Colleges should form closer ties with schools to encourage more young people into apprenticeships, Ofsted FE and skills director Lorna Fitzjohn has told MPs.

She gave evidence on Wednesday (November 26) to the Education Select Committee in Portcullis House, Westminster, that focused on how the number and quality of apprenticeships for 16 to 19-year-olds could be improved.

She said poor careers advice at schools, which tended to encourage learners to take A-levels and higher education degrees, was one of the main reasons that apprenticeship starts in the age group had “flatlined”.

She said colleges could do more to help schools see the benefits of vocational training and offer students an alternative to traditional academic routes through developing closer working ties.

She suggested “clustering schools and colleges together so that you haven’t got that at 14 or 16 where you go up one route and thereby you stay [away] from the other route”.

“If you bring a variety of establishments together… young people can perhaps even carry out a combined programme and move between organisations,” she said.

“You see those systems in Switzerland and Germany and it’s maybe something we ought to have here.”

Her comments reflected the suggestion made late last month by Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry, in Coventry, where he said schools and colleges would benefit from forming local “clusters”.

Lorna-Fitzjohn
Lorna Fitzjohn

Ms Fitzjohn also told MPs that local enterprise partnerships were “beginning” to play a more proactive role in co-ordinating apprenticeships.

But, she said: “I don’t think they are as interested necessarily in the lower level aspects of the workforce. They haven’t always been involved in FE and skills.”

Ms Fitzjohn commented on plans announced two weeks ago by Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg to launch a UCas-style “fully-comprehensive national database” of post-16 skills and employer led-courses and opportunities in England from September.

She said: “I think it will help but apprentices look for apprenticeships locally because they are more likely to need family support.”

UCas chief executive Mary Curnock Cook responded to Mr Clegg’s announcement by pointing out that UCas Progress, its service for post-16 choices, had already expanded to offer “national coverage of vocational and academic courses in England and Wales”.

And when pressed after the hearing on whether she thought a UCas-style system could work for apprenticeships, Ms Fitzjohn said: “UCas would need to run a more local-based system than it does for universities.”

Head of skills and policy campaigns at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Katerina Rudiger, said there was a “real issue where schools… see apprentices as something for people who don’t succeed”.

She added: “If young people don’t know about apprenticeships and don’t know how to apply for them, then obviously we won’t be making any progress.”

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan is due to give evidence at the committee next meeting, on Wednesday (December 3), focussing on exams for 15 to 19-year-olds in England.

 

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3 Comments

  1. Steve Price

    I think Nick Clegg should google apprenticeship vacancies, he might discover a “UCAS” style system that has been in existence for 5 years, paid for by the Government, where young people can search and apply for Apprenticeships and Traineeships in their local area.

    Simple message – UCAS for Uni, AV for Apprenticeships & Traineeships – just get schools to tell the kids that please….

    https://apprenticeshipvacancymatchingservice.lsc.gov.uk/navms/Forms/Candidate/VisitorLanding.aspx

  2. Why are independent providers not mentioned by Ms Fitzjohn? Some colleges might only promote their vocational courses rather than apprenticeships. It would be good if schools were in cluster groups (some already are in ‘federations) and each cluster should include colleges AND indies.

  3. I can well remember several years ago leading on work-based learning in area inspections that looked at all post-16 training opportunities in an area. There were moves to offer curriculum offers that encouraged schools to allow their pupils to go on day release to private providers and colleges, including real ‘young apprenticeship’ programmes. With the co-operation between Local Authorities and the local LSC there were even joint prospectuses being published of the joint offers. These were starting to work really well in some areas and featured as good practice in Ofsted survey reports as entry routes to some prestigious engineering apprenticeships. When a new flavour of the month came in, all this cooperation ceased and is almost non-existent now. Most schools have been led by total self-interest rather than the needs and aspirations of their pupils, wanting to grow their sixth forms and indicating to their pupils that raising the participation age to 17 meant an extra year at school. FE has been picking up many of the casualties of last year who have left this summer after not doing well enough to stay on at school. Government has continually avoided being firm in their direction of schools, using words like ‘should give independent careers advice’ rather than ‘must give’. As most schools with not let providers or colleges near their pupils any chance of a rounded view being easily obtained by parents is unlikely. For the right changes to be made we need someone who understand post-16 education and training and who wants to do their best for young people. This is not Ofsted nor the current crop of advisers who have been through public schools and Oxbridge, with no concept of what is required in the real world. John Hayes was one of the few recent ministers who was largely non-political and who understood education and training. From personal experience this year I know of the shortage of apprenticeships in key areas of engineering and wonder what is happening to the hundreds of potential apprentices applying for a handful of jobs? I have a deep worry at how the desire to boost apprenticeship frameworks available, giving funding to small employers and boosting numbers regardless will backfire and tarnish the apprenticeship brand name. Germany has always had a system that works particularly well yet successive governments have not adapted aspects of their system. We, in the UK, also have some world class apprenticeship training but the advice and guidance to access them for many of our young people is just not good enough.