ÌÇÐÄVlog

Skills minister Jacqui Smith has defended the splitting of her brief across two Whitehall departments, which some fear risks adding an extra ¡°hurdle¡± for universities wanting to work with the government.

The move ¨C made as part of the cabinet reshuffle earlier this month by prime minister Keir Starmer ¨C will?mean Smith works partly in?the Department for Education and partly in the newly revamped Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Amid fears that universities?will be left as the ¡°piggy in the middle¡± because of the splinter,?Smith?told the Labour Party conference that?it brought new opportunities to work with other parts of government.?

¡°The opportunity that comes from shifting skills into DWP is to broaden DWP¡¯s view of its role from simply a ¡®you¡¯re in work or you¡¯re not in work¡¯ [view] into more skills-oriented, good-quality work, upskilling work,¡± she said, adding this could involve?¡°tailored learning, which of course is likely to bring you as close to the labour market as possible¡±.

Smith said the relationship between higher education and further education was at the ¡°heart¡± of how she thinks about her new job.

She said the government would provide clarity through the upcoming skills White Paper. She promised ¡°certainty around stability and financial sustainability¡± and engagement with opportunities?around the design of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

¡°None of this is about the government writing your timetables but it is about setting a clear direction and partnering with you to deliver it,¡± she added.

¡°If we¡¯re successful in this, what is at stake? It¡¯s a system in which we change people¡¯s lives¡­that¡¯s the challenge and the opportunity.¡±

Speaking at an event organised by King¡¯s College London¡¯s Policy Institute, Nick Hillman, director of the ÌÇÐÄVlog Policy Institute, said it was clear that the current government was targeting a much more joined-up approach between further and higher education.

But he warned that its ¡°greatest strength is also [its] biggest weakness¡±,?adding that the recent cabinet reshuffle means tertiary education has ¡°lost something¡±.

¡°I worry that the recent machinery of government changes might have made it harder, not easier to bring around the clarity and coherence [that the government has promised].

¡°If you¡¯re a university wanting to work with Skills England on the Labour manifesto that universities should be working on, now that Skills England is resident in DWP it might just be an extra hurdle, an extra obstacle, an extra challenge so I¡¯m intrigued to know how that plays out.¡±

While research has suggested a ¡°dichotomy¡± between apprenticeships and degrees, Rachel Mills, senior vice-president (academic) at KCL, said her university had a different view and wanted to move away from seeing it as a ¡°binary choice¡±.

¡°We think it¡¯s much more of a spectrum. All of our students that come to KCL are asking for authentic, employment-related opportunities, whether it¡¯s placement, internships, volunteering in the local community, mentorship schemes with our alumni.

¡°It¡¯s a whole range of things and we need to stop thinking of it as an either or. The higher education system is offering an authentic and wide range of real experiences within the curriculum, outside the curriculum for graduates who go on fantastic careers.¡±

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com