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This document sets out the UK Government's suggestions for improving the system for recognising professional qualifications across the European Union (EU). Recent evidence suggests that there is significant untapped potential in EU services, both in terms of productivity and employment. Reforms that improved the single market in services could have a significant impact on growth within the EU. Reforming the process for mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the EU is a key achievable priority in improving the single market in services, and creating growth.

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This publication presents experimental outcome based measures covering the destinations (into employment and learning) and progression of post-19 learners completing funded further education training in 2010 to 2011. The measures make use of administrative datasets already held by government to observe learning and employment activity in 2011 to 2012, and prior attainment of learners to measure progression.

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Equality impact assessments are an important framework for demonstrating due regard through considering evidence and analysis to help identify the likely positive and negative impacts that policy proposals may have on certain protected groups of consumers and to estimate whether such impacts disproportionately affect such groups. This assessment takes a summary view of the equality impacts of the changes to the apprenticeship program outlined below: (1) new incentive payments for small employers to take on a young apprentice for the first time; (2) measures to make it quicker and easier for employers to take on an apprentice, including reducing the time it takes an employer to advertise for an apprentice to one month, and stripping back any unnecessary health and safety requirements; (3) requiring apprenticeship providers to offer training in English and Maths up to the standard of a good [General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE to all apprentices, and publishing their progress; (4) launching a new employer-led review into the standards and quality of apprenticeships, to ensure every apprenticeship delivers professionally recognised qualifications which employers value; and (5) prioritising the efforts of the National Apprenticeship Service where apprenticeships deliver greatest value, including on younger adults, new employees, higher level qualifications and particular sectors, whilst maintaining a demand-led, all age program open to all sectors across the economy where high quality apprenticeships can be offered.

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This review looks at the framework for determining employment status and provides a snapshot of the UK labour market in 2015. In order to gain a greater understanding of some of the issues being faced, officials were asked to consider what the UK labour market looks like and suggest ways in which government could deliver a framework that strikes the correct balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of business, supporting growth and prosperity in the 21st century. The review involved discussions with a number of stakeholders and this report represents the findings of that review.

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The national strategy for access and student success in higher education has been developed at the request of the UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Minister for Universities and Science. The vision of this national strategy is: that all those with the potential to benefit from higher education have equal opportunity to participate and succeed, on a course and in an institution that best fit their potential, needs and ambitions for employment or further study. This final report to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills sets out what the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will do to carry out the strategy.

Part one summarises the vision, overall approach and key actions that are proposed across the three broad stages of the student lifecycle: (1) access - preparing for and entering higher education; (2) retention and student success - staying on and achieving a qualification; and (3) progression to further study or to/within employment. Part two describes the strategy in detail and the evidence that it is based on. It brings together new and existing research on access and student success, including evidence gathered through commissioned research, a call for evidence and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders. The first three chapters discuss issues, evidence, and recommendations relating to the three broad stages of the student lifecycle. The concluding chapter describes in detail the proposed implementation of the strategy and outlines the types of indicators that will be developed to measure progress against the priorities it identifies.

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Higher education in the United Kingdom (UK) is a successful public-private partnership of government funding and institutional autonomy. This White Paper sets out the government's reforms for higher education with a view to tackling three challenges. The first is to shift public spending away from teaching grants and towards repayable tuition loans, to ensure that higher education receives the funding it needs even as substantial savings are made to public expenditure. The second is to ensure that higher education institutions (HEIs) deliver a better student experience; improving teaching, assessment, feedback and preparation for the world of work. The third challenge is to ensure that HEIs take more responsibility for increasing social mobility. The reforms are designed to deliver a more responsive higher education sector in which funding follows the decisions of learners and successful institutions are freed to thrive; in which there is a new focus on the student experience and the quality of teaching and in which further education colleges and other alternative providers are encouraged to offer a diverse range of higher education provision. The overall goal is higher education that is more responsive to student choice, that provides a better student experience and that helps improve social mobility.

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The UK Government's 2010 strategy document 'Investing in skills for sustainable growth' [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 107.412] set out the principles of fairness and shared responsibility underpinning the investment strategy designed to create a further education (FE) system delivering a lifelong approach to learning, nurturing, sustainable economic growth and social renewal. This current investment statement confirms the Government's commitment to invest in high quality provision that delivers good value for money with a focus on young adults, the low skilled and those who are unemployed.

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Education Partnership in Africa (EPA) aims to support English further education and higher education institutions engage in partnership with Sub Saharan African universities and education and training institutions to build institutional capacity to deliver employability skills in collaboration with local employers and social enterprises. This report presents various projects, workshops, and collaborative links with industry that have occurred through the partnerships established through the programme. Show less

This strategy document sets out the UK government's vision for reform of the further education and skills system in order to improve the skills of the workforce, the performance of the economy and engagement in learning. The reform of the skills systems includes: (1) expanding the numbers of adult apprenticeships available, so by 2014-15 there will be 75,000 more adults starting than under the previous government's plans; 200,000 adults will be able to start an apprenticeship; 605 million pounds will be invested in adult apprenticeships in the 2011-12 financial year; (2) fully funding training for young adults aged from 19 up to 24 undertaking their first full level 2 ([General Certificate of Secondary Education] GCSE equivalent) or first level 3 qualification when they do not already have one; (3) fully funding basic skills courses for individuals who left school without basic reading, writing and mathematics; (4) introducing government-backed loans from 2013-14 for learners aged 24 and over undertaking level 3 or higher qualifications; (5) initiating a demand-led growth and innovation fund of up to 50 million pounds of government investment a year, to support employer-led initiatives within sectors; (6) replacing Train to Gain with an [small and medium enterprise] SME focused offer to help small employers train low-skilled staff; and (7) helping people who are on active job-seeking benefits to secure work through labour-market relevant training.

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In April the Government published 'New industry, new jobs' [indexed at TD/TNC 97.225], where it committed to take 'a more strategic approach to government's role as a market shaper'. The paper set out the need for government to understand better how it influences markets with a view to capturing the economic and commercial benefits that can be realised when government sends clear signals of its strategic intentions. It recognised that to achieve this, there need to be processes and a culture within departments that consider wider industrial opportunities of government action. The Government committed to taking action to 'ensure the consideration of business opportunities is part of every department's policy-making, starting with pilots in selected key areas'. This paper sets out the progress to date and the next steps. It also indicates how we will engage with business and representative bodies to gauge their views on how this process could be conducted.

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