Helping individuals and employers to get the skills they need

We're improving how we help individuals and employers to get the skills they need. This means:

  • a skills system that puts individuals in charge, where everyone has the right to a Skills Account; and
  • a skills system that is shaped by employers, where all employers have access to support, through Train to Gain, to choose the training provision that best meets their needs.

We will give people more control over the skills they gain by making it far easier to find out what training they're entitled to, and to be in control of their learning throughout their lives. Everyone will have access to a personal Skills Account which will provide them with a range of services. A Skills Account will:

  • provide simple access, online and elsewhere, to information on courses and actual job opportunities;
  • tell people what financial support they will get and how they can use it to buy training from approved colleges and training providers;
  • provide a record of the skills they have and track the skills they gain; and
  • enable people to get careers advice, or take advantage of face-to-face and telephone careers guidance sessions where necessary.

The service will be tested and refined in the South East and East Midlands from autumn 2008. In these regions learners will be able to register for an Account online, through careers advice services or through partner colleges. And from autumn 2010 the full service will be made available to everyone in England.

There is already lots of information about skills services online and elsewhere, but it can sometimes be difficult for people to find the bits that are relevant to them. As well as allowing users to manage their personal account, the Skills Account website will act as a single portal to the full range of services available. This will include information about courses and providers, and the types of jobs available locally and nationally; and access to advice on careers, including the facility to book a face to face appointment with a careers adviser.

A Skills Account will also make it easier for individuals to understand the full range of support they are entitled to. As well as entitlement to free and part-subsidised provision, we already offer a wide range of support to help individuals overcome financial barriers to learning, and to promote further access. This is either in the form of grants, loans or entitlement to free provision, but the variety in itself can often seem confusing.

Skills Accounts will give users a personalised 'voucher', representing the estimated value of the funding they can access. An individual can then 'spend' the voucher with an accredited provider of their choice. People can also use their Accounts to help access training at work through Train to Gain or an Apprenticeship. For those out of work, Jobcentre Plus advisers and careers advisers will have access to the same information about funding and courses to help identify the best training for the individual.

We already guarantee a university place to all qualified young people at age 18. We also want young people to know that they are entitled to funding for future training should they choose not to go to university. As a first step we are making sure that from age 18, depending on existing qualifications, all young adults who do not go to university will now have access to a range of entitlements up to Level 3 to spend on their vocational training, be it at a local college, training provider or in work through Train to Gain. For those not already qualified at this level, these entitlements would typically be worth some £7,000 (2), but the actual amount would vary depending on the courses chosen.

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