§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy(a) to monitor the participation levels of various age cohorts of adults and (b) to set targets to reduce the drop-off of learning from age 40 onwards. [129040]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Department and partner bodies do already monitor participation levels, and other factors such as attitudes and experiences of learning, through a number of sources including the Labour Force Survey, the Learning and Skills Council's Individualised Learner Record, the National Adult Learning Survey and NIACE surveys. Age of learner is an important factor in all of these sources and the Department regularly undertakes analyses based on age. Many of the publications based on these sources do contain breakdowns by age. Results from the 2002 NIACE survey on adult participation showed that the proportion of 35 to 44-year-olds who were current/recent learners had increased from 43 per cent. in 1996 to 49 per cent. in 2002. Participation among 45 to 54-year-olds increased from 36 per cent. to 44 per cent. over the same period. These increases are greater than for younger age groups.
The Government recognises the importance of encouraging all people, regardless of age, to participate in learning and increase their skills and is committed to safeguard the provision of a wide range of earning for 687W adults for culture, leisure community and personal fulfilment purposes with a better choice of opportunities to encourage adults back into learning. Through our Success for All reforms we will raise standards, increase participation and improve outcomes for learners and employers. We have introduced targets for learner numbers and learner success rates, including new national floor targets which set out the minimum acceptable levels of performance for colleges and other providers to be met or exceeded by 2006. These are aimed at improving the responsiveness and quality of provision to meet the needs of learners at all ages. The recently published Skills Strategy includes the new guarantee of free tuition for any adult without a good foundation of employability skills to get the training that they need to achieve such a qualification, known as a Level 2 qualification—explicitly noting that a higher than average proportion of older workers do not possess a Level 2 qualification.
The Government has set itself stretching targets to increase the basic skill levels of 1.5 million adults by 2007 and to reduce by 40 per cent. the number of adults without a qualification at NVQ level 2 or its equivalent by 2010. These targets will only be achieved if those over the age of 40 increase their participation and attainment in learning. Government believes that targets focused on ensuring all individuals achieve minimum levels of skill are the most appropriate for meeting the needs of the economy and society.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the implications of extending modern apprenticeships to all age groups. [129041]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisOur Skills Strategy, "21st Century Skills—Realising Our Potential", explained that we are committed to removing the age cap on Modern Apprenticeships in response to industry's concern that it constitutes a barrier to meeting their skill needs. As a first step, we have changed the rules so that, from 1 August 2003, young people who start their Modern Apprenticeship at any point up to their 25th birthday can complete it. Beyond that, we will invite the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to put forward their proposals to design and implement a Modern Apprenticeship programme for adults in their sector as part of the new Sector Skills Agreements. It will be for individual SSCs, the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and key partners including employers to assess the implications of this change for particular sectors. They will do so taking account of the need to maintain high standards; current budget limitations; and forthcoming European age discrimination legislation.