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According to a recent survey for the Confederation of British Industry, 93% of 294 firms felt they knew best what employee skills they needed and would like qualifications to be better tailored to their needs. Almost half of those surveyed (45%) stated that many applicants with the right skills did not have the right mindset for work, while 39% said they often lacked any general work experience. The survey also revealed that 62% of organisations are worried about poor computing skills, 55% about literacy and 51% about numeracy.

Michael Gove has proposed an increase in working hours for teachers, suggesting that limits of 1,265 hours a year should be scrapped. The department has made a submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body, which it must consult before changing pay and conditions. The reaction from the union has been one of outrage, suggesting that the Education Secretary is destroying teaching as an “attractive profession” and “adding fuel to the fire of anger that already exists among teachers.”

Creativity and imagination are integral to the development and enrichment of young minds – shaping the way they look at the world and helping them to express themselves. Something that we are very passionate about here at NCFE. For the past few months I’ve continued to keep you posted on our V Cert qualification development and in February we gave you an update on where we were at with the first stage of the pilot project with schools. Throughout March, April and May participating schools have continued to work with us to review the content of the new qualifications and where possible deliver a selection of sample units to their pupils. We really wanted to give schools the opportunity to explore what we’d developed to help ensure that the qualifications really do help to maintain creativity within the core curriculum and continue to engage pupils.

A recent report, commissioned by independent education charity, the Edge Foundation, has established a link between low take-up of vocational courses in Britain and high levels of youth unemployment. In the UK, one in five (21%) young people were out of work in 2012 in contrast to just 9.5% in the Netherlands. Interestingly, in the UK only 32% chose vocational options in upper secondary education compared with 67% in the Netherlands. Is this link significant?

GCSEs in England are set to be overhauled, with exams graded from 8 to 1 rather than A* to G. It is proposed that the new-style exams will be brought in from 2015 and will spell the end of continuous assessment with a move towards final exams. Students will face more rigorous content and the format will be similar to O-Levels. The reforms will initially apply to a group of 9 core subjects.

A recent report, commissioned by independent education charity, the Edge Foundation, has established a link between a low take-up of vocational courses in Britain and high levels of youth unemployment. In the UK, one in five (21%) young people were out of work in 2012 in contrast to just 9.5% in the Netherlands. Interestingly, in the UK only 32% chose vocational options in upper secondary education compared with 67% in the Netherlands.

Education Secretary, Michael Gove, received an angry reception when he appeared before head teachers in Birmingham at the National Association of Head Teachers’ conference. The union passed a no confidence motion in his policies, while President Bernadette Hunter said that teachers and pupils have "never had it so bad" and that teaching staff live in a culture of “bullying.”

Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships, Apprenticeships... certainly the topic of conversation consuming the world of education at present. A recent survey carried out by Government has shown that employers rated apprentices more highly in comparison to university graduates, rating apprentices 15% more employable than those with other qualifications. These findings have been welcomed by Minister for Skills, Matthew Hancock who claimed taking a higher apprenticeship could boost a young person’s lifetime earning by more than £150,000.

This month, the Government announced plans to introduce a Technical Baccalaureate as a 'mark of achievement' for the 50% of school-leavers who don't go on to university. It will consist of 3 strands, including an approved vocational qualification equivalent to Level 3, a core Maths qualification and an 'extended project’ designed to test skills in communication, research and motivation. The 'Tech Bacc' will become a league table performance measure from 2017. The proposal comes at a time when raising the status of vocational qualification is very much in the spotlight. According to a government survey this month, job candidates who have trained through an apprenticeship scheme are “more employable” than people with other qualifications, including degrees. The employability research conducted with 500 companies demonstrated that employers rate apprentices’ skills and experience way above learners who have followed alternative career paths.

Many of you will know that the NCFE is based in the North East and while it hasn’t stopped us delivering great service right across the country it does mean we get to share with you some of the work going on to support the region’s development during these times of austerity. One thing many of our non-North East customers won’t be aware of is a recent report by Lord Adonis, the theme of which is relevant across the UK – let’s get young people “on the road to a job not the dole”. Lord Adonis' report ‘More and Better Jobs: North East International’ was commissioned by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, following a major review of the North East’s economy. The report follows announcements earlier in the year which revealed that the North East has more than 441,100 people with no qualifications and that the region is facing a Northern “skills drain”. In his report, Lord Adonis places a lot of emphasis on the need for investment in work based training.