§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on progress in the establishment of centres of vocational excellence in further education. [151160]
§ Mr. WicksOn 21 November 2000 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced Centres of Vocational Excellence at the Association of Colleges annual conference. Centres of Vocational Excellence are central to our vision of modern further education sector in which colleges are more sharply focused on meeting the skills needs of employers at local and sectoral levels. By 2005, we want half of all general further education colleges to have a Centre of Vocational Excellence. We are allocating £100 million in support of the centres.
We will consult employers, general FE colleges and other key partners in education and employment in March to develop the operational detail of the centres. We plan to have the first pathfinder Centres of Vocational Excellence up and running in the autumn with most centres opening for business from April 2002 onwards.