Another brick in the wall

The foundations of WorldSkills success have been laid Down Under for a 20-year-old Cheshire student.

Former Warrington Collegiate apprentice bricklayer Ashley Terron, who now studies construction and property management at the University of Salford, took gold at the Global Skills Challenge in Australia.

The competition is seen as a warm-up for July’s WorldSkills in Leipzig — where he will also be aiming for gold having already been selected for the UK team bound for Germany.

“I’m over the moon,” said Ashley, from Appleton, near Warrington.

“The competition was the fiercest I’ve ever faced so I’m delighted to win gold. I’ll now be training hard to make sure I win gold at WorldSkills.”

Paul Gould, curriculum manager for construction and the built environment at Warrington Collegiate, said: “From the start I knew that Ashley would do well. He was an exceptional student, talented and totally focused on being the best. I have high hopes of his achieving gold at Leipzig in the summer.”

Featured image caption: Former Warrington Collegiate bricklaying apprentice Ashley Terron competing in Australia

Golden Radio award for young producers

Cheshire media students struck gold in a college competition to create a local radio news show, winning a Golden Radio award.

Teams at South Cheshire College researched their project by listening to local radio stations and used college studios to produce their shows, which were then judged by their classmates and media tutor Jeffrey Fox.

The winning team, Libby Lovell, 16, Ian Macdonald, Katie Wright, and Charlie Bickerton, all 17, chose to produce a show aimed at younger listeners, who they felt were not always targeted by mainstream broadcasters.

Katie, from Crewe, said: “This was a fantastic project and gave us great experience of working as a team and using the college’s broadcast and editing facilities.”

The winners were presented with an Oscar-style golden radio as a trophy.

Jeffrey said: “The students all showed great professionalism and dedication throughout the project, exploring an area of media that was completely new to them.”

Featured image caption: Libby Lovell, Ian Macdonald, Katie Wright and Charlie Bickerton

Dancers put best foot forward for charity

Young dancers in Yorkshire have staged a dance showcase to raise money for a charity that helps children born with severe eye problems.

The level three dance and musical theatre students from Doncaster College raised £700 with the show, entitled ‘Through our eyes’, which was donated to MACS, the Micro and Anophthalmic Children’s Society, which supports children born without eyes or with underdeveloped eyes, and their families.

Marie Wroe, show organiser and performing arts course leader, said: “The charity came to our attention when a fellow college lecturer’s baby was diagnosed with microphthalmia at only three weeks old in 2012, so it was important for us to raise money and awareness.”

The charity aims to help families affected by the condition have a sense of normality in their lives, by running family days and weekends, where those affected can meet and support each other, as well as providing specialist equipment.

Featured image caption: The troupe of dance and musical  theatre learners who performed in the charity show

Nissan launch clay modelling apprenticeship

Business Secretary Vince Cable helped Nissan and West Thames College to launch an apprenticeship that will shape the future of car design.

Dr Cable was joined at the car firm’s European design centre in Paddington, London, by Andy Palmer, Nissan executive vice president, to unveil the clay modelling apprenticeship programme.

The scheme is designed to address a national shortage in skilled sculptors who give form to the vision of car designers.

Dr Cable met the first three apprentices — Sanny Kumar, 18, Joanna Bond, 19, and Robert Bennett, 23. They were selected from more than 900 applicants.

Joanna said: “Clay modelling is a very specialist role and not a job you can just walk into. This apprenticeship is giving me the opportunity to get my qualifications and go straight into work.”

College principal Marjorie Semple said: “We are really excited to be working in partnership with Nissan on this amazing project. This fills a gap in the industry and opens up fantastic opportunities for young people who want to pursue a career in this sector.”

Featured image caption: Business Secretary Vince Cable meets West Thames College and Nissan apprentices (from left) Robert Bennett, Joanna Bond, and Sanny Kumar. Also pictured is one of Dr Cable’s ministerial aides

Moulton students build on success

Five learners from one Midlands college will have the chance to build on their success in the national final of the UK SkillBuild competition after triumphing in a regional heat.

Moulton College student Attila Turbok, 19, came first in the wall and floor tiling category, while Brent Willis, 18, came first in the joinery competition.

Cabinet-making students David Williams, Sam Brister and Lizzie Shiner, all 19, took first, second and third places respectively in their category.

David said: “I feel very proud to have won the cabinet-making heat this year, after coming second in 2012 and working hard to improve the speed and technique of my handskills.

“It shows I’m one of the best young trades-people in the area, which I think is definitely something I can be proud of.”

The finalists of the regional heat, one of 15 taking place around the UK, will compete at national level later this year.

Featured image caption: Cabinet-making champions Lizzie Shiner, Sam Brister and David Williams

From Olympic silver to college gold

As if Olympic silver wasn’t enough, former Manchester college student Stuart Bithell has now added further education gold to his awards haul.

Stuart, who did a BTec sport programme at Hopwood Hall College in 2004 and 2005, claimed his medal at the London Olympics and has been named in the Association of College’s (AoC) Gold Awards honours list for 2013.

The awards and honours are given to people who went to college and have since achieved excellence in their chosen field.

He was nominated for the latest award by Lisa Mckay, a sport and fitness lecturer at Hopwood and Stuart’s former tutor.

“Stuart’s energy and passion is still focused on Olympic sailing and being a full-time professional sailor and he has told me that he will not rest until he has won an Olympic gold medal,” she said.

“It is a great honour for the college that he has been named in the AoC Gold Awards honours list.”

Featured image caption: Ex-Hopwood Hall College student Stuart Bithell (right) wins silver at the London 2012 Olympics. He’s pictured with Luke Patience. They competed in the men’s 470 dinghy class sailing

Hairdressers are three cuts above the rest

Three students from the same college won top 10 places at one of the hairdressing industry’s toughest national competitions.

Rachel Hugginson, 17, from Dursley, who studies VRQ level three in hairdressing at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, came third in the junior cut and colour category, while Katie Channon, 22, came fourth in the junior blow dry category.

Katie, from King Stanley, said: “I really enjoy competitions and it is definitely something I will continue to do in the future. The buzz you get is worth the nerves . . . as soon as I finished one event I couldn’t wait to do the next. It is a brilliant experience and a great thing to be involved with.”

Their classmate Carrie Le Pavoux, 21 from Eastington, finished in the top 10 of the Uptown Girl competition.

Tutor Rachel Garside said: “All three students did exceptionally well against the tough competition.”

Featured image caption: Katie Channon, model Lottie Channon, Carrie Anne Le Pavoux, model Liz Burgin and Rachel Hugginson

Classroom in the cloud

With the sector facing staffing cuts, Mark Stimpfig looks at the technology that can ease the challenge of teaching languages in leaner times

Youth unemployment is soaring as competition for jobs is the fiercest it has been for many years in the UK.

To succeed in the labour market, college leavers need as many strings in their bow as possible — and a language can make all the difference.

The National Employer Skills survey in 2011 indicated that a shortage of foreign language skills left 27 per cent of vacancies in administrative and clerical roles unfilled, while research for a British Academy report revealed that language skills were often needed for PR, sales and marketing roles.

And it is fairly easy to see that a travel and tourism student with a grasp of French and Spanish is more likely to be asked for an interview.

Language teaching is equally important for students who have recently arrived in the UK and who may need help with their English.

However, funding cuts mean that these skills must be delivered in the most cost effective way possible.

This is where new developments in technology can help to spread the skills of specialist language teachers.

This new technology will engage this Facebook generation with greater use of video content and access via their iPads”

Moocs (Massive Open Online Courses) allow colleges or other organisations to put their language course content online, usually at no cost. There is little or no impact on budgets and learners experience independent learning, which is helpful in preparing them for university or the workplace.

However, the independent nature of the learning can be a downside for younger learners, with participants on recent Mooc pilots complaining about the lack of tutor involvement. There is also the risk that the content is aimed at linguists aged 18 or over, rather than younger FE learners who may be studying a language as a part of another course.

One option is to use cloud computing to help to deliver tutor-directed learning.

Traditional language learning often takes place in a classroom or language lab with a teacher playing audio and video files, pausing to highlight certain points.

Cloud-based language labs allow students to access material from home or elsewhere so that they can practise using video and audio content — and even collaborate with their classmates or the tutor on material.

Content is streamed rather than downloaded so there is no copyright infringement and teachers can bookmark a video clip to ask relevant questions at the appropriate time.

Students can deliver their assignments using the same method via video or audio. And because the cloud can be accessed through any device, a student could be practising his German on a smartphone while waiting for a bus.

This gives colleges the freedom to introduce a truly blended learning model in which a percentage of the course is delivered via the cloud. Less staff time is required to deliver the course, and staff can be shared between institutions where collaboration is encouraged.

This new technology will not only engage this Facebook generation with greater use of video content and access via their iPads but will also ensure that colleges can deliver the same high quality learning while meeting the need to cut back on staff hours.

Mark Stimpfig, managing director of ConnectEd

Are we giving employers enough credit?

There is a disconnect between the interests of the education and skills establishment, and the needs of employers, says Jane Scott Paul

The consistent mantra of successive governments in designing skills policy has been employer leadership. If we are to create a highly skilled, competitive economy, industry and employers must take the lead as they understand the real skill needs.

So, given that this consensus is apparently so embedded, why have we still not got it right?

The UK chartered accountancy bodies founded the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), identifying the need to develop competent accounting staff and provide professional progression. That was more than 30 years ago and AAT has grown to a membership of 125,000.

The credibility and reputation of AAT depends on our ability to deliver the skilled, ethical accountancy professionals that employers want.

We have to be in a constant dialogue with employers to ensure our core professional qualifications remain rigorous and relevant. Our success is demonstrated through 600 accredited employers in all sectors of the economy, and the thousands of businesses that recognise our qualifications as a benchmark standard.

Where the needs of the employer are notionally paramount, this should be enough. But we also have to meet the requirements of the regulator. Too often we have had to reshape our qualifications for no other purpose than to meet the latest fad of government and regulators — at considerable cost and with no discernable benefit to learners or employers. We have had to adapt to NVQs, the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), FE performance tables and the Specification for Apprenticeship Standards in England (SASE). The move to the QCF alone cost AAT nearly £1m.

One recent regulatory change demonstrates this misalignment more clearly than any other: the decision to amend the SASE for higher apprenticeships – and specifically to increase the minimum qualification credits required at level four from 37 to 90.

Too often we have had to reshape our qualifications for no other purpose than to meet the latest fad of government and regulators”

AAT has successfully delivered apprenticeships from the outset, particularly at the higher levels that have been prioritised by the government. In 2011/12, there were more than 2,000 starts on the higher apprenticeship in accountancy, which, since its inception, had the highest take-up of any level four apprenticeship.

But this framework has 51 credits and so no longer meets the SASE requirement. We are being forced to change something that demonstrably meets the needs of employers to meet the arbitrary requirements of regulation.

So who did the National Apprenticeship Service bring in to carry out the review? Not employers, but the Universities Vocational Awards Council: the same universities that are facing falling demand.

This crude attempt to align vocational and academic pathways is completely inappropriate. We are not comparing like with like.

Apprentices are not university students. They learn by doing at work. SASE measures only formal qualification-related credits. The skills and experience that apprentices attain through working — invaluable to them and to employers — receive no credit value at all.

When the consultation was opened on this change, AAT asked a broad sample of firms who had employed accountancy apprentices if they knew how many credits it was allocated — not one of them did, nor did they see it as relevant. This mismatch of cultures has again downgraded the voice of the employer.  A greater irony is that, irrespective of notional credits, the AAT level four is already recognised by many universities and allows direct access to the second year of relevant degrees.

Skills policy is a hot topic, with all parties talking about putting employers in the driver’s seat.

My plea is to have the courage of your convictions, let employers drive but get rid of the road blocks put in their way by a skills bureaucracy that only pays lip service to employers’ expertise and needs.

Jane Scott Paul, chief executive of Association of Accounting Technicians