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As the new academic year begins, you’ll have a new influx of fresh-faced school leavers embarking on the next stage not only of their education, but also of their life. College is going to be completely new to these learners, so how can you support them in making the successful transition from school to Further Education? Whether your new learners are taking A Levels, a Traineeship, an Apprenticeship, or another vocational option, it’s important to understand what their aims and ambitions are. However, many young people are still confused about what they want to do after leaving education, and it’s vital they’re supported with making that choice throughout their education.

Welcome back! I wanted to start this first newsletter of the year by recapping on the last academic year. Despite the mounting pressures on your Key Stage 4 curriculum and timetables, it is great to see so many of you continuing to offer a broad range of vocational qualifications in schools. Last year alone we saw over 10,000 pupils registered on our V Cert qualifications with thousands more registered on our broader range. This demonstrates the continued value in having subjects that appeal to different learning styles whilst providing hands on practical insight into subjects and topics.

Recent figures have shown that over half of recent university graduates are in non-graduate roles. Research by the CIPD indicates that 58.8% of graduates are currently in jobs that don’t require their degree, reflecting a disparity between the number of university graduates and the number of jobs requiring graduate-level skills.

NCFE has welcomed the government’s decision to approve one of the Apprenticeship standards submitted by the Supply Chain Trailblazer group, for which NCFE is the chosen awarding organisation partner. Prime Minister David Cameron recently confirmed radical plans to increase the number of quality trailblazer Apprenticeships across the country – forming part of the government’s pledge to support 3 million Apprenticeships by 2020 – placing ownership of the skills and knowledge required to perform key roles within industry firmly in the hands of the employers.

Today is the day that young people across the country have been waiting for, with a mix of excitement, curiosity and even fear: GCSE results day. So how are the results shaping up? A*-C pass grades are up to 69% from 68.8% in 2014, while learners receiving the top grade of A* has fallen marginally by 0.1%.

It’s A Level results day and as we speak, thousands of young people around the UK are either celebrating top grades or commiserating over unexpected or disappointing results. This year, the proportion of top A Level grades has fallen marginally, with A* and A grades being awarded to 25.9% of entries, down from 26% last year. However, passes have risen by 0.1 percentage point in a year of “stable” results. Meanwhile, record numbers of young people have been accepted onto university courses according to Ucas.

At NCFE, we believe learning should be accessible at any age, and pupils at Walkergate Primary School and Tyneview Primary School have been showing that you’re never too young to go above and beyond with your learning. The young entrepreneurs, aged 10 and 11, have completed their entry level awards in investigating enterprise skills through Primary Inspiration through Enterprise (PIE), an organisation that teaches young people enterprise skills and encourages them to use their initiative.

NCFE’s aspiring leaders are participating in the Million Makers challenge after a successful pitch to a Dragons’ Den panel, who commended the team for their “passion, enthusiasm, expertise and determination.” The competition, run by the Prince’s Trust and supported by Capita, is an “entrepreneurial fundraising challenge” where teams must make £10,000 from £1,500 in seed funding, with all proceeds going to charity. The scheme, set up in 2008, has raised over £5 million for charity to date.

Certificates are a great way to evidence your pupils’ and school achievements. If your school has pupils who’ve successfully passed their V Certs this year and you haven’t yet claimed your V Cert certificates for the 2015 performance tables then you don’t have long left. 

The Careers and Enterprise Company, set up by the government to support careers provision for 12-18 year olds, will be launching a new “on-the-ground” programme in time for the new academic session, aiming to link up schools and employers. The employer-led venture, independent of the government, was launched in 2014 to “transform the provision of careers education and advice for young people and inspire them about the opportunities offered by the world of work.” It also aims to educate young people on their wide range of options in their post-school education and their career, preparing them for life after school.