English Language: Training

(asked on 3rd September 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether training organisations other than Further Education colleges offering English as an additional language (EAL) and LCL accredited qualifications can deliver courses under the Lifetime Skills Guarantee; and what guidance his Department has produced explaining how eligible training organisations register as a provider of courses through that Guarantee.


Answered by
Gillian Keegan Portrait
Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
This question was answered on 8th September 2021

The Lifetime Skills Guarantee which my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced in September 2020, promises to help people across England get the skills they need at every stage of their life as we build back better from COVID-19. We know that now, more than ever, we need to invest in adult skills and training.

As part of this, the Free Courses for Jobs offer gives an estimated 11 million adults in England who are 24 and over and do not yet have A levels or equivalent qualifications the opportunity to take their first level 3 qualification for free. The courses available offer good wage outcomes and address skills needs in the economy, empowering adults with the tools they need to secure a better job.

Providers delivering to adult learners resident in areas not devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities or the Greater London Authority can deliver level 3 qualifications included in the Lifetime Skills Guarantee if they have received funding for this offer via the recent Adult Education Budget (AEB) procurement, or if they have received funding for the offer via an Education and Skills Funding Agency grant. Any providers with an AEB grant, who did not receive funding for the offer due to a lack of historic delivery, have been able to request funding for first time delivery.

Providers seeking to deliver the qualifications in areas with devolved or delegated adult education functions should contact the relevant Mayoral Combined Authority.

Further details about the performance management and funding arrangements for this policy can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1010290/AEB_2021_to_2022_funding_rules_v2_FINALAugust2021.pdf.

Also under the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer.

In January 2021, we launched a procurement process for a second wave of Skills Bootcamps to be delivered through the 2021/22 financial year. This was open until 12 February to further education providers, employers, and other sector bodies across England. We have carefully evaluated the bids submitted through this competitive process and selected the highest-quality projects to be awarded funding. The list of Skills Bootcamps is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/free-courses-for-jobs. We will continue to update it as new Skills Bootcamps become available.

For learners requiring English for Speakers of Other Languages provision, we fully fund or co-fund adults through the AEB for courses and qualifications from pre-entry through to level 2. Full funding is also available through the AEB for learners who need English and maths skills (and have not previously attained a GCSE grade 4 or higher) to undertake a range of courses from entry level to level 2; and for adult learners with no or low digital skills to undertake new Essential Digital Skills qualifications at entry level and level 1.

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