The Government has announced a series of measures to help make sure the country can continue to build the skilled workforce it needs for the future and improve productivity – news which has been welcomed by North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson.
Among plans announced by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, was a £120 million investment to enable every region in England to establish a high-quality Institute of Technology.
Institutes of Technology are unique collaborations between further education colleges, universities, and employers – including Nissan and Microsoft – offering higher technical education and training mainly at Levels 4 and 5 (above A levels and T Levels but below degree level) in key sectors such as digital, construction, advanced manufacturing and engineering.
In April it was announced that Swindon College had been successful in bidding to create a £21m Institute of Technology, which would help train more than 1,000 students and apprentices for high-tech jobs. Swindon College will be one of the first twelve Institutes of Technology established, and will be working with Oxford Brookes University and Cirencester College – as well as Swindon based companies such as Nationwide.
The Education Secretary also announced this week that a new Skills and Productivity Board will be established to provide the government with expert advice on how to ensure the courses and qualifications on offer to students are high-quality, are aligned to the skills that employers need for the future and will help increase productivity.
It has also been announced that a network of 11 Maths Free Schools across every region of the country is to be established, to help drive up standards and support more disadvantaged young people aged 16-19 to study maths.
The new schools will work with leading Universities to offer Maths, Higher Maths, and Physics A Levels, and aim to help meet the increasing demand for Science, Technology and Maths skills.
Justin said: “This is fantastic news, which will help to drive up standards and give Britain some of the best opportunities to study STEM subjects in the world. Myself and Robert Buckland have worked tirelessly with Swindon Borough Council to support Swindon Academy’s bid, and I am very excited to see how Academy’s Institute of Technology develops.”
