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12-02-05, 05:14 AM
Anna Bawden
Friday February 11, 2005
All adults will be able to study for the equivalent of five GCSEs free of charge, the education minister Ivan Lewis has revealed.
Writing in a pamphlet published by the Social Market Foundation thinktank, Mr Lewis unveiled the policy of fully funded, flexible opportunities for every adult to learn up to level two standard (the equivalent of five GCSEs at grades A-star to C).
"Every adult will be entitled to free tuition for a first level two qualification," he wrote, a standard that "is increasingly seen as the base level for successful participation in the labour market".
With the exception of literacy and numeracy, adults currently have to meet the cost of studying these courses themselves.
The policy has been trialled since September 2004 in the north east and south east. Details of how the programme will be rolled out nationally will be contained in the government's skills white paper, expected to be published in the next few weeks. The aim is to reduce by 40% the number of adults in the workforce who lack level two qualifications by 2010. "Evidence shows that employers are much more likely to invest in training for staff who already have level two skills, and that such staff are also more likely to seek or continue training on their own initiative," Mr Lewis explained.
A spokesman for the CBI welcomed the proposals, but how they would be funded remained a concern. The CBI is keen that raising adult level two skills should not come at the expense of literacy or numeracy programmes.
The minister confirmed that basic skills would remain a priority. "The UK economy will not maximise its long-term growth or employment potential if over a third of the workforce has few or no skills and qualifications," he said. Recent figures showed that 13.6% of the working age population possess no qualifications. The Department for Education and Skills wants to reduce the number of adults without basic skills by 1.5 million by 2007.
Mr Lewis also reiterated his commitment to increase take up of apprenticeships and other work-based training.
The government is focusing on skills shortages in recognition of the UK's productivity gap compared with the US and other parts of Europe.
According to Mr Lewis, there is evidence that in some sectors, British business can become "trapped" in a low skills equilibrium where employers adapt production techniques to a low-skilled workforce. This reduces the number of more highly skilled jobs, weakening incentives for employees to train and reinforcing the perception of a low-skilled workforce.
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