Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase links between education and employment.

Matthew Hancock

The government’s aim is to ensure that young people are equipped with the skills, experience and qualifications that employers want. The introduction of 16-19 study programmes will expand the provision of genuine work experience and work-related learning for all post-16 students. We have invested in new apprenticeships that are more employer-led than ever before, and introduced traineeships to give young people the skills and experience they need to compete successfully for a job. From September 2014, the Tech Level qualifications will provide a high-quality vocational alternative to A levels, leading to a recognised occupation.

These and other reforms arising from Professor Alison Wolf’s 2011 review of vocational education have led to far-reaching improvements in vocational education. These include employer recognition of qualifications and simplified and better-funded arrangements for work experience.

Our reforms to GCSEs and A levels will secure rigorous, challenging qualifications which are responsive to the needs of students and employers. New GCSEs in English and mathematics, which will provide greater assurance of literacy and numeracy, will be taught from September 2015, with the first examinations in summer 2017.