Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill

On the face of it, this is a rather sensible group of amendments. Obviously it is very important for LEAs to consult sector skills councils. They are probably a better route than employers’ groups because they think very carefully about education and training needs. My experience of consulting employers more generally is that they are sometimes not terribly clued up about what particular types of education and training are required for the sort of jobs which they seek to fill. However, I am not sure whether this really has to be in the Bill. I have no idea what the Minister will say, but I am not absolutely convinced by the amendment in that I cannot believe that any local education authority that takes on this general duty, which is what the clause is about, could properly do its job of developing sensible routes down which it should go to ensure that those in the immediate post-compulsory age group of 16 to 18 year-olds have the right opportunities for education and training. I absolutely support the spirit that lies behind this, but it is probably best to consult the sector skills councils than an all-embracing category of employers. The other point is that social work is, and needs to be, an all-graduate profession, so I am not sure that apprenticeship is the best route for people who will be social workers, although there is a strong case for having an apprenticeship route for those who will be in support roles in residential care for children or the elderly, a small percentage of whom might want to go on to be social workers. That, rather than an apprenticeship for social work per se, is the right way in which to approach this.