Press release: ESOL provision crucial for government’s growth plans, says report

With the government’s plans – including Skills England, the Get Britain Working White Paper, the English Devolution White Paper and its Plan for Change – coming thick and fast, Supporting ESOL in the devolved areas, highlights how devolved ESOL provision can help to close skills gaps and support the government’s mission to kickstart economic growth.

The report shows that adults who are speakers of English as a second or additional language are a great asset if their current English language skills can meet the language demands for the jobs on offer. According to the National Office for Statistics, around 48% of new arrivals are educated at tertiary level (compared to 39% of UK-born citizens), and in 2018, the OCED found that the proportion of well-qualified migrants and refugees with degrees increased by almost 20% between 2007 and 2017.

With the right language education offer, people with these skills and experience offer a huge demographic and economic dividend. And yet, the ESOL policy and funding environment has been devastated by funding cuts and frequent policy changes over the last fifteen years. The number of students starting funded ESOL courses fell by 36% between 2009/10 and 2016/17, for example, while funding from the adult education budget (now adults skills fund) declined by 56% in real terms during the same period.

Currently, 10 mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) have responsibility for the adult education budget and therefore control the majority of ESOL funding. As the government shifts towards a ‘devolution by default’ approach, this will become the norm across the country.

Today’s report urges policy makers to learn from devolved approaches and work with MCAs to test and learn from new approaches which could realise the potential of thousands of people who speak English as a second or additional language (EAL).

The report sets out a series of recommendations around a national framework, a role for employers and funding, including:

A national framework for ESOL

• A national framework, informed by data which sets out the demand for and impact of ESOL services, should be co-developed with MCAs.
• The framework should set out a vision, core principles and priorities for ESOL provision and articulate the essential role that ESOL plays in economic growth and community cohesion.

The role of employers

• Policy makers should establish or pilot an Erasmus-style scheme for work placements for ESOL students, enabling employers to access the skills they need, and encourage employers to engage with people whose first language is not English.

Funding

• MCAs should pilot schemes focused on investing well in ESOL, explore and share insights on what delivery, innovation and investment has meaningful impact.
• Income from the immigration skills charge on visa fees should be used to fund ESOL courses to support British citizens and people with settled status in the UK who are speakers of other languages.

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said:

The education and training of ESOL learners must be seriously considered as part of the government’s five missions, Get Britain Working and devolution plans.

“People who do not speak English as a main language are more likely to be out of work, but they have good skills, experience and a high motivation to have successful careers. They want to work, and should be supported too, because they can help meet the local labour market needs for skilled people and support economic growth. With the right opportunities to learn better English they can utilise their skills, benefiting the community, their families and themselves.

“This report is full of brilliant examples of what mayoral authorities are doing with the adult skills fund they are given; as we move towards a devolution by default approach, it’s imperative that others learn from these initiatives and develop effective ESOL provision across the country.

“Without it, we risk excluding too many people from the labour market, missing out on the significant contribution they can make to filling our skills gaps, and the economic growth and productivity of the country.”

Diana Sutton, Director of The Bell Foundation, said: “Many second language English speakers already have work-related skills and experience necessary to contribute to the UK economy.

Over one in every 50 people of working age in the UK could benefit from work and growth opportunities by developing their proficiency in English; this is equivalent to the number of adults ‘economically inactive’ following the Covid pandemic in the UK. Almost half of this group are British citizens or long-term residents. MCAs have a key role to play in unlocking opportunities by flexing funding towards provision of ESOL.

“The creation of Skills England also provides an opportunity to ensure that second language speakers are able to access ESOL and help fill the skills shortages and labour needs of the future. “

The report shares case studies of best practice from mayoral authorities across the country to demonstrate what is possible with sufficient funding, support and collaboration.