Government welcomes rise in vocational degree places

The government has said that there will be an extra 10,000 places on foundation degree courses next year, "giving more people a chance to study for a vocationally-focused higher education qualification".

The new degrees aim to increase the number of people qualified at higher technician and associate professional level - like legal executives, engineering technicians, personnel officers, laboratory technicians and teaching assistants.

The increase announced today should mean at least 70,000 full and part time students are studying for the degrees in two years time, up from the 12,400 that were on courses last year.

Figures from the universities admissions service, UCAS, show that more students are choosing the degrees and more institutions are offering them. They will be able to bid for the extra places and for funds to develop new programmes.

Education Minister Alan Johnson said the degrees have been built with employers to help meet the needs of the workforce.

"We have made very clear that higher education expansion does not mean more of the same. We need expansion to reflect the needs of the economy and the economy is telling us it needs more graduates with specific skills at a particular level," he said.

"We expect three-quarters of a million new jobs over the next decade to be at the associate professional level - from medical technicians to aircraft engineers and teaching assistants."

Mr Johnson also said that the expansion does not represent a threat to the availability of honours degree places.

(gmcg)