Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Rejected
We asked DfE, given the data available to it, whether it planned to adopt a...
Conclusion
We asked DfE, given the data available to it, whether it planned to adopt a system- level metric to determine the success of its skills programmes, and what might this look like or when it could be expected. DfE asserted that having a single metric would not tell it everything that it needed about the programmes. We therefore asked DfE how it was defining what success looked like. DfE did not set out any targets for the level of the Index in future years to indicate what success for skills programmes would look like, or details of other targets that it was using to determine success.16 Multiplicity of government skills programmes
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation to adopt a system-level metric to determine the success of its skills programs, arguing that a single metric would not provide a complete picture.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
2.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 2.2 The department advises against using the FE Skills Index as a sole indicator to measure performance. The department publishes the FE Skills Index annually – estimating how the economic value added by the 19+ FE and Skills system changes over time. 2.3 This is influenced by a range of factors including the number of achievements at different levels and in different subjects, and their associated earnings returns. It is not intended to be a timely measure for evaluating specific policy changes. The department believes that stipulating an arbitrary target level of improvement for this index would not be a valuable measure of performance and could create issues about achievability. 2.4 Instead, the department continues to develop a comprehensive framework of performance metrics, including system-level measures, such as participation in FE and skills training by adults aged 19 and over, and measures for individual programmes, such as the number of apprenticeship starts. The most recent set of metrics for 2022-23 defines what performance level would constitute success for individual programmes. The department also uses FE Outcome Based Success Measures (OBSM) to measure performance, using Longitudinal Educational Outcomes (LEO) data to show the percentage of FE learners progressing to other learning or employment in the academic year after achieving their learning aim. 2.5 Progress against this framework is tracked and published as part of the department’s 16 Outcome Delivery Plan. Together, an increase in these metrics will help to show the impact of skills programmes.