Adult Education Budget FUNDING RULES 2021/2022 - August 2021 - July 2022

The WMCA values provision at level 2 in providing individuals the opportunity to develop core occupational skills, in addition it provides the opportunity for progression to level 3 technical qualifications which are key to support productivity and the growth of the economy. We will focus on ensuring that provision funded at level 2 enables progression to further learning and provides the opportunity to move to better paid jobs.

This specification excludes English, Maths, ESOL and Digital skills which fall under a separate specification.]

We want to establish an adult offer at level 2 to develop core occupational skills to enable residents to progress to higher skills. Therefore, progression to level 3 should be considered in developing an adult offer for level 2, and it should be clear to residents where they will move onto next following successful completion of this learning whether that is with the same provider or another provider.

We have found that a proportion of level 2 provision we do fund is spent on low-level generic courses delivered at scale with very little progression into either further study, into work or increased pay.

In addition, we have also seen qualifications developed that in many cases accredit skills that individuals already have through working practice, and not focused on broader core skill development to enable progression. Traditionally, these courses have been aligned to occupations where there are significant volumes of entry level job roles, often in low pay settings and can be delivered quickly at scale.

To ensure that we are focussing our funding on the qualifications that give residents the best chance of progression we will continue to fund courses at published rates where these are either listed as entitlement qualifications or appear in our focus sectors at level 2. For all qualifications that fall outside of the entitlement list or focus sectors we will not grow the volume of this provision.

Provider roles in delivery

Community Learning plays a key role in preparing residents for study at Level 2. Progression arrangements should be established in local areas to support progression of level 1 residents to level 2 provision.

For those community learning providers who have access to formula funded provision there should be a clear delineation between level 2 occupationally specific learning, and the personal learning development provision delivered at entry level and level 1. Residents should see the difference and be clear on the value of progression to higher levels.

Colleges and ITPs delivering Level 2 learning should establish pathways in to learning from other providers.

Outcomes

We expect to see an increase in participation at level 2 in course areas that add value through up-skilling and progression. In addition, we anticipate that we will see more progression into level 3. We also expect to see the reduction in low value qualifications that are delivered at scale with little progression or economic return to residents.