To begin the day TRH visited the local, government-run Islamabad Model College for Girls school to champion the importance of quality education, particularly for girls. The school educates students between the ages of 4 and 18.

TRH met pupils from kindergarten to sixth form and heard about how the students are benefiting from Teach for Pakistan, a fast-track teacher training programme modelled on the UK’s successful ‘Teach First’ scheme. Like Teach First, Teach for Pakistan is focused on improving the quality of teaching in schools which serve families from disadvantaged backgrounds through a rigorous teacher selection and training programme.

Continuing the education theme, TRH then visited the Margalla Hills to take part in a number of activities which highlighted Pakistan’s work to meet several of the Sustainable Development Goals. Their Royal Highnesses joined children from four local schools to set up a leopard camera trap. Environmental change and its impact is an increasingly serious issue in Pakistan, a country especially vulnerable to climate change. The Margalla Hills in particular face threats of encroachment, poaching, wildfires, invasive species and littering.

The Duke and Duchess then held official meetings with the President of Pakistan Mr Arif Alvi, followed by an official meeting and lunch with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr Imran Khan.

Notes to Editors

Education

The UK is investing in education in Pakistan to unlock its potential. The DFID education programme in Pakistan is the UK’s largest bilateral development programme. UK aid has helped more than 5.5 million girls like those in the Islamabad College since 2011 get a quality education. UK aid has also focused on girls who are out of school to make sure they get education to improve literacy and numeracy, as well as training in skills for work. For example, thousands of teenage girls in the lowest performing districts of South Punjab will learn the skills they need to reach their full potential. With a growing population in Pakistan, where two-thirds of adult women cannot read or write, it is essential we make sure girls get the education they deserve.

All evidence confirms that wherever women are empowered and educated there are immediate improvements in the prosperity of that society. Helping women and girls to gain access to the same opportunities as their male peers is in everyone’s interests. An equal role for women in the economy is essential to sustained growth and will help lift millions out of poverty, with experts predicting that advancing economic equality globally could add $12 trillion to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Pakistan is making progress on education, but challenges remain. The number of out-of-school children has declined, but 22.8 million children remain out of school (aged 6-16 years), with 11.4 million in primary and lower secondary school (aged 6-12 years). Spending has increased, but despite its young population, Pakistan spends only just over 3% of its GDP on education.

The Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) is a government-run school with students from kindergarten (aged 3-5 years) to ‘intermediate’ (aged 17-18 years). The kindergarten and primary sections are co-educational, while the high school is girls only. For its 1,200 students the school has 28 teachers. The school has benefitted from UK aid from DFID as it runs the “Learn Smart Classroom”. It provides interactive lessons to help children learn in a digital and interactive way. The “Learn Smart Classroom” has been used in more than 300 schools across Pakistan and has helped more than 80,000 children learn since it was created.

Environment

Environmental change and its impact is an increasingly serious issue in Pakistan, a country especially vulnerable to climate change. The Margalla Hills face threats of encroachment, poaching, wildfires, invasive species and littering.

The environment engagement involves children from four local schools participating in the WWF’s Green School Programme. The Green School Programme contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (health and wellbeing), SDG 4 (education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles), as well as the aforementioned SDGs. The campground used during this engagement is newly built and this autumn is the first opportunity the school children have had to use it.

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2019

The next phase of DHSC’s campaign ‘When you care, every day makes a difference’ aims to help fill the 122,000 vacancies in adult social care.

The campaign was first launched in February to attract new people with the right values to the sector and increase interest in adult social care as a vocation.

It will continue to target 20 to 39 year olds, raising awareness of the benefits of a career in adult social care.

The department’s recent survey of 2,020 adults showed that people in England aged 18 to 34 are the most likely to consider applying for a job in adult social care.

The survey showed that:

• 64% of 18 to 34 year olds would consider a career in adult social care
• over half of people aged 18 to 34 would consider changing career for a job that helps or supports others
• more than 1 in 10 people aged 18 to 34 are dissatisfied with their current job
• 59% would consider moving roles to a job that offers more personal fulfilment
• 65% of parents with dependent children would consider a role in adult social care

Nearly 1.5 million people work in the adult social care sector, but an ageing population means that 580,000 more workers will be needed by 2035.

The average age of those working in the sector is 45 years old, and around 385,000 jobs are held by people aged 55 years old who are likely to retire in the next 10 years.

Roles in adult social care include working with adults of all ages in different locations and with different needs, for example:

• a care worker in a care or nursing home
• an activities co-ordinator in the local community
• an occupational therapist in a hospital
• a personal assistant in someone’s home

Minister for Care Caroline Dinenage said:

“A career in adult social care offers the rewarding opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society – a sentiment 96% of current care workers on the ground agree with.

“We have over a million brilliant people working in the sector, but we urgently need new talent to ensure we can continue to provide support for those who need it.

“I hope our ‘When you care, every day makes a difference’ campaign will draw more people with the right values to forge fulfilling careers and help them realise how diverse, worthwhile and often flexible jobs in social care can be. I urge anyone considering a career in care to apply today.” 

Julie Ogley, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), said:

“People of any age can work in social care and make a real difference to the lives of so many who need it.

“There’s a wealth of highly rewarding career opportunities for everyone, from providing vital care and support as a care worker or personal assistant, to roles in the local community and beyond with the opportunity to go further.

“There are careers to be had in social care – our own members, all of whom are directors, and their direct line reports, are a prime example of this.

“We want to see a social care workforce that is diverse and well representative of our society and we hope that this campaign will help us to achieve that.”

In his first week in office, Prime Minister Boris Johnson established an Office for Veterans’ Affairs at the heart of government and jointly run by Cabinet Office Ministers Oliver Dowden and Johnny Mercer. The creation was part of a government commitment to ensure world-class provision of life-long veterans’ care services in this country.

Following consultation with veterans, charities and civil society groups government can today announce the full scope of the Office, and the programme of work for the months ahead.

Retired Colonel David Richmond CBE, a former Commanding Officer of 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq and subsequently became the Recovery Director at Help for Heroes, has been appointed to head up the OVA.

The OVA has been tasked with:

• Pulling together all functions of government, and better co-ordinating charity sector provision, in order to ensure this nation’s life-long duty to those who have served
• Ensuring that every single veteran and their family knows where to turn to access support when required
• Helping to generate a ‘single view of the veteran’ by making better use of data to understand veterans’ needs and where gaps in provision exist
• Improving the perception of veterans

The OVA will lead in ensuring the whole of government is delivering better outcomes for veterans, particularly in areas such as mental health, employment and housing. It will work in partnership with local authorities and the Devolved Administrations to coordinate activity across the United Kingdom.

Cabinet Minister, Oliver Dowden, represents the Office for Veterans Affairs in Cabinet. He said:

I want the UK to be the best place in the world to be a veteran.

Through the new Office for Veterans’ Affairs we can make sure that government delivers on its promises to those who have served and make it easier for veterans and their families to get the support they need. The office will also celebrate the brilliant contribution veterans make in many other walks of life after they leave service.

David Richmond CBE said:

I’m honoured to take on this role. As a veteran, I understand the struggles that some face and leading the OVA will provide a unique opportunity to serve our veteran community as they transition to civilian life and to ensure that the experience and the support they receive is world-leading.

I also know that our former military personnel are hugely talented, committed and have a range of skills, experiences and qualifications that we must ensure continues to benefit UK society. I want the OVA to champion veterans and ensure that their skills and talents are recognised fully by employers, business and wider society.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Johnny Mercer said:

As we reset this country’s relationship with her veterans, we’re making progress with establishing the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.

David’s knowledge and experience of both military life and our veterans community will mean that the OVA will make a huge difference to our former service personnel.

From today (16 October), the Government’s Get Help to Retrain service will be offered to adults across the Leeds City Region, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and the Heart of the South West to empower even more people to retrain and get on the path to a new job.

The pioneering online service is the first of a series of products that will make up the Government’s National Retraining Scheme, which is being developed to support eligible adults – particularly those whose jobs could change because of new technologies such as AI and automation – to kick start a new career.

The service helps adults to identify their existing skills, explore different types of job opportunities and find training courses to gain the skills they need to progress in the workplace. The National Careers Service is also providing dedicated support from qualified careers advisers to guide people through the process and provide expert advice.

Get Help to Retrain is now available in six major cities and regions across England after being successfully trialled in the West Midlands, North East and the Liverpool City Region. Eligible adults – those aged 24 and over, qualified below degree level and who are working below a certain wage threshold – living in one of the six regions can now try the service out for themselves and help to test and improve it further by visiting here.

Education Minister, Michelle Donelan, said:

“The world of work is changing fast, which is why we are developing the National Retraining Scheme to help prepare adults whose jobs may change as a result of new technologies to thrive in the roles of the future.

“The Get Help to Retrain digital service is just the first step. We are rolling the service out gradually, testing and learning as we go. The good news is that eligible adults in all six areas can now try out the new service and help us make sure we get it right for those who need it.”

Following extensive user testing, adults accessing the service will benefit from new and improved features such as a more advanced skills matching tool to help them identify potential new job roles, and the ability to save their progress and return to their results.

Get Help to Retrain is being rolled out in stages so that it can be fully tested and developed further, before being made available nationwide in 2020. A series of additional products that will make up the full service are being developed and tested in parallel, before being released at different times.

The National Retraining Scheme – backed by £100 million of Government investment – is led and overseen by the National Retraining Partnership – a unique partnership between Government, the CBI and the TUC – to ensure the collective voices of businesses and employees are heard.

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress, said:

“All workers should have the chance to retrain and improve their skills. And this will be key as the labour market undergoes the transformation of new technology and automation in the coming years.

“The launch of this new phase of the National Retraining Scheme and its collaborative approach is good news. It will help to open up retraining to many more working people – preparing them for the jobs of the future.

“Union learning reps will play a crucial role in supporting workers to access advice and retraining opportunities available through the scheme.

“The challenge for the National Retraining Partnership is to develop a national programme that invests in the potential of all workers, delivering the skills we need for the growth sectors of the future.”

Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said:

“Seeing the Get Help to Retrain digital service rolled out to more locations across the country is promising news. Ensuring people’s skills are fit for the future is an essential part of improving productivity growth, wages and living standards up and down the country.

“As the world of work changes rapidly, the best way to help people access the high-quality training they need to succeed is by Government and employers working together. And once the National Retraining Scheme is well underway, it should kick start wider cross-government efforts to embrace technology in the workplace.”

The Government has also announced that, from today, technology companies and innovators can bid for a share of the CareerTech Challenge Fund – which is backed by £5.75 million of funding from the Government and innovation foundation Nesta – to develop cutting-edge solutions to improve the quality and efficiency of online training and guidance for adults looking for a change in career.

The CareerTech Challenge Fund, previously known as the Adult Learning Technology Innovation Fund (ALTIF), will create innovative and engaging online solutions that help adults to upskill and move into exciting new roles.

Minister Donelan added:

“The CareerTech Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for innovators looking to put their ideas into action on a national scale.

“Everyone deserves access to high-quality teaching and, thanks to new technologies such as automation and Artificial Intelligence, there is potential to drastically improve the quality of online learning for adult students.

“Investing in cutting edge technologies demonstrates our ongoing commitment to adult education and we hope it will encourage more adults to retrain and upskill in future.”

The ground-breaking CareerTech Challenge Fund is being developed in partnership with Nesta. Through the fund, innovators will be supported to test and apply the latest technology to develop bespoke, flexible, inclusive, and engaging online solutions that support more people into skilled employment.

Vicki Sellick, Nesta’s Executive Director of Programmes, said:

“As the world of work transforms, it is crucial that people feel confident in understanding what jobs will be available in the future in their local area and how to learn the skills to secure them.

“Technology offers a variety of exciting ways to equip people with the knowledge and tools to plan for secure and rewarding careers and improve working lives for people across England.”