The prime minister will tomorrow announce a “Lifetime Skills Guarantee”, which will give adults the chance to take free further education courses.

Under the new scheme, adults without an A level or equivalent qualification will be offered a free, fully-funded FE course to try and provide them with "skills valued by employers", and the opportunity to study at a time and location that suits them, according to the government.

The aim of the initiative, due to be announced by Boris Johnson in a speech tomorrow, will be available from April in England, and will be funded through the National Skills Fund as part of efforts to help the country recover from the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  

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Currently, an individual's first full level 3 qualifications are funded through the adult education budget for learners aged up to 23. That entitlement will now be extended to learners of all ages for courses that are “shown to be valued by employers, supporting people to train into better jobs”.

In his speech tomorrow, Boris Johnson will say: “As the chancellor has said, we cannot, alas, save every job. What we can do is give people the skills to find and create new and better jobs. So my message today is that at every stage of your life, this government will help you get the skills you need. We’re transforming the foundations of the skills system so that everyone has the chance to train and retrain.”

Higher education loans

To support adults in pursuing these opportunities, HE loans are set to be made more flexible, allowing adults and young people to space out their study across their lifetimes. Plans will be set out in more detail in the government’s FE white paper, expected later this year, and will include measures to make it easier for people to study high quality HE modules across further and higher education and to make credit transfer between further and higher education more of a standardised and mainstream feature of post-18 education.

The reforms, the government said, would be backed by investment in college buildings and facilities. Apprenticeship opportunities would also be increased, with greater flexibility in how their training is structured – especially in sectors such as construction and creative industries. The government is also committing £8 million for digital skills boot camps; expanding pilots in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands and introducing programmes in four new locations. Additionally, the free online Skills Toolkit, will be expanded to include 62 additional courses.

'The recognition they deserve'

Association of Colleges chief executive David Hughes said: "For many years, further education colleges have not received the recognition they deserve for the outstanding work they do for people of all ages and communities – and they have suffered from a decade of neglect during austerity. The prime minister’s speech shows that he recognises this and supports the power and mission of colleges. It places colleges at the heart of the recovery, supporting people and employers in the recovery and renewal we all want to see. I am delighted that the government has decided to invest in colleges because they will help enhance people’s life chances for years to come." 

Mr Hughes added: "We believe that colleges should play a bigger part in a more collaborative education and skills system that allows people to train and retrain throughout their lives. Today’s speech is a strong sign that this thinking will form much of the foundation for the upcoming FE white paper and develop a system that works for all adults and not just those fortunate enough to go to university. 

"A new entitlement to a fully-funded Level 3 qualification and more flexibility built into L4 and L5 are important steps forward as the government begins to implement the Augar Review. There is a lot more to do to stimulate demand from adults and employers and to support colleges to have the capacity to meet needs. I am looking forward to working with officials on the details and the legislation which will be part of the white paper later this year. 

"We must get this right to ensure our education and skills system is fit for purpose – I hope the prime minister’s words are just the beginning on the road to a fairer and more accessible post-16 system for everyone who needs it.”

Association of Employment and Learning Providers managing director Jane Hickie said: “It’s good to see National Skills Fund being invested in extra and much-needed funding for adult education alongside AEB and we have recommended that the comprehensive spending review should integrate these two budgets and the National Retraining Scheme into a single pot which providers of all types can access. The next step after that is that adult learners should access the pot instead via properly regulated individual skills accounts, so we end up with a fully demand-led system like we now have for employers with apprenticeships.”

A spokesperson for the Learning and Work Institute said: “The new lifetime skills guarantee will help more adults improve their skills, and hopefully kickstart a new era of investment after a decade of decline during which the number of adults gaining A level equivalent qualifications has almost halved. But while this new entitlement will help, it can only be the first piece of the jigsaw and a down payment on the £1.9 billion extra investment needed. We need an ambitious lifelong learning strategy, support for people to retrain and change careers, and investment to create a pipeline of learning from basic skills to higher education.”