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5. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
5.1 Organisation
The Scottish system of post-school education is best
described under three headings: training, further education
and higher education. These headings correspond to
different kinds of organisation and a different structure
of responsibility. There is, however, considerable overlap
between training and further education and between further
education and higher education.
5.2 Vocational Training Establishments
There are a range of Government funded national training
programmes which are managed and delivered by Scottish
Enterprise (
SEn) and Highlands and Islands
Enterprise (
HIE) through their networks of Local
Enterprise Companies (
LECs).
Skillseekers
All young people aged 16-17 are entitled, under the
Youth Training Guarantee, to Skillseekers training.
LECs also have discretion to fund 18-24
year olds. The main elements of Skillseekers are training
leading to a recognised qualification up to
SVQ Level III (
SCQF 6), an individual training plan and
employer involvement. The programme has helped increase
employer participation in training and 75% of Skillseekers
participants are now employed while undertaking their
training. Training provision for young people with
additional support needs has been redesigned and the new
model 'Get Ready for Work', was introduced in April
2002.
Pre-Modern Apprenticeships
Work is currently underway with the Enterprise Networks
and Sector Skills Councils to re-engineer Skillseekers,
introducing pre-apprenticeships to link with vocational
learning in schools, address core skills and provide better
progression routes to Modern Apprenticeships or further
education.
Modern Apprenticeships
Modern Apprenticeships (
MAs) were introduced in 1996 and offer
16-24 year olds paid employment combined with the
opportunity to train at craft, technician and trainee
management level. The training must lead to
SVQ Level III or above and include core
skills. Following removal of the upper age limit in March
2001,
LECs have discretion to fund
MAs for people over 25.
Training for Work
Training for Work (TfW) is a work related training
programme targeted at individuals aged 25 and over who have
been unemployed for six months or more. Early entry to TfW
is available to those unemployed people who are
particularly disadvantaged in the labour market. The
programme aims to help people move into work by improving
their work related skills through the provision of
appropriate training and structured work activity in line
with assessed needs.
Training is delivered by private training providers,
voluntary sector organisations, local authorities, further
education colleges and employers. The aim is to provide a
wide range of job focused training opportunities linked to
local labour market vacancies. Trainees can have employed
or non-employed status on the programme. Non-employed
trainees receive a training allowance equivalent to their
benefit entitlement plus an additional £10 training
premium. Employed status trainees receive a wage while in
training. Customised training generally accounts for
employed status in the programme.
5.3 Access Requirements
Access to national training programmes is determined by
a number of factors such as age and employment status (see
section 5.2 for details regarding the different
programmes).
5.4 Financing
The financing of post-school education differs depending
on whether it is classed as vocational training, further
education or higher education. The major distinction
between training and the other two forms of post-school
training is that, in the case of training, the funding is
used to provide courses, while in the other cases the
funding supports the colleges and universities themselves.
Further education colleges, with a very small number of
exceptions, were funded directly by the Government until 30
June 1999. However, since 1 July 1999, the Scottish Further
Education Funding Council (
SFEFC) now funds
FE colleges, using financial resources
made available by the Scottish Executive. Higher education
institutions are funded through the Scottish Higher
Education Funding Council (
SHEFC). The financing of community
learning and development is primarily via the annual grant
to local authorities from the Scottish Executive.
Financing for training of 16 to 24-year-olds is the
responsibility of the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong
Learning. Funding is provided through Scottish Enterprise (
SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise
(
HIE) to Local Enterprise Companies (
LEC), which are independent of the
education system but buy in training from it.
The Scottish Executive provides funding for the 46
Scottish Further Education colleges through the Scottish
Further Education Funding Council (
SFEFC). The
SFEFC funds the 42 incorporated
(self-governing) colleges directly, and Orkney and Shetland
colleges through their local authorities. Two other
institutions, Newbattle Abbey College and Sabhal Mor
Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the island of Skye, also
receive financial support from the
SFEFC in recognition of their
distinctive educational roles. All the colleges also
receive fees from their students and from organisations and
firms for which they supply education and training.
Higher education institutions are funded by the Scottish
Executive through the Scottish Higher Education Funding
Council (
SHEFC) which is responsible for
distributing funding to Higher Education Institutions (
HEIs) for teaching, research and
associated activities. The Council also provides the
Scottish Ministers with information and advice relating to
all aspects of higher education in Scotland, including the
financial needs of the sector.
SHEFC allocates resources for capital
projects and equipment, and the Council will continue to
provide support for capital projects to which it agreed in
earlier years. The 2004 Spending Review allocated
significant levels of extra investment for Capital in the
HE estate, and this capital funding will
increasingly be allocated on a formula basis.
In May 2003 the Scottish Executive announced its
intention to introduce financial support of up to £1,500
per year for all 16 to 19-year-olds from low-income
families, to encourage them to continue their education
beyond the date at which they are legally allowed to leave
school. The Executive is already committed to rolling out
national Education Maintenance Allowances (
EMAs) to the whole of Scotland, on a
staged basis, beginning with eligible 16-year-olds in
academic year 2004/05 and full rollout to 16 to
19-year-olds completed by 2007/08.
5.5 Curriculum (see section 6A.4)
5.6 Assessment/Qualifications (see section
6A.5)
5.7 Guidance (see Section 7.6)
5.8 Teachers/Trainers (see section
6A.6)
5.9 Statistics (see section 6A.7)
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