Adults under the age of 25 who have missed out on education and training opportunities will be able to get free tuition to obtain a first, full level 3 qualification, equivalent to 2 A levels, from this August.
The new entitlement for the key intermediate technician level skills employers say they need will provide routes back for those who left education early and want to return to improve their qualifications and job prospects.
Announcing the new entitlement Bill Rammell, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education said: “The entitlement will encourage young adults to continue studying until they achieve the equivalent of 2 A levels and make sure they can get the qualifications to improve their life chances, social mobility and contribute to the economy.
Referring to Leitch the Minister said, “The Leitch Review of skills recognised the importance of raising the number of people qualified to A level equivalent. Higher intermediate skills are increasingly critical to the success of business and productive employment. We lag behind France and Germany in the proportion of our young adults achieving A level equivalent qualifications in their early twenties. Introducing a free entitlement up to A Level will help address this problem and bring us closer to a coherent package of support for learners up to the age of 25.”
The new entitlement will be available from August 07 through colleges of further education and other providers of high quality education and training who have satisfied the Learning and Skills Council quality assurance process.
The Further Education White Paper Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances announced the introduction of a new entitlement for a first full Level 3 qualification for those aged 19 up to 25 on the date they start their programme, supported by an expanded Adult Learning Grant (ALG), new funding for both of which was announced in the Budget on 23 March 2006. The new 19-25 entitlement and national roll-out of ALG will both be implemented from August 07, creating a new integrated package of support for young adults continuing their initial education to Level 3.
The entitlement is expected to benefit some 60,000 learners in 2007/08, enabling more young adults to achieve higher level technical and professional qualifications.
