The ‘Skills for Jobs’ White Paper sets out planned reforms of post-16 technical education and training. The aim of these reforms is to invest in higher-level technical qualifications that provide a valuable alternative to a university degree, and put “employers at the heart” of this system, ensuring that qualifications and skills are focused on what employers want/need.

These reforms include:

• • Incorporating business groups alongside colleges to develop tailored skill plans to meet local training needs (supported by a £65 million Strategic Development Fund);
  • Ensuring employers play a central role in designing technical courses, to ensure these courses are directly linked to the real life skills needed for real jobs;
  • Boosting the uptake and quality of Higher Technical Qualifications;
  • Change the law to allow people to access flexible student finance to train and retain throughout their lives, supported by funding.

The full White Paper can be found here.