Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, comments on the Prime Minister’s speech to the Labour Party Conference and his target for two-thirds of young people to get higher level skills, either through university, further education or an apprenticeship.
“For far too long our colleges have been the forgotten heroes of the education system – underfunded and unsung – while providing vital skills and training to hundreds of thousands of young people.
“We therefore welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to place them at the centre of national renewal and to incorporate skills education and apprenticeships into his new target for higher level education and training.
“We welcome also the funding commitment made today for 14 new technical excellence colleges and look forward to seeing more detail about exactly how the 16-19 sector will be supported to deliver these vital policy ambitions.”