FE Week visits Poole for the launch of the Reed NCFE employability lab

L -R:  Lawrence Vincent, Bournemouth and Poole College , James Reed, from Reed and David Grailey, NCFE 

The unemployment crisis is a top priority for the coalition government.

With more than a million young people out of work, the focus is now increasingly shifting to the education sector, including FE, to help students successfully transition into the world of work.

A number of qualifications exist to try and help learners improve their employability skills, but very few actively engage with businesses and employers in the local area.

A new scheme by the awarding body NCFE, developed in partnership with Reed, was officially launched at Bournemouth & Poole College last week to show an alternative way of linking up students and jobs.

Lawrence Vincent, principal of Bournemouth & Poole College, introduced visitors to the new e-Lab facility, a series of classrooms designed to help learners search and apply for jobs.

“The e-Lab and our partnership with Reed NCFE is a radical new approach to employability,” Mr Vincent said.

“We have to face the fact that our sector is changing – these days we are being measured by how effective we are at placing our young people into employment.

“This is the measure by which we will be judged and expectations are high.”

The e-Lab has been open since January and registered more than 500 learners at the college.

We have to face the fact that our sector is changing – these days we are being measured by how effective we are at placing our young people into employment”

Students develop their CV and interview skills during the employability qualification, but can also speak to the Reed NCFE employment brokerage team about the type of work they’re ideally looking for.

The team, which consists of three full-time staff members, will then try and seek out job openings relevant to their qualification or area of interest, often by liaising with local employers.

The job brokerage service will also try and persuade the company to advertise the role exclusively through the college, before offering the position back to the learner.

Mr Vincent admitted in his opening speech that the college partnered with Reed and NCFE partly because his staff were ill-equipped to give advice on the current job market.

“We have about 1,000 dedicated staff here at Bournemouth & Poole College but about 90 per cent have been here for five years and 95 per cent have been here for ten or more years,” he said.

“As good as they are, they cannot, with the best will in the world, be in the best position to know what is required by employers of the students in the ever-changing world of work.

“It is an inconvenient truth that we do need help of the kind offered by partnerships with successful and experienced organisations such as Reed NCFE.”

Ryan Cooper, a student at the college studying electronics and engineering, was one of the first to register with the e-Lab.

View on the way into the new brand new e lab facility |  Students working hard in the new e lab centre

He said: “Almost immediately after I registered and was introduced to my Reed NCFE advisor, the calls from potential employers started coming in.

“Within a few days I was actually offered a post which would give me work experience alongside my studies.”

He added: “The advisors are really supportive.

“This is a fantastic way to look for openings and It should be taken up by other FE colleges.”

Geoff Russell, chief executive of the Skills Funding Agency (SFA), was scheduled to give a speech on the morning of the launch.

However, Mr Russell was unable to attend due to illness, but gave the following comment: “This is an inspiring example of how FE is responding creatively, flexibly and dynamically to the demands of employers, learners and local communities.

“The REED NCFE Partnership and the college’s new e-Lab are clear evidence of how the FE sector is uniquely placed to help overcome the economic and social challenges we currently face.

“This initiative sends out strong signals to both employers and students that the right skills in the right place at the right time are the answer the economy needs.”

Steve Wentworth, a skills consultant at Bournemouth & Poole College, said that in the past local employers had been reluctant to take on British people.

The introduction of the scheme by Reed NCFE however, he said, was starting to change people’s perceptions of the college to one of being a reliable source of employment.

“If I’ve spoken to an employer in the hospitality sector about taking on a British person, I’ve had quite a negative response right away,” Mr Wentworth said.

The jobs tree brings colourful opportunity to the new e lab  |  L -R:  David Grailey, NCFE, James Reed, from Reed and Lawrence Vincent, Bournemouth and Poole College 

“But now we’ve got this, the Reed NCFE partnership with Bournemouth & Poole College, the interest has been incredible.”

He added: “if you look at the Reed brand with Bournemouth & Poole College, together that really does give some credibility to what we’re trying to do with the e-labs.

“That, along with the employability qualification, gives an added reassurance to employers which is just something they’ve never had.

“So I do think that overall we’re seeing a real shift in people’s perceptions.”

NCFE began working on the concept shortly before the Conservative party came into power, foreseeing youth unemployment and job outcomes as a high-level policy for both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the SFA.

The awarding body assigned Alistair Downes, director of business development at NCFE, to develop the model for six months before approaching Reed as a partner.

David Grailey, chief executive of NCFE, said: “If you look at the work Reed has done on Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) contracts, as well as for welfare-to-work, they’re one of the best performers.

“So we met with James Reed, as well one of his managing directors and we said to him, ‘we have this idea and we would like you to be our partners because you have not only the knowledge and experience of working in the education sector but also the recruitment expertise.’”

Mr Grailey said the scheme at Bournemouth & Poole College, which combines both an employability qualification and recruitment, is unique for the FE sector.

“The idea that you can take a learner and you can teach them to understand that if they have the right mind-set that can give them an advantage in the recruitment world and help them identify jobs which they want, as well as having the opportunity to track them while they’re in the job, that end to end solution, I’m not aware of any other on the market,” Mr Grailey said.

He added: “There are variations of the idea, but not many people are doing the specific qualifications around mind-set, which we think is critically important to making those learners competitive.”

James Reed, chairman of the Reed group of companies, said it was important the sector did more to prepare young people for work.

“The worst thing is that people leave college or school, go onto benefits and then we have to get them from welfare to work,” Mr Reed said.

“It’s far, far better that they go from college or school directly to employment, and that is what this is focused on doing.”

 

Learners get hands on with e lab facilities 

Learners enrolled on the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science, specialising in either medical science or forensic science, were using the e-lab facilities on the morning of the launch.

Bournemouth & Poole College has strong ties with the forensic science department at Bournemouth University, but also encourages students to think about their future job prospects.

Ellen Bryant, lead forensic science lecturer at Bournemouth & Poole College, (pictured above, centre) said: “I think they all thought they could leave here and all be qualified medics, so it’s been a real eye opener for them to strive for what they want and actually think ‘I really want to do this and this is what I need to do’.

“So it’s making the pathway for them much clearer.”

Students are told not only to look for traditional, highly specialised jobs in their field, but also ‘quirky’ openings which are still medical or forensic science related.

“They have also been writing their own job adverts, including the qualities they would look for in somebody they would want to employ,” Ellen added.

“I think that’s important for them so that they understand that when they go for an interview next year – even if it’s for University – they know the qualities and the first impression they would be required to show.”

Imogen Young, (pictured above, left) a student at the college studying BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Applied Science (Medical Science), said: “I have looked at jobs in my own time but I think it’s good we get to do it in the college, because then we get more help with it.”

Tom Clarke, another student on the course added: “I can see how it will be useful for after we finish college and for people who haven’t already got a job, but I work part-time already, so in the short term it wouldn’t really help much.”

Forensic science and medical science are notoriously difficult industries to get into, and Mr Clarke says he does still appreciate the extra help from the college.

“There’s not a lot out there, so it could help a lot having this extra qualification,” he said.

“Having experience in knowing what’s going to happen will put us at an advantage to anyone else who hasn’t had the opportunity.”

Lawrence Vincent, principal, Bournemouth and Poole College

“I didn’t think I’d ever be a principal,” says Lawrence Vincent, who has been principal of Bournemouth and Poole College for the past four years, before adding: “I wasn’t a career academic.”

Although the sentiment is often banded around, with Vincent, a man who openly admits that he is happier away from of the spotlight, you get the impression he really means it.

But here we are, in the 51-year-old’s impeccably tidy – but modest – office where we find each other discussing his life’s work.

So how did it happen? How does a man who has the impressive and intriguing CV which includes a fleeting career in the music industry and work to help rehabilitate offenders in the USA become a principal?

It began for Vincent in Leeds, a city he is proud to say he is “born and bred” in, but one which he was keen to leave – and move away from quickly. “It was a hard city. I left Leeds as soon as I could,” he says.

Vincent attended Sherburne High School, but “didn’t enjoy” his time there, insisting that he “did okay and moved on” after his exams.

Despite disliking growing up in the city, Vincent still today holds a high affection for his beloved Leeds United.

Heading away from the city in the late 1970s, Vincent moved down to London where he studied humanities at Greenwich University.

“I enjoyed London a lot,” he says, adding: “I was pleased to be away from The North and doing something different.”

And it was while living in the capital that Vincent was able to develop one of his main passions in life; music.

We take public money and have fantastic resources so we should be more generous with our time, space and expertise”

Working at record store, HMV, he immersed himself in the New Wave movement and started promoting and managing young bands.

Although none went on to become huge stars, it was a time of his life that you sense he thoroughly enjoyed.

“It was interesting. I enjoy going to see bands play live. It’s a big part of my life,” he adds with a smile.

However, it was then that Vincent’s move into education began.

While working at a community radio station he became involved in “social issues and social problems” and shortly after he started as a youth worker in Thamesmead – an area which at the time suffered heavily in the recession.

“Through that, I started to get philosophical at people who weren’t achieving, rather than at those who were, and that defined my interest in teaching and in education,” he explains.

However, it was then that the opportunity came up to work in juvenile correction systems in Boston, Massachusetts

Although he knew it would be a challenge, he insists – as a man in his late 20s – it was something that he had to do.

“I was teaching English to kids who were mostly Hispanic. We had a lot of challenges. When people say the kids are difficult here, the benchmark I had was completely different,” he says.

Despite the many challenges, it was a part of his life which he talks about with great affection and thoughtful reflection.

He says: “America seemed like ‘the promised land’ so if you had the opportunity to go there, you would take it.

“Living there in your late 20s is a fantastic experience. It felt different to here. It felt a bit more exciting and rewarding.”

However, by the late 90s, he moved back to England after taking a job teaching at South Thames College.

“I didn’t find it easy to adapt in America; I missed London. I find London is full of good ideas for colleges,” he says.

As well as those ideas, Vincent brought back across the pond his own new ideas for how he could develop the sector.

“When I was in America, I was attached to a community college, so I brought back a real belief that colleges in the UK should become more involved in local communities and I’ve held that ever since.

“I fell in love with the college sector. They are fantastic, vibrant, interesting places,” he says.

However, ambition soon took over from the love affair with London in his heart when the opportunity came up to become the new head of department for social and community studies at Bournemouth and Poole College.

He would then swiftly become the college’s vice-principal and then – four years ago – he was named its principal.

“I was always feeling I could do the job of my line manager,” he says, before adding: “But this is enough for me; I have no great ambitions after this.”

Vincent then jokes about his desire to own a jazz club, but admits it is more of a pipedream then a realistic option.

And it is then that we move onto discussing his three children.

He tells me that eldest daughter Jordan is studying business management at nearby Bournemouth University, while his son Kit is studying music at his father’s college, before heading off to Sussex University next year, and his youngest daughter Mya is working hard towards her GCSEs next month.

Like-father-like-son, Kit is also in an up-and-coming band – he is the drummer for Kinnie the Explorer (Keen musician and FE Week head designer Dan Duke has played on the same bill as Kit’s band and gives them a top report). Vincent urges me to check them out as soon as I can when I get home.

But how does he balance the rigour of being a principal, with seeing his family, as well as finding time for his hobbies?

“The job of a principal is demanding and all engulfing, so you have to create an offer for this, and your time with your family, but you have to work at it,” he says, particularly when “there’s never been a harder time to run a college”.

He adds: “Expectations are increasing and changing.

“The way in which we have to be measured is changing and it will have a significant impact on us.”

He adds: “It’s a challenge to implement the recommendations of the Wolf Report, but I’m a devotee of Wolf.”

And what about the new college freedoms handed down from government? Vincent believes that it is the colleges who can “make sense” of them which will be the ones to “flourish” with them.

However, he does not think deregulation will lead to privatisation of colleges – as has been suggested in some quarters. “We need businesses to work with us, not control us,” he says.

Vincent is also delighted that his college is the first to sign up to the NCFE and Reed employability partnership.

“There’s a theme I’m developing here and that’s resilience.

“Colleges will have to be more resilient and we have to train students to become more resilient,” he adds.

But, what about the future for colleges?

Although he praises existing community work, including the ideas within the report released in November by Baroness Sharp, the chair of the Independent Commission on Colleges in their Communities, alongside NIACE and the 157 Group, Vincent says: “I think that we can go further.

“We take public money and have fantastic resources so we should be more generous with our time, space and expertise.

“We are developing enrolment, so local people use the facilities but don’t enrol on courses.

“So that’s like using our libraries and IT. We’ve even had elderly people who come in for hot meals. People say it’s not easy, but it is.”

Staff pay should be left to the college to decide

I am a big fan of the AoC and have always believed a mature sector must have a pan-college body to argue on its behalf. However, I have always opposed the idea that such a body should even recommend, let alone tell me, how much I should pay my staff.

Independence is a cornerstone of college success, independence means being accountable for how you treat your staff.

Even the hint that the Chancellor might dismantle national pay rates has drawn both outrage and triumphal applause depending on your point of view. Both are inappropriate.

National versus local pay setting is a complex question and worthy of serious debate, mainly because we know it will change behaviours in ways that are hard to predict.

There are some philosophical arguments put against national pay. Shouldn’t the taxpayer expect the state to spend the minimum it can to get a job done?

If so, why should the taxpayer pay over the local market rate? If you believe in decentralisation shouldn’t that include pay autonomy?

In a typical year, two per cent of staff might be graded 4 and receive no pay award”

If you want us to look more like John Lewis surely that means organisations agreeing their own pay levels? If we have to compete with private providers not constrained in this way isn’t that unfair on good schools, colleges and hospitals who might lose out as a result and end up employing fewer people?

The economic arguments are usually couched in terms of the disparity to local market rates. For example, if an employer is constrained by national rates it can live within a given grant only by employing fewer people or a less high-powered structure. Pay freedom might enable a more effective mix.

The freedom to determine our own pay and conditions is seen as a key source of competitive advantage”

Similarly, it is economically rational for the brightest people in a low pay area to opt for their local public sector or move south to the private sector, in both cases diminishing the local private sector by starving it of that talent.

On the other hand if it led to lower public sector incomes in depressed areas it could make things worse by reducing consumption.

For fourteen years now, Bedford College has operated pay awards based on manager assessment (based broadly, but not slavishly, on personal objectives). Staff are graded 1-4, like Ofsted descriptors, and pay awards are different for each grade.

In a typical year, two per cent of staff might be graded 4 and receive no pay award. For staff overall though our average pay award has exceeded the AoC recommendation every year, and we believe in many years has been the highest in the sector.

Our pay scales exceed the equivalent school teaching scales, and overall staff numbers have risen from 250 to 750 over that period.

The freedom to determine our own pay and conditions is seen as a key source of competitive advantage. If we were faced with a choice to move back to national pay setting our Corporation would therefore vote against.

It is understandable that many public sector bodies feel uneasy or hostile to a change, but let’s at least have a full and open debate that acknowledges the benefits and drawbacks of such a change.

Ian Pryce, principal
of Bedford College

Lettuce eat for free says AoC e-petition

Equality between FE and schools has been a prominent aspect of the sector for many years – and a new battlefield has been drawn.

No Free Lunch? is a campaign being launched by the Association of Colleges (AoC) to address one of the sector’s key issues.

As it stands, the 16-18-year-olds from a disadvantaged background who study in school sixth forms receive free meals at lunchtimes – but if they were to choose to study at a FE college or a sixth form college, this benefit would not be available.

Because of the loss of the EMA, rising cost of travel and rising cost of food, students are being hit harder.”

This, according to the AoC, who say eligibility for free meals should be based on need, not on where you choose to study, is “clearly unfair” and must change.

In putting together their campaign, the AoC has found that 103,000 students are missing out on a free lunch each year – equating to 20 million lunches a year.

The AoC also found that there are three times as many students at colleges eligible for a free meal than at maintained school sixth forms, while colleges educate nearly double the number of 16-18 year olds compared to maintained school sixth forms.

Pirandeep Dhillon, public affairs officer at the AoC, said: “The aim of the campaign is for government to make a commitment to extend the provision for free meals to college students.”

She went on to add: “One of the reasons is the fundamental inequality of the current system.

“There are more students that are from a disadvantaged background who are learning in colleges then in a school sixth form; we estimate that there are 103,000 students who are currently missing out on free meals.

“Because of the loss of the EMA, rising cost of travel and rising cost of food, students are being hit harder.”

An important aspect of the campaign will be the cost of extending the provision to FE colleges and sixth forms.

Although it does not include the administration and capital costs, the AoC believe the investment needed to fund the provision is in the region of £38 million – a figure described as a “relatively small sum” by Ms Dhillon.

However, the AoC believe that by extending the right to free meals for college students aged 16-18 it would encourage participation of this age group in education and training.

This is key, Mrs Dhillon adds, as the government seeks 100 per cent participation.

Although the campaign is currently in its infancy, it has already achieved some initial success.

In just two weeks, an e-petition has attracted more than 1,200 signatures, while the AoC’s special twitter account (@AoC_Campaigns) is gathering pace.

The AoC also already has the support of its member colleges, with 79 per cent who responded to a survey in September agreeing that free meals in colleges for 16-18 year olds would encourage participation.

Over the coming weeks, the Association will be putting together case studies of hard up students who could benefit from free meals, while campaigners will also be urged to lobby their local MPs to join in the campaign.

Ms Dhillon also added: “We’ll also look at demographic trends; are there particular regions which are more affected than others?”

Follow the campaign by via the twitter feed @AoC_Campaigns or by using #nofreelunch

To sign the petition, visit http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/31069

Government must do more to tackle diversity problems

Recent evidence that unemployment rates among black 16 to 24-year-old men available for work have risen to 56 per cent – double what it was three years ago – is appalling news. But even worse is the growing evidence that the government is falling short in its efforts to tackle the root causes and direct attention where it is due.

Everything is now focused on two big ideas – Apprenticeships and the Work Programme. We in the Network for Black Professionals invested much time, resources and energy in helping government shape the two-year Diversity in Apprenticeship pilot programme that ends this July. But after a steady rise in BME participation in such programmes, it now appears to be faltering.

Government plans to cut apprenticeship funding rates by two per cent next year for 16 to 18-year-olds, while leaving the adult apprenticeship funding rates unchanged, will only make it harder to tackle diversity problems.

When the disastrous ONS unemployment statistics were announced, officials at the Department for Work and Pensions were quick to defend their performance. Every effort was being made to give all young people the right skills and experience to match them to vacancies, a DWP spokesperson insisted.

“This includes the Work Programme, which assesses people as individuals to discover what barriers are preventing them from getting a job and will then work with them overcome these problems. We are also spending £1bn over the next three years to help young jobseekers by creating around half a million opportunities through work experience and apprenticeships.”

Is the programme really focused on the specialist support learners from BME backgrounds need to address their specific issues and to move employment?

The lack of referrals to the NBP for exactly this type of support would suggest not. Nor are adequate steps being taken to deal with factors that deter young BME adults from apprenticeships.

There are many questions. For example, how many of the opportunities cited by DWP will those from a BME background be able to take-up? Was the increased intake in BME apprenticeships due to the focus from the Diversity pilots or what? And when they end in July, will the early increases we saw continue?

We will have to wait until the summer for detailed analysis and figures on the impact of the Diversity in Apprenticeship pilots. But it is already telling that the record black unemployment rates are among precisely that group at whom the pilot initiative was aimed. What does this say about the apprenticeships?
First, it is clear by the government’s own admission that the big push on apprenticeships included too many questionable training schemes under this label.

Second, as the IPPR report, Rethinking Apprenticeships, and FE Week’s detailed analyses have shown, resources were targeted at the wrong age group, with investment in training for adults already in work, at the expense of young people in desperate need.

And, as the IPPR report shows, while BME communities account for 14 per cent of the 18-24 age group in the overall population, they account for less than eight per cent of apprenticeship places.

Third, it is still not clear what apprenticeships are for – are they to raise skills levels or solve the unemployment problem? Hopefully both but, whichever, we know that young people from BME backgrounds are being given particularly short measures.

We in the NBP will continue to support whatever initiatives are necessary to address diversity. Our proven track record over the decade in tackling BME under-representation in college leadership is now reaching out to all education sectors and the wider public services.

We have secured contracts to reduce re-offending through mentoring for offenders, assisting ex-offenders back into education and training, and the partnership’s impact on the Diversity in Apprenticeships programme was acknowledged by politicians in all parties.

But we need coherent apprenticeship and employment policies built in sustained investment not false economies, targeted at the most vulnerable groups.

Robin Landman OBE, chief executive of the Network for Black Professionals

Subway apprenticeships give food for thought

Subway has started offering intermediate apprenticeship places across a small number of stores in areas such as Tyne and Wear, Devon and Dorset. Nick Summers, reporter at FE Week and a former employee of Subway, gives his view on the new scheme.

Last week the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) were tweeting about a number of Subway stores offering prospective employees a level 2 qualification in customer service through various training providers including Lifeskills Centres Ltd and Gateshead Mbc Training Section.

The majority of the 18 openings currently being advertised on the (NAS) vacancy website are being delivered by First4Skills, “one of the UK’s biggest training providers.”

The mandatory units of their level 2 certificate, which will be delivered over a 12 month period, are to be able to communicate using ‘customer service language’ and to be able to ‘follow the rules to deliver customer service’.

Optional units of the apprenticeship qualification include maintaining a ‘positive and customer-friendly attitude’, dealing with customers face-to-face and resolving customer service problems.

These are all elements of basic training which will occur on the job anyway. I can say this with absolute confidence because I worked for the company almost every weekend during my studies in further education.

During my employment at Subway I learned a lot about being polite and professional in front of customers, handling customer complaints and working as part of a team.

Direction from senior staff was minimal, instead focusing on the technical skills needed to operate the various machinery both out front and in the preparation/stock area.

Very few of the unit headings in the level 2 certificate delivered by First4Skills require any technical ability whatsoever, and even less require a level of customer service which isn’t naturally picked up by the employee in the first few weeks.

It’s telling when the unit guide on the First4Skills website says the qualification is most suitable for customer advisers, contact centre operators and hotel receptionists.

The elaborately coined ‘sandwich artist’ job title used by Subway doesn’t even come close to making the list.

When questioned about the training delivered at Subway, a spokesperson for First4Skills told FE Week: “It is our policy not to disclose information about any of our clients without their explicit agreement and therefore we do not enter into discussions with any third party as a result.”

The vacancy specification on the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) website says the apprentice will be paid £104 for working 40 hours each week.

The pay is in accordance with what was the national minimum wage for apprentices at £2.60 per hour, although the government announced an increase to £2.65 last week.

The rate is significantly lower than the minimum wage for adults, which increased by 11p to £6.19 an hour last week, as well as the rate for 16-17 year-olds and 18-20 year-olds, which stayed at £3.68 and £4.98 respectively

My fear is that individual Subway stores are being sold the apprenticeship programme as a vehicle to employing a new member of staff on a fraction of the usual salary.

When questioned, a Subway spokesperson told FE Week: “Subway stores do not operate a nationally accredited apprenticeship scheme however individual stores or franchises may have pursued their own scheme; any comment is entirely a matter for them.

There is some hope, however. One of the vacancies advertised on the NAS website is an NVQ Level 2 in food and beverage counter service, which has been “tailored to Subway” by the training provider Lifetime Health & Fitness Ltd.

The apprenticeship wage is still £2.60 an hour, but it at least offers training somewhat relevant to the profession.

 

Nick Summers, reporter at FE Week

Apprenticeship Vacancy system ‘under scrutiny’

Sanctions are being considered for providers who fail to advertise vacancies on the Apprenticeship Vacancy (AV) system, an e-mail seen by FE Week reveals.

From August 2010, providers were contractually required to use the AV system, managed by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), to advertise their own vacancies and also of those of any subcontractors.

The e-mail, sent to providers from representatives at the Skills Funding Agency, states the AV system is “under scrutiny” and that the Agency has been “asked to speak with providers with little or no usage statistics”.

It then shows a reminder to the provider of their own use of the system.

It adds: “NAS is undertaking an analysis and review of all providers, looking at Apprenticeship vacancy usage against ILR starts, in order to ascertain providers that are in breach of the Skills Funding Agency contract.

“Providers are also responsible for ensuring their subcontractor’s vacancies are posted on AV. Although this is yet not determined, NAS are considering a range of sanctions that might be used where providers are in breach of contract.”

Possible sanctions, according to the e-mail, include lack of growth to contract for adult skills and apprenticeship contracts.

They also include no employer leads being passed to providers from NAS, providers not being able to participate in marketing or publicity opportunities, and stopping ‘starts’ payments if a vacancy was not advertised through the AV system.

However, Sarah Benioff, director of quality at the NAS, denied that any current plans are in place for sanctions – but did not rule it out for the future.

She said: “At the NAS’ request, Skills Funding Agency relationship teams have been in contact with providers and colleges to offer advice and support to those who are currently not using the AV system.

“Apprenticeship providers are contractually required to use the AV system to advertise their own vacancies and those of any subcontractors. Usage of the system is growing strongly and there are no plans to apply any sanctions for those not using the system.

“We will consider other measures as necessary in future.”

The AV system, say the NAS, is intended for all apprenticeship providers and employers to benefit from a “free and flexible recruitment website and a wide range of candidates, and for potential apprentices to access all current vacancies in one place.”

However, providers have given a mixed reaction to the system

Paul Butler, business development director at Making Your Mark (LOTA), said that they solely use the AV system, with around 70 current vacancies listed.

He said: “We don’t have a problem using it. We found the site to be a good marketing tool. Going through agencies and local papers can cost a lot of money.”

However, Mr Butler is unsure of the use of the site by other providers in Essex as around “one-third” of vacancies for the county are for Marking Your Mark.

A staff member at a different provider, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I have had comments from employers that it is not detailed enough.

“It is a good tool, because it attracts candidates who are specifically looking for an apprenticeship, but because it is an online system they do not seem to know how to sell themselves as well via this method.”

Calls for Ofsted to grade IAG

FE provider membership bodies are calling on Ofsted to take a greater look at the information, advice and guidance given out at schools.

The Association of Colleges (AoC) believes the education regulator should grade the advice handed out to school students, while Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has urged Ofsted to make it a top framework priority. Since the announcement of changes to the careers system, fears have been raised that students in schools will be “signposted” to an online resource, such as the government’s own National Careers Service (NCS) website, which launches next month.

However, the government has confirmed that from September, schools in England will be required by law to access independent careers advice from an external provider, in addition to any service a school itself provides.

Young people who want face-to-face advice from an outside specialist careers service will be entitled to receive this form of support to help them make an informed choice.

Joy Mercer, director of policy at the Association of Colleges (AoC), was encouraged by comments of Ofsted Chief Inspector Michael Wilshaw, who told the Education Select Committee in February that inspectors would comment on the effectiveness of careers guidance in their reports.

She said: “Young people’s access to appropriate information, advice and guidance is essential for economic improvement and reducing youth unemployment.

“However, as well as commentary, we would like to see this provision graded – because it is only then that schools will give the emphasis to all the opportunities available for young people.

“Without grading, parents may find a comment in the inspection report difficult to locate.”

She added: “It is important to note that this is not a school versus college issue.

“This is about young people being able to make the right choices at the right time based on the best information.

“This would go a long way to help the economy, reduce unemployment, and allow young people to find the career paths that are best suited to them.”

AELP believes that the new obligations will help to raise awareness of apprenticeships among young people at a time when the government is looking to increase the take-up of the programme under the Youth Contract.

Graham Hoyle, AELP’s chief executive, said: “The government’s announcement is excellent news for young people who need advice in the current economic climate that will make a real difference to their prospects rather than just ‘park’ them in the system.

“Schools will need to be made aware of their statutory obligations and as MPs and peers from all parties have repeatedly made clear in Parliamentary debates on the matter, they will need to comply.

“In our view, this requires inspectors from Ofsted to check on school visits that necessary arrangements are in place for students to access impartial advice from an external service. We hope that Ofsted will regard this as a priority under its new framework.”

A spokesperson for Ofsted said they will continue to look at effectiveness of the advice and guidance given at school.

However, the spokesperson also said Ofsted “does not regulate how schools provide guidance to pupils” and that the accountability for meeting the school’s statutory responsibilities lies with the governing body of the school.

“Ofsted believes high quality independent information, advice and guidance in schools is crucial and evaluates the quality of it when conducting their inspections.

“It does provide information and advice for schools and policy makers in the form of survey reports,” said the spokesperson.

A Way forward for Apprenticeship durations

FE Week’s Nick Reinis speaking to the newly appointed chief executive of NAS at the Apprenticeship Quality Conference last week             Picture by Nick Linford

Recommendations on plans to introduce a minimum duration for 19+ apprenticeships have been passed by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) to the skills minister.

The news was revealed by David Way, now interim chief executive of NAS, in an exclusive interview with FE Week on his first day in his new role.

Mr Way, previously NAS’ chief operating officer, fills the void left by Simon Waugh, who announced in January that he would be leaving for personal reasons in March after three years at the head of the organisation.

Although he declined to say what the Service suggested to John Hayes MP in their recommendation, Mr Way gave an insight into the difficulties surrounding a set timeframe for apprenticeships for people who are aged over 19.

From August, the minimum duration for apprentices aged 16-18 is 12 months.

He said: “What we’re having to balance is that where a 16-18 may have little work experience, when you get to 19 and above, many of the people taking apprenticeships have got some learning which needs to be accredited.

“So how would you design an apprenticeship programme if you had a new learner? It’s very clear to me that that would take a fair amount of time.

“And what’s a fair amount of time? Well employers say it’s between one and four years.”

He also added: “You might say that we have these people who are very experienced.

“You reach a point where they may be very experienced and there may be some value in having that experience accredited, but it’s not an apprenticeship.”

However, Mr Way said a public consultation was not needed at this time, instead suggesting it would be better to “give the clarity and then talk about what the judgement looks like” in the future.

Mr Way also revealed that he expects to be in the role for around a year while the future of the Skills Funding Agency is decided.

Mr Way said: “I’m delighted it’s not going to be just a few weeks and months. I’m certainly looking at it as a role that will go into the beginning of next year.

“It’s a long enough period to get stuck into it and take it into the next phase of apprenticeships.”

During which time, Mr Way said he hopes to build on the work to improve the quality of apprenticeships and issues around disability and equal opportunities.

“I think it’s an exciting period and a challenging period. There are lots of things going on.

“To highlight two of those; one is the work on employer ownership pilots with the UKCES, so it’s very interesting to see what innovations come up from there and I’m really keen that the standard of the apprenticeship offer doesn’t get left behind.

“Also, the apprenticeships hubs in the core cities to get lots of people engaging in apprenticeships there and generating lots of new ideas,” he said.