1. Higher Technical Education: Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Martin Doel CBE Centre for Global Higher Education
FETL Professor of Leadership in FE and Skills Seminar
UCL Institute of Education Thursday 23rd February 2017

2. Higher Technical Education
The History
The Current Proposition
Resisting the gravitational pull 2

3. The History Skills Beyond Schools OECD (2013) Productivity Plan (2015)
Industrial Strategy (2017) 3

4. The History Skills Beyond Schools OECD (2013)
“England has too little vocational provision at post-secondary level in comparison to other countries and relative to potential demand”
“Well under 10% of the cohort – compared to other OECD countries where upto 1/3rd has post secondary VET qualifications”
“10x as many students enrolled in bachelor programmes than in foundation degrees and foundation degrees often no more than stepping stone to bachelors degrees” 4

5. The History OECD Skills Beyond Schools 2013
Productivity Plan 2015: Fixing the Foundations
“Professional and technical education needs to be refocused to deliver higher level skills that employers need” (P25) 5

6. The History OECD Skills Beyond Schools 2013 Productivity Plan 2015
Industrial Strategy 2017
“Our poor performance in basic and technical skills is key to the UK’s persistently lower levels of productivity” (P37)
“Too many of our further education colleges only offer a broad generalist curriculum at lower qualification levels, the sector has too little provision of higher technical qualifications” (p 39) 6

7. The History
“England compared not unfavourably with other countries in the provision made for ….lower and intermediate grades of technical education ...[But] the principle deficiency … appears to lie in the sphere of the highest technical education (Departmental Committee 1906)
National Association for the Promotion of Technical Education 1887 7

8. The History Post WWII – Colleges of Advanced Technology 1960s
'White Heat of Technology'
Robbins
Polytechnics
Late 70s as many students on Higher technical courses in colleges as in polytechnics
Late 80s and 90s university expansion with a proportionate decrease in HE provision in colleges
Early 10s HE number controls lead to withdrawal of franchised provision and 40% reduction in foundation degrees 8

9. The History 1992 Conversion of Polytechnics to universities
“With their transformation into universities in 1992 ex-polytechnics gained awarding powers and….many preferred to develop full bachelors degrees and gave less emphasis to their shorter vocational programmes and their franchising arrangements with FE colleges” (Parry et al 2012)
“too many of our FE colleges only offer a broad, generalist curriculum at lower qualification levels, the sector has too little provision of higher tehnical qualifications (Industrial Strategy 2017 P 39)
large further education colleges providing higher education should be given the ability to award degrees and such colleges should be granted the renewed use of the title ‘polytechnic’.” (Securing the Future of Higher Education in England IPPR 2013) “ 9

10. The History – does it matter?
“A forecast of employment change in 27 EU countries between 2010 and 2020 implied that nearly 2/3rd of overall employment growth would be contained within the 'technicians and associate professionals category.” (CEDEFOP 2012)
“we have shortages of high-skilled technicians….particular specialisms such as those faced by the nuclear industry” (Industrial Strategy Jan 17 P 42) 10

11. The decline of the traditional middle
Routine tasks
Non-routine tasks
Secretarial and clerical’ and skilled trades
-800k
5% net decrease in jobs
Managers; professionals; and technicians
+2,400k
17% net increase in jobs
Analytical & interactive
Elementary; process and plant operatives
-300k
5% net decrease in jobs
Care and leisure; sales and other service
+600k
11% net increase in jobs
Manual tasks
Source: UKCES, Working Futures Top left box sums SOC Major Groups 4 and 5; top right Major Groups 1 to 3; bottom left Major Groups 8 and 9; bottom right Major Groups 6 and 7.

12. The Current Proposition
Report of the Independent Panel on Technical Education (Sainsbury) (2016)
Skills Plan (2016) 12

13. How the academic and technical options would work*
Where a student does both, the traineeship will follow the transition year. Students doing both the transition year and a traineeship may progress directly to employment. **
Some students will move directly from A levels and/or applied general qualifications to degree and higher apprenticeships. 13

14. The 15 new technical routes to skilled employment
Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care
Park Ranger
Conservationist
Agricultural Technician
Horticulturalist
Farmer
(454,726)
(2,204,478)
Business and Administrative
Office Manager
Human Resources Officer
Administrative Officer
Housing Officer
Catering and Hospitality
Chef
Events Manager
Catering Manager
Butcher
Baker
(568,998)
(1,060,804)
Childcare and Education
Nursery Assistant
Early Years Officer
Teaching Assistant
Youth Worker
Construction
Bricklayer/Mason
Electrician
Building/Civil Engineering Technician
Construction Supervisor
Carpenter/Joiner
(1,625,448)
Creative and Design
Arts Producer
Audiovisual Technician
Journalist
Upholsterer
Graphic Designer
(529,573)
Digital
Programmer
Software Developer
Network Administrator
Web Designer
IT Technician
(351,649)
Hair and Beauty
(293,004)
Hairdresser
Beauty Therapist
Barber
Engineering and Manufacturing
Vehicle Mechanic
Engineering Technician
Energy Plant Operative
Electrical Engineer
Aircraft Fitter
(1,319,645)
Legal, Finance and Accounting
(1,325,482)
Paralegal
Accounting Technician
Financial Account Manager
Legal Secretary
Payroll Manager
Health and Science
Dental Nurse
Laboratory Technician
Pharmaceutical Technician
Sports Therapist
Nursing Assistant
(915,979)
Route name
Examples of occupations to which the route could lead
(Number employed in occupations within route)
Protective Services
Police Officer
Fire Service Officer
NCO
(398,400)
Transport and Logistics
Ship Officer
Railway Signalman
HGV Driver
(589,509)
Sales, Marketing and Procurement
Buyer
Procurement Officer
Sales Account Manager
Market Research Analyst
Estate Agent
(957,185)
Social Care
Care Worker
Residential Warden
Welfare Counsellor
Probation Officer
Home Carer
(865,941)
We expect these routes to be delivered primarily through apprenticeships. 14

15. The Current Proposition
Sainsbury/Skills Plan Essentials:
Technical not vocational
Technical/Academic divide
2 modes of technical:
Apprenticeships
College-based
15 broad technical routes to level 4/5
Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA)to oversee qualifications
IfA to be employer-led, ‘employer’ panels to specify content of qualifications
IFA to work with Office for Students on Degree Apprenticeships:
OFS: degree content
IfA: apprenticeship standard 15

16. The Current Proposition
Skills Plan
“The technical option needs to be clearly delineated from the academic option, as they are designed for different purposes”
“Technical education at higher levels must still follow national standards”
“Every world class technical education takes a (different) approach; they start with world class excellence and the higher technical level and work backwards to define the programmes that should be offered at each stage.” 16

17. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy
Funding
Power
Definition 17

18. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
“Let us now move away from our snobbish caste-ridden hierarchical obsession with university status.”
(Anthony Crossland 1965)
Ed Milliband: Vocational education for the forgotten 50% (Labour Party Manifesto 2015)
Industrial Strategy: “half of all 17-year olds will participate in higher education by age 30.” (Page 37) 18

19. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class 19

20. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy of Policy
City and Guilds: Three Decades of Going Around in Circles
61 Secretaries of State responsible for skills policy (18 for schools and 16 for HE)
13 major Acts of Parliament
Flipped between or has been shared by Depts at least 10 times
Collective amnesia and lack of organisational memory at political and official levels 20

21. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy
Funding
“many believe that there is insufficient postsecondary provision because of funding arrangements” (Parry et al 2012) 21

22. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy
Funding
Maintenance loans
Non-prescribed HE
ELQs
HEFCE/Skills Funding Agency interface 22

23. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy
Funding
“High level vocational training has fallen through the gap between our HE and FE systems”
(Vince Cable Secretary of State for Business and Skills 2015) 23

24. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy
Funding
Power
Franchising
Validation/QAA requirements
The Foundation degree story 24

25. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Class
Inconstancy
Funding
Power
Definition (and differentiation) 25

26. A clear line of sight to work
Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Defining Technical Education
Commission for Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (CAVTL) (2013)
Dual professional staff
Industry Standard Facilities
Close and continuous engagement with industry at all levels
A clear line of sight to work 26

27. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Defining Technical Education
Commission for Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (CAVTL) (2013)
Rigour
Cutting edge practice vs cutting edge knowledge
Judgement skills and consequence of error 27

28. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Defining Technical Education
Commission for Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (CAVTL) (2013)
Rigour
Right and wrong ways of doing things 28

29. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Defining Technical Education
Commission for Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (CAVTL) (2013)
Rigour
Right and wrong ways of doing things
Theory precedes practice 29

30. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
Defining Technical Education
Commission for Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning (CAVTL) (2013)
Rigour
Right and wrong ways of doing things
Theory precedes practice
Innovation and enterprise based on mastery (as well as imagination) 30

31. Resisting the Gravitational Pull of the Academic
BUT:
Skills utilisation and qualifications
Wheelahan et al (2015)
UKCES ( )
Automation and the middle level
Oxford Martin School: 47% of jobs to be automated in next 20 years (2016)
Andrew McAfee: The Second Machine Age (2014)
Education vs training 31

32. Double Standards, social mobility and the degree apprenticeships maze
Catherine Boyd
Vocational education should not be removed from vocational pathways
Dr Tony Strike Sheffield University 32

33. Questions 33