Reflections from the Labour Party Conference

At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Prime Minister proposed to Renew Britain – a bold promise that will take grand planning and belief to deliver. The weather was better than last year but the mood was sometimes unsettled, with some expressing frustration at the pace of change so far. In the FE and skills bubble, similar concerns were raised, but were overtaken by Government announcements that demonstrated a long-needed public commitment to the sector.

Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships 

Someone once told me that you should always have something you want to talk about in mind when heading up to Conference. For Edge, this year that was a no-brainer- we’ve published two exciting new policy reports in the last few weeks, both looking at how we can encourage more young people to enter apprenticeships by improving the application process, and encouraging more SMEs to engage. We’ve also just launched Apprenticeships Work, a new campaign, to increase apprenticeship opportunities in SMEs.

Skills, skills, skills

Skills and growth were front and centre across multiple fringe events.  During our own panel with LabourList on Tuesday morning, Education Committee Chair, Helen Hayes MP welcomed Edge’s reports. She highlighted how many of our findings and recommendations echoed those in the Committee’s recent report on FE and Skills, while our own Chief Executive, Alice Gardner emphasised the importance of connecting employers to education far earlier in the curriculum and ensuring there are multiple routes to success. The Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson took part in an informal interview in a packed and friendly room and pointed out that university isn’t for everyone and that the Government already has a strong focus on technical routes. She also mentioned that more support for FE would be set out in the White Paper this autumn.

Cinderella really will go to the ball

 FE and apprenticeships were also on the Prime Minister’s mind. He used his keynote speech to announce a new ambition that “two thirds of our children should go either to university or take a gold standard apprenticeship.” (replacing the 50% to university target which he said he didn’t think “was right for our times” ). This is welcome recognition that other routes, including apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications must be equally as valued and respected as university, something Edge has been propounding for some years. He also announced that Further Education would no longer be “a Cinderella service, ignored – because politicians’ kids don’t go there” but  “a defining cause for this Labour Government” with “more technical colleges, technical excellence colleges (and) qualifications linked to jobs rooted in their communities”

A real youth guarantee 

In another headline speech, the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced a commitment to guarantee a job or training place for every 18 to 21-year-old on long-term benefits, strengthening their Youth Guarantee promise. At Edge, we welcome this commitment, but have some concerns that it should include a plan to support the 95% of NEETs who have not been on Universal Credit for more than a year. The Education Secretary also announced the return of some maintenance loans, while the Prime Minister’s announcement included plans to bring Level 4-6 courses under a unified regulator and funding model (timely, given Edge’s new report on tertiary pathways).

Open to question

There were still more questions bouncing around Conference than answers. Everyone wanted to know more about when we will see the new white papers on schools and skills, the future of AGQs, details on the Growth and Skills Levy, what will be in the Autumn Budget, etc. The move of Skills England and the apprenticeships portfolio to DWP is another big decision that we haven’t seen much detail on yet.  There were also fears that these machinery of government changes may bog down a system that needs to be moving fast to usher in new courses and apprenticeships to respond to the rapidly changing workplace. Despite this, I left Conference more positive about the future than when I arrived. The government announcements were very welcome and on top of that there is so much being done by combined authorities, colleges, employers, and charities that we can celebrate.

By Sorah Gluck, Senior Policy Advisor, Edge Foundation