Young people alarmed by the recent spike in youth unemployment can take advantage of expert advice on entering the world of work when Harlow College plays host to Essex’s first-ever apprenticeship fair today (Monday).
The unique event – which takes place inside the college’s new University Centre Harlow building – will give would-be apprentices the chance to seek information and guidance from employers representing a diverse range of industries.
The college has recently helped set up apprenticeships with Harlow MP Rob Halfon and freelance education journalist Janet Murray. Deputy principal Sue Young said: “There are lots of myths about apprenticeships, from smaller companies thinking they’re unable to afford them, to young people not fully understanding them and thinking they’re only offered in certain jobs.
“By working with local employers, we want to unlock the untapped talent and potential in Harlow and further afield.” Mr Halfon, who last year became the first MP to appoint a paid apprentice, added: “Harlow College is not only one of the top UK colleges in England, but has also led the way in apprenticeships across the board.”
Bridges have been built between students and experts after Weston College teamed up with a major builders’ merchants.
Weston College’s Construction and Engineering Centre of Excellence (CECE) has joined with Bradfords as part of a package which will see the centre gain competitive rates for building materials and equipment as well as advice, support and training days.
Bradfords, of Winterstoke Road, in Weston-super-Mare, has already supplied the CECE team with around 30 high visibility jackets.
Construction lecturer Shaun Canniford said: “It’s great news to team up with Bradfords. We have been given around £2,000 worth of materials so far and we are set to save around 30 per cent on usual costs.”
Bradfords, which has an annual turnover of £150 million, was established 200 years ago and covers the South West, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Bradfords Weston-based Commercial Manager Ed Finch said: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Weston College as we believe the CECE is an excellent facility for learning and developing skills in the construction industry.
“Working closely with the college will allow Bradfords to build relationships with the next generation of tradespeople and help them make the transition when they leave education.”
Waltham Forest College has joined forces with Tottenham Hotspur FC to tackle the problem of young people at risk of drifting away from work, education or training after leaving school.
The college and the football club have set up a programme for more than 50 talented young footballers which combines education with football training delivered by Spurs’ academy coaches.
Tom Vittles, the college’s curriculum manager for sport, said: “Learners are required to sign a code of conduct, and will not be allowed to train or play football unless they are up to date with their academic commitments.”
Trevor Duberry, the club’s community development officer, said: “We know that many were unlikely to stay in education, and some had already fallen out of education. We have enticed them back in and this is an opportunity for them to stay engaged.”
The students were paid a motivational visit by two young Tottenham players who have broken into the Premier League club’s first team in European matches this season. Harry Kane, 18, and Andros Townsend, 20, held a series of question and answer sessions with the students, giving advice on their nutrition and training regimes and revealed what inspired them to achieve as professional footballers.
Andros said: “This is a fantastic project for getting young people off the streets.“If there were more programmes like this the world would be a much better place to live in.”
Stratford-upon-Avon MP, Nadhim Zahawi, visited Warwickshire College to try his hand at sports massage and theatrical make-up, as part of the college’s ‘have a go’ campaign.
Mr Zahawi met first-year theatrical make-up students and watched attentively as tutor, Tracey Bridger, made a prosthetic amputated thumb using carpet glue, cotton wool, honey and red food colouring. He then had a go at making one himself, using unsuspecting student, Demi Bailey as a model.
Mr Zahawi then had a go at sports massage alongside students from the second-year sports development course. Mr Zahawi said: “I found my visit to Warwickshire College inspiring. The students and staff are clearly incredibly committed and made me feel very welcome. “I was also heartened to hear that the government’s commitment to fund more apprenticeships and vocational training places is working, with more students and employers taking up opportunities.”
Iconic shoemaker Dr. Martens has used South Birmingham College for a new advertising campaign. The company did a photoshoot for their Autumn Winter 2012 collection at the College’s construction campus in Bordesley Green.
College staff and students were on site to ensure the crew had everything they needed and give advice on realistic poses for the models, who were trying to imitate vocational trades such as painting, bricklaying, and carpentry. Level 3 Carpentry student Martina Lyndon, 21, was helping with the shoot.
She said: “I’ve enjoyed helping them, showing them round and helping set up each shoot so that it looks as realistic as possible. “It is great that students can get involved with things like this – it makes me feel much more involved with the college.”
The photos will be used worldwide in Dr. Martens’ trade and consumer catalogues, as well as their print and online advertising. Daniel Freeland from Dr. Martens, said: “South Birmingham College has been an ideal location for this photoshoot. “We have been able to get shots of our new industrial footwear range in several different realistic trade settings. The campus here is very versatile with multiple environments so we have been able to get all our shots done in just two days.”
The fee that Dr. Martens paid to use the facilities will be used to create an ‘Endeavour Award’ for students at the College.
Harlow MP Robert Halfon has appointed a second apprentice to work in his House of Commons office.
Louis Luck, who studied history, politics and religious studies at A level and achieved ABC in his final exams, follows in the footsteps of Andy Huckle, who was the first-ever MP’s apprentice.
Mr Halfon said: “Since I was elected to the House of Commons I have campaigned long and hard to improve apprenticeships in our country.
“For this reason I employed the first ever MP’s apprentice and now am proud to have the second apprentice.
“Louis is an outstanding individual who went through a gruelling college interview process.”
Louis added: “Ever since Year 11 I have had a great interest in politics. Since then it has become my greatest passion.
“Having the opportunity to work with Robert and in the Houses of Parliament is the most superb opportunity and is a dream come true.”
Louis will be completing a Level 3 NVQ in Business Administration, while working with Mr Halfon at the House of Commons from Monday to Wednesday, studying in Harlow College on Thursdays, and working with Mr Halfon in Harlow on Fridays.
Mr Halfon added: “Apprenticeships are not just about economic efficiency but about social justice as they give young people the chance to get on the conveyor belt to skills, jobs, and opportunities.
“As well as hiring an apprentice I have created with the NUS a national Apprentice Card, which gives apprentices that same financial benefits that graduates get. This is set to include high street discounts, and cheaper bank accounts.”
Mr Halfon will soon launch the Parliamentary Academy for Apprentices, with the charity New Deal of the Mind. This will enable every MP to have an apprentice if they choose.
Mr Halfon said: “I congratulate Harlow College and Essex County Council for their groundbreaking apprentice scheme, and thank Dean Barclay who has given a financial contribution to support Louis Luck this year.
“It is no accident that this apprenticeship scheme has been praised by Government Ministers. Harlow College has even won praise from the Prime Minister, David Cameron.”
A report has identified several changes the UK needs to make to its education and skills system to remain globally competitive.
‘Techicians and Progression’ is the result of a six month parliamentary inquiry, chaired by Professor Alison Halstead and conducted by the Skills Commission; a body comprising senior parliamentarians, leaders from the further and higher education sectors and industry representatives.
The report’s recommendations are directed at a range of actors in the skills sector including government departments, professional bodies, colleges and employers.
An analysis of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) qualifications commissioned for the report, found “the English further education and skills sector is not producing enough technicians”.
It adds that “a plan for growth requires a new strategic focus on technician education and training – a plan for technicians, a cross-departmental government strategy for STEM.”
The report also calls for changes to the qualification development system, that those who are using and paying for training, including learners, teachers and employers, are more involved in its design.
The Commission also recommends steps to allow and encourage further education colleges to offer vocationally oriented degrees.
The report explores how the professions can be opened up to those with vocational qualifications and says the government should “support the establishment of a new technical pathway to the professions as a worthwhile alternative to university education”.
Meanwhile, the report also suggests that professional bodies should play a greater role in the development of qualifications and apprenticeships.
The Commission envisages a system where a 14-year-old studying an engineering diploma in school is already on the first rung of a ladder leading to chartered engineer status.
Finally, it concludes that the split between the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) creates “unnecessary obstacles for employers wanting to provide their employees with technician and higher level training”.
It recommends the Government establish a single funding agency for post-compulsory education – merging the HEFCE with the SFA.
The Commission also recommends the government look at re-introducing financial Learner Accounts as a way of stimulating more non-government investment in training and making the education system truly driven by learners and employers.
As millions of people sit down to watch TV talent show The X Factor, few would be as nervous as tutors and students at Trafford College.
One of their own, Misha Bryan, has been making waves on the hit ITV programme with a wealth of stunning performances. Misha, whose version of the Adele classic Rolling In The Deep won wide reaching praise from the show’s judges last weekend, recently started her second year of the two-year Vocal Artist course at the college’s plush Manchester Music Base.
Based in the heart of Manchester city centre, the Music Base has purpose built recording studios, rehearsal spaces and editing suites.
It was launched in 2007 following a £1.5 million refurbishment and has been pivotal in helping to create Misha mania.Her tutor Leanne Brown said: “Misha has a really polished and confident performing style and she has always been a very natural performer. She has a very strong voice and has taught us a thing or two about putting on a performance.”
Leanne also said the college’s approach to the course has been an ideal setting for Misha to prepare for her X Factor journey.
She added: “Our Vocal Artist course gives students experience in performing because they have to put on their own concerts as part of their assessment.
“This helps give our students the confidence to perform which has certainly come across throughout Misha’s time on the X Factor so far.”
But how far does Leanne think Misha can go? She said: “Misha has the potential go to all the way in this competition, although I have warned her that to become a real success she needs to avoid getting caught up in the circus of the show and concentrate on her talents.”
However, Misha is not the only college student to star on The X Factor.Liverpool Community College student Craig Colton has been an impressive competitor on the show – many tipping him for the top.
Craig studied at the college’s Arts Centre, but last week he was wowing the judges with his version of Christina Perri’s Jar of Hearts. Staff and students at South Tyneside College, meanwhile, are throwing their support behind The X Factor group hopefuls Rhythmix. The four-piece girl group, which features the college’s former student Jade Thirlwall, won praise from the judges following their performance of Nicki Minaj’s hit Superbass on the first live show last weekend.
Every year colleges are asked to change not only the data that they send to government, but the software and management tools which they use to collect it.
The Autumn College Data Conference held by Lsect was a chance for further education (FE) colleges to discuss good practise with experts and colleagues.
The main conference hall at Morley College was the perfect setting, attracting more than 100 delegates into its traditional architecture on October 10.
Exhibitors at the event included; Capita, who were marketing their Integrated Management Information System and answering delegates’ queries; Drake Lane Associates, known for producing software such as SCORE, 4CAST and ADaM; and Perspective, who were promoting a number of their products including Sunesis, Tracker and Funding Manager.
Nick Linford, Managing Director of Lsect and Managing Editor of FE Week, opened the proceedings before handing over to John Perks, Head of the information authority.
Mr Perks explained to the conference that the data burden was being reduced “throughout all of government”, and that it was designed to try and reduce both administration and the bureaucratic burden in the FE sector.
Mr Perks ran through the 2011/ 12 Individualised Learner Record (ILR) specification, explaining how it had brought together four data collection types for the very first time; learner responsive funding, employer responsive funding, adult safeguarded funding and European social funding.
He added that there were an “awful lot of trials and tribulations” to changing ILRs, and said that he understood it looked like the information authority had “tried to fix something that wasn’t broken”.
However, Mr Perks stressed that the data collection types were “all due to go topsy-turvy anyway”, and that he felt it was “better to stay ahead of the game”.
One of the reasons why delegates had attended the event was to find out how ILRs would change in 2012/13, and how they as providers would need to change their data collection accordingly. Mr Perks explained that that the new system in 2012/13 would only accept Extensible Markup Language (XML), rather than the traditional ‘flat file’ ILR.
He said that there would be no conversion facility available in the new Learner Information Suite (LIS), and therefore college staff would need to get accustomed to the latest system as soon as possible.
Other changes in 2012/13 included three fields set to be removed; provider number (UPIN), planned group based hours, and planned one to one hours, as well as an alteration in ULN validation, reducing the minimum duration of learning aims to 10 days.
“We have gone as far as we can go in terms of just changing the data allocation,” Mr Perks said.
“We want to make sure as far as possible that data allocated is data we will use.”
Mr Perks added that he had been under pressure from day one to reduce data in the ILR.
He said: “The most important thing is that we don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Your college needs you, so make your voice heard.”
Rich Williams, Head of the Data Service continued the data conference with a presentation titled ‘Strategic replatforming of data collection systems’.
Mr Williams stressed that there had been important changes to FE funding arrangements recently, emphasising in particular how minimum contract values (MCVs) had put increased pressure on providers.
He said LIS had undergone a number of major changes, taking on board feedback from various beta versions which the Data Service had made available to the public.
Mr Williams announced that there would be a maintenance release for LIS on October 13, with a following patch for the Online Data Collections (OLDC) systems on October 23.
He also announced that the majority of providers had submitted their RO2 ILR return, which had been due on October 06. This included a return from 687 providers, with 1,738,000 aims for 528,464 learners.
Mr Williams said they would “completely replatform” the OLDC for the summer of 2012, using a portal approach based on SharePoint 2011.
“We’re planning to use the portal as a single one stop shop for you,” he said. “Hopefully it will stand the test of time.”
He added that the new system would use Oracle Policy Automation (OPA), migrating from Oracle to SQL server and removing Provider Online (POL).
Mr Williams added that the Provider Information Management System (PIMS) would change to a Microsoft platform for “easier interfacing with other collections systems”, and include a redesign of the data structure in Dynamics 2011.
The conference then broke for lunch, giving attendees a chance to stretch their legs and speak to exhibitors.
Upon their return Mr Linford set up a Q&A panel with a number of the conference speakers, including John Perks and Rich Williams.
One delegate asked the panel if anyone was using the Next Step service, as he felt his own college wasn’t getting anything back from it.
John Perks replied: “The Next Step people have, and would say that their system is being used. We are addressing the question of evidence. We certainly want to see the data that is passing through Next Steps. We will be chasing that up.”
Mr Perks stressed that at the moment the feedback from Next Step had only been anecdotal, and that it would be unfair to generalise from specific case studies.
However, Mr Perks took a quick show of hands at the conference and found that roughly one in ten delegates thought the system was a complete waste of time.
Another delegate said that based on web traffic no-one had enrolled at his college via Next Step – and that as a result staff at the college were obliged to ignore the system altogether.
Mark Smith, Development Director at Drake Lane Associates and Mark Emerson, MIS Manager at Chelmsford College used the afternoon to take delegates through the technical changes within LIS.
This included changes to field names, the structure of tables and their relationships.
Mark Smith said that table relationships had become much more complex, describing the system as a tree which “has grown much bigger”.
He added that to avoid errors college staff needed to check their results and validate report output multiple times. Mr Linford had a number of discussions throughout the day, talking about a mixture of updates in the FE sector such as changes to fee remission and the new 16-19 funding formula consultation announced by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) last week. In line with all Lsect conferences the event finished with survey feedback. The most telling was the question: “Do you think data demands in the next few years will increase or decrease?”
Roughly 78 per cent said they thought the burdens of data handling would increase (see figures here).
This reinforced not only just how important the issue of data handling is for FE colleges, but also the need for “simplification” in all aspects of data collection.
Only once providers start using the latest software and submitting ILRs will we know if the changes have been for the better.
Delegates and FE Week Gold Members have been emailed a full copy of the conference slides
