AQW 6666/17-22
Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry
Tabled Date: 10/09/2020
Answered On Date: 22/09/2020
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy (i) for an update on the evaluation of the Further and Higher Education Strategy; (ii) to detail her future plans regarding the strategy; (iii) whether she will integrate the Higher Education Strategy into the Skills Strategy; and (iv) how does she plan to engage students in the Skills Strategy.
Answer:
for an update on the evaluation of the Further and Higher Education Strategy; to detail her future plans regarding the strategy; There are no plans for an independent evaluation of the FE Means Success (FEMS) strategy. Implementation of the FEMS strategy was taken forward through eight projects which were to be delivered jointly by the Department and the six Further Education colleges. In line with the recommendations of an Independent Review of the eight projects, the Project Board agreed in December 2019 that the remaining projects should be closed and that the small number of outstanding actions should be taken forward as part of the broader programme of work on transforming the Further Education (FE) sector. There are two Higher Education Strategies, the ‘Graduating to Success Strategy’ and ‘Access to Success Strategy’, which both came to an end in March 2020. Final reporting and evaluation of projects within these strategies have been delayed due to Covid-19. An evaluation of the strategies is planned, when all projects have completed final closure reports. whether she will integrate the Higher Education Strategy into the Skills Strategy; The new Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland will establish the key policy priorities for the next decade. It will encompass all aspects of policy and programmes which impact on skills development and delivery, including Higher and Further Education. Action plans for the implementation of the Strategy’s recommendations will be developed, which will be taken forward by the relevant Divisions with responsibility for these areas. The FE colleges and higher education institutions will be key delivery agents in ensuring that the objectives in the new Skills Strategy are delivered. how does she plan to engage students in the Skills Strategy. The Department will carry out a public consultation on the draft Skills Strategy early in 2021, which will enable anyone to provide comments on the proposals. We will be inviting representative bodies for industry, academia and so on to provide input and this will include student representatives. The Department had originally planned to hold meetings with groups of stakeholders, including students, to encourage engagement with the development of the Strategy, but with the advent of the pandemic, these plans have been put on hold. This will be kept under review.
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