TECs' performance continues to improve

Citation

(1999), "TECs' performance continues to improve", Education + Training, Vol. 41 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.1999.00441aab.008

TECs' performance continues to improve

TECs' performance "continues to improve"

Keywords NVQs, Skills labour market, Training and Enterprise Councils

Training and enterprise councils have achieved performance improvements in major programmes for the sixth consecutive year, according to Government figures.

The most dramatic improvements are in work-based training for young people, where the number of national vocational qualifications gained for every 100 trainees who leave is now 62, compared to 57 last year and 49 the year before that. This represents almost a 25 per cent increase in the last two years.

The new equality-of-opportunity indicators also show that the achievement gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged is growing. Figures show that almost the same number of disadvantaged young people are achieving NVQs as those who are not disadvantaged. The gap between the number of disadvantaged adults gaining a job (42 per cent) and other trainees gaining a job (45 per cent) is narrowing.

TECs have also achieved an increase in the number of companies recognized as Investors in People, and have reached the half-way mark towards the year 2000 target for both large and medium-size firms.

There has, however, been only a slight improvement in the number of adult trainees gaining a job. This remains a key priority for TECs, which are working increasingly with long-term unemployed people and the disadvantaged.