Cash boost for English technical education ‘counters degree myth’

The Westminster government has announced a multimillion-pound investment in higher technical education in England, as part of a bid to “counter the myth that a degree is the only way to a good job”.

Universities will be able to access much of the funding, alongside further education colleges and institutes of technology – but it is part of a broader attempt by ministers to rebalance England’s post-secondary education system away from three-year university degrees and towards vocational study and lifelong learning.

Of the investment, announced on 11 June, £18 million will go towards a new “growth fund” to help further and higher education providers to expand higher technical education. The fund “will help providers to invest in equipment and develop the business links they need to offer training that will meet growing employer demands for skills in sectors including digital, construction, health and science”, the Department for Education said.

There will be £2 million to support the development of modular-level training “focused on upskilling employees to help address future skills gaps in high-value manufacturing”. The DfE said that the High Value Manufacturing Catapult had been appointed to lead the project, working with institutes of technology.

Allowing students to access student loan funding for modular-level courses at any stage of their adult life is the key principle of England’s planned lifelong loan entitlement.

And there will be up to £10 million for institutes of technology to develop short courses in technology and engineering disciplines aimed at working adults. “These courses, which will be available from autumn 2021, will be free to access and will support people to rapidly reskill or upskill to meet local economic needs,” the DfE said.

Alongside the loan funding reforms, which are part of a planned Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, ministers are introducing new higher technical qualifications, which universities will be able to offer with the approval of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Applications to offer the first of these will open later this year.

Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, said: “Investment in higher technical skills will support more people to secure exciting and rewarding careers, fill skills gaps in our economy and help us build back better from the pandemic.

“We also want to counter the myth that a degree is the only way to a good job. This funding will help open up more high-quality training alternatives for people, empowering them to get the skills they need to build the life they want, wherever they live.”

Concerns have been raised that the development of a lifelong loan entitlement will increase the cost of the student funding system so significantly that the government will be forced to consider cutting spending on universities, potentially by reducing tuition fees.

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com