The Lifetime Skills Guarantee will be the backbone of the country's Covid-19 recovery, the education secretary Gavin Williamson has said.
Speaking in the House of Commons today, Mr Williamson said the guarantee would help adults to upskill and retrain to enable the country to "come back stronger and build back better".
He said: "We want every student who has the ability and desire to go to university to do so. But we also want all young people to be given a real choice in what route they take. We will introduce a Lifetime Skills Guarantee that will help people to retrain and upskill. This will be the backbone of our Covid recovery and will enable us to come back stronger and build back better."
News: Boris Johnson to announce Lifetime Skills Guarantee
Opinion: Why the PM's speech on skills is a 'ragbag'
Boris Johnson: End 'pointless, nonsensical gulf' between FE and HE
On Tuesday, prime minister Boris Johnson announced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, which will result in adults without an A level or equivalent qualification being offered a free, fully funded FE course to try and provide them with "skills valued by employers".
Mr Williamson added that the introduction of the guarantee "was not merely a response to the pandemic" but a continuation of the government's "whole-hearted commitment to level up every inch of our country".
Skills funding 'won't reverse the damage'
He said: "I believe that this dynamic programme of measures is not just about weathering the Covid storm. These reforms will lay down a marker for the age, they'll bring an end to the post-16 career lottery and decades of indifference to further education, and we'll set up each and every member of society with the means to get a satisfying and well-paid job."
But Labour's shadow education secretary, Kate Green, said that many learners who could benefit from the funded courses won't be eligible.
"For those training beyond level 3, [Mr Williamson] appears to be offering only a flexible loan system, but his own department's research shows that the introduction of loans caused participation in adult education to plummet," she said. "Why is he repeating this failed approach?"
She asked what support would be available for those without a level 2 qualification, and if learners would be able to access maintenance loans.
Ms Green added: "Additional investment into further and adult education is obviously welcome, which is why, on these benches, we spent years advocating for it year after year when his party cut it. The funding announced today will not even reverse the damage, let alone mean increased investment."
