COURSES and qualifications in self-tanning, balloon artistry and instructing pole fitness will no longer attract government funding under a new reform plan to simplify and streamline the adult skills system.

Skills and Enterprise Minister Matthew Hancock announced the radical plan to reduce the number of under-used and low value qualifications which are available for taxpayer funding.

The intention to remove funding from these qualifications was highlighted in the Spending Review. The changes mean that nearly £200m of the adult skills budget will be re-directed towards the highest quality and most relevant qualifications.

The Government expects to reduce the number of available qualifications by more than 5,000 to make the system respond more closely to employers’ needs and give learners a clear route either to employment or further training.

Mr Hancock said: “Small qualifications in coaching angling, aerial balloon displays and self-tanning are not a good use of taxpayers’ money or learners’ time.

“There are currently 15,400 regulated qualifications, and even with the restrictions we have made so far, 11,000 of them are eligible for Government funding. This means the system is complicated, bureaucratic and hard to understand, and we need to change that.

“We are determined to make sure that people who work hard to achieve a qualification can be sure that it is recognised as meaningful and valuable to employers and that it makes a real contribution to our long term economic plan for Britain.”

Alison Wolf, professor of public sector management said: “I am delighted that, three years on from my report on 14-19 education, the government is starting a serious reform of adult vocational education. The two parts of the system need to fit together, and adult vocational qualifications have until now remained seriously unfit for purpose.”

Nigel Whitehead, commissioner for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills said: “I welcome the launch of the vocational qualifications plan for England. I’m keen to see it implemented quickly so that learners and employers can have confidence in the quality and relevance of Apprenticeships and vocational qualifications.”

As well as removing funding for this raft of qualifications, the reform programme will make sure that qualifications:

• Give employers greater ownership of occupational standards and qualifications • Are designed and assessed in light of the best research and international practice

• Attract funding only if they are valued by employers and offer learners an opportunity to meaningfully progress in employment or further learning.

• Are open and accessible, and are available on databases which it is easy for learners and employers to use.

At the same time, Ofqual will be reviewing the way qualifications are regulated, to make sure that the system consistently produces high quality qualifications, rather than ones which need to be removed from funding because they do not meet real needs.