The Welsh Assembly Government is consulting on proposals to remodel the student finance system in Wales for full-time undergraduate students. It is looking at:
Responses to this consultation document should be sent by Monday 16 February.
The Deputy Minister for Skills has approved the Terms of Reference for the Review of Careers Services in Wales. The Review has been commissioned as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s Skills that Work for Wales strategy and action plan. Its purpose will be to determine how well placed the Careers Services are to respond to developments in policy, demographic changes and current and possible future economic conditions.
Wales’ school capital programme will receive a £24m injection of additional investment from the new Strategic Capital Investment Fund (SCIF). The additional funding will build on existing capital resources of £168m a year currently invested in schools.
The Welsh Assembly Government has announced additional programmes worth £68 million to help individuals, communities and businesses across Wales through the current economic downturn. New measures include: ProAct - a new programme to provide training for people who would otherwise be made redundant or put on short-time working.
In 2007/08, 604 15-year-olds left full time education without a recognised qualification. This is lower than the 2006/07 total of 682. Expressed as a percentage of the cohort 1.5 per cent of pupils left full time education without a recognised qualification in 2007/08, lower than in 2006/07.
The key points from the latest release are for 15 year olds: 58 per cent achieved the Level 2 threshold, 3 percentage points higher than in 2006/07 and 10 percentage points higher compared with 1998/99. For 17 year olds, 94 per cent of those entering a volume equivalent to 2 A levels achieved the Level 3 threshold, the same as in 2006/07 but 3 percentage points higher compared with 1998/99.
The provisional figures show a decline in full year learner numbers across all sectors (FE institutions, LEA community learning and work-based learning provision) between 2006/07 and 2007/08, though year end figures have increased for some types of learning programme.
Providing equality of opportunity and the best possible chances in life for disabled children and young people was the message from First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Children’s Minister Jane Hutt, as they launched the Welsh Assembly Government’s first policy agenda for disabled young people in Wales.
Overall, qualification levels in Wales increased in 2007, continuing the general increase seen in recent years. There was a 1 percentage point increase for each of the proportions of adults with level 2 or above, level 3 or above, and level 4 or above. An estimated 15 per cent of working age adults in Wales reported having no qualifications, 1 percentage point lower than in 2006.
By mid-November 2008, 43,800 students had successfully applied for support under the 2006/07 entry regulations. 33% received a full Assembly Learning Grant, 26% received a partial ALG and 41% received no ALG.
The population of 0-19 year olds in Wales has been decreasing since around 1999, and it is projected that this population will continue to decrease until 2014 when it will reach its lowest level. The population will then increase until 2026, before declining gradually from here on.
The Government today committed to the introduction of new legislation to improve the lives of children and families, drive up standards in schools and to make the education and training system for young people and adults more responsive and flexible.
Some twenty five million employees are set to benefit from a new right to request time at work to undertake training, thanks to a new Bill in today's Queen's Speech. The Bill will give each employee the right to request relevant training they need to improve their skills and to have these requests properly considered by their employer.
More 16- and 17-year-olds have a chance to carry on in education or training than ever before, Government figures reveal today. 94 per cent of 16-year-olds (compared to 91 per cent last year) say they intend to continue learning and have received a suitable offer. The September Guarantee aims to offer a suitable place to every young person leaving compulsory education who wants one. This year, the September Guarantee has also been extended to 17-year-olds.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Schools Minister Jim Knight unveiled a vision for the 21st Century School, which will focus on every child and be at the heart of the community. They also revealed more details of the School Report Card, which will give parents a clearer picture of school performance.
Skills Secretary John Denham and Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced that Simon Waugh has been appointed the first chief executive of the new National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). The NAS will deliver an expanded apprenticeship programme and will provide a single point of contact for employers who want to offer apprenticeships and for prospective apprentices.
