The first person in the UK to qualify as a sports massage therapist using just her feet demonstrated her techniques to students studying for a level three diploma in spa therapies at Doncaster College.
Sue Kent was one of thousands of people across the world born with disabilities in the 1950s and 1960s because their mothers were prescribed the drug Thalidomide while pregnant.
She uses the heels, balls and toes of her feet to massage and passed a level four diploma in sports massage at Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2010.
Ms Kent, who now runs her own sports therapy business, gave a talk at the college on disability in the workplace and demonstrated her massage techniques, before inviting learners to try them out too.
Hair and beauty lecturer Karen Gregory said: “Sue is a great motivator and her drive and motivation was infectious.”
Ms Kent provided massage for paralympic athletes during London 2012 and Channel 4 showed her in action during its coverage of the games.
Student Brogan Bush said:
“I had a really good afternoon with Sue learning to massage with feet.
“Sue was very friendly and the experience was great.”
Cap: Sue Kent demonstrates her massage techniques to staff and students
Barnet and Southgate College BTec student Marcel Thomas Lee secured a basketball scholarship at an American university.
The 19-year-old level three sports and basketball learner sent two video clips — one of him training and one of him playing a game — along with his academic results to Hardin Simmons University, in Texas, to secure the placement.
He is flying over to the US in July for a four-day training session and will be starting the four-year degree course in sports fitness in September.
Hara Markos, sports lecturer at the college, said: “Marcel trains for three hours every day and is equally committed to his studies, playing basketball has kept him motivated to attend college and he has scored 100 per cent attendance over his three years here.
“Marcel is polite, loyal and respectful to his teachers and peers, he’s a great role model and thoroughly deserves his scholarship.”
Cap: Sports and basketball student Marcel Thomas Lee
Chemistry A-level and level three applied science BTec students from South Cheshire College went underground in a former working mine to collect rock samples.
A group of 24 students visited the site at Ecton Hill, in Staffordshire, which was mined for copper and lead for more than 3,500 years up to its closure in 1891.
The learners were taken tens of metres underground to see the conditions miners would have worked in.
They also collected rock samples and used chemical tests to identify different minerals present.
Chemistry lecturer Neil Hewitt said: “The group very much enjoyed collecting samples in this beautiful location and hearing about the geology and history of the area. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to take their chemistry skills out of the college laboratory and use them in the field.”
Cap: South Cheshire College students wearing mining hats.
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.”
Doncaster College.
