West Cheshire College performing arts student Macaulay Cooper’s face will be familiar to millions of football fans across the world. He starred in a Nike advert with several of the world’s greatest players that was screened for the first time during the Champions League semi-final, writes Paul Offord.
Fancy a kickabout with soccer superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuain, and Gerard Pique?
It may be the stuff of dreams for most teenagers — but fantasy became reality for level four performing arts student Macaulay Cooper when he was chosen to star in the latest Nike advert.
The star-studded four-minute film, which was screened for the first time last month at half-time on ITV during the second leg of the Champions League semi-final between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid on April 29, featured a kickabout between a group of boys.
They all transform into their favourite players during the match, with 19-year-old Macaulay changing into Barcelona and Brazil forward Neymar.
Macaulay said: “All the boys got to meet the stars they turned into in the advert.
“I met Neymar and we did a photoshoot together. He could only speak the odd word of English, but he was a very nice guy.
“He was dead chilled out and had a bit of a joke with me.”
Macaulay also mingled on-set with Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, Barcelona stars Iniesta and Pique and Napoli striker Higuaín.
Macaulay said: “It’s mad because you see them on TV playing week-in week-out and all of a sudden you’re with them.
“I would be at college one day, then on set the next. I watched them do all the tricks from the advert and more close-up.
“It was all like a dream really.”
Macaulay had West Cheshire College head of music, theatre, and performance Paul Moss to thank for helping secure his big break, as he invited acting agent Elizabeth Stocking to watch him perform the lead in a college production of Peter Shaffer’s play Equus in June last year.
She was so impressed she agreed to represent Macaulay and arranged for him to audition for the advert in Manchester.
He said: “They didn’t tell us what we were there for at the first audition, but we had our suspicions as it was called Project Kick and they said it was for a major sports firm.
“We had to say some words and they wanted to see what we could do with a football. I’m a striker with my local team Connah’s Quay Tigers so it was ideal.
“It was only at the third audition that we found out it was for Nike.”
Macaulay was told he had the role in December and spent much of January and February filming in Madrid and Barcelona.
He said: “All our movements on the pitch were choreographed and we had training sessions to make sure we were on top form with our ball skills and able to deal with the physical side of running around filming.
“It was unreal. There must have been about 100 people in the crew working on lighting, cameras, costumes, make-up and things like catering. I must have said my lines ‘winner stays on’ and ‘yeah, well I’m Neymar then’ 50-odd times, as there was a lot of changing of camera angles and I had to try saying it different ways.”
Mr Moss said: “We are so proud of Macaulay’s achievements. For him to land a speaking role in a high profile advert with an internationally leading brand is incredible.”
Creative arts teacher at Bristol-based St Brendan’s Sixth Form College Richard Twose was a picture of happiness after being shortlisted to the final three for the BP Portrait of the Year Award.
The 51-year-old’s painting was one of 2,377 entered in the competition worldwide and will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.
If Mr Twose wins, he will be awarded £30,000 — one of the largest global art competition prizes — and be commissioned to paint a portrait for the gallery’s permanent collection.
The shortlisted portrait is of Jean Woods, who was featured on Channel 4 documentary Fabulous Fashionistas as an example of stylish pensioner.
Richard first spotted the 76-year-old working in a local shop and chose to paint her portrait after being impressed with her “contemporary, edgy style”.
College principal Michael Jaffrain said: “We are very proud of what Richard has achieved, he is a hugely talented artist and all of his colleagues and students are rooting for him.”
Cap main image: Creative arts teacher Richard Twose painting at his easel. Inset: His portrait of Jean Woods
Hairdressing students at Blackpool and the Fylde College were given a master class by celebrity stylist Lee Stafford.
Around 70 level one, two and three hairdressing students and apprentices were invited to drop-in and ask Mr Stafford for tips and advice, while he prepared student models for the main cutting and finishing demonstration.
During the demonstration, which was attended by 90 students, college staff and local employers, Mr Stafford showed how to create some of the latest styles — including the disconnected bob, where hair is left longer at the front than the back.
Davina Doherty, hairdressing lecturer, said: “It was extremely inspiring and motivational for our students to spend the day learning from a top industry expert.
“Lee was great with the students and took time to answer any questions they had. I know they have learnt a lot from the visit and many of them are looking forward to trying some of the new styles in client sessions.”
Mr Stafford’s career took off in 1997 when he won the Men’s British Hairdresser of the Year award.
He gained national fame after appearing on the BBC TV series Celebrity Scissorhands in 2007, where he trained celebrities such as Tamara Beckwith and 1980s pop star Steve Strange to cut hair.
Cap: Model Lucy Fisher, aged 18, has her hair cut by Lee Stafford during the cutting and finishing demonstration.
BBC apprentices showed they are on the right frequency by creating podcasts looking into how more young people could be encouraged to listen to talk-orientated radio stations.
The BBC launched its level three radio journalism apprenticeship scheme last September. It involves them splitting their time between studying at Lambeth College, and working with production teams on shows including Desert Island Discs on Radio 4.
The scheme’s six learners have just completed their first major project — which involved them creating podcasts looking into why younger people prefer music stations such as Radio 1 to talk stations such as Radio 4.
Apprentice Olivia Cope, aged 19, said: “It was a huge learning curve for all of us from the day we were set the challenge to make the podcasts, to the day we presented our editors, family and friends. Having a piece of audio I made from scratch being on the BBC website is an amazing achievement and an even better feeling.”
Visit www.bbc.co.uk/academy/production/article/art20140206113729859 to listen to the podcasts. Anyone interested in applying for apprenticeships starting in September can Tweet @BBCTrainees from March 10.
Cap: BBC apprentice Olivia Cope. Below: Olivia (back centre) with, from left, fellow apprentices Nadia Youssef, aged 22, Sally Garwood and Edward Jankowski, both 18, in a BBC studio
“As the popularity of apprenticeships increases, how can the sector ensure everyone has access to them?”
That was the question on everybody’s lips as the impact of race, gender or disability on whether learners start an apprenticeship provided the focus of debate at the Apprenticeship equalities conference on Tuesday April 29, held by the Trades’ Union Congress (TUC) in Central London.
Delegates also considered whether such demographics affect how much apprentices earn and what sector they train with TUC assistant general secretary Kay Carberry saying: “What is still missing in apprenticeships is equality.”
What is still missing in apprenticeships is equality — Kay Carberry
She pointed to TUC research, published six years ago, which highlighted a “gender segregation” in apprenticeships, with a high concentration of young women in the lowest paid apprenticeships.
“I’m very sorry to say that we haven’t made much progress since then,” she said.
“Research shows that women apprentices are still more likely to end up in low paid jobs and it also underlines the very low number of black people taking up apprenticeships, especially in higher paid sectors like engineering and construction.”
Ros McNeil, the National Union of Teachers’ head of education and equalities and Christine Townley, executive director of the Construction Youth Trust agreed, saying gender stereotyping often led childcare and hairdressing courses to be seen as female-only sector, while construction was considered masculine.
Delegates contribute their ideas for action on the conference’s interactive wall
Ms Townley said: “Forty two years ago, when I wanted to become a civil engineer I was told by the careers officer, ‘Girls don’t do that’. Recently I called a head teacher to come in and talk to the girls about construction and was told ‘my girls don’t do construction’.”
Ms McNeil said: “When we interview 14, 15 and 16-year-olds and ask the boys why they don’t want to do childcare, they often reply that they would like to but they say ‘I’m worried about what my mates and my dad might think, they might think that I’m gay’.
“So the sexism is reinforcing the homophobia and the homophobia is reinforcing the sexism and we have to tackle the two together.”
She added: “I think we need to name what we’re talking about here, we’re talking about racism, we’re talking about sexism, we’re talking about gender stereotypes, we’re talking about disablism.”
Peter Little, independent chair of the Department for Education advisory group on learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, said such misconceptions prevented young disabled people from getting onto apprenticeships.
“We need to get rid of some of the myths — one is that if you took on a disabled apprentice your success rates would plummet,” he said. “It’s not the case that if you take on someone with a disability, you’re taking on someone who won’t get there.”
Jeremy Crook, of the Black Training and Enterprise Group, called for a diversity forum, with representatives from employers, providers and unions, to be set up within the Skills Funding Agency to tackle the issues around gender, race and disability.
“We’ve got issues with different ethnic and gender groups on the labour market, and unless you’re going to talk about them openly and frankly I don’t think we’ll close this gap,” he said.
He added that providers needed to work with employers to examine application processes, as for every Bangladeshi person who gains an apprenticeship, nine have applied and for every black Caribbean person who starts, six have applied.
Jeremy Crook
For every white apprentice start, meanwhile, two people applied.
“Something is going on in these processes… and that needs to be unpacked and looked at,” he said.
Steve Craig, national officer for strategy, education and organisation at the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians said there was “a disconnect” in the sector between being aware of inequality issues and taking action on them.
“We don’t just need to talk about breaking barriers, we need to talk about how they’re created — they don’t just happen,” he said.
For Ms Townley, the best way to encourage young people from all backgrounds into apprenticeships was through seeing peers enrol. “I think there’s some great role models out there and we need to encourage them and we need to work together to help more young people understand the benefits of apprenticeships,” she said.
Shaks Ghosh, consultant on youth skills and employment, agreed, and pointed to role traineeships can play in increasing awareness of apprenticeships.
“There are a number of employers who are looking to traineeships because they have become concerned that the apprenticeships they run have become very single-focus,” she said. “It can also be glimpse into a world of work for young people who might have never been exposed to it before. Young people making the transition from school to work is probably one of the most difficult things that they’re going to do, but there’s really very little support for that as they walk about of the school gate.
“The Department for Education, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Work and Pensions really need to get their acts together to make sure young people can have a smooth transition from school to the world of work.”
She added: “My real call to action is: Can you help those young people who are just starting out now on their journey into the world of work?”.
Addressing the equality and diversity challenges in apprenticeships
There has been a policy focus on addressing inequalities in apprenticeships, particularly by gender, over many years, but achieving progress on the inclusion of women, ethnic minorities and other under-represented groups has proved challenging.
While women represent more than 50 per cent of apprentices, they often train in sectors that have low pay or offer limited opportunities for career progression. The conversion of existing employees to apprenticeships is more prevalent among women than men.
Among ethnic minorities, the overall low rate of participation is a concern, although participation also varies considerably between different ethnic groups and for some communities, it is far lower than would be expected based on population data.
The apprenticeship vacancy data shows significantly higher numbers of ethnic minority applicants than apprentices. In broad terms, demand exists among ethnic minorities but there is some blockage to their entry to the programme.
As part of recent research for Unionlearn, the Institute for Employment Studies explored the decisions made by young people about their careers and about pursuing apprenticeships.
Employer practices were examined along with the practices of providers, schools and other stakeholders, including those who support apprentices in the workplace.
We found that gender segregation in apprenticeships cuts across ethnic and cultural identities and that often ethnicity compounds the impact of occupational gender segregation.
It also revealed differing needs between ethnic minority communities, often linked to country of origin and migration trend. However, women predominate in advanced and higher apprenticeships, irrespective of ethnicity, and as such, these may provide a means to tackle the esteem and parity of apprenticeships.
There is a wealth of information and opinion about the barriers to apprenticeships for under-represented groups. The consistency in these over time, suggests that there is a gap in action rather than in knowledge. What we need to see is collaborative and concerted effort to overcome them.
Our recommendations to address the equality and diversity challenges in the programme includes, for ethnic minorities, more detailed exploration of prior qualifications and employability of those registered on the apprenticeship vacancies system, and support to enable applicants to successfully apply for vacancies. It also includes emphasis on apprenticeships as a route to professions as well as trades. Our research showed that for some ethnic minority groups, the message about quality is particularly important. Two further recommendations were an examination of recruitment strategies to understand whether there is unwitting discrimination or whether, with support from providers, union reps and/or union learning reps, small changes can make practices more inclusive, fair and equal; and the provision of role models to act as a source of inspiration and support to young people from diverse backgrounds.
Actions necessary to increase the representation of women in apprenticeships are well established. We reiterate these, and urge all apprenticeship organisations to consider what action they can take to embed them in practice. To increase gender equality in apprenticeships, what is needed includes better-quality, more in-depth and challenging careers education and guidance at an earlier age that, crucially, tackles occupational stereotypes. This should include information about how career choices affect future pay and progression.
And knowing about discrimination or division in an employment sector can deter people from considering that work, therefore more must be done to convince young women, as well as ensure, the door truly is open to them. Further, role models can be a powerful influence. Our research found that young women who enter non-traditional apprenticeships did so because they had family members working in the occupations. Widening ‘who’ influences young people beyond the immediate family is of critical importance and the lack of funding to support the costs of childcare while undertaking an apprenticeship also needs addressing.
Finally, supporting young people’s transition into the labour market is crucial. If they follow the academic pathway, they are highly supported; when they enter apprenticeships — which are, by definition, jobs — often young people ‘go it alone’.
More than 400 Merseyside learners filled Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral for what is believed to have been the UK’s largest apprenticeship graduation ceremony.
The venue, which also hosts university graduations, welcomed level three and four achievers across two ceremonies on Tuesday, April 29. Among them was Adam Hill, aged 21, who studied information technology at the Mercia Partnership independent learning provider and undertook an apprenticeship with Wirral-based IT repairs company Proper Geeks.
He said: “It’s great that we have been given the chance to experience a graduation ceremony and that we have a day dedicated to celebrating our hard work and achievements.”
WorldSkills 2013 gold medallist Ashley Terron was a guest of honour and told FE Week: “As a former bricklaying apprentice, I wish I could have experienced a graduation when I completed my qualification two years ago.”
The results of FE Commissioner David Collins’ inspections of failing colleges are to be made public, FE Week can reveal.
Dr Collins, who can call for college leaders to be stripped of powers and even advise the Skills Minister to shut a college down, took up the newly-created post in December, but his reports and recommendations have been largely kept under wraps.
However, a spokesperson for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) told FE Week: “The decision has been taken to publish summaries of the findings from the FE Commissioner to enable the sector to see and learn lessons from those that have been through the process.
“The timing of publication for each summary will be determined on a case by case basis and the first report is due to be published at the end of this month.”
So far Dr Collins has visited at least six colleges — K College, Stockport College, Barnfield College, City of Bristol College and City of Liverpool College.
He has also been to LeSoCo, but his warning of weaknesses in leadership at the grade four South London college failed to result in a change in either principal or chair of governors.
However, the weight of public pressure could now be behind commissioner findings with publication of his judgments.
Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “There’s a difficult balance between ensuring that any information published following a visit from the FE Commissioner doesn’t disadvantage the college in question, and the need for openness and transparency.
“The department appears to have found a reasonable compromise.”
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: “There is no sense in keeping important transferable learning under lock and key at a time when the sector needs to improve its leadership effectiveness and the effect this can have on jobs.
“More broadly there is a real need for greater openness in the sector to learning from the things that aren’t working well, rather than seeking to bury these for fear of reputational loss or simply labouring under the mistaken belief that there is no other way forward.
“We’d rather colleges did not have to find there are other ways forward following a visit from the commissioner.”
The news emerged following an FE Week request to the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), under the Freedom of Information Act, for the commissioner’s findings. The SFA refused, but also said it “notes the currency of the information and the plans held by BIS to publish information relating to the outcome of the requested information, including the implementation of a process for publication”.
Dr Stephan Jungnitz, colleges specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders said: “The work that the FE Commissioner undertakes is of such significance that it should be transparent and open to wider scrutiny.
“The opportunity to learn from others is always welcome, it’s an important part of the quality improvement process.
“Hopefully the reports will be analytical, objective, and resist the current fashion for scapegoating individuals.”
University and College Union general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “We need to see the details of these reports to better understand what has happened and to ensure we learn from mistakes.
“We were not the only ones surprised at how well rewarded some college leaders have been despite failings at their institutions.”
She added: “The time has come for proper transparency in the sector.”
The results of commissioner visits currently already carried out are expected to be among the first published.
A report that warned dual role college principals might not “understand” their chief executive duties has been welcomed by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
The report, A New Conversation: Employer and College Engagement, by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), The 157 Group and Gazelle questioned such principals’ knowledge of what their chief executive role entailed.
It noted that “many college principals use ‘chief executive’ in their title and when questioned described how they saw themselves having two distinct roles: the academic leader and the business leader.”
It continued: “We wondered whether more is needed to understand what being a business leader means in this context.”
Stephan Jungnitz, ASCL college specialist, said the paper was “a very welcome addition to the national debate on how we address the increasing need for vocational education and training”.
“Within the paper it is recognised that colleges have a pivotal role to play and that employers often need better information about how they can capitalise on these opportunities,” he said.
The information in the 24-page report was compiled through a series of interviews, an online survey, workshops and college visits over the last 12 months.
It said: “Not surprisingly leadership came out as the most important ingredient in a college’s ability to contribute to and drive economic growth.”
It also covered the role of governors, saying: “Governors make a range of contributions to the leadership of a college but we believe that there is more that can be gained, especially from those governors that come directly from the business world.
“Effective business governors can help colleges understand local business needs in much more depth, and, using their networks, spread the word among employers about how colleges contribute to the local economy.
“They bring clarity about direction, targets, priorities and expectations, challenging managers on what employer engagement really means in practice.”
It further made recommendations for future leadership development programmes, such as those currently being developed through Education and Training Foundation, saying they should aim to increase market understanding.
John Cridland, UKCES Commissioner and director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “Building stronger bonds between colleges and employers is no easy task, but with the launch of this new paper we hope to initiate a wider discussion and create a better future for all.
“By forging more links between local colleges and firms in their area, we can help ensure that colleges produce students with the skills and characteristics employers need to thrive.”
Lynne Sedgmore, executive director of The 157 Group, said: “We hope this seminal report will radically shift and improve employer and college strategic conversation and partnerships.
“We know how important it is to expand the good work already being done as well as supporting colleges to play an even more powerful role in local enterprise partnerships and localities.”
The report, published on Tuesday, April 29, and available on the UKCES website, further identified “discussion topics,” including the importance of the college in contributing to its economic community, and the need for employers to be familiar with the college and its offer.
Business Secretary Vince Cable delivered a speech last month at Cambridge University entitled Where next for Further and Higher Education? Mark Corney looks in detail at what Dr Cable said.
In 1976, Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan began a ‘great debate’ on education with a speech at a college in Oxford.
Nearly 40 years on, a Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, Vince Cable, asked where next for ‘further and higher education?’ in a speech at Cambridge University.
The speech calls for a shift from a low-skilled to a high-skilled vocational education and training system. It calls for greater specialisation of the FE sector and an expansion of national colleges. And it calls for colleges to have the power to devise their own curriculum and qualifications in line with universities.
But read carefully it is what the speech says about higher education, especially the funding of higher education, that really counts.
Essentially, the speech emphasises some of the critical, unintended consequences of our ever expanding and successful, higher education system.
Entry into full-time undergraduate higher education dominates the system, and the key year for entry is age 18. The pulling power of GCSEs and A-levels as the royal route into full-time higher education at 18 has resulted in a ‘hollowing out of our post-secondary provision’.
The ‘academic’ dominates the ‘vocational’ — unless practical learning is delivered by universities themselves — and they, of course, get the best young people and industry with the odd exception gets the rest.
A result of our ever-expanding full-time undergraduate higher education system — which will grow further when the cap on student numbers is lifted in 2015 — is the low number of students on vocational sub-degrees, especially part-time courses.
Another is the failure of successive governments to develop and fund employer-based higher apprenticeships (levels four and five) as well as undergraduate and master degree apprenticeships (levels six and seven).
England is out on a limb on the low numbers of young people and adults on high level vocational education and training programmes compared to other countries.
Although the language is less forthright, the speech reframes the policy debate.
Rather than ask how do we create a world class apprenticeship system, we must ask how do we create a world class apprenticeship given a large and growing full-time higher education system?
Rather than ask how do we create a mass apprenticeships system when the taxpayer spends around £1.5bn on them, we need to ask how do we create a world class apprenticeship system spending £1.5bn alongside a world class full-time undergraduate higher education system spending £15bn when taking into account tuition and maintenance funding?
And rather than asking what happens to adult ‘vocational education and training’ when the money runs out, we need to
ask how can the taxpayer continue to fund adult skills appropriately while simultaneously spending £15bn on higher education?
Indeed, the speech candidly highlights the competition for public funds between adult skills — adult apprenticeships and adult FE — and higher education.
In May 2010, when the Coalition entered office, cuts to adult skills were already pencilled in to protect the higher education budget.
But by turning grant funding for tuition fees for full-time students into loans, spending on adult apprenticeships was protected and cuts to adult FE much less than could have been the case. College and university leaders must look at higher education and adult skills funding in the round.
And the theme of greater college specialisation is a neat way to revisit the fact that maintenance loans and grants are not available to full-time adult FE students compared to full-time higher education students.
“As FE becomes more specialised,” argues Dr Cable, “we may need to think about provision for students studying for high level qualifications who may need to relocate to be close to national centres of expertise.”
Time will tell whether the Cambridge University speech of 2014 will attract the same level of interest and kudos of the Ruskin College speech of 1976, but it is surely one of the most thoughtful contributions to the future of English education and training for many a year.
