Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of universities to deliver adequate technical skills training.

The government intends to transform technical education and training, which will have a pivotal role in building back better.

As a key part of this, we want to invest in and increase the take-up of approved higher technical qualifications to meet the skills needs of the economy. Higher education providers, further education colleges, and independent training providers will all have a role to play in this. Last year we published reforms which aim to make higher technical education a more high-quality, prestigious, and popular choice – and those reforms are now well underway. In the recent Skills for Jobs White Paper, we built on these reforms, committing to stimulate the provision of high-quality higher technical education as we work towards making it as easy to get a student finance loan for an approved higher technical qualification as it is for a full-length degree. The details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pioneering-reforms-to-boost-skills-and-jobs.

In order to be registered with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, higher education providers are required to meet a minimum set of requirements which are designed to ensure that all students receive a high-quality academic experience, that students’ interests are protected, and that students’ qualifications hold their value over time.