Luke Johnson says colleges should be more proactive about publicising the benefits of vocational training to their communities, with help from employers.

Time and time again employers like myself will tell you that young people just aren’t equipped with the skills they need to succeed in the world of work.

Whether it’s their lack of social skills, enterprise skills or basic maths and English ability, employers are often the first to point the finger at colleges, schools, and universities for the worrying skills gaps that almost all UK industries are facing.

This problem is going to get worse as the world of work is changing dramatically.

The most
effective way to tackle the skills shortage is for employers to get involved with their future workforce much earlier

New technologies mean that while many traditional roles will not be needed in the next 10 to 20 years, many new jobs will be created that need completely different skills and expertise.

Colleges will need to flex, ensuring that the courses and study programmes they are offering are fit for purpose.

And to do this effectively, they need to have a thorough understanding of industry’s requirements, which is no mean feat in such a rapidly changing world.

My own businesses regularly face recruitment challenges, but rather than sit back and bemoan this problem, I want to encourage a rather more proactive approach.

To be fair, employers are attempting to tackle the issue in various way. One example is the recent news that both Penguin books and EY are now welcoming applications from non-graduates – no longer seeing the “degree” as a minimum or indeed necessary requirement.

This widens the talent pool and indeed, can identify more diverse candidates with varied skillsets.

It also highlights to young people and their parents that the traditional A-level/degree route is not the only option to a successful and fulfilling career, which is important.

FE colleges should capitalise on this message, using it as an opportunity to promote the many vocational pathways on offer, including apprenticeships, which are the top of our current government’s agenda.

However, there is no doubt that the most effective way to tackle the skills shortage is for employers to get involved with their future workforce much earlier, engaging with schools, colleges and students directly.

Many FE colleges are no strangers to working with employers in some way.

Through my work with the Career Colleges Trust, I have seen a new level of employer-college partnership — with businesses helping to design and deliver curriculums and achieving great outcomes.

Colleges in our network work directly with local and national businesses within particular industries, enabling them to offer masterclasses, work shadowing opportunities and live project briefs to students.

I was at Harrow College last week, for the launch of their two new Career Colleges, which are housed in a spectacular £6.5m Enterprise centre.

Alongside speeches from employers, I was extremely impressed to hear from a few of the students themselves — all of whom spoke passionately about their courses and how inspiring it is to have support and coaching from real employers.

Such intrinsic involvement ensures that an employer can be assured that the skills and knowledge being taught are fully relevant to the industry.

It also means that the student is ready to walk into the world of work, avoiding the need to re-train or start from scratch.

I think we can all agree that the current education system is not perfect. A heavily-academic focus is a real disadvantage to many young people and simply does not provide a clear line of sight to jobs and careers.

I would urge colleges to ask more from local employers. Ask for their support and their input. Ask them what it is they need from you and your students.

The world of work is changing and this must be reflected in both the courses being run by colleges and a bigger emphasis being put on technology and enterprise.

Ultimately, employers, colleges and students all want the same thing, so let’s continue to work together to ensure our young people and our industries can thrive.

Luke Johnson is chairman of the Career Colleges Trust

Reading for pleasure can transform motivation and attainment. Genevieve Clarke explains how The Reading Agency is achieving results for FE colleges with its Reading Ahead programme.

Every week, the subject of FE Week’s profile page is asked to name their favourite book. It’s a great advert for reading for pleasure, but can we take enjoyment of reading among staff and students in the FE sector for granted?

At The Reading Agency, a national charity with a mission to inspire more people to read more, we’re currently working directly with around 100 FE colleges across the UK to promote reading for pleasure and indirectly with several more through their local public libraries.

The stock of
reading material, print and digital, has to take account of course priorities. But it should facilitate reading for fun too and be able to lure in reluctant readers

College staff, including librarians, often tell us that engaging their learners in reading of any kind is impossible. They can read but they won’t — or, more worryingly, they can’t without a painful struggle.

All is not lost however. Our annual Reading Ahead programme has proved itself as a motivational trigger, helping students to discover that reading can be both habit-forming and enjoyable.

It invites students to pick six reads of their choice and log, rate and review their reading in a small diary in order to get incentives and ultimately a certificate. They can choose any kind of text, print or digital, as long as they challenge themselves and try something new. The aim is to engage students in a virtuous circle whereby the everyday practice of reading becomes a pleasure while also increasing their proficiency.

And it works. Formerly the Six Book Challenge, the programme has reached nearly 200,000 people over the last eight years through public libraries, learning providers, prisons and workplaces, with colleges well ahead in terms of participation.

In 2015, 92 per cent of survey respondents of all ages said they felt more confident about reading after taking part, rising to 93 per cent for 16 to 19-year-olds and 96 per cent for 20 to 24-year-olds. Northampton College has been with us from the start with Ofsted having remarked on the involvement of male students in particular. Newcastle-under-Lyme College, also praised by Ofsted for use of the programme, has integrated it into all Functional Skills classes. Many others are using it extensively to support Esol learners and GCSE students.

Reading Ahead succeeds because of two main ingredients that most colleges already have to make reading for pleasure part of their culture, with all the associated benefits of higher attainment, motivation and confidence.

First is a library or learning resource centre right at the heart of the college community that draws people in for work and pleasure. Friendly staff are essential, ideally with a passion for reading that they can take beyond the library walls. Obviously the stock of reading material, print and digital, has to take account of course priorities. But it should facilitate reading for fun too and be able to lure in reluctant readers with magazines, graphic novels, poetry and books such as the Quick Reads or even shorter texts for students who need an easier way in to reading. Even better if staff also link with public libraries to make students aware of the wealth of free resources on offer for them and their families.

Just as important are teaching staff who recognise the value of reading as fundamental to a learner’s progress, not just in terms of skills but their whole approach to the life ahead of them. We work with tutors who, with library support, weave all kinds of reading into courses as varied as hair and beauty, building studies and GCSE English. They can see at first hand the improvement to reading, writing, speaking and listening and ultimately to exam results and employability — surely a reason to promote reading for pleasure as part of the current review of Functional Skills. They also report how their students grow in confidence as they become independent learners, mentors to their peers and willing participants in college life.

There’s still time to get your students involved in Reading Ahead this year. With pressure on for all young people to work towards grade C English GCSE, what better way to support their progress and turn them into lifelong readers at the same time?

Genevieve Clarke is programme manager for Reading Ahead, The Reading Agency

John Hyde accuses the government of hypocrisy through ignoring the group of people who are likely to have the best understanding of related demands and benefits of the vocational training programmes when forming the Institute of Apprenticeships — ex-apprentices.

We now know the identity of the employers forming the Institute of Apprenticeships, all graduates.

Not an ex-apprentice among them, which is a great pity when some of our most successful business are led by ex-apprentices.

One hopes one
of their first moves will be to co-opt some practitioners who actually understand the minutiae of apprenticeship delivery

Each industry will have its heroes, but from the hospitality sector, Jason Atherton, an ex-YTS trainee has grown a chain of 14 restaurants around the world from New York, Sidney, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Dubai with five in London, 3 with Michelin stars.

Despite the Department for Business, Innovation Skills’ (BIS) own research that inviting apprenticeship practitioners to join employers trailblazer groups substantially improved their effectiveness, this evidence seems to have been ignored when creating the membership of the Institute of Apprenticeships.

One hopes one of their first moves will be to co-opt some practitioners who actually understand the minutiae of apprenticeship delivery and employer engagement.

While I am very sceptical about the trailblazer apprenticeship standards
adding any quality to the current frameworks, being totally reliant on an end test, the substantial number of apprenticeships in new sectors and new careers is encouraging.

However I haven’t seen any reduction in my bank charges, now the government is paying for banking qualifications through the apprenticeship route.

This government came to power pledging to increase apprenticeship numbers to 3m starts.

It’s ironic that the first growth requests to the Skills Funding Agency and Education Funding Agency have been turned down.

It may be arguable the 3m will be achieved by the end of this parliament, when the levy is fully in place and the public sector hit their imposed targets.

Yet not funding growth now sends out mixed messages both to the sector and potential employers and apprentices alike.

Opportunities missed now may not be replaceable later.

Concerns are also being expressed about the low take up of trailblazer standards.

Sectors with current high volumes of apprentices, i.e. retail, care, customer services, business administration, hospitality and catering do not yet have trailblazers in place.

Many of the approved trailblazers are at higher levels, where take-up is bound to be lower.

Funding, especially for end testing has not been agreed for most standards, so providers are reluctant to commit without knowing the financial consequences.

But most providers, especially in the high volume areas are concerned about the impact of end testing on completion rates.

The current completion rate of around 70 per cent means just under 1m of the 3m starts will fail.

However, replacing continuous assessment of skills and knowledge with an end test is bound to drop completion rates, as providers get used to the new system.

Many learners took the apprenticeship route because of the practical skills and not the written testing, so for many they will fail in the new system.

It would damage apprenticeships’ reputation if the completion rates fell drastically, or learners or employers decline to personally fund retakes.

Headlines of 50 per cent failure rates in apprenticeships, or only half of the 3m apprentices pass would make political capital for the opposition parties as they emerged towards the end of this parliament.

Retention of SASE frameworks as an insurance to ensure this does not occur until we have actual results from trailblazer completions, makes sense.

Rochdale Sixth Form College topped this year’s performance table, published last month, for value added A-Level performance for a third year in a row. Julian Appleyard explains the secret of their success.

If someone asked me in 2010 to predict the success of Rochdale Sixth Form College and where it would be in 2016, then I would say that the achievements to date have surpassed all expectations.

Over the last six years, the tremendously dedicated and committed students and staff have been on a journey resulting in national recognition and history being made.

For the third successive year, the college has topped the Department for Education performance tables for A-Level value added.

The position
in the tables shows that students at the college make more progress given their start point

The position in the tables shows that students at the college make more progress given their start point.

Prior to 2010, Rochdale as a local authority was ranked in the bottom 10 per cent for value added performance for A-Levels and in the bottom five local authorities for student progression to higher education.

Since then, the transformational reversal in fortunes has not only changed perception of prospective students and parents, but the college is an educational beacon for the town itself.

When I look back clearly, the pivotal moment was the outstanding report by Ofsted in 2013, but putting such accolades aside, it is the moral dimension to our work that drives us.

Fundamental to the college’s success is the moral purpose in which all our daily work is rooted.

There is no doubt that energetic and inspirational teaching is great to see, but it is the attitudes and beliefs of staff that have helped drive performance.

It is their desire, day in and day out to inspire, motivate and believe in our young people, so that they have the self-confidence and self-worth to face A-Level study.

We have tried to keep a simple mantra of high expectations, an exclusive focus on individual one-to-one work in and outside of the classroom and a relentless focus on the core business of teaching and learning.

It sounds very clichéd when put like that, but we simply have processes that ensure no student gets left behind.

The one-to-one approach is a central feature. The context is such that there are only seven sixth-form colleges that have less qualified students.

We work in a community where our largest partner school is in the 10th most deprived ward in the country.

It is easy to talk about the challenges of financial poverty and poverty of aspiration, but this is our reality.

Our approach to teaching and learning has been such that we have ensured these have been no barrier to achievement.

My staff appreciate and understand this; when I recruit I ensure that they are rooted in the moral dimension of our work.

It means being ambitious and aspirational for our young people.

Precise tracking, powerful intervention and an unstinting belief in the ability of our students have been critical.

Our approach to teaching and learning is one that has not been initiative-led.

We essentially are happy for our staff to focus upon lessons that ensure every student makes progress in an environment where pace and active participation are non-negotiables.

Our commitment to valuing the individuality of each of our students and providing personalised pastoral support through a bespoke pastoral structure is a crucial feature of what we do.

Staff appreciate that preparing students for the next step means getting to know them really well and ensuring that they have the skill set necessary to make the transition to the post-18 world.

The life-changing outcomes at the college and the leadership and its systems are now going beyond the college gates.

The college as a designated National Support School has supported other institutions across the country with tangibly improved outcomes and the college looks to continue this work.

The college, while proud of its success so far, is far from complacent and is even more determined to sustain its success.

By building on our powerful ethos and culture, we aim to ensure the future generation of Rochdale students receive a first class deal – they deserve nothing less.