Technical and Further Education Bill

Baroness Pidding Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 1st February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Pidding (Con)]

My Lords, we are going through an age that will be remembered in years to come as one of great upheaval and change in the global economy. We face a multitude of challenges in our changing world. Rapidly growing countries such as China and India have more bright students than we have students. So that we do not get left behind, and can continue to be a world economic leader, we need to respond to this change.

Reform in our systems is vital, particularly in training up our young people before they enter the workforce. Like all noble Lords who have already spoken this afternoon, I am passionate about apprenticeships and our young people. If done properly, apprenticeships are of huge value, not just to those doing them but also to the companies taking on those young people. Unfortunately, people sometimes look at apprenticeships as somehow less valid then university education or other training. Yet these same people look across the channel to Germany with its history of on-the-job learning and see it as an equally valid pathway. I want our system to be held in as high regard.

I am supportive of the Bill and am encouraged by the consensus across the Chamber today. The Bill aims to reform the system, so that young people can see clearly that their work will lead somewhere and to something. I am delighted that the Government will be setting up the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, a body led by an independent chair and board. This will rely on the knowledge and experience of those working in the private sector to set out the right knowledge, skills and behaviours needed by our apprentices.

Our economy needs to respond to the challenges that lie ahead for us, and the Bill encourages employers to feed into that system. If we want to create worthwhile increases in growth and productivity, we need to ensure that the private sector is involved. As a country, we need more highly skilled people. Given the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead after our vote to leave the EU, we need to ensure that young people, who will be the drivers of our economy, are given the best opportunities to succeed in the workplace. Simply, their success is our country’s success.

The Bill is vital as it seeks to address our productivity gap through the institute’s inclusion of business leaders and employers, who know what skills they are looking for and will develop apprenticeships with those in mind. It is built around a clear framework of skilled occupations. With such a complicated system on offer at the moment, reform is critical. It will show young people that apprenticeships are an equally worthwhile option that will lead to long-term employment.

However, if we want to create a ladder of opportunity, rather than a missed opportunity, we need better career advice provision in schools on apprenticeships. As I have made clear, my interest is that apprenticeships are seen as the valid option that they are. Like so many other noble Lords, I urge the Government to look at how to promote that option in schools. This is particularly pertinent given the challenges that I have discussed, and I am very interested in the amendment that my noble friend Lord Baker of Dorking has suggested.

Overall, this is a well-thought-through Bill that builds on the Wolf review, which criticised the bewildering array of qualifications. It also implements all the recommendations of the Sainsbury report. The Bill will provide specific roads into employment and clarify the current system, making it easier for the Government to police quality. This will ensure that young people are taking up worthwhile qualifications that will benefit them and our economy in the long term. I believe that this will make the apprenticeship pathway more desirable for young people.

This is legislation for the long term. We are the builders and, with this reform, we will be the architects of our tomorrow.