Blog posts for tag:employability

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Is careers advice failing our young people?

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Thursday 19 September 2013

Lindsay Plumpton

Schools’ career services are not up to standard, according to education watchdog Ofsted. Three quarters of schools visited were reportedly not delivering effective careers advice and Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw commented, "It’s worrying that the new arrangements are failing to provide good guidance." The main concerns were around a lack of employer involvement and a propensity to promote academia over vocational training, resulting in young people leaving education unaware of the full range of options available to them.

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Providing learners with quality and employability

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Monday 16 September 2013

David Grailey

As we enter into the new academic year there is a noticeable theme coming from the industry surrounding “quality” and “employability”. The government promote that every learner should receive a quality education, but what does the term quality in this sense mean?  A good learning experience?  An excellent and friendly tutor?  Or providing the right qualifications to the right learner, which are at the right standard to help that learner progress in their career and life.

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Giving learners 'added value'

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Thursday 12 September 2013

David Grailey

Welcome back and we hope you enjoyed a relaxing break.  It’s the start of a new session – a time to look to the future and plan for a successful year ahead. There’s been a lot in the news this summer about the class of 2013; the young people who’ve received their GCSE and A-Level results and are looking to the next stage in their education and career. It can be a stressful time as teens face a daunting unemployment rate of 40%. There’s been a drop in the proportion of GCSE exam entries awarded top grades for the second year in a row and the overall pass rate also fell slightly, for the first time in the exam’s 25-year history. There’s also been a fall in the proportion of A-levels awarded top grades for the second time, after years of steady increases.

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Youth unemployment schemes - are they working?

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Tuesday 20 August 2013

Lindsay Plumpton

As youth unemployment in the UK remains high, national schemes to tackle youth unemployment are coming under fire.  The LGA (group representing English councils) has criticised the current system as over-complicated with 35 different national schemes across 13 different age boundaries. The cost of the schemes is around £15bn a year.  However, a representative for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said that although youth unemployment remains a problem, the level has fallen by 38 000 in the last year.

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Closing the skills gap

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Wednesday 14 August 2013

David Grailey

The UK risks failing to close its "chronic skills gaps" by continuing to push young people towards the university "default route", according to business leaders. A recent report from CBI suggests that a growing demand for high level technical skills cannot be met by traditional university courses alone, and it’s important for teens to consider apprenticeships as a viable alternative. The report states that we must “widen gateways into skilled work and promote routes to higher skills that appeal to individuals for whom a degree may not be the best option." Vince Cable, Business Secretary, agrees “a credible alternative to university is needed to help young people get the skills that the economy needs”

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Young people facing poor exam results fear ‘life without hope’

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Tuesday 13 August 2013

David Grailey

Over a third of 16-25 year olds with poor exam results surveyed for The Prince's Trust charity believed they would "end up on benefits". The report suggested that many had experienced problems at school or home so their exam results did not reflect their true potential. In response to the report, the government said that it was "taking decisive action to transform vocational education" and a spokeswoman for the Department for Education (DfE) said the government would fund "a place in education or training for every 16 and 17-year-old who wants one".

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UK employers want more control over training

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Tuesday 02 July 2013

Lindsay Plumpton

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.

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Link between low take-up of vocational qualifications and high levels of unemployment

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Tuesday 18 June 2013

David Grailey

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?

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Plans for a Technical Baccalaureate and the importance of Apprenticeships

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Monday 13 May 2013

David Grailey

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.

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'Tech Bacc' announced to boost status of vocational courses

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Monday 22 April 2013

Lindsay Plumpton

The Government has 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 Department for Education is currently consulting on the list of vocational qualifications that will qualify for inclusion on the 'Tech Bacc' approved list. These vocational qualifications could be in any sector area from engineering to hairdressing, but will be taught at a level of complexity on a par with A-levels.

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