§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she is taking to expand the provision of postgraduate courses for the training of managers for the manufacturing sector. [2571]
§ Mr. ForthResponsibility for providing postgraduate courses for managers within the manufacturing sector rests with higher education institutions, who take demand from manufacturing industry into account in arranging their provision.
Furthermore, the Government are keen supporters of the use by organisations in all sectors of the national occupational standards for managers. These were developed in consultation with industry to articulate best practice by managers at all levels. They also form the basis for national vocational qualifications.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps she is taking to ensure the expansion of postgraduate education successfully produces high quality industrial managers. [2679]
§ Mr. ForthThe Government have introduced comprehensive quality assurance arrangements within higher education which apply to all subjects, including management. The Higher Education Funding Council for England has a statutory responsibility to undertake quality assessment in specific subjects; and the Higher Education Quality Council undertakes quality audits of institutions' internal quality control systems.
In addition, the Department is taking forward its Competitiveness White Paper commitment to
look to Business Schools and others to contribute to improving the skills base by continuing improvement in the relevance and quality of courses".This has resulted in contracts being agreed with a number of business schools to develop postgraduate level courses which are competence based and which draw where appropriate on the national management standards.