NUS chief executive Ben Kernighan resigns less than one year in post
National Union of Students (NUS) chief executive Ben Kernighan has resigned after less than a year in the role, the union has announced.
The NUS last night (May 16) said that Mr Kernighan had “decided he did not wish to continue in his position” and had left the organisation.
A spokesperson said: “Ben successfully led a complex process of bringing together the disparate parts of the group under one new set of terms and conditions. He led the organisation to a number of policy successes around higher and further education funding and regulation as well as wider policy wins including winning concessions to the Lobbying Act.
“He also oversaw the successful launch of the National Society of Apprentices. Membership of NUS grew during Ben’s time here and he used his wide network of contacts within civil society to broaden the reach and message of NUS and place it in a strong position in the run up to the general election.
“The organisation is grateful for Ben’s contribution and would like to take this opportunity to thank him and to wish him every success in the future.”
Mr Kernighan has not made any comment at this time.
Photo credit: National Union of Students
Seven-year wait for new FE and skills professional teaching standards is over
New guidelines for FE and skills teachers, lecturers and trainers have been issued by the Education and Training Foundation.
A list of 20 “professional standards” — the first since 2007 — fills one side of A4, separated into three headings of values and attributes, knowledge and understanding, and skills.
Among the professional practices listed are “evaluate and challenge your practice, values and beliefs”, “manage and promote positive learner behaviour” and “contribute to organisational development and quality improvement through collaboration with others”.
The list is accompanied by a 22-page guidance document that aims to offer practical examples of how the standards can be applied.
Helen Pettifor, foundation director of professional standards and workforce development, described the standards as “a major milestone for our sector”.
She said: “By working with the whole sector to establish a consistent benchmark as to what constitutes effective practice, we have produced an aspirational set of standards that both unite the sector in the drive for professionalism and excellence, but succeed in being flexible enough to be fully relevant and applicable to whatever part of the sector you’re teaching in.”
Nearly 1,000 sector professionals were involved in the seven-month process of drawing up the standards, which was conducted on behalf of the foundation by Pye Tait Consulting through consultation events, in-depth interviews and an online survey.
The resulting standards replace those issued by Lifelong Learning UK in 2007, and Ofsted, which was involved in the review for the new standards, said they would be used as part of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and FE and skills inspections.
Marina Gaze, deputy director of FE and skills at Ofsted, said: “To evaluate outcomes inspectors look at completion and employment rates, how well trainees and former trainees teach and how well they attain in relation to the relevant professional standards.
“The 2014 professional standards will replace the 2007 overarching standards in terms of ITE inspections.
“When making judgements about the quality of training on ITE inspections inspectors will look at how the 2014 standards are used with trainees to provide feedback and developmental targets.
“Inspectors will also consider the success of leaders and managers in preparing trainees to meet the 2014 standards.”
Dereth Wood, chair of the foundation’s professional standards steering group, said: “Vocational teaching, learning and assessment has always been a sophisticated professional occupation but in the contemporary world, with rapid change in the workplace, and increasing use of technology for teaching and learning, the need for teachers and trainers to continue to refine and develop their skills is even greater.
“There is a real opportunity for the new professional standards to provide a framework for teachers and trainers to take responsibility for their own professional learning.”
Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: “The launch of the 2014 standards will play a key role in helping leaders, managers and teachers to improve the quality of their offering for the benefit of learners, employers and the wider economy.”
Institute for Learning chief executive Dr Jean Kelly said: “Presented simply on a single sheet of A4 paper under three headings, the standards summarise the expectations that teachers and trainers set for themselves. Rather than being prescriptive, they offer a framework for teachers and trainers to evaluate and develop their practice, collaborating and sharing with peers.
“The standards provide an excellent foundation for professional conversations about learning and development, and recognise the value of teachers and trainers being able to use their judgement and exercise professional autonomy, to ensure the best outcomes for learners.”
Stella Turner, head of qualifications and delivery at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “We were involved in producing these standards and wanted to make sure they were relevant to the independent learning sector. We think this has been achieved and the standards are going to be really useful.”
A spokesperson for the foundation said that once teachers, trainers, leaders and managers had started using the new standards, case studies of their use would be produced in spring next year and the guidance would also be updated.
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: “ATL welcomes the foundation’s publication of new professional standards for teachers and trainers working in the FE and skills sector.”
She added: “It is important that FE and skills teachers and trainers are recognised as professionals who use research and evidence to improve how they teach and are encouraged to take part in professional training throughout their careers — which these standards both encourage and promote.
“It is particularly encouraging that autonomy and trust in teachers in the FE and skills sector are endorsed in the standards. And we look forward to seeing how colleges incorporate these standards into the working lives of our members.”
The Association of Colleges declined to comment.
Bright Assessing loses third and final appeal stage after ‘malpractice’ was found
Awarding organisation NCFE (formerly the Northern Council for Further Education) has detailed evidence of alleged malpractice at Bright Assessing uncovered through an investigation that has resulted in 225 former learners losing their qualifications.
NCFE stopped certificating Bright courses in February following its four-month investigation into alleged malpractice.
A summary of the findings has finally been made public after Bright’s appeal was rejected following the third and final stage of NCFE’s internal appeals process.
In a statement sent to FE Week this afternoon, NCFE said its investigation found 50 former learners either had sub-standard portfolios or no evidence could be found of their portfolios ever existing.
NCFE added portfolios had been “lost” for a further 175 former learners, for which there was “insufficient or no evidence to support the learners’ achievement and certification”.
They have all had their qualifications revoked.
The NCFE statement added: “Qualified, experienced and trained staff within Bright knowingly allowed practices to take place that breached quality assurance and certification processes required by NCFE.”
When asked to explain how quality assurance and certification processes had been breached, an NCFE spokesperson said the investigation found that Bright staff “incorrectly claimed certificates for a number of learners where there is insufficient or no evidence to support the learners’ achievement (ie sub-standard or missing portfolios)”.
The statement released by NCFE added there were “significant failings in the delivery and quality assurance processes within Bright while operating under Direct Claim Status which led to learners being certificated before learners had completed their portfolios”
“This meant that in a number of cases, learners were certificated that had not either completed or achieved the qualification,” it said.
It added: “Qualified, experienced and trained staff within Bright knowingly allowed practices to take place that breached quality assurance and certification processes required by NCFE as a recognised awarding organisation.”
It also stated that “Bright staff knew of the significant issues with their quality assurance process that led to incorrect learner certification and developed processes to work around this”.
It added: “During the duty of care process NCFE was provided with an NCFE document which appeared to have been altered by Bright to remove negative statements and action points to the centre.”
However, Bright chief executive Krissy Charles-Jones hit back at NCFE.
She said she had sent a 10-page letter of complaint about the awarding body to regulator Ofqual. Ms Charles-Jones claimed NCFE was “wholly responsible” for former learners’ qualifications being revoked.
She said: “NCFE carried out inadequate external moderation, sampling just 0.2 per cent of the 1200 registered learners with just one visit lasting just two hours, even though the industry norm would be 10 per cent.
“It was not until NCFE received complaints from learners that it carried out thorough external moderation as per industry requirements.
“The role of the external moderator as defined under NCFE’s ‘agreement with us’ was to ensure that our quality assurance meets centre approval recognition. However, even when requested by Bright, NCFE did not provide this support.
“A letter to Bright from NCFE dated July 10 [last year]… shows the failings in NCFE’s external moderation… It identifies areas as failings that were previously graded excellent [by an external moderator] just four months previously and for the same learners.
“This poor external moderation which did not involve any observations of assessments… also resulted in Bright delivering poor quality assessments on its back-to-work programme.”
Ms Charles-Jones added Bright made “huge improvements” to its back-to-work courses once these issues had been identified and “carried out a number of actions given to us by NCFE”.
She said: “This quality of training was noted by an independent inspector who graded teacher observations and learner outcomes as good with outstanding features under the Ofsted framework in December 2013.
“These learners [who have been de-certificated] relate only to provision delivered prior to August 2013, under the guidance given to Bright by NCFE.
“One learner in particular that Bright are aware of being ‘de-certificated’ was actually externally moderated twice by NCFE in July 2013 and November 2013 and his portfolio declared as ‘no actions required’.”
She also attempted to assure learners currently registered with Bright.
Ms Charles-Jones said: “All learners on programme will be fully supported. In the unlikely event that a learner isn’t or cannot be registered then we are working with another provider to register them through their centre.
“Learners should not be concerned if they have contacted NCFE and have been told they are not registered, this is because they are about to become registered as we are data cleansing and collating our final lists and arranging this with NCFE.”
She declined to comment on which awarding body learners might be registered with.
Meanwhile, Ofqual recommended that worried learners should contact NCFE.
A spokesperson for the qualifications watchdog said: “NCFE continues to keep us informed about the on-going matters with Bright. As there are on-going legal issues between the two parties, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.
“Any learners who are concerned about the situation are advised to contact NCFE in the first instance, and it will be able to provide advice and support.”
OCR and Ascentis confirmed to FE Week last week they had cut ties with Bright — a move which, it was thought, left the provider without an awarding organisation. NCFE declined to comment on Ms Charles-Jones’ accusations.
Concerned learners should email vocational.qualifications@ocr.org.uk, qualityassurance@ascentis.co.uk, or service@ncfe.org.uk for advice.
Number of Neets falls — but England still behind European neighbours, warns thinktank
The number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neet) fell in the first three months of 2014 — but England is still playing catch-up to its European neighbours, a thinktank has warned.
Official figures out today show that 13.5 per cent (975,000) of England’s 16 to 24-year-olds were considered Neet for January to March — down from 14.4 per cent (1.036m) the previous three months.
But the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has pointed to figures from Eurostat, which show England compares unfavorably to countries like Austria, where 7.1 per cent of 15 to 24-year-olds are Neet, and The Netherlands, where the figure is 5.1 per cent.
Tony Dolphin (pictured), chief economist at the IPPR, said: “The latest fall in the number of young people who were not in education, employment or training is welcome, but at 975,000 it remains too high.
“The proportion of young people who are Neet is more than twice as high in the UK as in the European countries with the lowest rates.
“If the economic recovery is sustained, the number of Neets in the UK will fall further, but without action from the government it will remain at an unacceptably high level.
“A comparison of the experience of young people entering the labour market across Europe shows that a strong workplace-based vocational education and training system with a high degree of employer involvement is the key factor in producing a low Neet rate.
“To move towards such a system in the UK, the government needs to do more to involve employers in the design and delivery of vocational education and training; to improve the quality of apprenticeships and traineeships; to make careers advice and guidance better and to establish a distinct benefits system for young people.”
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that 53,000 16 and 17-year-olds were Neet between January and March, compared to 66,000 from October to December — a 20 per cent drop.
The government, which said in February that it didn’t recognise the ONS statistics, has once again published its own figures, which Skills Minister Matthew Hancock claimed showed the lowest number of Neets since 2005.
The figures from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Department for Education show there were 774,000 16 to 24-year-old Neets from January to March — a decrease of 135,000 on the previous year and, it is claimed, the lowest rate for the quarter since 2005.
“I am delighted to see that the number of young people not in education, employment or training is at its lowest level since 2005,” said Mr Hancock.
“The figures released today show the progress being made to ensure that all young people are equipped with the skills that allow them to begin productive and prosperous careers. I am particularly pleased to see that the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds who are Neet, is at the lowest level since records began.
“This is further evidence that our long-term economic plan is securing young people’s future.
“Every young person should be given the chance to reach their potential, whether that is through studying or training, embarking on an apprenticeship or traineeship or entering the world of work.
“Today’s figures show that more and more young people that were previously held back from reaching their full potential are now in work or developing skills that will allow them to become valued employees.”
In documents supplied with the data, the government said long-term trends were similar to those seen in ONS data, but that “different coverage and ages used can lead to some discrepancies” when comparing change between specific points in time.
Joy Mercer (pictured), policy director at the Association of Colleges, said: “Colleges have always had a focus on engaging with young people who drop through the net between school and college.
“They have put in place strategies to ensure that students enrolling at college stay on courses or continue in an apprenticeship by focusing on the students who are the most vulnerable. One of the things which helps colleges is the flexibility allowed by study programmes.
“The trend may not continue because of the uncertainty about Department for Education spending and the recently confirmed cuts to the adult skills budget for 2014-15.”
Of the 975,000 16 to 24-year-olds recorded as Neet between January and March, just 507,000 or 52 per cent, were considered to be “unemployed” because they were looking for or available for work. The other 468,000 were considered to be “economically inactive”.
A spokesperson for the Association of Employment and Learning Providers said: “The overall figures are encouraging because the fall in 18 to 24-year-old Neets shows that we are not just looking at the possible impact that Raising the Participation Age might have had.
“Nevertheless 52 per cent of Neets are looking for work and in partnership with employers, we need to create more apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities for them.”
Chris Jones, chief executive of City & Guilds, said: “It’s great to see fewer people falling into the ‘NEET’ category, but we can’t rest on our laurels. There are still 13.5 per cent of young people in this position, slipping through the cracks. It’s creating a lost generation of talent – and I worry about Britain’s economic future because of it.
“So what’s the solution? How can we help school-leavers take that first step on the career ladder? Firstly, we need a curriculum that teaches young people the skills they need to get on in life, and that employers are actually looking for. Alongside that, we must get better at telling young people about all of the options available to them. Not just university, but apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications too. And to achieve this, we need to give them careers advice that is relevant to the 21st century.
“We all have a role to play. It’s time for educators, employers and the Government to step up and support young people so they are not destined for a lifetime on the dole.”
Learndirect could get £100m flotation
Learndirect could be in line for a £100m flotation, it has been reported.
According to Education Investor magazine, the training provider’s owner, Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), has appointed Numis Securities to advise on the listing.
Neither Learndirect nor LDC, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, would deny the rumour when pressed by FE Week, but both declined to comment.
The firm, based in Sheffield, West Yorkshire, is one of the UK’s largest providers in the training and e-assessment markets, running apprenticeships for companies including McDonald’s.
Learndirect was launched in 2000 by University for Industry (UfI) and was sold, with UfI ltd, which managed Learndirect, by Ufi Charitable Trust to LDC in 2011 for £40m.
Learndirect then merged with JHP the following year and now has a network of 490 centres and more than 2,000 employees nationwide.
It has a current Skills Funding Agency allocation of more than £154.6m and delivers around 18,000 apprenticeships a year.
The provider received a grade two, good, grading from Ofsted following an inspection in March last year.
Twitter row principal calls off CEO move
A Hampshire principal caught up in a Twitter row in which BBC presenter Jeremy Clarkson was labelled a c*** has called off his move to become a chief executive.
Anthony Bravo (pictured above) was signed up to 
leave Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT) for the job at Bradford College Group but, less than a fortnight after apologising on the social media website for retweeting the offensive message, he has now “withdrawn his application”.
Mr Bravo, who was due to start at the 25,000-learner Bradford college in September, declined to comment on his retweet, which he followed with a further tweet saying a complaint had been made to Bradford and BCoT and that “if people don’t like it they should unfollow”. The tweet was also later deleted, before tweeting his apology (pictured). However, he said his decision to pull out of the move, announced by Bradford College on April 11, was down to “the potential impact on my family”.
Bradford College said the retweet had no bearing on Mr Bravo not moving to the new role and his current employers at BCoT said he would be staying on with them, but a social media and FE sector expert has nevertheless called for colleges to adopt Twitter policies to protect their reputations.
Mr Bravo returned from a month long trip to China to create links between Basingstoke, which has around 11,000 learners, and Chinese colleges at the beginning of the month. He said: “While I was away I had time to reflect on the decision and the potential impact on my family and felt the distance would be too disruptive. There are lots of exciting projects underway at BCoT, especially new relationships with colleagues in China that I look forward to developing.”
A BCoT spokesperson said: “The governors welcome the decision and look forward to supporting Anthony in continuing our growth and quality improvement strategy.”
A spokesperson for Bradford College said: “Having reflected on his domestic circumstances, Anthony Bravo has decided to withdraw his application for the post of group chief executive. We wish Anthony every success for the future.”
Social media expert Ruth Sparkes, director of education PR company EMPRA, said: “This is a reminder as to why colleges should have a social media policy, and a strategy that is understood by everyone in the organisation. Reputations can be won and lost in a single tweet.”
Bradford College is expected to re-advertise the chief executive role — the fourth time it has done so since the beginning of the year, when current chief executive and president of the Association of Colleges Michelle Sutton said she would be stepping down.
Editorial
It’s no word game
The brief history of Twitter is already littered with ill-judged postings.
It’s a history that now counts avid tweeter Anthony Bravo among its victims, regardless of why his move to Bradford is off.
He has walked a fine line with tweets from China — while ‘on duty’ as a college principal — that some may see as silly, fun, or even welcome proof of a human face in a usually out-of-reach position of authority.
Meanwhile, others may think they cast too unprofessional a shadow on the college, and even the sector.
But there’s no doubt his public use, albeit retweeted, of such an offensive word was something exceptional.
Mr Bravo is a popular and friendly figure so it’s easy to believe his apology (printed on the front page) was sincere.
If only he hadn’t had to issue it in the first place.
Chris Henwood, editor
Government announces traineeships in future could take less than three weeks
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has confirmed to FE Week that the traineeship minimum duration rule of six weeks has been scrapped.
In new joint guidance from BIS and the Department for Education out today and due to come into force for new starts from August, the rule has been replaced with an “expectation that work placements will last between 100-240 hours”, effectively between two and 7 weeks at 35 hours a week.
The new guidance continues: “Longer placements may be necessary to prepare young people for work, but these would need to be based on clearly identified learner needs.”
It comes after a slow start for the programme and Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: “The guidance published today highlights further improvements to the programme based on feedback from those delivering and undertaking traineeships.
“This will enable the programme to be expanded and allow more young people to benefit from Traineeships, whilst maintaining a strong focus on quality.”
The rules scrap the existing requirement that trainees complete no less than six weeks and no more than five months of work experience as part of their programme.
The maximum duration of six months will remain in place.
The change is part of new guidance on traineeships which include new rules to allow good or outstanding providers to provide apprenticeships even if they have been given a “financial notice of concern” by the Skills Funding Agency or Education Funding Agency.
Mr Hancock, pictured, hailed the changes as making traineeships more accessible.
He said: “Traineeships have had a successful first year and thousands of young people have benefited from the chance to get the skills and work experience they need for an Apprenticeship or other job.
“But there is more to do. We need more employers to offer traineeship places; I want more young people to have the opportunity to embark on a Traineeship and take the first step in working towards a successful career.”
It comes after a rule allowing 24-year-olds to take up traineeships was included in February’s Skills Funding Statement, and the Department for Work and Pensions 16-hour rule, which limited the amount of time trainees aged 19 and over could train every week and still receive benefits, was removed in March.
The new guidance adds: “For benefit claimants from 2014/15 the work experience element can be up to 240 hours (or extended if the offer of an Apprenticeship place is accepted) at a maximum of 30 hours a week, and can be done over the duration of the Traineeship if necessary. This replaces the previous rule which restricted the work experience to 6-8 consecutive weeks. This new flexibility will support providers and employers to design programmes which meet the needs of young people and enable work experience to take place alongside the other training elements of the Traineeship.
The rules have also been relaxed concerning the need to identify the work placement host at the start of the programme. From August providers with be able “to identify the employer providing the work experience placement up to four weeks after the traineeship has started.”
Baker in ‘no Neets’ plea as youth job hopes take centre stage
The number of jobless young people is as its lowest level in five years, but at the Youth Employment Convention it was a pressing issue that was still very much on the agenda.
The latest statistics show the number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in employment, education or training (Neet) fell by 48,000 to 868,000 in the first quarter of 2014 but, Lord Kenneth Baker said in his keynote speech, this wasn’t far enough.
The target for the UK education system, he said, should be that no one should leave to become unemployed.
“No Neets — that is our target,” he said, at the event in London on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 13 and 14)
“We have nearly 900,000 young people unemployed who have undergone 11 years free, state education and they cannot find a job — that is a national disgrace.”
He added there was a “skills mismatch”
“There is a huge shortage in our economy for skilled workers — we’re going to need nearly a million SET professionals at degree level, 450,000 at levels three and four.”
Part of the solution to the problem, he said, was to engage with students about their career choices at a younger age.
He pointed to his University Technical College project, where students are recruited at 14 to start a specialist technical education alongside core subjects such as maths and English.
“We found by 14, youngsters know where their interests lie, and they’re quite capable as to making the decision as to which range of studies they wish to pursue,” he said.
However, the type of careers advice given to young people is important, according to Jigar Patel, principal at consultancy firm McKinsey and Co, which has carried out research into the transition between education and employment.
“The most effective services are where employers come in and do things like mock interviews, face-to-face discussions and mock assessments centres,” he said.
“In places where that existed there was a direct correlation with the number of people that were then unemployed after six months — there was no one.”
Mr Patel was joined in the session by chair of the House of Lords European sub-committee internal market, infrastructure and employment, Lady O’Cathain.
“In February 2014 the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate across the 28 member states stood at 22.5 per cent, more than double the overall rate of unemployment,” she said.
“I personally believe the challenge has been totally underestimated, because the psychological and social implications for young people who are left without any respect and no hope and really quite disastrous.”
She argued that the UK should be prepared to learn from other countries.
“No country has the monopoly on good ideas,” she said, pointing to youth guarantee schemes where young people are guaranteed a job or further training after four months of unemployment.
“Finland has such a scheme which has been put forward by commentators as the reason for its low unemployment rates.”
She also called for young people to be consulted about issues which affect them — an idea taken up in the final event of the convention, a youth delegates panel, where several current and recent learners told Labour MP Rushanara Ali, Lady O’Cathain and Lord German, co-chair of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary committee for work and pensions, what they wanted to see on the political parties’ 2015 election manifestos.
Many of them called for improved careers advice at school and beyond, and more work experience.
Panel member Armend Jashari said: “The main problem I had was that I wasn’t really employable, some of the things missing were communication skills, teamwork skills, presentation skills that kind of thing.
“One of the main things missing in schools is that practical side of recruitment, that’s an issue that needs to be addressed – we need more structured work experience.”
Rushanara Ali MP agreed.
“The government’s decision to scrap work experience as an entitlement I think was the wrong decision — every young person whatever their background should have an entitlement an offer of work experience so they get a taste of what the world of work is like,” she said.
“That’s not enough, they need a continuous exposure to the world of work and that require proper support proper careers guidance.”
Closing the conference, Dave Simmonds OBE, chief executive of Inclusion, warned that the latest unemployment statistics might not give the full picture.
“Those unemployment figures will continue to tip down over the coming months,” he said.
“But the plain fact is, that even before the recession the levels of youth unemployment were too high and in fact going up, so there can be and should be no complacency.”
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Mystery surrounding Heywood report leads to breakout question
“Whatever happened to the Heywood report?” asked Tony Wilson of Inclusion (pictured), during a breakout session on the youth employment challenges the next government will have to tackle.
Mr Wilson was complaining about the number of defunct employment initiatives started over the last few years — an issue Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced in September he would be tackling, by asking Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood to conduct a review.
However, the report failed to materialise, and an FE Week investigation has revealed it may never be published — in fact, it may not exist at all in hard
copy form.
When FE Week asked for a publication date in February, a spokesperson for Mr Clegg said: “The review was an internal review and was not intended to be published.”
Following this, FE Week submitted a Freedom of Information request, but was told: “The information… is not held by the Cabinet Office.”
When we asked for extra clarification, we were told by a spokesperson: “Nothing has been written down.”
She added in a statement: “It’s internal policy advice that has been provided to the Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister on an ongoing basis.”
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VOICE OF A LEARNER
Ben Prayel, studying for an HND in media production at Barking & Dagenham College, as well as running his own film production and photography business, took part in the Youth Delegates Debate at the Youth Employment Convention on Wednesday, May 12, where the panel discussed: “It’s 2015,
what would young people want to be promised in the election manifesto?”
Here’s what 21-year-old Ben had to say.
“I would certainly be looking for the government to improve careers advice, especially for teenagers. It also needs to be advice which is linked to what’s happening in the local, regional and UK job markets. I would also call for more to be done to encourage companies to take on apprentices.
I would certainly be looking for the government to improve careers advice, especially for teenagers
“At 16, straight after school, I spent two years on a full-time carpentry and joinery course and my next step was to find an apprenticeship, but there just weren’t any around so I had to start again.
“I was really good at Theatre Studies at school at got the best possible grade, but no one at the time suggested video and film production.
“I came to Barking & Dagenham College really by chance, but it has been a fantastic experience because it has given me a real work experience — I’ve been able to set up my own business and have had so much help from the tutors. My friends at university on similar courses haven’t had anything like the positive experience I have had.
“My other request is for university tuition fees to be reduced or at the very least held at the current rate.”