1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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?

5. 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

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

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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. Discussion session
Until 12 noon