Vocational Education (Hansard, 15 December 1992)

§ Mr. Boswell

Since its launch in 1982, the Department's professional, industrial and commercial updating (PICKUP) programme has successfully stimulated our colleges and universities to increase the quality and quantity of courses of continuing vocational education (or PICKUP) for the adult work force, usually provided at full cost and paid for by employers or individual employee. We estimate that enrolments grew by an average of 20 per cent. a year between 1984–85 and 1989–90, and were held at their record high level of nearly 1 million in 1990–91. Providing courses tailor-made to the needs of employers is now an accepted part of the mission of the great majority of colleges and universities.

We have reviewed the PICKUP programme in the light of this success and of developments such as the establishment of the Further Education Funding Council and the training and enterprise councils (TECs). We have concluded that—after more than 10 years and over £100 million of programme expenditure—the level of expertise within institutions, and the support they increasingly receive from the TECs, is such that the advisory and promotional work of the programme, including the Department's 10 PICKUP regional offices and its adult training promotions unit (ATPU), is now no longer necessary. The PICKUP regional development agents and the ATPU have been successful in putting continuing vocational education more firmly on the educational map but we judge that it would now be better to concentrate future support even more on the direct funding of institutions to enable them to continue to develop new courses and undertake the necessary related work such as marketing. The Department's regional offices and the ATPU will therefore close on 31 March 1993.

As a consequence, the resources available for the direct funding of further education colleges for the further development of PICKUP courses will nearly double, from £.1.7 million in 1992–93 (currently available from within the Department's £3.5 million PICKUP programme) to EH million in 1993–94. Of this £3.1 million, £2.8 million has been included in the planned funding for the Further Education Funding Council, with £0.3 million available from the Department (within a total of £0.8 million retained by the Department to complete existing PICKUP programme commitments in 1993–94). For both 1994–95 and 1995–96 the planned funding for the FEFC includes £3.7 million for PICKUP. It will be for the council itself to consider how best to deploy these resources. The Department is considering with the council the scope for it to use the expertise of the Department's regional development agents after 31 March 1993.

Funding for the development of continuing vocational education within higher education will be unaffected by our decision on the PICKUP programme. Funding is currently the responsibility of the Universities Funding Council and the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (with respectively £10 million and £5 million made available for England in 1992–93). The Higher Education Funding Council for England will assume responsibility 190W for funding higher education in England from 1 April 1993 and is at present consulting institutions on the future funding of continuing education as a whole.

It is clear—not least from recent HMI reports on PICKUP in polytechnics and PICKUP in further education—that a large amount of high-quality continuing vocational education, highly valued by employers, is already being provided. But this work will need to grow significantly, particularly to help employers meet the national education and training targets for lifetime learning, launched by the Confederation of British Industry in July 1991 and endorsed by the Government. The Department's PICKUP programme—and in particular the work of its regional development agents over the years—has laid the foundation: it is now for colleges and universities themselves, working with their business customers and with the TECs, and supported by their funding councils, to ensure that this work continues to grow. In so doing they will be helping to build the world class work force which our economy needs.