§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage a greater interchange of staff between education and industry; and what discussions he has had(a) with other departments and (b) with employers on how best to facilitate such an interchange. [169454]
1760W
§ Mr. Ivan LewisMy Department supports a number of schemes that encourage greater interchange of staff between education and industry: the Learning and Skills Council's Professional Development Placement scheme enables teachers in schools and further education colleges to undertake short placements in business; the Centre for Excellence in Leadership in co-operation with the Association of Colleges runs a work shadowing programme open to colleges and training providers involving exchanges of managers; and the Higher Education Funding Council supports a range of activities, often in partnership with the DTI, to make university staff more aware of business needs, including Business Fellowships.
There are regular discussions with DTI and Treasury on promoting links between education and business. The Government's approach to promoting such links draws on a number of consultations with business including, for example, through Howard Davies' review of enterprise education in 2002