Employers could gain significant new powers to shape higher education degrees

27 Feb 2008

From an article published by the Financial Times on the 26 February 2008 and edited by David Turner.

Employers would gain significant new powers to shape higher education degrees under a confidential blueprint circulating inside Whitehall.

The 23-page paper, titled a "Higher Level Skills Strategy" and seen by the Financial Times, sets out the case for devoting the bulk of extra university funding over the next three years to degrees jointly designed and funded by employers.

"We expect the great majority of this growth to be in provision that is developed with employer input - either foundation degrees [two-year vocational degrees co-designed by employers] or employer co-funded places," the document says. The document then warns that it expects growth to be "initially concentrated in those institutions which have shown they are able and willing to commit to working closely with employers".

The paper mentions repeatedly the need for universities to provide more of what employers want because universities' traditional mainstay, 18-year-olds fresh out of school and not yet in the workplace, is set to fall.

Related articles

• Whitehall eyes business focus for degrees (Financial Times)