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Higher education in the United Kingdom (UK) is a successful public-private partnership of government funding and institutional autonomy. This White Paper sets out the government's reforms for higher education with a view to tackling three challenges. The first is to shift public spending away from teaching grants and towards repayable tuition loans, to ensure that higher education receives the funding it needs even as substantial savings are made to public expenditure. The second is to ensure that higher education institutions (HEIs) deliver a better student experience; improving teaching, assessment, feedback and preparation for the world of work. The third challenge is to ensure that HEIs take more responsibility for increasing social mobility. The reforms are designed to deliver a more responsive higher education sector in which funding follows the decisions of learners and successful institutions are freed to thrive; in which there is a new focus on the student experience and the quality of teaching and in which further education colleges and other alternative providers are encouraged to offer a diverse range of higher education provision. The overall goal is higher education that is more responsive to student choice, that provides a better student experience and that helps improve social mobility.

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The UK government has published this consultation in response to the ‘Richard review of apprenticeships’, published in November 2012. It sets out the government’s long term vision for apprenticeships, together with proposals for achieving this. The review looked at how apprenticeships in England can meet the needs of the changing economy. This government response accepts the review’s assessment of the challenges and opportunities to come and endorses its recommendations for reform, in particular to: place control of apprenticeships more firmly in the hands of employers; and ensure that all apprenticeships are rigorous and responsive to employers’ needs. The government’s response also launches a consultation on the practical steps needed to turn this vision into reality. The government invites contributions from those interested in the future of apprenticeships by 22 May 2013. These will be considered and used to inform the government’s future approach and implementation plan in 2013.

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This strategy document sets out the UK government's vision for reform of the further education and skills system in order to improve the skills of the workforce, the performance of the economy and engagement in learning. The reform of the skills systems includes: (1) expanding the numbers of adult apprenticeships available, so by 2014-15 there will be 75,000 more adults starting than under the previous government's plans; 200,000 adults will be able to start an apprenticeship; 605 million pounds will be invested in adult apprenticeships in the 2011-12 financial year; (2) fully funding training for young adults aged from 19 up to 24 undertaking their first full level 2 ([General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE equivalent) or first level 3 qualification when they do not already have one; (3) fully funding basic skills courses for individuals who left school without basic reading, writing and mathematics; (4) introducing government-backed loans from 2013-14 for learners aged 24 and over undertaking level 3 or higher qualifications; (5) initiating a demand-led growth and innovation fund of up to 50 million pounds of government investment a year, to support employer-led initiatives within sectors; (6) replacing Train to Gain with an [small and medium enterprise] SME focused offer to help small employers train low-skilled staff; and (7) helping people who are on active job-seeking benefits to secure work through labour-market relevant training.

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The higher education (HE) white paper, 'Higher education: students at the heart of the system' (June 2011), sets out how the UK government will create a more dynamic and student-led system, which supports social mobility and economic growth and is affordable for government. The reforms will put higher education institutions on a secure financial footing and enable the HE system to compete internationally. This will be followed in 2012 by a Higher Education Bill, which will take forward any changes to primary legislation needed to implement the reforms. An impact assessment is a tool to assess the impacts of regulatory changes on the economy. This impact assessment focuses on those proposals set out in the HE white paper which involve regulatory change and/or require primary legislation to implement via a HE Bill in 2012, that is: (1) changes to funding for HE and financial support; (2) information policies; (3) fair access; (4) reforming the control of student numbers; and (5) reforming the regulatory framework. The policies are not yet fully developed. The UK government will be consulting on the various options presented in this impact assessment. It quantifies as far as possible the benefits and costs of the proposed policies and compares them with a set of other options and the counterfactual. A further, more detailed impact assessment will be undertaken prior to the introduction of a Bill. Show less

In Section A of this report, we provide a brief overview of the main characteristics of the postgraduate landscape and highlight some recent trends in participation. This is followed in Section B by an assessment of postgraduate education in the UK, responding to the main areas of investigation Lord Mandelson asked this review to consider. This includes a series of recommendations aimed at further strengthening postgraduate education in the UK. The review has taken a UK-wide view of postgraduate education. However, postgraduate education is partly devolved. Research Council funding for postgraduate education is deployed across the UK but there are separate higher education funding bodies in each of the four countries of the UK. There are differences in the policies of the Devolved Administrations and therefore in the way the respective funding bodies support postgraduate provision. We have built on the direction set by the UK Government in Higher Ambitions, but have also recognised that each of the Devolved Administrations have published their own higher education policy documents in the last two years. In Wales, For our Future - The 21st Century Higher Education Strategy and Plan for Wales; in Scotland, New Horizons; and in Northern Ireland, the Review of Postgraduate Policy and Funding. Some of the recommendations in this report are relevant UK-wide and are therefore addressed to stakeholders across the UK. Where appropriate, others are directed to the UK Government or the Higher Education Funding Council for England; but may be of interest to other Administrations.

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[This report] presents the findings from assessing of the early impact of 'New challenges, new chances further education and skills system reform plan: building a world class system', published in December 2011. The report set out what the UK government would financially support and the program of work to reform the further education (FE) and skills system for adults aged 19 and over in England. This evaluation assesses how far the reform program: (1) influenced the behaviour of FE and skills providers; and (2) changed the way that they work with government and its agencies. It also examines how the reforms affected: (1) increasing employer and learner investment in skills; and (2) creating a responsive and high-quality FE sector. Show less

This paper presents evidence that underpins the main technical education reforms laid out in the Post-16 Skills Plan. The analysis shows that skills are vital to addressing the UK's productivity problem, but that the current technical education system is unresponsive, suffers from a lack of engagement with employers, and is complex and difficult for employers, learners, and parents and carers to understand.

The first section of the paper provides a range of data on what the current education system in England is delivering, in terms of participation, transitions and attainment, with a particular focus on technical education. The second section explains why the current technical education system is still not doing enough for learners, employers and the economy as a whole. In particular, it sets out the productivity problem facing the UK economy and the contribution skills can make to productivity. It provides evidence on existing skills deficits and current employer demand for skills. It then shows that the complex and opaque nature of the current system is associated with problematic levels of 'churn' - switching between course types, dropping back to lower-level learning, or repeating study at the same level. Finally, it shows that the expected future changes in demand for skills and labour as a result of technological change and other trends only add to the case for improving the technical education system. The annexes to this paper provide statistics on the level of churn within the system and on the participation and attainment between ages 16 and 18 of those with low attainment at age 15.

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This consultation is published in response to Doug Richard's independent 'Review of apprenticeships', which looked at how apprenticeships in England can meet the needs of the changing economy. It addresses Doug Richard's recommendations for reforming the way apprenticeships are funded. The government has already endorsed the review recommendations, which aim to give employers more control over apprenticeships, and ensure that all apprenticeships are rigorous and responsive to employers' needs. [The government has] previously consulted on the 'Future of apprenticeships in England' to encourage feedback on the practical steps needed to turn this vision into reality. This consultation seeks views on three ways of delivering funding reforms put forward by Doug Richard: (1) a new online system for apprenticeships with payments to employers made directly from the system; (2) utilising the [pay as you earn] PAYE system; and (3) reforming the existing provider funding infrastructure.

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This document sets out the UK government's plan to support young people and adults to secure skilled employment and meet the needs of the economy. It is based on the report of the Independent Panel on Technical Education chaired by David Sainsbury. The document contains the following sections: Our vision for a reformed system; A reformed technical education option; Taking forward new technical routes extending to the highest levels of skilled employment; Ensuring the new system works for everyone; Strong and dynamic providers; Enabling factors; Meeting short-term skills pressures; Road map for reform. The plan presents the vision for the system but more detail will emerge as plans are developed in consultation with employers, colleges and other training providers.

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[This document] describes the steps taken to reform the use of vocational qualifications (based on occupation or employment) in full-time education, including a timetable for the introduction of these reforms. It sets out new initiatives to take forward the reforms in new areas, including recommendations from the review of adult vocational qualifications led by Nigel Whitehead of BAE Systems. It also presents some ideas for future reforms, particularly to the way the development of skills and competences relating to employability are funded.

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