One of the authority’s key asks for their deeper devolution deal, Aldridge told The Mark, will be a single pot bringing together local adult education, National Skills and UKSPF funding.
In an interview with this newsletter, she also backed calls for providers to have a say in developing Local Skills Improvement Plans, after 12 principals wrote to education secretary Nadhim Zahawi calling for a “strengthening” of their roles in developing the plans.
“I do think it is really important that everybody involved in the skills system should be a part of that process,” Aldridge said.
While she had hoped the white paper would mean a set of answers on devolution and the UKSPF, instead: “It gives you a set of possibilities, really.”
The combined authority is “really excited” by the deeper devolution deal as: “For me, the excitement is in the potential to connect those areas of social policy that too often get fractured and silo-ed at a national level, for the benefit of the region, the businesses that operate in it and the people who live in there.”
The single funding pot is one of three key areas the authority has been thinking about for its new deal, as “by having a single funding pot, we can respond more quickly and flexibly to needs as they emerge.
“We can make sure resources across all of what can often be disparate funding streams come together to drive more targeted, focused, high quality provision.”
Asked what funding pots they want to pour into this single pot, other than the local AEB which the authority has controlled since 2019, Aldridge said they were discussing with government the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the National Skills Fund – the government’s flagship programme for funding free, level 3 qualifications and skills bootcamps.
But she insisted that this was not about making a “land grab” of different funding pots, but about creating a coherent employment and skills offer aligned to labour market need, and avoiding but ensuring “wasteful duplication” This could be about devolution of funds, but also about co design and development of programmes.
The second ask for the deeper devolution deal is focused on greater responsibility for the technical and vocational training offer in the region, though discussions were still to be had about what this might look like.
“Given the changes in the economy, we need to ensure we can support young people and adults to develop technical and vocational skills throughout their lives.”
On how accessing the UKSPF may differ from ESF, Aldridge said “we are still awaiting details on the process” about it, but they “expect funds to be lower than we have had through the European Social Fund”.
The 2019 Conservative Party manifesto did promise UKSPF would “at minimum match the size” of the ESF for each nation in the UK.
We can make sure resources across all of what can often be disparate funding streams come together to drive more targeted, focused, high quality provision
Aldridge expressed her own concerns about the gap between ESF ending and UKSPF-resourced skills programmes commencing, saying the combined authority is “keen to explore with central government what that means; and how we might mitigate the impact on both good provision and on the region’s capability deliver as funds become available.
Following discussions within the sector about FE and skills providers’ own roles in composing Local Skills Improvement Plans, Aldridge said, along with employers, skills providers should also be part of the process.
“It is important that providers are working closely with employers, developing provision in response to their needs as well as working with them to stimulate demand for training.”
The combined authority also wants to see the higher and further education sectors working closely together on this, she said.
“Ultimately, if central government is commissioning anything that operates in the region, we want to work with them to make sure that, as it hits the ground, it best meets the needs of our businesses and residents, that it aligns with what is already available so that people have a coherent offer that they can engage with and navigate and that can properly support them.
“That's really critical for us.”