Called by Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane-Fox, the House of Lords is debating ‘Improving digital understanding at all levels of UK society’ on 7 September. AELP has sent peers a briefing note (available for download here) with a series of recommendations on digital skills training. The main points are:
- AELP would encourage the Government to honour its commitment to ensure publicly-funded basic digital skills training is offered free of charge to adults in England who need it.
- It is vital that the training infrastructure is properly funded to deliver learning of good digital skills and that there is support available to capacity-build where it is needed to ensure that an appropriate level of such provision is available.
- Currently there are 13 developed apprenticeship standards for the digital industries and more in development. AELP believes all such apprenticeships should include a recognised qualification that helps apprentice completers switch jobs if they want to.
- We ask why digital skills are not funded as part of all apprenticeships.
- The new technical education standards under the Sainsbury reforms for 16 to 18 year olds should not diverge much at all from the equivalent apprenticeship standards.
- There still are too many bureaucratic barriers and restrictions for training providers to develop and deploy a technological-led approach to learning which inhibits growth.
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