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This review looks at the framework for determining employment status and provides a snapshot of the UK labour market in 2015. In order to gain a greater understanding of some of the issues being faced, officials were asked to consider what the UK labour market looks like and suggest ways in which government could deliver a framework that strikes the correct balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of business, supporting growth and prosperity in the 21st century. The review involved discussions with a number of stakeholders and this report represents the findings of that review.

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This report gives employers an update on the reform of the apprenticeship programme. It encourages them to employ an apprentice and to consider becoming part of a trailblazer group to develop a new standard. This standard will set out the knowledge, skills and behaviours that apprentices will have on completing their apprenticeship.

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The UK government is inviting comments on a proposal to introduce an apprenticeship levy. The levy will enable employers to choose and pay for apprenticeship training. Views are being sought on: how to pay the levy; how the levy should work for employers who operate across the whole of the UK; how to make sure that employers paying the levy have the opportunity to get more out than they put in; and how best to give employers control of apprenticeships. This consultation covers the implementation of the levy. More detail on the levy rate and scope will be provided later in 2015. Employers, business organisations, training organisations and anyone with a vested interest have been encouraged to respond.

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This report is a short review of the extent to which the importance of strong governance is recognised within colleges. It shows how freedoms and flexibilities have helped colleges operate as independent organisations, responsive to local needs. It sets out the impact to date of the changing status of governance, and what more colleges, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and partners might do to improve governance in further education.

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This new study shows that every public pound invested in Level 3 apprenticeships provides a return of £28 to the UK economy. In 2009, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) commissioned a study to examine the impact of the further education (FE) sector as a whole in delivering its primary function: providing people with the skills they need in the labour market. The aim of the exercise was to produce a framework for estimating net present value which could be continually updated as better and more up-to-date evidence became available. BIS have used the original model framework and updated it to incorporate new evidence from two sources: new estimates of the three-five year average wage and employment returns to courses completed between 2007/08 and 2010/11; and the introduction of advanced learning loans, specifically the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge to government (the amount which learners are expected not to repay and which is therefore a cost to government).

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This consultation contains proposals to reshape the higher education landscape to have students at its heart. Its core aims are to raise teaching standards, provide greater focus on graduate employability, widen participation in higher education, and open up the sector to new high-quality entrants. This document sets out proposals for how the Government's manifesto commitment to introduce a Teaching Excellence Framework will deliver better value for money for students, employers and taxpayers. It also sets out plans to drive social mobility by further increasing higher education participation by those from disadvantaged and under-represented groups.

This consultation proposes a new single gateway for entry to the sector, which would create a common system for all providers. It sets out proposed new architecture for the higher education system, to reflect the way higher education is now funded by students, and to reduce the regulatory burden on the sector. Finally, this consultation considers the potential implications of these changes for the research landscape.

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Apprenticeships in England are undergoing change and a new style of apprenticeship has been developed to accommodate the changing needs of employers, learners and providers. These new apprenticeships are known as 'Trailblazer' apprenticeships and they aim to give employers control in designing apprenticeships, increase the flexibility of delivery, simplify the funding system, and increase the effectiveness of training. A 'Trailblazer' is made up of a group of employers who work together to design new apprenticeship standards for occupations within their sectors. This set of resources provides guidance for groups of employers (Trailblazers) on proposing and developing a new apprenticeship standard. An apprenticeship standard shows what an apprentice will be doing and the skills they need. The guidance sets out the process and policy on: (1) applying to develop an apprenticeship standard; (2) drafting the standard and assessment plan; and (3) using a standard. Show less

Recent research has highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship skills to small business performance. Although there are quite extensive literatures dealing with management and leadership skills more generally, relatively little is known about these particular skill-sets. The project objectives were to distil from the academic literature the key components of 'entrepreneurship skills', to identify how they can and cannot be developed and to draw out possible lessons for UK policy. The research literature and reviewed policy initiatives suggest that targeting of key groups (such as young entrepreneurs) may help programmes reach those most likely to have underdeveloped entrepreneurship skills. Similarly, there is also some evidence to suggest that spatial targeting may be appropriate to address low levels of entrepreneurship skills in more peripheral areas of the UK.

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This paper sets out what the [UK] Government has done since 2010 to promote a quality system of vocational education and training for adult learners and explains how the government has positioned skills as a core component of industrial strategy, introducing the concept of a dual mandate for adult vocational education. The paper analyses how and why England’s performance on higher level vocational education is weaker than many of its comparator nations and sets out the challenge that this poses to productivity. It also highlights higher level skills shortages in some of the sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy as critical to growth. It describes how the government has approached three key themes associated with higher level vocational education under the core themes of: funding; institution building; and the ownership and development of qualifications, standards and curricula. It identifies options for further development and poses a series of questions designed to develop thinking on the three themes stated. It focuses on the second part of the dual mandate: the importance of adult and vocational education’s role in ensuring that individuals are given a second chance to gain the fundamental skills required for life and work. The implications of the dual mandate for adult further education colleges are examined, against a background of wider change in the way in which the Government funds education for adults, and the Government’s wider strategy of empowering local places to make decisions on economic development.

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This report reviews established and successful collaborations in the further education (FE) sector. It aims to increase sector-wide knowledge about existing models which can be repeated elsewhere. The report is structured in two sections - the first of which looks at the current models used in the sector, and a second which details the practical findings arising from a series of visits undertaken by FE Advisers. The five key conclusions from the visits undertaken are: (1) there is no one 'right' structural model for colleges to adopt; (2) the sector has a history of larger, potentially stronger, colleges merging with smaller weaker colleges; (3) governors have a critical role to play in key decisions about structure and in the interests of their college and its learners; they need to be as objective as possible; (4) the success of a model is in the detail of its implementation; and (5) new collaborations and new structures, where the decision to change has been subject to rigorous assessment and careful implementation, can create valuable economies of scale, protect and improve student access and progression, and address issues of poor quality.

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