Blog

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.

Tagged:

Tweet

This month the hot topic is still Apprenticeships - with youth unemployment still at almost one million, Apprenticeships remain high on the political agenda. Government also recently re-affirmed their commitment to work-based training and the Prime Minister has stated that Apprenticeships are at the heart of the Government’s mission to rebuild the economy. His comments come in the light of recent statistics which suggest that apprentices could add up to £3.4bn a year in economic gains. It’s never been more important to raise the status of high quality Apprenticeships as a viable alternative to higher education, allowing learners to earn while they learn and gain that all-important work experience.

Tagged:

Tweet

A new report has highlighted the need to re-engage Britain’s young people in learning, as the UK falls to the bottom of an international league table showing the proportion of young people in education. The United Nations states that Britain ranked in last place, out of the 29 countries surveyed – with fewer than 75 per cent of 15 to 19-year-olds studying. However, initiatives such as the raising of the participation age together with investment in traineeships and high quality apprenticeships aim to tackle the issue.

Tagged:

Tweet

This month, we’ve been celebrating the positive impact of Apprenticeships on individuals, business and the economy, through National Apprenticeship Week. The awareness raising week is co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and aims to shine a light on the successes of apprentices throughout the country. It seems fitting that David Cameron marked the start of the week by re-affirming the government’s commitment to work-based training, sitting at “the heart of our mission to rebuild the economy".

Tagged:

Tweet

The Government has welcomed the recommendations within Doug Richard’s newly published independent report on the future of apprenticeships. The report calls to improve the quality of apprenticeships, making them more focused on the needs of employers and also on outcomes – what an apprentice will be able to do having completed their training. Key recommendations have included:

Tagged:

Tweet

By David Grailey, Chief Executive An 11 month review into Apprenticeships has concluded that urgent reforms are required to the government’s Apprenticeship programme in order to boost economic growth.

Tagged:

Tweet

An 11 month review of apprenticeships carried out by The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee has concluded that urgent reform is needed to the Government's apprenticeships programme. The report suggests that quality standards need to be improved and schemes need to be better monitored in order to provide the skills needed to boost economic growth. It calls for schemes to be more ambitious and apprenticeships to be seen as equal to university. Following the publication of the report, the Chairman of the BIS Committee, Adrian Bailey, has stated that apprenticeships are capable of creating a more skilled workforce, increasing employment and ultimately solving “some of this country's most pressing issues”.

Tagged:

Tweet

As youth unemployment rates remain high, the need to equip young people with the skills to secure a job in today’s competitive labour market becomes increasingly important. One of the main routes for helping young people to gain these skills is via apprenticeships; allowing learners to gain real workplace experience and a solid skillset in a specialist area while at the same time achieving a nationally recognised qualification and a direct pathway into employment. There’s no doubt that apprenticeships are still high on the news agenda. But what’s next?

Tagged:

Tweet

This afternoon, Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband spoke at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester to galvanise the party in moving towards the 2015 General Election. The speech was anecdotal in style, looking at his own past as he delivered a speech which praised his teachers, drew on an example of an unemployed woman sending her CV to 137 employers, and set out a policy direction focusing on the Disraeli spirit of ‘one nation’.

Tagged:

Tweet

With the steep rise in tuition fees, increasing amounts of young people are applying for Apprenticeships rather than turning to higher education – the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) says applications are up 53% on last year. Yet in the UK, the vocational route is not always as highly valued as the academic alternative. In Janet Murray’s recent article, she explores the education system in Switzerland – a country with one of the most successful apprenticeship systems in the world with a youth unemployment figure of just 7.5% (in contrast to 21.9% in the UK).

Tagged:

Tweet

Schools

Colleges

Training Providers

Employers

Learners

NCFE is a national Awarding Organisation

Blog posts for tag:apprenticeships

Plans for a Technical Baccalaureate and the importance of Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are still a hot topic says David Grailey, NCFE Chief Executive

Re-engaging Britain's teens in education by David Grailey, NCFE Chief Executive

The positive impact of Apprenticeships

The Richard Review of Apprenticeships

BIS report on Apprenticeships highlights need for change

Apprenticeships: Reform needed for success?

A new era of apprenticeships: what’s next?

What came out of Ed Miliband’s keynote address?

Apprenticeships: what could we learn from Switzerland?

Authors

Lindsay Plumpton

David Grailey

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

Esme Winch

Michael Lemin

Categories

Archive

Blog posts for tag:apprenticeships

Subscribe

Authors

Lindsay Plumpton

David Grailey

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

Esme Winch

Michael Lemin

Categories

Archive