an inclusive curriculum (both pre and post 16) that recognises all kinds of learning preferences and all kinds of achievement. A further challenge to providing a suitable route for every young person is ensuring that these options are available at the local level.

13. The paper notes the range of reforms that have been introduced, including the Diplomas arising out of the 14-19 curriculum reform. A new statutory national entitlement to study the new Diplomas will be in place for all 14-19 year olds from 2013. To increase participation, a great deal rests on the success of Diplomas. The central role for Diplomas highlights the importance of effective piloting and ensuring that refinement occurs where necessary. It is also crucial that the Diplomas include sufficient practical learning opportunities and appropriate links to the workplace.

14. From 2013, there will also be a national entitlement to an Apprenticeship place for every young person who wants one and meets the entry requirements for the sector. The proposals require a significant expansion of high quality Apprenticeships. The TUC supports the proposed expansion of Apprenticeships, and the consultation rightly notes the importance of employer based Apprenticeships.

15. However already there are insufficient employer places, with significant variations in quality. The big challenge facing Apprenticeships is to drive up provision of high quality employer based places. The TUC is concerned to ensure that increasing the number of Apprenticeship places does not predominantly translate into an expansion of provider based programme-led Apprenticeships that are not always linked to jobs.

16. To increase employer engagement in Apprenticeships on the scale required needs bold measures. One practical measure that would have a significant effect would be to include Apprenticeship targets in public procurement contracts. A requirement for targets within sector skills agreements would also help raise the number of Apprenticeship places.

17. The TUC would also like to see the entitlement for young people up to the age of 25 to receive free level 3 tuition, to be expanded over time to the age of 30. This should be supported by statutory rights to paid time off up to level 3.

18. Ensuring there is a suitable route for every young person has resource implications, and it is crucial that there is sufficient funding for additional teachers, lecturers and support staff. There also needs to be levelling up of pay between staff in schools and further education. These resource issues need to be considered over the long term. It is also important to ensure that there is appropriate workforce development.

19. An issue that the TUC believes warrants greater attention is those young people who drop out of school before 16. The consultation rightly acknowledges this as an issue, however the TUC believes that tackling disaffection early is a key foundation to encourage young people to stay on in education and training post 16. The green paper notes the changes being made at secondary level. However, recent research about the potential for disadvantage to begin at the age of three or earlier, highlights the importance of early years and this should be fully taken into account [1] .

4.1 Enabling all young people to participate

20. The green paper rightly identifies the need to offer support to young people to enable them to participate and to take account of the particular needs of some young people. The role of advice and guidance, and financial support are central to this. The importance of integrated support has already been recognised by Government via Every Child Matters.

21. All young people need to be able to make informed decisions based on independent advice and guidance. There needs to be capacity in the system and resources for such guidance, which must also particularly take into account the needs of young people most at risk of disengaging. Advice also needs to actively break down stereotyping on the grounds of gender, race, disability and class, and be resourced to do so.

22. In the workplace, there is a role for union representatives, and in particular union learning representatives in providing information to young people and signposting them to learning opportunities.

23. The green paper notes the implications of the proposals for the financial support of 16 and 17 year olds. It is welcome that the Government would consult on the right model of financial support if these proposals were to go ahead. Central to this is to ensure that support for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is strengthened. Lessons from the success of EMAs in engaging young people should not be lost.

24. If it is expected that young people stay on in full-time education and training until 18, benefits that currently cut off at 18 or earlier would need to be extended, for example Child Tax Credits. The possibility of extending other tax credits that are currently only available to low paid people over the age of 25, such as working tax credits, should also be considered.

25. The TUC recently identified transport as a barrier for young people, and it is important that transport strategies need to be taken into account in raising participation.

26. The paper suggests that an 'incentive' for young people to stay on would be to remove drivers licences if they do not engage in learning. However this is not an incentive, rather a punitive measure that is unlikely to have the desired effect.

5.1 Employers playing their part

27. The consultation document rightly identifies the important role to be played by employers. However there are not sufficient measures in the green paper to ensure that employers provide young people with the opportunity to learn.

28. As noted earlier, there should be a statutory duty on employers to provide paid time off for training to 16 and 17 year olds for their first level three qualification. The Leitch Review of Skills recognised the importance of adult learners attaining level two qualifications and stated that if there has not been sufficient progress by 2010, a statutory entitlement should be introduced. There could be a parallel process for paid time off up to level three for young people.

29. There has been little take-up of the existing right to paid time off for 16 and 17 year olds up to level two, but few people are aware of this right and it is only enforceable via an employment tribunal. A new right would require effective publicity and enforcement mechanisms.

30. The green paper notes that young people's employment without training is concentrated in particular industries. The paper identifies the biggest employer of young people without training as the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector (52%). Over 30% are in retail alone. Other sectors that employ 16-17 year olds without training include construction (11%), manufacturing (10%), banking, finance and insurance (8%) and public administration, education and health (7%).

31. The sectoral basis of young people's employment highlights the important role for sector skills councils in taking forward proposals to raise the participation age to 18. As the consultation document highlights, sector skills agreements can play an important role. In particular, targets for Apprenticeships could be included in SSAs. Sector training levies are another mechanism for facilitating employer investment in young people's training that should be investigated to increase the pool of funding available to train young people. Licences to practice are another approach that could be considered.

32. Unionised workplaces offer more training opportunities, and recent research commissioned by unionlearn demonstrates where unions are recognised and negotiate over training, employees are 23.9 per cent more likely to report having received some training [2] . Statutory rights for collective bargaining over training would help to ensure that young people gain access to education and training. While to date the Government has not supported this approach, there is a commitment in the Warwick agreement to review the case for giving a statutory basis to other collective arrangements such as Learning Agreements and Workplace Learning Committees. This should be taken forward urgently.

33. There is also a role for unions, and in particular union learning representatives, in providing mentoring support to young people in work who are also engaging in education and training opportunities.

34. There is a danger that without mechanisms to mobilise employers to engage young people in learning, they won't employ 16 and 17 year olds. Therefore there needs to be measures to ensure that all employers do so, along the lines of the statutory measures outlined above.

35. If Train to Gain is to be a route for young people in the workplace to access training, this requires a different approach where the needs of young learners are central. Further, there may also be a need for specialist brokerage that takes into account the needs of young people.

36. The paper makes reference to the current exemption of apprentices from the national minimum wage, and then goes on to suggest that new flexibilities could be considered as incentives for employers to offer training. Paragraph 6.9 of the green paper states that 'we will consider whether, where an employer is offering another form of accredited training short of a full Apprenticeship, we should recognise the value of employer investment in training and the benefit that training brings to the individual'. This implies that consideration is being given to further exemptions from the National Minimum Wage.

37. The Low Pay Commission has accepted the TUC's submission for a review of the exemptions from the National Minimum Wage that currently apply to young Apprentices. The TUC would therefore be concerned about any proposals to exempt more 16-17 year olds from the National Minimum Wage.

38. There is a strong link between the quality of Apprenticeships, pay rates and completion rates, and there is a worrying gender dimension as young women are concentrated in the poorest paying sectors at the moment. While the TUC has welcomed the £80 minimum payment for apprentices, this measure does not have statutory backing. We are thus not yet convinced that the enforcement regime will be sufficiently rigorous.

39. One unintended consequence of the suggestion made in paragraph 6.9 of the green paper that employers might be able to pay less than the minimum wage for providing accredited training could be that this would serve as a disincentive for employers to offer Apprenticeship places, which needs to be a cornerstone of raising participation. This would also undermine a key plank of the Leitch Review of Skills, which was to expand the number of Apprenticeship places to 500,000.

40. If young people were to be paid very low wages or entitlements under the new statutory requirements then there would be a danger that this would be an incentive for young people would take on a second job to boost their income. This would be welcomed by employers looking for loopholes to avoid offering training to young people.

41. The Department for Education and Skills should consult with the Low Pay Commission at an early stage as these proposals are further developed.

6.1 Making sure that young people participate

42. The TUC's concerns about a compulsory approach, in particular leading to criminal sanctions, have already been rehearsed earlier in this submission.

43. The balance of responsibility as set out in the green paper lies with the young person. The TUC believes this responsibility should be more evenly balanced across the system, for example there should be more of an onus on employers to train young people and the education system should be made much more attractive to young people.

Conclusion

44. While the TUC supports the ambition to ensure that all 16 and 17 year olds remain in learning, there are major problems over making this compulsory. Employers must be encouraged to do more, adequate resources must be provided and the offer to young people must be made much more attractive.

---

[1] Eg Millennium Study, Institute of Education

[2] Stewart & Robinson, forthcoming