Young people to benefit from £155 million funding boost

4 Nov 2019 02:03 PM

Funding will help colleges and sixth forms to deliver expensive but crucial subjects like engineering, construction and hospitality.

Next year young people aged 16-19 will benefit from a £155 million cash injection so they can access high-quality courses that will set them on a path to rewarding careers with higher wages.

The funding forms part of the additional £400 million – announced in August for school sixth forms and colleges for 2020-21 – the biggest injection of new money into 16-19 education in a single year since 2010.

Details of how the £155 million will be allocated to colleges and sixth forms next year, so more young people can gain the skills they need to get ahead, were published yesterday:

• an extra £65 million will be targeted to help cover the cost of delivering courses in six key, more expensive subject areas: building and construction, hospitality and catering, engineering, transportation operations and maintenance, manufacturing technologies and science; and
• £55 million will be allocated for delivering high value courses – those that deliver the skills the country needs for the future and which lead to higher wages for students, including a number of STEM subjects; and
• £35 million more will be provided to support students on level 3 courses (A level equivalent) who have not yet achieved a GCSE pass in maths and English to improve vital literacy and numeracy skills.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, yesterday said:

We want all young people to have access to high-quality education and training that will set them on the path to a rewarding career. Next year colleges and school sixth forms will benefit from a significant £400 million funding boost to help them to do this.

Part of this will be £155 million to support the delivery of courses that we know lead to higher wages and better career prospects for students. This funding also means that next year FE colleges could receive around £5000 funding per student..

The additional funding for colleges and school sixth forms to support them to deliver expensive and crucial subjects is a new approach for 2020/21. The Government will work closely with the sector to evaluate and review this approach post 2020-21 to make sure it is delivering improved outcomes for young people and is incentivising colleges and sixth forms to offer valuable technical and vocational courses.

New analysis published recently by the Government highlights the higher earnings potential for young people that achieved a level 3 qualification (A level or equivalent) in subjects such as physics and engineering.

Details of other elements of the significant £400 million boost for the FE sector in 2020/21 were published in September. This includes how the department for education will invest £190 million to increase the current national funding rate by 4.7%, and an extra £10 million to continue the delivery of the advanced maths premium which adds £600 to college budgets for every additional student who takes on A- and AS -level maths.