Parties go to battle on skills

The Tories launched their white paper Learning to Compete this week to Labour cries that they stole its ideas. THE POLITICAL battle for the educational high ground stepped up a gear this week as the Government and the Labour party fleshed out pre-Dearing education and training policies.

On Monday Education Secretary Gillian Shephard hailed her department's long-awaited white paper, Learning to Compete, as "the most comprehensive strategy for 14 to 19-year-olds ever proposed". On Tuesday, after a swift condemnation of the white paper from Labour, Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown outlined Labour's "education blueprint for the next government", in the shape of the University for Industry.

Both parties envisaged an end to the downward spiral of skills shortfalls, unemployability and long-term damage to the economy.

The Department for Education and Employment's white paper outlines initiatives to "improve Britain's skills base and boost international competitiveness". Key among the proposals was a plan to converge funding and quality control principles across all providers for 16 to 19-year-olds. The "output-related funding" model applied in further education will also apply to state sixth forms.

The Treasury's voucher proposal for post-compulsory education was rejected. "This scheme does not move us any closer to vouchers," said Mrs Shephard.

Mrs Shephard also proposed a new Learning Credits entitlement. This smart card-based points system will set out education entitlement for 14 to 21-year-olds. The failing Youth Training programme will be abandoned in favour of employer-led "National Traineeships" and a renewed drive for clearer careers information may mean further education institutions will have to publish details of their students' moves into higher education and employment. But Mrs Shephard's enthusiasm was focused on her "Relaunch" plan - "a lifeline to give dropouts, or those threatening to become so, a new start," she said.

"I shall be funding innovative local partnerships through which the education service, employers, the careers service, TECs and others will identify and motivate disaffected 14 to 19-year-olds and bring them back to learning," she added. A national advisory group is to be set up to this end.

The Labour party attacked the proposals even before their launch. Further and higher education spokesman Bryan Davies said that much of the Government's report was a "straight rip-off from Labour policies". Those policies which had not been "stolen", said Mr Davies, were "simply not credible. They promote cooperation to tackle disaffection and improve motivation, but expect it to take place between providers who are in straight and often ruthless competition for students."

Shadow education secretary David Blunkett outlined how Labour's University for Industry would work. It would be the "hub" of a national network covering workplaces and homes through computers, the Internet and digital television. Talks with the BBC on a learning channel were under way. It would act as a broker of information and courses that were paid for through private subscriptions.

Putting flesh on his idea of a University for Industry at an Institute of Public Policy Research conference, Shadow chancellor Gordon Brown lamented the "sad reality" that a third of adults have no qualifications. He pledged that Labour would shift cash from welfare into education. Post-16 child benefit would be "better used as an education allowance" and "every unemployed person should have the opportunity to consider training and work experience as part of unemployment benefit".