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This report aims to provide a synthesis of international evidence on widening participation and demonstrate which initiatives might be most applicable and useful in an English context. An international search of published and grey literature on widening participation was conducted, with the help of a wide range of international contacts identified with the help of the project’s Expert Advisory Group (see Appendix A). A total of 240 items were then selected as suitable for inclusion in the initial evidence framework. Following a framework agreed by the [Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills] DIUS Steering Group, these were summarised, with details of authors, years and sources. They were sorted into three different levels, those that pertain to policy level initiatives, those that represent innovations at an institutional level and those that relate to the issues faced by disadvantaged groups at an individual level. Although all of the evidence included provided valuable information, the next stage of the process was to select those initiatives that were most salient to an English context. Part of this process included drawing up country profiles of those countries that seemed to have similar frameworks for higher education (HE) or which presented important lessons for the English context. These countries were: Australia; India; the Netherlands; Norway; Sweden; South Africa; Republic of Ireland; Canada; USA; China and Germany. Show less

[This report] presents the findings of research into the highest prior qualifications levels of adult learners (aged 19 and over) who undertook full level 2 or full level 3 Train to Gain learning in November 2010. It covers some of the last groups of learners to be funded under Train to Gain. [It] aims to better understand the extent to which investment in Train to Gain has been directed towards up-skilling individuals with lower skill levels. [It] also explores the profile of learners undertaking learning under Train to Gain and those undertaking their first level 2 learning, in demographics, employment status and income, and investigates why they take up Train to Gain learning.

Published abstract. Show less

The review of adult offender learning in England was jointly undertaken by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). This report of the review outlines plans to break the cycle of re-offending, by developing a stronger link between learning in prisons and the vocational and employability skills that employers demand. Under the reforms to the adult offender education system, there will be greater emphasis on the results that education and training in prison delivers. The way learning is delivered in prisons will also be overhauled to better reflect the way the prison system is organised and improve value for money. This report sets out the Government's commitment to: increase the range and relevance of learning, focusing on the skills employers need; support more work opportunities in prison; improve links with employers, ensuring where possible a relationship with employers has been established before release; boost activity to prepare prisoners for apprenticeship opportunities on release; focus learning delivery towards the end of prisoners' sentences, linking it directly to needs in the labour market on release; reshape careers advice provided in custody; trial outcome incentive payments, giving colleges and training providers a greater stake in delivering learning successfully; and restructure the delivery of offender learning around the clusters of prisons within which prisoners normally move, bringing more coherence to the system.

Excerpt from BIS website. Show less

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.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

Maintaining a vibrant UK oil and gas industry is critical - the industry is a key contributor to [gross domestic product] GDP, to tax revenues, and an important source of exports. This is why both the UK Government and Scottish Government are working to support the sector. The future success of the industry will depend on retaining access to a skilled workforce. The purpose of producing a UK oil and gas workforce plan is to help deal with both short and long-term issues in the sector with industry and governments working together. This plan sets out how the government will help skilled workers in the oil and gas sector find work in the wider engineering sector. It also introduces measures which will help industry deal with the cyclical nature of its workforce needs over the longer term.

Excerpts from publication. Show less

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).

Edited excerpts from publisher's website and publication. Show less

This publication presents experimental outcome based measures covering the destinations (into employment and learning) and progression of post-19 learners completing funded further education training in 2010 to 2011. The measures make use of administrative datasets already held by government to observe learning and employment activity in 2011 to 2012, and prior attainment of learners to measure progression.

Excerpts from publisher's website. Show less

[This report] provides practical information and guidance on competition issues in the further education (FE) sector for FE providers. It aims to help colleges and training organisations take advantage of the new freedoms and flexibilities introduced in 'New challenges, new chances: further education and skills reform plan: building a world class system'. The guidance aims to support effective competition in the FE sector. It highlights potential impacts that certain business decisions can have on competition, and provides recommendations on how to mitigate these risks.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

[This report] explains the benefits for business investment in leadership and management skills. [It is] based on evidence about current practice and the UK's position relative to key competitor nations.

Published abstract with additions. Show less

The evaluation, which sits alongside the Apprenticeship Evaluation Employer Survey, consisted of quantitative interviews with 5,000 Level 2 and 3 apprentices, as well as 800 higher apprentices, to explore their views of their apprenticeship. The research is intended to help monitor key progress indicators and develop a greater understanding of recent policy reforms that will help shape future development of the programme. Specifically it covered individuals' motivations for undertaking an apprenticeship, their experience of the training they received, their satisfaction with the apprenticeship and the impact this has had on their career.

Excerpt from publication. Show less