The Routledge Encyclopaedia of UK Education, Training and Employment

From the earliest statutes to the present day

John P. Wilson

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415558228
• eBook ISBN: 9781317796510
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

A comprehensive guide to all the main labour market initiatives and agencies combining education and employment in the UK, this encyclopaedia presents an historical progression from the Guilds and Statute of Artifices in 1563 through to present day initiatives and changes. Fully cross-referenced throughout, with a full list of acronyms, bibliographic and internet resources, the encyclopaedia includes:

• 
  
  

• Detailed descriptions of all major government initiatives connecting education, training and employment

• 
  
  

• Documentation covering England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and initiatives in Ireland up to Irish independence

• 
  
  

• A brief history of education and employment in the UK

• 
  
  

• Chronological history of Government Departments

• 
  
  

• Outlines of all major public agencies and qualifications

• 
  
  

• An extensive glossary of acronyms

• 
  
  

• Information on rarely recorded and inaccessible historical documents

With over 1500 entries, this encyclopaedia crosses knowledge boundaries providing for the first time an integrated map of national human capital development. It addresses: preschool initiatives, primary, secondary, further and higher education; vocational education and training; labour market interventions including those designed to return people to employment; and, government strategies designed to enhance economic and technological competitiveness. The cross-referenced structure provides connections to associated items and a chronological tracing of agencies and initiatives. This encyclopaedia will appeal to those involved in all aspects of education, training, employment, careers information, advice and guidance; and policy making.

A

Ability Development Centre

See: Placing, Assessment and Counselling Teams

Academies

Announced in March 2000, the first academies opened in September 2002 under the Learning and Skills Act 2000. Originally called city academies, ‘Academies are all ability schools established by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups working with partners from the local community. Sponsors and the Department for Education and Skills provide the capital costs for the Academy’ (DfES 2002e p. 6). They were either new secondary schools or they replace failing secondary schools. The academies were located in areas of disadvantage, whether urban or rural, and were designed to offer local solutions to local problems. Each academy was different and drew upon the expertise of its sponsors to develop a specific ethos and mission. The age range of pupils varied depending on local provision and the 2002 Education Act allowed for ‘all age’ academies. They were set up as companies limited by guarantee with charitable status and running costs were met in full by the state. Influenced by the Swedish free school system, the Academies Act 2010 enabled the establishment of academies by interested groups and for public funded schools to apply to became academies.

See also: City Technology Colleges

Further reading: DfES (2002e)

Accelerated Modern Apprenticeships

See: Modern Apprenticeships – Accelerated (aMA)

Access Funds

Further education institutions administered access funds, which provided support for individuals where access to education might have been inhibited by financial considerations, or where students faced financial difficulties. The Government allocated approximately £6m per annum during the period 1994–1997.

See also: Education Maintenance Allowance

Further reading: Further Education Funding Council (1993)

Access to Assessment

The Access to Assessment programme provided funds to support training and enterprise councils to increase access to National Vocational Qualification assessment and involved 2,800 employers and assisted 9,000 individuals to gain qualifications mainly at NVQ Level 2.

Further reading: DfEE Annual Report 1996, Cm 3210, p. 95; Employment Department (1993b)

Access to Information Technology

(Piloted in 1984, went national in July 1985, and ran until April 1988) Encouraged flexible accessible training and promoted greater awareness of the uses of IT. Both private and public sector training providers were set up in 1984 offering modular AIT courses at evenings and at weekends lasting from 20 to 30 hours. Following the 1984 pilot year, there was an increase in provision in 1985/86. Courses were open to both employed and unemployed people, but not to those in full time education. £1m was set aside in 1985/86 and approximately 80,000 participated.

Further reading: MSC Annual Reports 1984/85 p. 22, and 1985/86 p. 20; MSC (1985h)

Access to Work

(6 June 1994) This initiative was designed to provide technical and personal support tailored to the individual needs of disabled clients. Support included: communicators for deaf people; support workers for people with physical and learning disabilities, and those with mental problems; and help towards adapting vehicles. It was one of three elements of the Work-path initiative, the other two being Workstep and Work Preparation. It was a successor to Adaptations to Premises and Equipment.

Further reading: DfEE Annual Report 1996, Cm 3210, p. 115; Beinart (1996)

Accredited Training Centres

The Youth Training Scheme was dependent on the quality of the managing agencies, the firms providing work experience, the colleges and everyone involved with the YTS partnership. Therefore, staff training was crucial and to help in this task a network of 55 accredited centres – one for each Manpower Services Commission area – was set up. The centres provided a range of advisory services, resource banks and training.

See also: Approved Training Organisations

Further reading: Youth Training Scheme (1984)

Action Credit

(Announced and piloted in 1989) This initiative enabled people to leave employment training and work part-time for up to six months while receiving benefit. It provided a means for people to store their earnings for access at a later date, but the take-up was very low, due possibly to mistrust of the scheme by those who were on the margins of employment and had limited understanding of what was being offered.

See also: Back to Work Bonus

Further reading: Fairclough (1992)

Action for Cities

(Launched in March 1988) This was an interdepartmental government initiative. The Employment Department Group focused help on inner-city problems and on the long-term unemployed or those with special needs. The 1991/92 Employment Service Annual Performance Agreement specified that 34 per cent of placings be made for inner-city residents. There were specialist outreach staff working with communities and individuals, and other work included research, demonstration projects and some contracts with voluntary organisations working in inner cities.

Further reading: Rebello (1991); Training Agency (1989a)

Action for Community Employment

(1981/82–1999/2000) This programme superseded the Management Action Programme in Northern Ireland and was targeted at the long-term unemployed. It was the equivalent of the Community Programme and enabled people to undertake work for a period of one year that was of benefit to the local community while acquiring experience and training. During the first ten years of operation more than 62,000 people participated on the programme. This programme was succeeded by Worktrack.

Further reading: Training and Employment Agency Annual Report (1992)

Action for Jobs

(1986) Action for Jobs was introduced to provide the unemployed, employers and employees with information about what was available to them and to address the high levels of unemployment that occurred during the recession.

Action Research

While also being a specific form of research involving the evaluation of an intervention (often in the social sciences), this was a scheme introduced in 1999 that was designed to encourage research into locally derived and locally delivered work-related learning projects for those 14–16 years of age. It was also tied into the Key Stage 4 demonstration projects programme. The research was aimed at providing more productive evidence about the wider use of vocational and work-related approaches at Key Stage 4, which was designed to be fed back into the development of the curriculum for 14–16 year olds. £4m was allocated to this programme and 100 LEAs participated.

See also: Standards Fund

Further reading: DfEE Departmental Report 1999–00 to 2001–02, Cm 4202, p. 54; DfEE (2000f)

Action Teams for Jobs

(Announced in 1999) This initiative enabled local action teams to be set up to look at local needs and to take action or remedial action to either create work or discourage unemployment.

Further reading: DfEE (2000b)

Action Zones

See: Education Action Zones

Activity Agreements

(April 2006) These were designed for 16- to 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) and who were unlikely to be receiving benefit. The purpose was to re-engage these young people by providing a financial incentive alongside their agreement to commit to education or training.

See also: Activity Allowance; Education Maintenance Allowance

Further reading: HM Treasury (2007)

Activity Allowance

(April 2006) This was an allowance, usually £30 per week, provided to young people of 16–17 who committed themselves through an activity agreement to be involved with some form of education or training.

See also: Education Maintenance Allowance; Care to Learn

Further reading: HM Treasury (2007)

Adaptations to Premises and Equipment

(1977) This initiative offered grants to employers to modify equipment and premises to allow access and work for those with disabilities. At the outset, the scheme allowed an employer to claim up to £6,000 for such adaptation work to be completed.

See also: Disablement Advisory Service

Further reading: Parker (1990); Beattie (1990)

Additional and/or Specialist Learning

(2008) This was one component of the diploma, the other two being generic learning and principal learning. ‘Additional learning’ meant a broadening of the learning experience, and ‘specialist learning’ meant a deepening of the learning experience.

Admiralty Schools

The Admiralty had responsibility for a number of schools and the Privy Council, in 1856, charged the Education Department to inspect the Greenwich Hospital Schools, the royal dockyard schools and royal marines schools (Report 1858–59 p. 423). Schools were also to be found on the flagships at Portsmouth, Devonport, and on harbour ships.

See also: Floating Engineer College; Merchant Marine Training Ships; Navigation School

Further reading: McClean (1999)

Adoption Grants

(1975) These grants were brought in to encourage employers to take on an otherwise redundant apprentice from elsewhere. Equally, they were made to Industrial Training Boards who could also undertake to ensure that the apprentice completed training.

Further reading: MSC Annual Report 1975–76 p. 25

Adult and Community Learning

See: Adult and Community Learning Fund

Adult and Community Learning Fund

(1999) A £5m fund was set up to support innovative commun...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Alphabetical List of Entries
• Glossary of Acronyms
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• 1–9
• Entries A–Z
• Bibliography and References