Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to encourage enterprise in schools and university technical colleges and to give students technical skills for employment.

Lord Young in his report “Enterprise for All” has proposed a number of measures to help schools and colleges embed enterprise in their teaching to help young people develop a career and vocational skills. The Government expects to announce its response in the autumn. This will include the development of Enterprise Advisers to enable school headteachers to strengthen their focus on enterprise and engagement with the world of business and work.

These measures will also apply to university technical colleges, which provide high-quality technical education for those young people that choose to follow a more practically orientated education. Employers play a key role in shaping the curriculum to ensure that students learn practical and relevant skills for industry.

We are linking the whole education system more closely to the world of work. We have introduced Technical Awards for 14-16-year-olds. These qualifications, equivalent to GCSEs, are developed in partnership with employers and will give students the opportunity to develop real-life practical skills.

We have also introduced Tech Levels for 16-19-year-old students who want to learn technical skills as an alternative to, or alongside, A levels. The 227 Tech Levels taught from September 2014 are all endorsed by employers, trade or professional bodies, and cover most practical career paths. From September 2016, all Tech Level courses will also involve employers in the delivery and/or assessment of the qualification. We have changed the way providers are funded for 16-19 year olds so that work experience is funded on the same basis as qualifications. This gives education providers the freedom and flexibility needed to expand their work experience provision.