Sir Michael Barber was announced as a government adviser on skills reform implementation by the chancellor in November, but little is known about what his work involves. He talks to Shane Chowen about why he’s taken on the unpaid role and what he hopes to achieve when it ends next month.
When the chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in his autumn statement that he had appointed Sir Michael Barber to advise “on the implementation of our skills reform programme”, the sector held its breath to once again be under the spotlight of yet another major review.
He was brought on to, in the Treasury’s words, “help maximise the impact” of the government’s various skills reform policies; namely T Levels, higher technical qualifications, the lifelong loan entitlement and skills bootcamps.
Little else was said. In fact Barber’s appointment was the only thing November’s autumn statement had to say about the FE and skills system at all.
