Paul Head, Principal and Chief Executive at the College, with Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes MP, and college apprentices 

Earlier today, Skills Minister, John Hayes MP visited The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London to launch a consultation that will shape the future of skills training across the country.

The consultation document 'Skills for a Sustainable Growth' outlines the Government’s vision for skills and what are expected to be the key elements of the strategy to deliver it. 

College Principals, employers from the public and private sector and some apprentices sat in the audience, while Mr Hayes, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, talked about creating more apprenticeships, working with employers, informing individuals about their choices and providing more resources with greater efficiency.

Speaking about the challenges the country faces, he said: “Skills are vital for our economy but they also help to build stronger communities and empower individuals. Only by seeing learning as a whole, not a series of separate compartments, can we ensure that it takes its place at the heart of both business strategy and community life.”

He added: “I am determined to ensure our decisions are the result of proper consultation so that policy reflects real priorities. I therefore welcome responses to the questions in this paper.”

College Principal and Chief Executive, Paul Head, welcomed the minister and spoke about how the College as a specialist provider of vocational training can really focus on improving the local economy. He said: “We have a passion for transforming lives by having high expectations of ourselves and what our students and partners can achieve through the power of education. Therefore it’s really important that the college, its students, and the local community get involved and have their say on how they’d like to receive training in the future.”

Fatema Begum, a Business Administration apprentice based at the College, was impressed with the minister’s thoughts saying: “I think anything that aims to improve skills for adults is a good thing. I always wanted to go back to college and get qualifications but needed to work for money, which made it really difficult. I’d heard about apprenticeships but thought they were only for 16 to 18s so when I realised that they went up to 25, I started looking for vacancies on the internet straightaway and it’s really worked for me.”

The consultation runs until 14 October and is available to read at

• http://www.bis.gov.uk/FE-funding-consultation