AoC responds to the King's Speech

Julian Gravatt, Deputy Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: “We welcome the announcement of apprenticeship levy reform in the King’s Speech today. At AoC, we have been calling for reform for some time, to ensure the apprenticeship programme works for young people, key sectors and for employers.

“We are pleased to also see the announcement of Skills England. We have been campaigning for a new social partnership body for a while and have set out a clear blueprint for how we believe it should operate in practice.

“Colleges have a central role to play across all the new government's missions on which new bills have been announced today; they support growth within their local communities, develop green skills for the economy, play a key role in the NHS workforce pipeline, and encourage students to adopt healthy and safe lifestyle habits.

“AoC is looking forward to working with the government to ensure that any reform and new initiatives are in the best interests of students, colleges and communities, while also continuing to lobby for better FE pay, a rethink on GCSE resits and curriculum more widely, and a pause and review of qualification reform.”