FREE Level 3 Qualifications Under the Lifetime Skills Guarantee
Back in September, Boris Johnson announced that the Government were going to offer a ‘Lifetime Skills Guarantee’. This is a new ‘education system’ to get the people of Britain training and re-training. Whilst a similar offer has previously stood for learners up to the age of 23, as of April, it will be to adults of any age.
Amongst other plans, such as the £1.5billion into refurbishing and upgrading colleges across England, the Lifetime Skills Guarantee will bring in a system where everyone is entitled to a flexible lifelong loan entitlement to 4 years of post-18 education.
Boris Johnson said…
“At the moment many young people feel they have to go for the degree option. They feel they have only one chance to study, and to borrow. They might as well go for the maximum, and get a degree.
Under our plans you could go for a one-year technical qualification and launch yourself at life; or you could do that, and then go to university later on. You have the choice.”
Lifetime Skills Guarantee
So from what we understand, from April 2021 anybody who left school without an A-Level, will have the opportunity to complete a technical course equivalent to an A-Level, in subjects of high demand. The Government are currently going through the process of selecting which of the 4,300 currently ‘approved for funding’ qualifications will fall into the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
Following Boris Johnson’s speech at Exeter college where he announced these plans, the D of E (Department of Education) said details of the courses would be revealed ‘next month’. That next month being October. But, as you may have guessed by now, we’re in November and have no further details on specific courses. The idea now is to get these details out by the end of the year. As far as we are aware, April 2020 is still the target date to get this system rolling.
What exactly is the plan?
In his speech, the Prime Minister highlighted the following:
“Through our Lifetime Skills Guarantee, we’ll;
- upgrade Further Education colleges across the country with huge capital investment;
- expand apprenticeships, making it easier to get a high quality apprenticeship, and connect them better to local employers who know where the jobs of the future are going to emerge;
- fund free technical courses for adults equivalent to A level, and extend our digital boot camps;
- we’ll expand and transform the funding system so it’s as easy to get a loan for a higher technical course as for a university degree, and
- enable FE colleges to access funding on the same terms as our most famous universities;
- give everyone a flexible lifelong loan entitlement to four years of post-18 education — so adults will be able to retrain with high level technical courses, instead of being trapped in unemployment.”
So, any day now we should expect the Government to reveal which courses they will be funding. Of course, when they do, we will be sure to keep you all updated!