Election Blog – week 5
In the penultimate week before the General Election AELP held its National Conference in London. While this timing obviously wasn’t planned, it did serve as a useful temperature check for the sector, looking at where we are, the challenges to come, and what we might see in the future.
One of the more interesting sessions was an in-conversation piece with former Skills Minister Robert Halfon. Halfon was in a reflective mood, talking about his time in parliament and in office, and drew applause from the crowd when noting that he hired the first ever apprentice for an MP’s office. Notably, Halfon hoped that a new generation of MPs on both sides of the house would champion apprenticeships – something AELP and members have been actively working on in this election.
On that subject, WA Communications hosted a workshop, advising delegates on how best to communicate with candidates and MPs and how this could win supporters in parliament. I know from experience how powerful a visit to an independent training provider can be for an MP – just imagine the impact if all our members received a visit. This work will continue in the next parliament after the election.
Meanwhile apprenticeships returned to the political narrative this week, with the Labour Party publishing a letter of support for its Growth and Skills Levy, signed by 57 executives. This letter appears to signal a continuation of the ‘journey’ Labour has been on with the levy. It has gone from talking about flexibility meaning funding for non-apprenticeship programmes, to a focus on ‘rigid rules’. The letter appears to continue this journey, calling for ‘protect apprenticeship funds’ – hardly a call for diverting apprenticeship funds elsewhere.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that non-apprenticeship programmes will disappear from the Growth and Skills Levy. We know traineeships are likely to return, funded by the levy, and Skills England will likely have some say in what other programmes can be funded. However there is a definite drift away from the 50% levy flexibility proposed only a month or so ago. This is partly a reflection of the hard work AELP has been doing to protect apprenticeship funding and make it more relevant for employers.
There was also an interesting line Sir Keir Starmer used in the BBC Question Time special. We know from the manifesto that Labour will have an “expert-led review of curriculum and assessment” of maths, reading and writing. On the Question Time special, talking about the importance of maths, Sir Keir Starmer said failure to achieve maths at GCSE would impact a learner throughout life and also impact an apprenticeship. Is this a signal that the Labour leader is aware of functional skills, and perhaps some of the issues surrounding them? General Elections can be like this – trying to feed off odd words and reading between the lines to understand what might come next.
AELP made a lot of progress on functional skills before the election and will be keen to continue this with a new government. Part of this will be the new mini commissions, introduced at our National Conference. There will be more information about the mini commissions coming in our communications, including a new website, or you can attend one of our sessions on w/c 8 July, here.
As we head up to voting day on 4 July, I want to urge you all to vote and remember to bring a form of identification when you do. I would also urge you to spread this message to your employees, co-workers and learners.
Happy voting!
Election Blog – week 5
In the penultimate week before the General Election AELP held its National Conference in London. While this timing obviously wasn’t planned, it did serve as a useful temperature check for the sector, looking at where we are, the challenges to come, and what we might see in the future.
