Adults under the age of 25 who have missed out on education and training opportunities will be able to get free tuition to obtain a first, full level 3 qualification - equivalent to 2 A levels - from this August.

Announcing the new entitlement Bill Rammell, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education said: “The Leitch Review of skills recognised the importance of raising the number of people qualified to A level equivalent. Higher intermediate skills are increasingly critical to the success of business and productive employment.

“We lag behind France and Germany in the proportion of our young adults achieving A level equivalent qualifications in their early twenties. Introducing a free entitlement up to A Level will help address this problem and bring us closer to a coherent package of support for learners up to the age of 25.”

The new entitlement will be available from August 2007 through colleges of further education and other providers of education and training who have satisfied the Learning and Skills Council quality assurance process.