ABSTRACT

This paper reviews evidence on two serious imbalances in the UK education and training system:

1. The heavy bias in public spending on initial education and training (for 18–24-year olds) towards higher education at the expense of further education and vocational education and training.

2. The very weak government support for continuing education and training (for adults aged 25-plus) compared to that provided for initial education and training for new entrants to the workforce.

The effects of these imbalances are compounded by a marked reluctance by many employers to invest in work-based training, especially long-duration apprenticeship training.

In a concluding policy section, the paper discusses ways in which both major imbalances could be reduced by abolishing tuition fees: first, for all Further Education courses up to Level 5 (for example, Foundation degrees, Higher National Diplomas); and second, for work-related, community learning and general-interest courses which do not necessarily lead to formal qualifications.

It also considers options for short-duration continuing education and training for adults of all ages to be encouraged without undermining current efforts to reform and improve apprenticeship training

摘要

本文回顾了英国教育和培训系统中两个严重失衡的证据：

1. 公共支出在初等教育和培训（18-24岁年龄段）上的偏重于高等教育，却以继续教育和职业教育与培训为代价。

2. 与为新进入劳动力市场的初次教育和培训相比，政府对继续教育和培训（25岁以上成年人）的支持非常薄弱。

许多雇主明显不愿投资于以工作为基础的培训，特别是长期的学徒培训，加剧了这些失衡的影响。

在最后的政策部分中，本文讨论了通过取消学费可以减少这两种主要失衡的方式：首先，所有不超过5级的继续教育课程（例如，基础学位，高级国家文凭）；第二，针对与工作相关的社区学习和一般兴趣课程，这些课程不一定会获得正式资格。

它还认为，在不损害当前改革和改进学徒培训的努力的情况下，应鼓励对各个年龄段的成年人进行短期继续教育和培训的选择。