Training re-think needed to protect vulnerable groups
Funding issues, low expectations and prioritising ‘ticking boxes over training provision’ are to blame for a swathe of worklessness and social exclusion, according to new research.
‘Bold policy steps’ must now be taken to expand the training, skills and education opportunities for learners from disadvantaged or excluded groups.
The National Skills Forum (NSF) made the call as part of a six-month inquiry into the links between skills training and the social exclusion of offenders, people with disabilities and black and ethnic minority (BME) groups.
Not enough is being done to tackle the issue of ex-offenders unable to secure work because of inadequate or irrelevant training, it said.
Across all three social groups, the inquiry found a combination of inflexible funding and low expectations of peer groups and employers, alongside a government obsession with ‘ticking boxes’ over training provision, to blame for high rates of worklessness and social exclusion.
With over half of male offenders and 71% of female offenders lacking qualifications, and with £30m spent each year on prisoners transferred before they complete education courses, the report concluded ‘urgent improvements to the system are needed’.
It also estimated that improving education and skills alone could help cut reoffending and save up to £325m a year.
The NSF announced a raft of recommendations including:
• Making education and training an ‘inherent part of sentencing process’
• Simplifying funding mechanisms to support disabled learners
• Encouraging Russell Group universities to participate in careers guidance at institutions with a high BME student intake.
The NSF publication follows recent research warning those from ethnic minorities or with fewer qualifications are far more likely to become ‘part of a generation lost to unemployment and disadvantage’.
Gordon Marsden MP, who co-chaired the inquiry, said improving the current system was ‘an absolutely vital requirement and message for any society wishing to make the best use of its talent and resources and to boost social inclusion’.
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