The Government might say it supports university technical colleges, but it needs to take heed of criticisms of its planned curriculum reform and removal of many vocational qualifications from school league tables, says Charles Parker

Ask 14–year–olds what they think about having a longer school day and fewer school holidays and their answer is likely to be, at best, doubtful.

However, ask the same 14-year-olds what they think about attending a school where they’d  spend at least two days a week doing something practical, as well as having no homework (this is completed within the longer school day) and you’d probably find they were more interested.

University technical colleges (UTCs) are a new style of school, open to pupils from 14 to 18, with an emphasis on providing a rounded, technical education. The concept was developed about five years ago by the Baker Dearing Educational Trust as a direct response to repeated demands from industry for an increased number of well-educated and high status technicians and engineers. We have some serious skills gaps in the UK and UTCs are one way in which we can help address this issue.

Both a university and industry sponsor are required to set up and govern a UTC. This ensures that the skills taught meet the needs of the local employers, and that the level of education  is as high as it can possibly be. Plus, most UTCs have strong and active support from FE colleges, and some have links with independent training providers. This offers students a high quality, rounded, technical education that can lead to apprenticeships, foundation and higher degrees.

Late last month the government announced the approval of another 13 UTCs to open in 2015, which will bring the total to 45 across the country, eventually providing education for more than 27,000 students. This demonstrates continuing support from the Department for Education and positive recognition that the UTC concept is a step forward in the provision of technical education for young people.

Judging by the results from the JCB Academy in Staffordshire, UTCs are set to be hugely successful.  As well as an 88 per cent pass rate in GCSE maths and outstanding results in the engineering diploma, every leaver went on to further or higher education, apprenticeship or employment.

Changes to league tables have led to the removal of many vocationally-led subjects from the curriculum”

We welcome Education Secretary Michael Gove’s support for UTCs. It is surely a positive thing that the government is encouraging the development of schools that fit the needs of employers within local communities.

However, we have some concerns about some aspects of the government’s wider reforms. For example, the draft curriculum for design and technology says almost nothing about modern technology. It is vital for children to be excited and inspired by the innovations that mark out the economy of today and tomorrow — a point we will make clear in our response to the current consultation.

Second, the decision to remove more than 90 per cent of vocational qualifications from school league tables could have some unintended consequences. For UTCs, it is odd — bordering on perverse — to treat the principal learning qualification in engineering as equivalent to a single GCSE.

And as research by our sister organisation, the Edge Foundation, suggests, changes to league tables have led to the removal of many vocationally-led subjects from the curriculum in many mainstream schools and academies.

This underlines the importance of UTCs. They provide young people with the opportunity to pursue an interesting and worthwhile career, while providing employers with the skilled workforce they require. This is surely a win-win.

Charles Parker, chief executive of
the Baker Dearing Educational Trust  

Careers advisers too often ignore apprenticeships in professions such as accountancy and try to convince students that university is the only answer, says Alison Ryder 

Let’s be honest, most teenagers don’t think too much about their future while they’re at school.

It wouldn’t surprise me if half of them pursue a career simply because their parents told them to. And the other half follow the crowd and society’s expectation and go to university.

I studied hard at school and was delighted when I got straight As in my GCSEs. It opened the door to a huge range of A-level subject choices.

In retrospect, I should have taken some careers advice at this stage, but I didn’t. My ever-supportive parents told me to do whatever made me happy so I studied art, photography, politics and philosophy.

Even though I enjoyed these subjects, it soon became apparent that they didn’t
lend themselves easily to a job unless I wanted to become a politician or artist — and, let’s face it, there aren’t too many of those jobs going.

And so I decided that after A-levels I would get a proper job.

Armed with this new sense of purpose I booked an appointment with the school careers adviser to discuss apprenticeships, but to my frustration they only wanted to convince me to go to university.

Students deserve to know that university is not their only option — and now more than ever with the rising cost of course fees”

The conversation went along the lines: Me: “I like the idea of apprenticeships. Are there any available for academic-type subjects rather than practical skills?”

Careers adviser: “No, apprenticeships tend to be for jobs like hairdressing and bricklaying.”

Is there something wrong with this picture?

Each week in school assembly I would be on the ‘name and shame’ list of people who had not completed their UCAS application, despite explaining numerous times that I had no intention of applying for university.

It was just by chance that I stumbled upon an apprenticeship with a local accountancy firm . . .  and I’ll be forever glad that I did.

Five years on, and now 24, I’m a chartered certified accountant having studied through AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians).

All my training was paid for by my previous employer, I have been earning a salary, gaining experience and am debt-free.

Shortly after qualifying last summer, I landed a great job as an audit supervisor at Baker Tilly, one of the top 10 accountancy firms.

I visit interesting and often well-known companies across the country and find out about their businesses.

I also supervise new trainees and take them out to clients with me.

I’m one of the lucky ones. I stumbled across the perfect solution for me and luckily I hadn’t committed to a degree that was going to leave me in £27,000 debt and with no certainty of a job at the end.

Recently I visited my old school to represent Baker Tilly at a careers’ fair. I walked up to the stand promoting apprenticeships and was amazed to find that the representative knew nothing of accountancy apprenticeships.

It angered me that the quality of the careers advice hadn’t improved in five years.

Students deserve to know that university is not their only option — and now more than ever with the rising cost of course fees.

But it’s best to look on the bright side — at least there was an apprenticeship stand to begin with. That’s a start.

Alison Ryder, audit supervisor at Baker Tilly

Apprenticeships will help to fill the gap created as workers with civil engineering skills retire, writes Graham Hasting-Evans 

Traditionally formal apprenticeships have by-passed civil engineering — until now.

But all that is changing as the construction industry faces up to a ticking time bomb caused by a skills shortage and an aging workforce.

Make no mistake; the UK construction industry plays an important part in the country’s wealth making, now needed more than ever with the loss of our triple-A rating.

It’s true to say that the industry is one of the few bright spots on the UK economy’s horizon at the moment. Figures for the end of last year from the Office for National Statistics show commercial building, especially in London, has increased.

What’s more, two years ago the UK construction industry’s Gross Value Add (GVA) was £89.5 bn, some 6.7 per cent of total GVA.

The industry is also a major player when it comes to employment. In March last year there were 2.04 million workforce jobs in the UK construction industry, accounting for 6.4 per cent of all workforce jobs.

And as well as being one of our major sectors in the UK, the construction industry has also been a major exporter for nearly a century.

However, there are two distinct parts to the industry — ‘building’ and ‘civil engineering’.

Building is probably the one most people readily identify with, with its bricklayer, plasterers, electricians etc.  Apprenticeships in these skills have a long tradition — hence their industry nickname which refers to them as ‘biblical skills’.

However the civil engineering part is equally as significant.

Rolls-Royce chief, Sir John Rose, said too few British students were studying engineering and science in the UK, hampering efforts to revive industry”

Civil engineering is the part that constructs roads/motorways, bridges, streetlights, railways, airports, waterways, posts/docks, power station, industrial complexes, water supply and sewage facilities.

They form some of the largest investment projects.

Not surprisingly the skills for civil engineering construction have also been around for a long time — remember the Romans used reinforced concrete centuries before it came back into use in Europe.

But a demographic time-bomb is about to be triggered. Many people who have civil engineering skills will be retiring, which means there is a looming skills gap.

The problem is that although the skills have been around for a long time there hasn’t been a history of formal apprenticeships in the way there has in ‘building’.

But now all that is changing.

Formal apprenticeships are now being developed to cover the major civil engineering skills sets, such as plant operations, concreting, steel-fixing and formwork — thanks in no small part to what we’ve been doing here at NOCN.

Naturally the apprenticeship frameworks include the ‘work based’ and ‘knowledge based’ qualifications.

Civil engineering projects are generally ‘heavy engineering’ and therefore people have to be trained and developed in this type of environment.

The training provision, tutors and therefore facilities, are ‘specialist’ and, to be successful they also need to embrace employers’ requirements.

As far back as February 2010 the then Rolls-Royce chief, Sir John Rose, said too few British students were studying engineering and science in the UK, hampering efforts to revive industry.

So there’s no argument that what the employer needs must be at the heart of the training, but to get the best training and qualifications needs partnership working.

NOCN has found this is best achieved by working directly with the employers (the civil engineering companies), specialist and skills training providers and the Sector Skills Council for Construction Skills (SSC).

Our approach is one which is innovative, utilising the flexibility of the Qualifications and Credit Framework to best effect, not only for the younger apprentices coming into the construction industry but for the essential upskilling of those who are still in the workforce.

We believe that this is an exciting period of change, which can bring about a major improvement in the skills within the industry; this can only be successfully achieved by employers, training organisations, the SSC and the awarding organisation working together in a joint team.

Graham Hasting-Evans, managing director, National Open College Network, is working with civil engineering companies and training providers on this initiative