The potential of Educational Technology to support distance learning has been demonstrated during lockdown but variations in access have served to dramatically increase inequality. 

The DfE and others have brought forward action to help address these, but a focus on “free” tools threatens to undermine the economic viability of the UK educational technology sector. Meanwhile initiatives to make introductory digital skills and cybersecurity courses “freely” available similarly undermine the future of training providers (both public and private sector) who moved their hands-on technical and professional courses on-line for remote access, only to find that their customers have furloughed their training staff, after cancelling the contracts and freezing the plans and budgets.  

There are many ideas about how to address the problems/opportunities: from “guaranteed” apprenticeships and/or changing apprentice funding rules (to enable employers to use their own funds to bring forward in-line training for furloughed staff), through targeted public procurement (using social values legislation)  to reviving individual learning accounts, (this time tied to vouchers for accredited courses, with employer driven quality control of both course and provider). But which are worth working up into policy proposals? And should Government policy focus on national programmes or supporting partnerships of local authorities, colleges, universities, commercial training providers, recruitment agencies and employers to deliver the skills needed for immediate economic recovery and built for the future? Or do we need both?   

This discussion will be introduced by a panel including inputs from employers, public and private sector training providers and recruitment/employment agencies. The aim is to identify ideas for follow up and teams to turn them into proposals This event is joint between the Conservative Science and Technology Forum and the Conservative Policy Forum.

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