Countdown begins to ALP 2011 conference

The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) is gearing up to host its two-day conference from tomorrow, with a raft of key speakers signed up to address its flagship annual event.

John Hayes and Chris Grayling, Ministers for Skills and Employment, respectively, will be heading the government’s presence at the conference. They will be joined by the respective heads of the Skills Funding Agency, the Young People’s Learning Agency and the National Apprenticeship Service.

Former education secretary Lord Kenneth Baker has also been confirmed as a special guest speaker for the first day of the conference, which runs from 21-22 June at London’s Hilton London Metropole Hotel.

Representing the voice of businesses and trade unions will be David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, and Tom Wilson, director of unionlearn, the training arm of the TUC union.

The third sector will be represented by Jane Stacey, who, as director of children’s services at the Barnardo’s charity, will give a frontline perspective on how to cut the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), which is now almost one million.

As ALP members form the vanguards of delivery for the coalition government’s significant expansion of Apprenticeships and the new Work Programme, this year’s event will cover four main themes:

• improving workforce skills

• transforming welfare to work

• tackling the ‘lost generation’ of young people challenge and

• improving the quality of employment services and skills training

ALP chief executive Graham Hoyle said: “The last twelve months have seen major reforms to the welfare-to-work and vocational skills sectors and ALP members have demonstrated their usual capacity to respond flexibly to the challenges.

“Meeting the government’s 50,000 extra apprenticeships target is ample evidence of this but unemployment and the increased number of NEETs means that we have a big task ahead. This conference is about how providers can work with government, employers and other partners to make a difference and develop a truly joined-up single employment and skills agenda.”

FE News has been granted exclusive access for the two day event. Watch this space for video interviews, analysis and more.

Susannah Fairbairn

Click here for its full speaker line-up and programme