The Northern Ireland Assembly - Report on the Inquiry Into Education and Training For Industry

Northern Ireland’s productivity is significantly lower than that of other competitors in the global market place. Furthermore, it is somewhat alarming that the productivity of the Northern Ireland economy is only 84% compared to that of the United Kingdom, and just over 50% of that achieved by the United States of America. Education and training have a very important contribution to make in increasing productivity levels, which in turn will reduce social exclusion. At the level of the individual, higher skills usually lead not just to higher earnings, but also to greater self-esteem and fulfilment. Thus, this Inquiry into Education and Training for Industry was initiated under the Committee’s powers to initiate inquiries and make reports on policy issues to the Minister, as set out in the Belfast Agreement, April 1998.

The Terms of Reference for the Inquiry were agreed as:

"To examine and make recommendations to improve the contribution of further and higher education and training, including university-based Research and Development, to Northern Ireland industry."

Approach

The Committee agreed to have an extensive consultation on this broad and important subject area and to request written papers from specialist advisers. Oral evidence was taken during thirty-nine sessions, including evidence sessions located throughout Northern Ireland. In addition, evidence was heard from leading organisations from the Republic of Ireland on both education and training issues. The Committee received over one hundred written submissions and wish to express their sincere thanks to all who gave evidence to this important Inquiry.

Main conclusions and recommendations

It is important to stress at this point that the Committee is very supportive of the many initiatives, which the Minister and his Department have put in place since devolution. The Committee’s recommendations are designed to further develop and strengthen the contribution of higher and further education and training to our economy and to firmly embed the lifelong learning culture in Northern Ireland. The Committee’s main recommendations are set out below.

Literacy and numeracy

Further additional action is needed to correct the low levels of adult literacy and numeracy in Northern Ireland. This will lead to greater social inclusion and industrial productivity. The Committee also stresses the importance of further developments throughout the entire education system to improve the literacy and numeracy standard of the workforce of the future.

Further Education

The Committee considers that a clear strategic direction for the Further Education Colleges is urgently required, to better equip people for work, give the colleges a more manageable range of objectives in a rapidly changing modern economy, and contribute to greater community and social development throughout Northern Ireland. It is important to maintain accessibility to further education provision across Northern Ireland. At the same time there should be more specialisation to attain excellence.

Higher Education

The Committee acknowledges the recent work of the universities to establish good links with both industry and the wider community. This has taken place against the background of declining funding per student and increasing student numbers. The Committee wishes to see further development of these links to enhance both economic development and further widen access to university courses. It is vital that significant additional finances are immediately directed to university Research and Development (R&D) to maintain their international standing and their key role in Northern Ireland’s economic development.

Education and industry links

An immediate and greater focus is required to enhance and develop the links and working relationships between all higher and further education providers and all those involved in industry, to maximise the benefits for all. We would encourage further programmes for teacher placements into industry.

Careers education and guidance

An enhanced, independent, effective and easily accessible careers education and guidance service is required, which fully utilises the most up-to-date Information Communication Technology.

Resources

Whilst almost every area of public sector spending claims to be under funded, it is clear from the evidence given to the Committee, that both higher and further education sectors require significant additional financial resources. Extra financial resources are required to alleviate previous under funding and to ensure a greater contribution to economic development in Northern Ireland. Additional public spending and private finance should be regarded as an investment to improve the productivity of industry and society in general.

Skills development and training

A strategic input from the Department is required to monitor, predict and implement appropriate policies to achieve the optimal skills output and avoid potentially serious mismatches between the skills supply and demand of the economy in the future. We welcome the developments initiated by the Department, that have already occurred in this area. These include the recent work of the Northern Ireland Skills Taskforce, and the introduction of no fees for students over nineteen on a broad range of vocational courses. The Committee wishes to see a stronger qualitative analysis of skills training outputs.

The Committee also welcomes the Needs and Effectiveness Evaluation into Training and Vocational Education Needs, which has been initiated by the Department for Employment and Learning in conjunction with the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. There is likely to be a significant overlap between the areas covered in our Inquiry and the scope of this initiative. The Committee would urge that the evaluation be conducted rigorously and that it should include a genuinely independent and external assessment of the effectiveness of all government training and vocational education activities.

Our Inquiry has highlighted a shortfall in the availability of skills and in funding for university based R&D in Northern Ireland, when compared to Great Britain. It has also indicated that several key areas, such as the further education sector and the provision of careers education and guidance lack sufficient strategic direction and co-ordination. It is therefore probable that the evaluation will indicate the need for increased per capita spending in Northern Ireland and that the output per pound of public money spent could be considerably improved.

In support of these recommendations, the Committee is fully aware that considerable additional financial resources will be required, and is prepared to work in co-operation with the Minister, and his Department, to explore avenues of resource allocation. However, the Committee would stress the undeniable benefits which will accrue to the Northern Ireland economy and to the eradication of poverty and social exclusion from the implementation of our recommendations. This is especially true for those recommendations that focus on a policy direction to ensure that the systems for education and training in Northern Ireland meet the needs of the twenty-first century. The Committee believes that these recommendations will ensure that the education and training system will be relevant, adequately co-ordinated, of the highest quality and represent value for money. In the late nineteenth century the economy here was at the forefront of world technological and industrial progress. What was once true can be true again. Few challenges facing the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive are more significant than that of ensuring the best possible contribution from education and training to industry.

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Recommendations

The Committee for Employment and Learning make a series of recommendations to the Minister for Employment and Learning, and to the Northern Ireland Assembly following completion of our Inquiry into Education and Training for Industry.

The Committee believes that the speedy implementation of these recommendations will significantly improve the higher and further education and training of our young people, the upskilling and reskilling of our current workforce and the training/retraining of those currently not in work, to prepare them for employment. The outcomes from these recommendations will lead to a more competitive economy, higher self-esteem for individuals and greater social inclusion for marginalised groups.

The Committee’s recommendations are complementary to the Department for Employment and Learning’s overall aim, "To promote a culture of lifelong learning and to equip people for work in a modern economy", and many of the policies and programmes set out in the Northern Ireland Executive’s current Programme for Government.

The Committee fully appreciates the current constraints on public sector finances. We have not attempted to produce detailed costings for our recommendations. The Committee would wish to enter into constructive dialogue with the Minister, following receipt of the Department’s response to this Report, to assist the Department in identifying financial possibilities and options for the implementation of these recommendations. This is likely to entail a combination of best management practices and more innovative financial solutions. The outcome of the Committee’s recommendations will contribute to the development of a more highly skilled workforce for the developing knowledge- based economy. This in turn will increase industrial productivity and the competitiveness of the Northern Ireland economy.

The Committee’s recommendations are presented below.

Skills

n Recommendation 1 - Further additional funding and resources should be made immediately available to support literacy and numeracy development schemes to correct the poor levels of adult basic skills in Northern Ireland. These schemes should include provision for both personal development and social skills training.

n Recommendation 2 - Initiate and fund research into developing effective models of workplace basic skills development and the effective sharing of best practice.

n Recommendation 3 - Develop flexible and dynamic policies to deal with retraining and reskilling in a range of situations, especially large-scale redundancies. These should include fast-track training programmes to address particular sectoral, or geographical areas, of skill shortages.

n Recommendation 4 - Serious consideration must be given in the current review of the 16-19 curriculum, as to how the relative and/or absolute decline in students studying quantitative and scientific subjects can be reversed, in order to ensure that more people, at secondary and tertiary level, study mathematics and sciences.

n Recommendation 5 - Develop appropriate conversion courses in mathematics, the sciences and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that reflect the needs of industry.

n Recommendation 6 - Greater government support for workplace development, community education and outreach programmes aiming to improve ICT skills, to enable everyone to operate within the ICT driven economy.

n Recommendation 7 - Rationalise and develop existing initiatives such as the Skills Task Force, Executive Recruitment Watch and the Priority Skills Unit.

n Recommendation 8 - Develop appropriate mechanisms to support the training requirements of Small and Medium- sized Enterprises.

Further Education

n Recommendation 9 - The overall further education strategy, should include a 3-5 year strategic plan, be urgently completed and implemented for the further education sector. The strategy should address the key issues of the optimum number of further education colleges in Northern Ireland, and their individual remits, and how to deliver on the objective of acquiring parity of esteem between vocational and academic qualifications (see Recommendation 31).

n Recommendation 10 - Decisions regarding the development of centres of excellence at individual colleges should stem from the overall strategy for the sector. This should be underpinned by a commitment to innovative schemes, which increases access and supports a geographical spread of provision across Northern Ireland.

n Recommendation 11 - Where appropriate, support services should be coordinated and harmonised to produce cost savings and standardisation of procedures.

n Recommendation 12 - Urgent need for the provision of a vastly improved common statistical database on students and staff, to reflect trends in personnel issues and record the outcomes for students attending FE courses. The information produced must be consistent across all colleges.

n Recommendation 13 - Members of Boards of Governors must receive effective training on their roles and responsibilities. The composition of Governing Bodies should reflect the communities which the colleges serve.

n Recommendation 14 - Further Education Colleges should come under the remit of the Assembly Ombudsman.

n Recommendation 15 - Increase the overall student per capita funding to the further education sector, bearing in mind equality considerations between the different educational sectors. We welcome the recent financial support improvements for FE students. The current funding mechanism needs to be changed if it is to achieve its objective of delivering high-class vocational training, that is regarded as on a par with academic qualifications.

n Recommendation 16 - The allocation of funding should be guided by an overall strategic plan for the sector. This will address the issue of funding for centres of excellence, the support of Research and Development, (more likely to be product and process development) and the funding of part-time courses.

n Recommendation 17 - Closer links with local industry, industrial development organisations, including increased staff participation in the Lecturers into Industry initiative (see Recommendation 37).

n Recommendation 18 - Increase the availability of places on Higher National Diploma/Higher National Certificate and other courses which lead to professional qualifications in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

n Recommendation 19 - Include an ICT module on all further education courses. All full-time students should ideally have achieved the ICT competence level of the European Computer Driving Licence by the time that they complete their course.

Higher Education

n Recommendation 20 - Increase funding to the university sector to ensure that high quality staff are attracted and retained, and to develop the research base of the universities. This should include increasing and developing matched private sector funding initiatives such as the Support Programme for University Research (SPUR).

n Recommendation 21 - Further develop links between higher education and business. This includes developing initiatives such as the Teaching Company Scheme; industry and charity sponsored professorial chairs; technology incubation units; science parks; spin-off companies; encouraging entrepreneurship through innovative approaches to programme design and specialist postgraduate programmes.

n Recommendation 22 - A continued increase in the number of university places especially in areas of skill shortages, in line with the Committee’s recommendation in its Report on Student Finance, 12 October 2000.

n Recommendation 23 - Co-ordination of all initiatives, not only those funded by government, which aim to increase access to higher education. This should have a particular focus on the outreach projects, which link the universities to the community.

n Recommendation 24 - Monitor the effectiveness and equality impact of the new measures for student financial support.

Other education training providers

n Recommendation 25 - Further develop partnerships between the education sector and private training providers.

n Recommendation 26 - An improved, more comprehensive, streamlined and effective National Training Organisation and Sectoral Training Council structure in Northern Ireland to enhance its role in developing a highly skilled workforce.

n Recommendation 27 - Continuously monitor and develop Modern Apprenticeships to meet changing labour demands.

n Recommendation 28 - Continually monitor, evaluate and improve New Deal so that it achieves its employment outcomes in the most cost effective manner. We welcome the Needs and Effectiveness Evaluation of Training and Vocational Education initiated by the Northern Ireland Executive. We also welcome the inter-departmental TaskForce on Employability and Long-term Unemployment. The Committee further recommends that the Department considers other training schemes, which would better address the equal opportunities issues surrounding the availability of training.

Qualifications and the curriculum

n Recommendation 29 - Support the continuing development of the Northern Ireland Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (NICATS) initiative.

n Recommendation 30 - Include international industry-standard qualifications as components of vocational qualifications.

n Recommendation 31 - Facilitate an inter-departmental focus to ensure parity of esteem for vocational and academic qualifications.

n Recommendation 32 - Initiate and fund, as a matter of urgency, a research project to evaluate the three types of qualifications.

Removing barriers to education

n Recommendation 33 - In principle, the Committee supports the UK Skills Task Force recommendation that learning to level 3 (craft/technician level) should be free of charge to all up until their twenty-fifth birthday, and asks the Department to provide costings in order to determine its feasibility.

n Recommendation 34 - Continue to develop the Individual Learning Accounts scheme with greater targeting and financial support for those in most need without creating excessive administrative costs.

n Recommendation 35 - The Committee supports the further development of initiatives to assist with childcare and those with educational special needs and disabilities in order to facilitate increased access to all education and training.

Careers education and guidance

n Recommendation 36 - The Department must give priority to the implementation of an enhanced independent, comprehensive and up-to-date, careers education and guidance service based on best practice and extensive use of Information and Communication Technology.

n Recommendation 37 - Greater work related experiences for all teachers, students and lecturers for substantive periods based on the Northern Ireland Business and Education Partnership (NIBEP) model.

n Recommendation 38 - Increase funding to NIBEP in order that it can further its work in developing links between business and education.

Developing the enterprise culture

n Recommendation 39 - Urgent completion and effective implementation, at the inter-departmental level, of the Research, Development and Innovation Strategy for Northern Ireland.

n Recommendation 40 - Substantial funding increases for Research and Development (R&D) to counteract the current and previous low levels of financial support in comparison to our international competitors. Whilst the majority of university R&D funding should be linked to the university Research Assessment Exercise, 10% as recommended by the Northern Ireland Economic Council, should be earmarked for research that is of particular relevance to Northern Ireland.

n Recommendation 41 - Establish a single unit to co-ordinate and promote government funded R&D in Northern Ireland, including individual bids for Research and Development for all government departments, and develop well-designed research collaboration and technology transfer schemes with other countries.

n Recommendation 42 - Implementation of a clear structure to give academic staff sufficient incentives and flexibility to take research ideas, and even company start-ups, to commercial fruition.

n Recommendation 43 - The Department for Enterprise Trade and Investment to match, at least in part, any research funding raised by higher education from the private sector through business-university links, as an incentive to promoting closer links between higher education and industry.

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Introduction

Background

Throughout the western world, politicians and governments have come to regard policies to improve education and training as central to their economic strategies. As a means, in fact, to increase economic growth and also to combat poverty. Within the United Kingdom the perception that schools, colleges and universities had "failed" industry and commerce first appeared in the Victorian era as the workshop of the world was challenged by the then newly industrialising powers such as Germany and the USA. In 1997 Tony Blair adopted the mantra "education, education, education", and this seemed to strike a chord with the electorate. Given all this it might be thought that there was little more to say about the contribution of education and training to industry in Northern Ireland or elsewhere.

In fact, there are few tasks more important to the Northern Ireland Assembly and to the Executive than that of upgrading the output from the training and education systems into the economy. The underlying reason for this is that the Northern Ireland economy has one of the lowest levels of labour productivity within the western world, as shown in Figure 1 and detailed in Table 1. We must change that position, and education and training holds the key.

Figure 1 Northern Ireland's productivity compared to other economies, 1999

Source: Northern Ireland compared to UK average from Office for National Statistics figures. Other OECD economies from Department of Trade and Industry. All figures as supplied in a NI Assembly written answer (AQW 3552/00), 16 July 2001, from Minister of Finance and Personnel, Mr Durkan, MLA to Dr Birnie, MLA.

Table 1: Northern Ireland's productivity compared to other economies, 1999.

(Level of Gross Domestic Product per total hours worked (1999), given as a percentage of the UK average level.)

USA	151
France	147
Germany	137
Canada	(1998) 137
Japan	(1998) 111
UK	100
Northern Ireland	84

Northern Ireland's productivity level needs to be improved in order to sustain the degree of competitiveness that is necessary to maintain the current comparatively low levels of unemployment. Furthermore, without improvements in productivity the economy will not be generating the revenue needed to pay for levels of social and welfare provision. There is now abundant evidence from international sources that increases in education and training provide a powerful impetus, and perhaps the most important contribution, to productivity levels, whilst also contributing to reductions in social exclusion. It is not simply that higher skills are needed; though they are. It is a sobering thought that, even with decades of publicly funded education, it is still the case that around one-quarter of adults can barely read or count. A recent study [1] suggested that the UK position with respect to illiteracy was little better at the end of the twentieth century than it was at the start of that century.

It is true that the case for more effective education and training for industry is subject to certain caveats. Each pound of spending on education and training will not necessarily or immediately be translated into many pounds of higher GDP. Nevertheless, even if outlays on education and training are not sufficient to guarantee faster economic growth and more social equity - they are probably necessary. It is true that certain individuals may experience inappropriate training and education which even leads to them becoming "over educated" relative to the skill requirements of the employment they are currently engaged in. However, the answer to this is not to stop training and educating, but to do so more carefully. Nor do we wish to deny that education and training can have an intrinsic merit, which contributes to social and culture worth. They do not have to be solely justified in terms of economic pay back. Nevertheless, it is true that much of the education and training system is geared up to service the needs of the economy. The significant factor is to ensure it performs that role effectively and efficiently.

Against such a background, the Committee deemed that the contribution of education and training to industry would be a very suitable subject for our second Inquiry. The inclusion of consideration of university-based Research & Development (R&D) gave the Inquiry a very wide scope. Research and Development itself has such a strategic role in contributing to Northern Ireland's future economic performance, that it could not be ignored. Over the course of the decades since 1950, there have been many official inquiries into the interaction between training and Northern Ireland's economic performance. Our own Inquiry was, however, unusual in its close connection with the institutions of devolved government and also in the very extensive opportunity for input from interest groups and the wider public.

Terms of Reference

Taking into consideration the above facts, and that one of the primary roles of Statutory Committees is to advise the Minister in formulating policy, the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry into Education and Training for Industry were agreed as:

"To examine and make recommendations to improve the contribution of further and higher education and training, including university-based Research and Development, to Northern Ireland industry."

Approach

The proposals and Terms of Reference for the Inquiry into Education and Training for Industry were announced in February 2000. Some 400 organisations were asked for their views.

Over one hundred organisations and individuals made written submissions to the Committee. To ensure the best possible access to a wide range of witnesses, three of the public evidence sessions were held outside Parliament Buildings: Nortel at Monkstown, Craigavon Borough Council, and Newry and Mourne District Council. In addition, the Committee made very informative visits to the University of Ulster campus at Magee College and the East Antrim Institute of Further Education. The Committee is very grateful to the hosts for their co-operation and hospitality at these meetings and visits.

In addition the Committee obtained detailed written briefings from Dr Hillary Steedman (London School of Economics and Political Science), Dr David Armstrong (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and Professor John Field (University of Warwick). Dr Esmond Birnie, MLA also visited the USA as part of the International Visitors Program and submitted a paper on aspects of the USA approach to education and training. These are included in Annexes 1 to 3 of the Review of Background Material.

Submissions were made by a very wide range of organisations and individuals including the Department, a wide range of other public sector bodies, business associations and individual companies, trade unions, local councils, further education colleges, universities, awarding bodies, voluntary and community groups.

The Inquiry was suspended on the 11 February 2000 due to the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Nevertheless, the Committee remained keen to hear at first hand from a wide cross section of organisations and individuals. Oral evidence was taken from June 2000, on the restoration of the Assembly, until June 2001. This was scheduled around the busy workload of the Committee. In all, the Committee heard oral evidence from a total of thirty-nine organisations and individuals.

The transcripts of all the oral evidence sessions are included in Volumes 2 and 3 of the Report under Minutes of Evidence. The written submissions made by those organisations and individuals, which gave oral evidence, are included in Volume 4. Due to the number of written submissions made, it was not possible to publish all the submissions in this Report. However, copies of all the written submissions not published have been laid in the library of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

This was a lengthy Inquiry and the Committee is most grateful to the many individuals and organisations that gave up their time to give both written and oral evidence.

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