Labour tells government to widen eligibility for lifetime skills guarantee

Labour has urged government ministers to widen eligibility for the new ‘lifetime skills guarantee’ after analysis showed that over 9.4 million jobs are in sectors excluded from the policy announced by Boris Johnson last year.

The opposition party has suggested that the scheme, which the Prime Minister unveiled as an offer for adults without an A-level or equivalent qualification to take a fully-funded college course, could be mistaken for an “April fool’s joke”.

Johnson announced the lifetime skills guarantee in a speech at Exeter college in September, telling the public that the courses that someone would be able to study will be limited to those that are “valued by employers”.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has developed a list of the qualifications that will be funded from April 2021. Those sectors excluded include hospitality, media and arts, travel and tourism, sport and retail.

Labour has highlighted that this means that more than a third of all current jobs across the country will be excluded from the training programme and argued this limits opportunities for the sectors worst affected by the Covid pandemic to rebuild.

Commenting on the scheme, Labour’s Toby Perkins said: “You would be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives’ lifetime skills guarantee is an April fool’s joke, rather than a plan to help re-skill our country after this pandemic.

“The Conservatives’ mishandling of the Covid crisis has led the UK to experience the worst economic crisis of any major economy. Their limited plans will now leave millions unable to access the skills they need to play their part in our recovery.”

The shadow minister for further education and skills added: “Ministers should urgently widen eligibility for the lifetime skills guarantee to ensure it reaches all adults who could benefit.”

People aged under 23 currently qualify for a funded level three qualification. The new adult education scheme launched by the Prime Minister last year is aimed at providing course for learners aged 24 and above.

ESFA determined priority based on ‘sub-sector’ categories already assigned to the nearly 1,300 full level three qualifications eligible for legal entitlement funding, for those aged 19 to 23, from the adult education budget until the end of this year.

According to Office for National Statistics employment figures, the proportion of people working in sectors linked to sub-sector areas not included in the scheme across England is 35%, ranging from 41% in London to 31% in the Humber.

53% (207) of the courses identified to receive funding are not in the existing adult entitlement, and are therefore not defined by the Department for Education as “full”, and 35% (136) are below an indicative 360 guided learning hours.

Government ministers have consequently been accused of misrepresenting the lifetime skills guarantee by repeatedly claiming that the funding allocated will allow older learners to achieve “their first full level three qualification”.