New Report Calls For 'Food Labels' On College Courses In Scotland

THURSDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2009: Providing learners and employers with 'food-labelling' style information about courses would empower them to drive up the skills Scotland needs for future growth and productivity, says a report published today by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

The move would mark a radical new approach to employment and skills in Scotland, says the Commission.

By giving learners key information on things like drop-out rates and job prospects which is easy to understand and compare, the UK Commission believes that learners would be able to make more informed choices about courses they were considering, and employers could better assess the benefits for workforce development.

Anyone who shops online has used sites like eBay or insurance comparison websites to make sure they get the best deal. Yet at the moment, vital statistics about education and training are either not given to the learner or are not easy to compare across courses and institutions. Instead, there’s a complicated raft of organisations and quangos involved in planning what they think should be delivered. UKCES believe that this job could be done better and more cheaply simply by making the system we already have more transparent.

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