Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Thirtieth Report - Developing workforce skills for a strong economy
Public Accounts Committee
HC 685
Published 14 December 2022
Recommendations
2
Rejected
DfE has not made clear what level of performance would constitute success for its skills...
Recommendation
DfE has not made clear what level of performance would constitute success for its skills programmes. DfE ultimately relies on measuring learners’ subsequent earnings as a proxy for the value of government-funded skills training and the extent to which that …
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Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation that DfE should set out what level of improvement in the FE Skills Index it is aiming to achieve and by when.
HM Treasury
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3
Accepted
The multiplicity of government skills programmes makes it hard for employers and individuals to navigate...
Recommendation
The multiplicity of government skills programmes makes it hard for employers and individuals to navigate to the training that best meets their needs. As well as DfE’s range of interventions to support skills development, DWP and DLUHC also offer skills …
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Government Response Summary
The government will simplify the further education funding system, integrate the Traineeship programme into existing provision, simplify the post-16 qualifications landscape, improve alignment between the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, deliver joined-up campaigns under the Skills for Life brand, and work closely with other departments to address workforce issues.
HM Treasury
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4
Accepted
Employers are spending less than they used to on workforce training, which risks leaving the...
Recommendation
Employers are spending less than they used to on workforce training, which risks leaving the economy without the skills it needs. DfE’s employer skills surveys indicate that employers’ spending on workforce training per employee fell in real terms from £1,710 …
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Government Response Summary
The government will review how it incentivises employers to invest in skills development, including through the apprenticeship levy, and take action to improve the effectiveness of the incentives, with a focus on SMEs and making apprenticeships more flexible.
HM Treasury
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5
Accepted
We are concerned that continuing financial pressures and workforce challenges are hampering colleges’ ability to...
Recommendation
We are concerned that continuing financial pressures and workforce challenges are hampering colleges’ ability to play a full part in the skills system. Colleges play an important role in reaching disadvantaged groups and giving people opportunities they would not otherwise …
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Government Response Summary
The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion for 16-19 year olds education, uplift funding rates, increase cost weighting for specific subjects, address uneven monthly payments to colleges, and invest in direct support for the FE sector including bursaries and recruitment campaigns.
HM Treasury
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6
Not Addressed
DfE has high expectations for its new Unit for Future Skills, but the Unit does...
Recommendation
DfE has high expectations for its new Unit for Future Skills, but the Unit does not yet have all the skilled staff it needs to meet these expectations. In February 2022, DfE announced the creation of a Unit for Future …
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Government Response Summary
This response addresses recommendations from a different Public Accounts Committee report, not the Foreign Affairs Committee report. Therefore, it does not engage with the substance of the recommendation.
HM Treasury
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14
Accepted
DfE has a range of programmes to support workforce skills development, including well-established programmes such...
Recommendation
DfE has a range of programmes to support workforce skills development, including well-established programmes such as apprenticeships, along with newer initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps. In addition, other government departments, including DWP and DLUHC, run or fund programmes that contain …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees to review the number of skills programmes and eliminate overlap between them, having consulted on proposals for a simpler further education funding system and integrating the Traineeship programme into existing provision from August 2023.
HM Treasury
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Conclusions (22)
1
Conclusion
Acknowledged
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on government’s approach to developing the skills of the workforce in England.1
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the Committee's report and its evidence from DfE and BEIS on developing workforce skills.
7
Conclusion
We asked DfE about the causes of the decline, both in overall participation and among participants in disadvantaged areas. It replied that one of the main reasons for the overall fall in learner numbers was the reduction in the amount of funding it had put into the system over the …
8
Conclusion
DfE suggested several possible reasons for the particular decline in participation in disadvantaged areas and among disadvantaged learners. First, it told us that there had been bigger drops in participation in lower levels of study than in higher levels. Second, it explained that it was harder in deprived areas to …
9
Conclusion
In written evidence, the Federation of Small Businesses told us that making the apprenticeships system work better for small employers was fundamental to increasing participation among young people and disadvantaged groups. It noted that, since the apprenticeships reforms in 2017, there had been an increase in the number of adults …
10
Conclusion
Accepted
DfE has a framework of performance metrics for its portfolio of skills programmes which includes system-level measures, such as participation in FE and skills training by 7 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.17, 2.21, Figure 8 8 Qq 12, 14, 16 9 Qq 14, 32 10 DWE0002 Federation of Small Businesses, Developing …
Government Response Summary
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.
11
Conclusion
Rejected
DfE emphasised the importance of the FE Skills Index as its key measure of the impact of the FE system on productivity. The Index works by estimating the ‘value added’ for all adult learners and apprentices in England who have successfully completed their training during the year. DfE calculates the …
Government Response Summary
The department advises against using the FE Skills Index as a sole indicator to measure performance and 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.
12
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Overall, the FE Skills Index fell from 100 in 2012/13 to 54 in 2020/21, a decrease of 46%, which means that the FE system was estimated as having a declining impact on productivity over the period. However, in 2020/21, the annual change in the Index was a rise of 7%. …
Government Response Summary
The department advises against using the FE Skills Index as a sole indicator to measure performance, believing 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.
13
Conclusion
Rejected
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 …
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.
15
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Skills Bootcamps are courses lasting up to 16 weeks for people looking to change sectors or progress in their current industry. By April 2022, 24,500 people had started a Bootcamp.18 DfE told us that Skills Bootcamps were particularly important for those in low-paid work who are looking for opportunities to …
Government Response Summary
The government is simplifying the further education funding system and skills offer, integrating the Traineeship programme into existing provision from 1 August 2023, and simplifying the careers guidance system.
16
Conclusion
Accepted
The NAO report highlighted that there exists a complex and sometimes overlapping set of skills-related initiatives, and the system can seem complicated and difficult to navigate. For example, people can access numeracy training through at least three routes: DfE’s Essential skills – numeracy programme, some standalone technical qualifications, and the …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s conclusion and will deliver a simpler further education funding system by consulting on proposals, announcing new flexibility for funding in devolved areas, and setting simpler funding rates. It will also integrate the Traineeship programme into existing provision, simplify the qualifications landscape, improve alignment between the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, deliver joined-up campaigns under a single brand, and work with other departments to address workforce issues.
17
Conclusion
Accepted
We asked how DfE was ensuring that the incentives for employers to take part in training programmes, particularly traineeships and DWP’s Kickstart scheme were working effectively. Kickstart was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and funded employers to create jobs for people aged 16 to 24. DfE told us …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s conclusion and will deliver a simpler further education funding system by consulting on proposals, announcing new flexibility for funding in devolved areas, and setting simpler funding rates. It will also integrate the Traineeship programme into existing provision, simplify the qualifications landscape, improve alignment between the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, deliver joined-up campaigns under a single brand, and work with other departments to address workforce issues.
18
Conclusion
Accepted
We also asked DfE about the multiplicity of available programmes. It asserted that long lists of programmes could look a little misleading. It explained that the bulk of skills funding went to a relatively small number of interventions, specifically apprenticeships, the free courses for jobs and qualifications-based programmes that are …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s conclusion and will deliver a simpler further education funding system by consulting on proposals, announcing new flexibility for funding in devolved areas, and setting simpler funding rates. It will also integrate the Traineeship programme into existing provision, simplify the qualifications landscape, improve alignment between the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, deliver joined-up campaigns under a single brand, and work with other departments to address workforce issues.
19
Conclusion
Acknowledged
DfE’s overarching philosophy is to put employers at the heart of the skills system, specifically by giving them a central role in identifying local and national skills needs, and in developing and designing qualifications and training. New local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) are intended to provide a framework to help …
Government Response Summary
The response reiterates the committee's conclusion, emphasising the importance of employers in the skills system and the role of LSIPs. There is no commitment or rejection. This is pure acknowledgement.
20
Conclusion
Acknowledged
DfE carries out an employer skills survey every two years. These surveys indicate that the average amount per employee that employers spent on training fell, in real terms, from £1,710 in 2011 to £1,530 in 2019. The 2021 survey suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic had amplified the decline in workforce …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the decline in employer investment in training and states it is already considering the evidence base and potential options to support increased investment, particularly for SMEs.
21
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The NAO found that government had not made clear to what extent it was seeking to influence employers to invest more in developing the skills of their own workforces.28 We asked whether there was scope for government to do more to reach out to employers who were unwilling to invest …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the concerns around SMEs and their investment in training and states it is already considering the evidence base and potential options to support increased investment, particularly for SMEs.
22
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In written evidence, several organisations raised concerns about the apprenticeship levy, and suggested that reforms to the levy would improve the training opportunities available. The British Retail Consortium suggested that employers should be permitted to spend levy funds on high-quality shorter courses, including functional skills training, 25 Q 42 ; …
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the levels of participation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the skills system needs to increase in order to realise the potential of government skills reforms and is making apprenticeships more flexible with new flexi-job apprenticeships, front-loaded training and accelerated apprenticeships.
23
Conclusion
Acknowledged
In January 2021, we reported on the financial sustainability of the college sector.34 Our report emphasised that colleges play a crucial role in developing the knowledge and skills the country needs, and in reaching disadvantaged groups and deprived areas.35 In giving evidence on workforce skills, DfE told us that people …
Government Response Summary
The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion for 16-19 year olds education, uplift funding rates, increase cost weighting for specific subjects, address uneven monthly payments to colleges, and invest in direct support for the FE sector including bursaries and recruitment campaigns.
24
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Our 2021 report also noted, however, that the financial health of the college sector had previously been, and remained, fragile and that financial pressures were affecting provision for students. These pressures had caused some colleges to narrow their curriculum and reduce the length of courses. Some colleges had significantly reduced …
Government Response Summary
The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion for 16-19 year olds education, uplift funding rates, increase cost weighting for specific subjects, address uneven monthly payments to colleges, and invest in direct support for the FE sector including bursaries and recruitment campaigns.
25
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We asked about colleges’ ability to recruit and retain teaching staff. DfE explained that it was trying to promote teaching in the FE sector as a positive career, especially for people who were mid-career and could offer industry experience. However, it accepted that recruitment was a significant challenge, particularly because …
Government Response Summary
The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion for 16-19 year olds education, uplift funding rates, increase cost weighting for specific subjects, address uneven monthly payments to colleges, and invest in direct support for the FE sector including bursaries and recruitment campaigns.
26
Conclusion
Accepted
In February 2022, DfE announced the creation of a Unit for Future Skills to look at data and evidence on where skills gaps exist and in what industries. The Unit will examine the interaction between the jobs and skills markets, and work with the Office for National Statistics to produce …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s conclusion and details the growth and planned work of the Unit for Future Skills (UFS), with success measured by access to robust jobs and skills information. Success will be assessed by the UFS Board and Chair, Sir Ian Diamond.
27
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We asked how DfE could give the Unit for Future Skills a profile so that it had a meaningful impact on cross-government policy development and local design and practice. DfE stated that the key was for the Unit to produce outputs that stakeholders could easily use to inform their decisions. …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of the Unit for Future Skills and its role in cross-government policy development, highlighting its growth and planned activities.
28
Conclusion
Acknowledged
DfE told us that the Unit for Future Skills currently had 18 staff. It said that the Unit had struggled to recruit the highly skilled analysts it needed. We therefore asked whether these staffing pressures had been resolved. DfE explained that it had experienced some of the same challenges of …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the staffing challenges of the Unit for Future Skills but expresses confidence that it will achieve a full complement, highlighting its growth, analytical products, and assessment by the UFS Board.