§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the role of the University of Industry in relation to other(a) providers and (b) strategic policy bodies in connection with vocational education. [74633]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisUfi was set up to stimulate demand for lifelong learning amongst businesses and individuals and to promote the availability of high quality learning materials and innovative learning methods, particularly through the use of Information and Communication Technologies. It uses the brand name learndirect.
Ufi contracts for the delivery of learndirect courses in over 1700 centres across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Partners include further education colleges, private and voluntary sector providers, employers, trade unions and others. In England the Learning and Skills Council funds learning delivered in these centres. Ufi works closely with this Department and with the LSC, and a wide range of other partners, in pursuit of the effective delivery of its objectives. We have recently begun a review of the relationship between Ufi/learndirect and the DfES in order to agree the most effective long term basis for its future development