Colleges, Brexit and international skills November 2018 Julian Gravatt AoC Deputy Chief Executive Emma Meredith, AoC International Director Lesley Davies OBE, Principal & Chief Executive, Trafford College Group and UK Skills Partnership Chair

Brexit – where are we now The UK deal Timetable Referendum, June 2016 Article 50 starts, Mar ‘17 Stage 1 agreement, Dec ’17 Stage 2 agreement, Mar ‘18 EU Withdrawal Act, Jun ’18 Chequers paper, Jul’18 No deal notices, Aug ‘18 Final (?) agreement, Nov ’18 Approval by: UK Parliament EU Council, Parliament and 20+ countries (65% popul) No deal decision, 21 Jan ’18 Exit day, 27 March ’18 Transition until 31 Dec ‘20 Withdrawal agreement Exit fee c£39 bil Citizen’s rights/ Settled status Ireland arrangements Transition until Dec 2020 Some trade arrangements Future UK/EU trade deal

What changes as a result of Brexit? VAT Introduced in UK in 1973 Procurement Curriculum Home grown in England Ofsted Home grown in England State aid Limited by EU enforcement Employment rights Funding Home grown in England Targets OECD more influential UK could change these rules but likely to concede points in trade negotiations, including with EU EU education, training and youth policy marginal to central UK policies

People – migration and skills Current system until the end of the transition Freedom of movement (workers, families, students) Controls (Tiers 1, 2, 4 etc) for non-EU migration Immigration white paper (before end of 2018) A new, single skills based system Implementation when EU registration ends (2021) A Tier 2 salary threshold for all post-2020 migration? Extension of Tier 4 regime to EU students? Customer-friendly, digital-by-default Home Office?

Skills-based system & sectors Finance Business services Higher paid sectors IT Education £30,000 Salary (if used) Hospitality Construction Lower paid sectors Retail Food & Farming Care

Colleges and the EU, some facts Out of 2 million 40,000 EU27 students (2%) ESF and Erasmus £50-100 mil income (1%) 266 Colleges Goods & services 20% VAT Education exempt Public procurement Out of 175,000 people 7,000 EU27 staff (4%)

AoC paper on Colleges & Brexit Five recommendations Access to education Outward mobility Recruiting and retaining teachers Regional funds Regulation that supports further education

Immediate Brexit-related asks Five recommendations Maintain access to FE for resident EU nationals Fund outward mobility schemes (Erasmus ++) Lower Tier 2 salary threshold for teachers (incl FE) Regional funds – protect the budget, support skills Exclude non-traded education services from state aid and procurement while removing VAT from 16-to-18 education

International education New opportunities UK is a net exporter of education (esp. HE) - £20-25bn Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) suggested UK could copy approach of Australia, Canada and Germany Government considering a refreshed international education strategy – education sector also wants this More interest at DfE in international education Home Office absorbed in near-term challenges and MAC didn’t recommend changes to Tier 4 or FE Colleges might want to think again about their international strategy and enhancing the curriculum

College activity now AoC’s 2018 international survey Student recruitment via mix of Tier 4 visas (average 24 per college) and short-term study visas Average international full-time tuition fee £6,900 Average college non-EU income £723,000 China main market by a factor of three Europe accounts for 8 of top 20 countries for colleges Transnational activity low Colleges want to work collaboratively

International education – what next? The aim of the UK Skills Partnership is to collaborate on international business development and project delivery, presenting a comprehensive offer by the UK skills sector to meet the needs of international partners. Membership Association of Colleges Association of Employment & Learning Providers British Council City & Guilds CollabGroup Colleges Northern Ireland Colleges Scotland Colleges Wales Department for International Trade - Education Education and Training Foundation Federation of Awarding Bodies Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards Joint Council for Qualifications Pearson UK Skills Federation Universities UK International WorldSkills UK

Discussion session Until 12 noon