The work-based route can make a contribution to raising the level of higher education
participation if a number of reforms are put into place. First, there should be an expectation that
MAs lead to higher study. This is more likely if Modern Apprentices study for qualifications
which are already accepted by universities (e.g. BTEC National). Second, the newly-formed
Foundation Degrees, which in many cases will have a sharp vocational focus and can be taken on
a part-time basis, could provide a more high profile routeway for Modern Apprentices. Some
argue that the part-time work-based route is even more relevant for those over 30 years of age
(Fuller 2000). Third, there needs to be the widespread formation of a higher level of
apprenticeship focusing on part-time higher education study while in work. This is already the
case, in effect, in jobs allied to the medical profession and could be a model to be copied more
widely. In addition, and at a local level, the newly established Learning and Skills Councils
(LSCs) could, in co-operation with National Training Organisations (NTOs), which are
responsible for the MA frameworks, develop progression routes into higher education in
collaboration with further education colleges. Finally, employers could be offered financial
incentives and public recognition (e.g. through Investors in People) to support their Modern
Apprentice graduates to continue to study and the apprentices themselves could be offered
individual learning accounts (ILAs). If these conditions were created, it is possible to see the
majority of Modern Apprentices completing a Level 3 qualification (which is currently not the
case) with a significant proportion of these going on to take up part-time higher education
courses. These reforms would also stimulate demand for qualifications from adults in the
workplace.
Towards a high-quality, effective and connective mixed education and
training system for the future
What this paper attempts to highlight is that the Government’s current policies for increasing
participation in higher education, which focus on providing a new type of degree and widening
participation supported by further and higher education partnerships, will not be enough on their
own to bring about a significant expansion in higher education participation. Our statistical work
suggests that simply expanding the supply of higher education places and increasing their
accessibility by new forms of provision ignores two very important factors - the supply of
qualified applicants from the younger age group and the current lack of employer demand for
higher level skills affecting adult learners.
The type of ‘system slowdown’ we have highlighted in this paper requires a more strategic
approach to education and training policy to increase higher education participation. The position
in the UK at the beginning of the 21st Century is not the same as it was at the end of the 1980s and
the beginning of the 1990s when a significant expansion of participation in higher education took
place as a result of learner demand.
We have indicated that creating effective demand for the further expansion of higher education in
an era of system slowdown can be brought about through reforms in at least three areas - the
general qualifications track, broad vocational qualifications and the work-based route - in order
to break down barriers and to align more closely all aspects of education and training from 14+.
It is also important to provide effective and high quality part-time higher education provision for
adults, particularly for those already in work. At the same time, employer voluntarism will have
to be addressed. New demands for occupational standards will have to emerge and employers
and learners will need to be offered incentives to reach these. This points to a more
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