Lord Sainsbury’s review found that young people considering a technical education today must choose between more than 20,000 courses provided by 160 different organisations. A young person wanting to pursue an engineering career faces a choice of 501 different courses.
As a result, the review recommends simplifying the current system so that technical education is provided through 15 routes, with standards set by industry professionals. Several of these routes would provide skilled recruits for the engineering profession, including engineering and manufacturing, digital, transport and logistics, and construction.
Professor Dame Ann Dowling, president of the Royal Academy of Engineering said: “We have argued for many years that the qualifications system in England is too complex and difficult to navigate for students and employers. The Academy fully supports the proposed ‘routes-based’ system as a mechanism to substantially simplify the current qualifications on offer through the public purse.
The Royal Academy of Engineering, and its industry partners, have recently instigated a coordinated programme to tackle the country’s skills shortage - the Engineering Talent Project - and has said it will support government in identifying the necessary knowledge, practical skills and behaviours required to inform the new technical education landscape.
Nigel Fine, chief executive of the Institution of Engineering and Technology added: “Particularly welcome are the clear progression routes between technical and academic education as set out in the report, which means we can encourage young people to progress from apprenticeships to degree courses and vice versa. This will improve the level of practical skills and knowledge which employers so urgently need.
“The proposed reforms to provide opportunities for high-quality, structured work placements for students to gain much needed practical and technical skills will also greatly help in improving skills levels – helping to address the skills gap the industry now faces.”
Stephen Tetlow, chief executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers welcomed the initiative to modernise and simplified what he called “our outdated system”. However, he called for clarity on the proposals, especially on the role and responsibilities of the Institute of Apprenticeships, and the future funding structure of further education in light of the recent EU Referendum.
“Government needs to develop clear joined-up national and regional policies for growth, which include energy, infrastructure, transport and healthcare provision,” said Tetlow. “Without these policies in place, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to judge where and when the priorities for funding apprenticeships should be focused. We need to ensure people have the right technical training and skills in disciplines where there is demand and that are critical to the country’s prosperity, such as engineering which is worth £455.6bn to the UK economy every year.
“This strategy needs a leap-of-faith among many hard-pressed employers to ensure they see this as an investment in the future. Therefore, long-term, cross-party support to help underpin market confidence will be vital if we are to make this a success,” he concluded.
The first of the new technical education routes will be made available from September 2019 and all routes will have been introduced by September 2022.
