John Hayes: 'Adult education is a vital tool for social mobility and justice'
John Hayes is the Conservative MP for South Holland and the Deepings. He has been the minister of further education, skills and lifelong learning since May 2010.
Where are we on the fraught question of who is entitled to English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)?
"We are trying to ensure impact is properly considered, so as well as the equality impact assessment we did last November, I have asked for careful consideration of the specific impact of ESOL policy to make sure specific groups are not penalised. But I make no apologies for saying it is unacceptable for the state to subsidise private organisations for staff training costs. They have a choice of who to recruit and should not expect language needs to be met by the taxpayer. Also, it is not unreasonable where people can contribute that they pay half the costs."
In what areas will the government's review of informal adult learning be focusing on?
"We must look at the motivation and barriers that encourage or deter people in adult learning. Informal learning acts as an important bridge into other forms of employment and learning. It is particularly significant for some of the most underrepresented groups – women returning to work, those discouraged by earlier learning – people for whom informal and 'bite-sized' chunks help them fulfil their potential."
How do you secure the "big society" when it needs people secure and stable enough to meet those challenges?
"Big society will help bring about that stability. Any number of societies, trusts and community organisations are helping the disadvantaged. We will build on strong social networks and ties, encouraging them to do more. That's what adult learning can do – encourage such groups, supported by government but independent of it. Adult community learning is an important tool of social mobility and social justice. We must focus on areas where adult learning is not strong, rather than areas already advantaged."
Since the end of the government-funded training initiative for people in employment, Train to Gain, what is provided for adults in their 40s and 50s?
"We can use apprenticeships not just as a way of starting people in their careers but enabling them to upskill and reskill. Under my watch we will create more apprenticeships than ever before. To start, as part of the Plan for Growth, we announced an £180m package for 50,000 additional apprentices. Three quarters of the 100,000 placements over the next five years will be adult apprentices."
How does your new vision for craft tie into your wider adult learning plans?
"I do not have a utilitarian view of learning; we need to offer learning in all sorts of ways and places for its own value beyond utility. It is in the spirit of John Ruskin and William Morris, the arts and crafts movement which I believe is stronger in me and Vince [Cable] than it was in previous Labour governments. I have a new vision for craft and vocational skills and re-emergence of the guilds with new awards for crafts. Calls for parity of esteem between academic and vocational led to demotion of practical; we need to re-establish the value of practical learning."