This is an important moment in time for Technical Education in England. Positioned at the core of the Industrial Strategy, with political will and commitment to delivering a system which ‘rivals the best in the world’, the opportunity for substantive and effective change in the Technical Education system has never been greater.
The recommendations of the Independent Review of Technical Education, which concluded in 2016, were accepted by Government in the Post -16 Skills Plan with an action plan for reform published in October 2017, following Royal Assent of the Technical and Further Education Act in April 2017.
To drive forward the implementation of these major reforms in Lancashire, Steer Economic Development, working with David Briggs, assisted Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Skills and Employment Hub with the development of a vision for a high-performing Technical Education system.
The work to develop Lancashire’s Technical Education Vision was undertaken between September and December 2017. It involved a detailed process of evidence review and consultation, engaging with more than 60 providers, employers and key stakeholders across the County, in workshops and one-to-one interviews, to build consensus around what the Vision should aim to achieve.
The vision is set within the context of national skills and education policy and local initiatives, provides a clear and shared definition of technical education, set-outs how technical education can address current and projected labour market demands, and how it can ‘flex’ in response to labour market change.
The project also identified a route-map of priorities for action for the Skills and Employment Board, and the wider stakeholder group, to enable the implementation of the vision.
The work on the vision was completed in January 2018. In Spring 2018 the LEP appointed a Technical Education Project Manager and Project Officer to drive forward the Vision’s implementation, which was officially launched in November 2018:
https://www.lep.co.uk/news/lancashire-to-lead-the-way-in-new-alternative-to-a-levels-1-9515016
https://businesslancashire.co.uk/2018/12/06/lancashire-sets-out-2030-vision-for-technical-education/
The Vision document can be accessed on the Lancashire Skills Hub.
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