It came as a shock to many that FE and skills was unveiled as a central plank of the government’s flagship industrial strategy last month. Improbably, institutions of technology - those mythical organisations that no one quite understands but everyone apparently thinks are great - garnered many of the headlines.
But it is another element of the strategy that appears to be attracting most attention at the heart of government: creating a Ucas-style central application system for apprenticeships and technical education.
At the most basic level, it’s easy to see the attraction: what better way to demonstrate the mystical parity of esteem between academic and vocational routes than by having a one-stop shop where you could apply for everything in the same place? This isn’t a new idea. There have been several previous attempts behind the scenes to make this a reality, which have come to naught.
In 2014, Nick Clegg - you remember, that fella who was deputy prime minister for a few years, the one with the yellow tie - called for it to happen. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that the government at the time was much closer to a bluey-green hue than the yellowish end of the colour chart, it didn’t. And, of course, Ucas has made some inroads into this market, with its Ucas Progress service already up and running for some post-16 courses.
What better way to demonstrate the mystical parity of esteem between academic and vocational routes than by having a one-stop shop where you could apply for everything in the same place
This time, however, there’s a determination within government - right the way up to 10 Downing Street - that this should happen on a far bigger scale. A few weeks back, leading figures from across the sector were summoned to a meeting with apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon to discuss this. A follow-up meeting with the minister took place this month at No 10, during which it was made quite clear that it was no longer a question of if the change would happen but when.
FErret understands that while the detail hasn’t yet been finalised beyond the need for something “similar to the Ucas process”, the noises coming from Ucas are that it wants to run the show itself. But, of course, managing university applications on an annual cycle is rather different from the steady stream of apprenticeships and other programmes constantly starting across the FE sector. And when it comes to large-scale IT projects being set up speedily at the behest of government, let’s just say that the track record isn’t exactly glowing.
So any hope of getting such a system established before the next general election appears ambitious to say the least. But there are different approaches that could be taken: what about initially launching it for a small selection of qualifications before opening it up more widely? Alternatively, skills devolution could allow for a regional pilot scheme in a particular city or locality to try out the approach and see if it works.
The devil, as ever, will be in the detail.
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