Learning Credits (Hansard, 13 March 1997)

§ Mr. Paice

The White Paper "Learning to Compete", Cm 3486, published in December 1996 set out the Government's intention to introduce, progressively from September 1997, a new learning credits entitlement for all young people aged 14 to 21 to career planning and learning opportunities up to level 3. This will clarify and make more coherent young people's entitlement to post-16 learning and career planning, and increase still further their participation, motivation and attainment. Learning credits will be issued nationally from Easter 1998 to all 16-year-olds completing compulsory education.

The consultation document "A Passport to Learning" published alongside the White Paper sought views on how learning credits should be implemented and their scope for further development.

The Government's proposals have been warmly welcomed by respondents across the education and training worlds.

The new learning credits entitlement includes:

an improved entitlement to two weeks' work experience pre-16;
enhanced careers education and guidance from 14;
a new national record of achievement from 14;
access by age 21 to learning opportunities leading, where appropriate, to level 3 qualifications; and
continuing independent advice from the careers service post-16.

The effective delivery of this entitlement will require the active partnership of careers services, training and enterprise councils, the Further Education Funding Council, local education authorities, schools, colleges and training providers.

In taking forward learning credits through local partnerships, the Government believe that careers services should have the central role in delivering the learning credits entitlement. From September 1997 they will be responsible for a range of tasks including:

issuing learning credits to those entering year 11;
preparing young people in years 9 and 10, through group sessions, for learning credits;
informing parents and schools about learning credits; and
providing extra help to those young people requiring further advice on how to use the learning credit.

I am allocating £5.5 million to careers services for 1997–98 to enable them to fulfil these roles.

The Government have decided that, initially, the learning credit will be in the form of a simple card which will be made available to all young people completing their compulsory education from Easter 1998. The experience of training and enterprise councils in delivering youth credits has shown that such cards can be a very effective mechanism for focusing young people on the range of options open to them.

Learning credits will be made available to all young people. They will build on the best of youth credits arrangements. We intend to consider the potential for developing the card further to form the basis of systems for tracking more effectively how young people progress in post-16 learning. This should lead to improvements in planning, and contribute to evaluation of the effectiveness of learning provision and of the guidance process.

The year 1997–98—the first year of learning credits—will be a transitional year. Careers education and guidance will be targeted, so that young people in their final year of compulsory education are advised how to use their credit effectively. In future years young people will receive this advice and guidance within a structured and coherent careers education, guidance and information package spanning years 10 and 11.

Youth credits will be relevant to the transitional arrangements. Training and enterprise councils will be able, for 1997–98, either to adopt the national learning credits format from the outset or to continue with their current youth credit arrangements for the work-based route.

More detailed guidance covering the implementation of learning credits will be made available to the key partners shortly.

"A Passport to Learning" generated a great deal of interest in the potential for links to be developed between learning credits and the national record of achievement and lifetime learning. The Government will continue to reflect on these ideas.