I was interested to see the headline results of the ‘Impact of FE Learning’ study which revealed that a third of men and nearly a third of women who participated in Further Education got a better job as a result.
The report from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found that the primary motive for FE learning was to improve job prospects, or get a new job. Although this news isn’t surprising to those of us who work in this important sector, it’s good to see the message being highlighted – Further Education has employability at its core and has the power to change lives.
The Skills Funding Agency has also recently published some useful research which reflects well on the sector; 86% of companies agree that having staff with vocational qualifications leads to better business performance. It’s encouraging that businesses are showing an understanding of the value of further education.
At NCFE, we’re keen to team up with both colleges and employers to ensure that learners leave education equipped with the core skills and attributes that employers are looking for. Colleges are increasingly under pressure to demonstrate positive outcomes for their learners, in order to draw down funding.
Our suite of qualifications in Job Search and Interview Skills, developed with recruitment giant REED, help to support learners into sustained employment by enabling them to identify vacancies, promote themselves, prepare for a job interview and maximise their chance of success at interview.
These qualifications work on a learner’s attitude and mindset for work. According to Reed’s recent ‘Put your Mindset to Work’ study with thousands of employers, 96% of those surveyed picked mindset over skillset as the key element in those they seek and retain. Therefore, we believe that these qualifications can give learners a significant advantage in the jobs market over their peers.
We’ve now extended this range of qualifications by adding a suite of Job Search and Employability Skills qualifications which include extra modules in employability.
We also offer a large range of individual fundable units which are available in a range of specific occupational areas as well as covering general work-related skills, for example Business and Customer Awareness, Problem Solving at Work, Working in a Team, Dealing with your First Days at Work.
