Publication – The Further Education and Skills Sector in 2020: A Social Productivity Approach

Big changes are happening across the spectrum of public services. The Coalition Government, driven by a determination to reform within the context of massive spending cuts, is reshaping the way public services are designed, delivered and accounted for.  All parts of the further education sector, from colleges of further education and sixth form colleges, to adult community learning services and work based learning providers, will be affected by these transformational changes.

Economic downturn has put a new premium on skills and growth policy. Youth unemployment remains at near-record levels. Spending pressures are driving cost reductions and new coping strategies. And as the sector is liberalised, colleges and other providers are being asked to become more effective advocates for their own value beyond the narrow boundaries of ‘plan and provide’.  It is clear is that further education is at a critical point: the new challenges and opportunities for the sector are huge.

With this in mind the  commissioned 2020PSH to provide an independent perspective for the further education and skills sector on possible futures.

The report calls on the sector to take advantage of its new found freedoms by breaking away from a narrow ‘delivery of qualifications’ role to place more emphasis on citizen engagement, interaction with employers and civic leadership.  For FE to be transformative in 2020, the report recommends that the FE sector follows five new directions:

• Incubate social value
• Network Local Growth
• Drive public service integration
• Re-set citizen engagement
• Create platforms for open learning

The report was launched at the RSA on 26th May 2011.  Please download a copy of the Executive Summary or Full Report.

Commenting on the report Sir Andrew Foster said:
“It is six years since I published my review of the future of further education. I found a sector that was delivering crucial economic and social benefits to individuals and communities, but was struggling to articulate its value within a wider policy context – it was a Cinderella sector. Much has changed, and the sector‟s voice is now stronger. But the public services landscape in which it operates has changed even faster. FE is once again at a crossroads. That is why I welcome this report by the 2020 Public Services Hub at the RSA. With the country urgently in need of new models for local economic growth, now is the time for FE to put itself at the heart of economic and community development.”

Commenting on the report, Professor Alison Wolf said:
“I totally agree with the authors that further education is the most flexible and indeed agile part of our education system; and that major changes are on the way. I hope very much that the sector will be able to take far more control of these changes than in the recent past, and will be free to experiment and reflect on how best to serve students. This very interesting publication makes an important contribution to thinking about how this might occur.”

Speaking at the launch of the report, Dame Ruth Silver DBE, Chair of LSIS Board and Council, commented that:
“LSIS commissioned this work in order to provide for the further education and skills sector an independent perspective on possible futures, building on the Hub’s pioneering thinking on public services. As the Coalition devolves responsibility away from Whitehall and empowers service providers and citizens, the report challenges the sector to shape and create a radical future. We hope the report will stimulate discussion and empower the sector to determine the future it desires.”