Executive Summary
Our achievement of high and stable employment over the last decade has been founded on labour market flexibility, a sound economy, and a balance of rights and responsibilities. While these remain important, they are no longer enough. In a global age, the ability to equip our people with higher and new skills is increasingly important.
The Government has already embraced this agenda by adopting Lord Leitch's recommendations (1) to provide everyone with the opportunity and encouragement to develop their skills to the maximum. We have also started the integration of our welfare and skills systems to give people the best chances to get into and on in work.
This paper sets out the next steps in this journey. It describes how we're creating integrated employment and skills services that are more responsive to the needs of individuals and employers. It also shows how we plan to ensure that our delivery systems work more closely together, and are driven by those who know best how to shape services to meet local needs.
We're helping individuals to get the skills they need by giving everyone the right to a personal Skills Account, putting them in control of their learning. And we're now extending the entitlements available through these Skills Accounts. This will mean 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.
We will ensure that from this autumn, the first Level 3 for every 19-25 year old is free to the individual and their employer.
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