Skills reform guru wanted to boost university numbers

A NEW Labour education guru appointed by Jeremy Hunt to examine the Government’s skills reform programme once argued more people should go to university.

Sir Michael Barber, who served in Sir Tony Blair’s administration from 1997 to 2001, wrote a comment article for The Daily Telegraph in 2019 saying those who advocated reducing student numbers were “fundamentally wrong”.

The Chancellor this week appointed Sir Michael to examine the transformation of post-16 education and training which aims to boost skills and get more people into work.

In the piece, written when he was head of the Office for Students (OFS), the higher education regulator, Sir Michael accused his opponents of employing a “tired argument”.

“The jobs of tomorrow will require ever greater skills, something recognised in most other developed nations,” he wrote. “The reality is that all higher education can inspire, enrich and expand minds and change lives for the better – and at all ages too, not just at 18.”

Sir Michael, 66, stood down from his chairmanship of the OFS in 2020 amid reports that ministers were dissatisfied with his failure to reduce the numbers of students enrolled on “low-value” degrees. During his tenure he was keen to see pupils from poorly performing schools given lower grade requirements for university places to increase diversity.

“A young person from a council estate who gets decent A-levels has often had to work a lot harder than the young person from a better-off neighbourhood who gets a few grades more,” Sir Michael said in April 2019.

‘If Britain is to match the best in the world we need to ensure everyone has the skills necessary to thrive’

When asked about his previous comments yesterday, he said: “Clearly university is not for everyone. I strongly believe in the importance of high-quality skills programmes including apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships.

“These require excellent collaboration between employers and colleges.

“If Britain is to match the best in the world, we need to ensure everyone has the skills necessary to thrive in the economy of the future.”

Sir Michael, who cut his teeth with the NUT in the 1980s, has more recently conducted reviews of policing and government delivery.