Women’s equality in the UK – A health check

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Case study: 46
Community Links, based in East London, delivers training to NEET young people. In 2011
there were only three apprenticeships, one of them in childcare, one of the workers
commented. “three of the girls on my course applied for the place in childcare, so you can
imagine what the competition for that was like. Do you know what that placement was for?
It was to work with terminally ill kids. They wanted to pay a 16–18-year-old £100 a week to
work full-time with terminally ill children.”
A report in 2010 47 found that the apprenticeships system perpetuated existing patterns of
occupational segregation and the gender pay gap with young women being encouraged into
low-paid, shorter apprenticeships with fewer progression prospects such as hairdressing and
young men being encouraged into well-paid, ‘traditional’ apprenticeships with the possibility of
progression such as engineering. (See Article 11 for further information)
Equality in vocational education and Further Education
96% of Further Education (FE) and sixth form colleges faced a budget cut for 2011/12 48 and
students aged 25 and older have to pay half fees for a GSCE equivalent qualification and full fees
for an A-level equivalent qualification. 49 The Government changed its mind on rules that would
have prevented colleges offering fully funded courses to people who were not on Job Seekers
Allowance (JSA) or disability benefits that were looking for work. Colleges now have ‘local
discretion’ to provide free courses to students on other benefits if the training would help them
into work. However, there is no additional funding for these people and college leaders have
warned that it will be difficult for colleges to provide courses to all of those who would benefit. 50
Women mature students are more likely to be affected by removing funding from GSCE
equivalent or A-level equivalent courses. Women are 56% of learners at GCSE equivalent level 51
and of the students on ‘inactive’ benefits, ranging from Income Support to Housing Benefit, 75%
are female. In London, 67% are also from ethnic minorities. Although the Government has done
a U-turn on its policy preventing colleges from providing free courses to these students, it has
not provided any funding to support free courses. 52
FE courses 53 provide a crucial role in supporting social mobility and aiding women’s job and
career prospects. 54 Currently many of these courses are subsidised by up to 50% for people
over 24, but, in 2013, the Government plans to scrap financial support for this age group entirely
and introduce loans to cover the cost of these courses. While the new arrangement means that
students no longer have to find money upfront when they enrol on a course, research by the
Government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has shown that two thirds of
46. Oxfam (2012) The Perfect Storm: Economic stagnation, the rising cost of living, public spending cuts, and the impact on UK poverty.
Oxfam: Oxford http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/the-perfect-storm-economic-stagnation-the-rising-cost-of-livingpublic-spending-228591
47. Trade Union Congress and YWCA (2010) Apprenticeships and Gender. http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/Apprenticeships_and_Gender.pdf
48. EdExec (2011) ‘Further education devastated by budget cuts’, EdExec website, 26th March 2011 http://www.edexec.co.uk/news/1578/
further-education-devastated-by-budget-cuts/
49. HM Treasury (2010) Spending Review October 2010. http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_completereport.pdf
50. Lee, J. (2011) ‘Government u-turns on provision of free courses’, TES Newspaper, 12th August 2011 http://www.tes.co.uk/article.
aspx?storycode=6108140
51. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2010) Skills for Sustainable Growth and Investing in Skills for sustainable Growth – Equality
Impact Assessment. BIS: London http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/s/10-1284-skills-for-sustainablegrowth-investing-equality-impact
52. Lee, J. (2011) ‘Government u-turns on provision of free courses’, TES Newspaper, 12th August 2011 http://www.tes.co.uk/article.
aspx?storycode=6108140
53. At level-3 and -4 includes Access to Higher Education courses, A Levels, BTECs and Foundation Degrees and their equivalent, in addition to
the courses running alongside higher level apprenticeships.
54. Marsden, G. (2012) ‘Further education loans are a gamble too far to adult learners’, The Guardian, 2nd April 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/
education/2012/apr/02/further-education-loans-gamble-adult-learners
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