Experts in Hedgehog care gathered at Hartpury College for an event promoting the animals’ welfare.
The Hedgehog Rehabilitation Symposium event attracted over 90 delegates from more than 35 different organisations, including wildlife hospitals and the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, who shared their tips on how to care for wild hedgehogs.
Sessions included presentations on the status of Britain’s hedgehog population, a talk from Nigel Reeve, the author of Hedgehogs, as well as a session with veterinary pathologist Alex Barlow, who dissected hedgehogs that had died in care to examine their cause of death.
“Hedgehog rehabilitation is largely funded by volunteers, giving up their time and money to care for sick and injured hedgehogs across the country,” said Lucy Bearman-Brown, a senior lecturer at Hartpury, and lead organiser of the event.
“To draw 90 delegates from so many organisations together was a fantastic opportunity to debate controversial issues, and explore ways we can work together to support best practice.”
A college owes the government almost £14 million in emergency bailout cash alone, but it still managed to scrape together the funds to pay its principal an eye-watering £266,000 last year.
Latest accounts show that the grade three Birmingham Metropolitan College owes more in exceptional financial support than any other college, yet Andrew Cleaves’ (pictured) salary makes him the second best-paid principal in the country.
A spokesperson insisted that the massive pay package is warranted, despite the issues that have developed under his watch that have left BMet owing huge sums to the government.
“The college’s pay policy reflects the skills needed to run a complex multimillion-pound organisation,” she said.
Details of the sums owed and Mr Cleaves’ salary were included in the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s 2016/17 college accounts, published last week.
They show the college owed the ESFA a whopping £13.8 million in support loans, of which £11.7 million is due to be repaid within one year.
According to BMet’s own published accounts, the debt stems from a £16 million bailout loan provided by the ESFA to the college in August 2015 as part of a recovery plan.
The funding agency “reinforced its support” to the college by “providing an interest-free £16 million loan to the college in 2015/16”.
“£1.5 million was repaid during 2015/16 and a further £0.7 million in 2016/17, leaving an outstanding amount of £13.8 million to be paid over the next two years,” the accounts said.
In addition, the college owed a further £1.7 million “in respect of historic funding irregularities”.
The ESFA had “agreed to combine the repayments” of both debts into one loan, “the terms of which are currently being renegotiated”, on the condition that the college sells “certain properties” and “uses the proceeds to repay the ESFA loan”.
“It is anticipated £13.8 million will be raised from the disposals of buildings, the remaining £1.7 million will be repaid from working capital.”
Despite these debts Mr Cleaves, who has run BMet since 2014, was paid £266,000 on top of pension contributions of £37,000 – a figure that remained almost unchanged from the previous year.
He has the second highest remuneration of any leader of a single college in England, behind only former North Hertfordshire College boss Matt Hamnett, who received almost £300,000 in 2016/17.
The college’s pay policy reflects the skills needed to run a complex multimillion-pound organisation
The ESFA accounts list the principal’s salary at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, formed through the merger of Northbrook College and City College Brighton and Hove in March last year, as being higher than that of Mr Cleaves.
However, the college said that this was the combined salary of the two principals that led the two colleges before they merged.
BMet, which was rated ‘requires improvement’ at its most recent inspection in March last year, is one of the largest colleges in the country, with an income of £61.3 million and 16,000 learners in 2016/17.
It has held a notice of concern for financial health since July 2015.
Its EFS debt is larger than that owed by any other college, according to the ESFA’s accounts.
They revealed that 29 colleges owed a combined total of almost £120 million – an increase of £29 million, or almost a third compared with the previous year.
Other colleges with massive bailout debts include Central Sussex College, which owed £13 million, and City of Bristol College, which owed £9.5 million.
EFS – which can come in the form of a grant or a loan – is only available to colleges that are “encountering financial, or cashflow, difficulties that put the continuation of provision at risk”, and which have “exhausted all other options”.
The government has indicated that these bailouts will be phased out with the new FE insolvency regime later this year.
Cruelties in the way much-needed welfare is handed out to NEET families is preventing their children from social mobility, writes Andrée Deane-Barron
Why would the government establish policy that so defiantly restricts the progress of another? I am referring to the welfare benefits system and its adverse effect on the take-up of apprenticeships, especially among those who are in most need of training and employment.
This barrier to improved life choices and opportunities is a restriction on social mobility and social justice – and the current situation doesn’t help the government’s target of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020.
When a young person starts an apprenticeship they earn a wage that’s not often much higher than the £3.70-an-hour legal minimum.
Nevertheless, their parents will generally lose their entitlement to housing benefit, child tax credit and child benefit. No consideration is made for the lower wage apprentices earn, nor the fact that many of these young people remain dependent on their parents.
According to the latest DWP statistics, housing benefit averages approximately £95 per week, the child tax credit is worth nearly £60 per week, while weekly child benefit is £20.70.
In some circumstances losing these benefits can end as a reduction of several thousand pounds a year, a loss which would be significant for nearly any family, let alone one already is struggling to manage.
It makes absolutely no sense that our welfare system doesn’t address these consequences
Understandably, parents often discourage their dependants from taking on an apprenticeship and, catastrophically, are forced to accept that they remain not in education employment or training (NEET).
According to a 2010 study, those who have spent time out of work and education are far more likely to be unemployed later in life. The average individual life-time cost to the Treasury of somebody being NEET is £56,300, but more important is the cost to an individual’s self-esteem and self-worth.
It makes absolutely no sense that our welfare system doesn’t address these consequences: the human cost of this waste of public money is appalling. Apprenticeships have the capacity to transform lives and give young people the tools they need to succeed, regardless of where they’ve come from, and the benefits system shouldn’t be holding young people back.
In our latest ‘Transforming education’ manifesto, Central YMCA called on the government to remove barriers for learners, but again and again our cries have remained unanswered.
It is understandable that enthusiasm for welfare reform is low given the colossal task of rolling out universal credit, and perhaps changes to schemes that are soon to become legacy benefits, such as housing benefit and child tax credit, are unlikely.
Child benefit however is not included in universal credit, and alone amounts to over £1,000 per year for families. Ensuring that parents can keep this benefit when a young person in their household becomes an apprentice surely isn’t a mammoth task, and it’s one that should have cross-party support given the apparent bipartisan consensus on the need to promote apprenticeships and encourage social mobility.
When I gave evidence to the education select committee a couple of weeks ago, this consensus certainly seemed evident, and many members agreed with me that the government really shouldn’t be passing up such a relatively easy hit.
I’m hopeful therefore that the committee will join Central YMCA in pushing for reform, but we know that changes to the welfare system alone won’t solve everything. There are other barriers for learners, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or who have learning difficulties and disabilities.
I wholeheartedly agree with the social mobility commission’s proposal to adopt a more ambitious and unifying approach in order to maximise everyone’s life chances and enable them to achieve their aspirations.
Individual ministers have taken some action over the years to improve social mobility, and I wouldn’t want to deny anybody’s personal commitment, but often it seems cross-departmental issues like these fall through the cracks.
It is only when the government takes an overarching approach to social mobility will issues such as the unintended negative impact of the benefits system be avoided.
Andrée Deane-Barron is education and skills director at Central YMCA Group
Two high-powered alumni of Kirklees College have returned to their former stomping grounds in Huddersfield to talk about their careers journeys.
The co-creator of The X Factor, Siobhan Greene, and Dean Hoyle, who founded the greeting cards chain Card Factory, both paid a recent visit to their former college.
The pair returned as guest speakers at the Huddersfield Town Enterprise Academy meeting, fielding questions from delegates about what made them.
The event was run in partnership between the college and Huddersfield Town AFC as a way of introducing local business people, and encouraging them to work together.
Hosted at the college’s Landings 72 restaurant, guests were also presented with a breakfast prepared by catering staff and students. “As someone who is Huddersfield born and bred, I’m immensely proud of our town and the accomplishments of its residents,” said Lydia Butterworth, head of sales and marketing at the college.
“It was fascinating to hear from our alumni Dean and Siobhan, who were informative and entertaining in equal measures.”
Thousands of young people are having their recent exam failures reversed, thanks to a change in the design of certain qualifications. FE Week looked into what’s going on: who’s making the change, why it has happened and how many learners are affected.
More than 1,300 learners who failed courses last year are now being told they’ve passed – including some who’d already dropped out of education.
Ofqual is responsible for their stroke of luck: the exams regulator has reinterpreted rules on reformed level three applied general and tech level qualifications, which introduced for teaching from 2016.
Most of these were designed so learners had to pass all their externally assessed exams to achieve the final qualification. That changed last month, after Ofqual wrote to awarding organisations asking them to create a “safety net” for learners who had narrowly failed one or more of their exams.
Awarding giant Pearson, whose BTECs account for the majority of the qualifications affected, has confirmed that 1,300 learners at 270 of its centres have been affected.
Some learners who sat externally assessed units in 2017 and 2018 are now eligible to achieve a qualification when previously they weren’t
“Some learners who sat externally assessed units in 2017 and 2018 are now eligible to achieve a qualification when previously they weren’t,” a spokesperson said.
“We have communicated with all providers about this change to ensure that all learners receive the qualification they deserve.”
Applied general qualifications and tech levels are vocational or technical alternatives to A-levels that can lead onto higher education or employment. The change is expected to have an impact on providers’ achievement rates, though the ESFA seems reluctant to make official changes.
Learners on two-year courses who are due to complete their qualifications this summer are affected, as well as those who finished one-year foundation courses last summer.
The true number of learners to get the good news might be much higher; two other major awarding organisations offering similar qualifications told FE Week that they had introduced changes as a result of Ofqual’s letter, though neither could say how many learners will be affected.
Ofqual itself was similarly unable to predict how many people would now qualify.
A spokesperson confirmed that its advice was issued “knowing that there was a case for retrospective regrading”, and that the regulator had “modelled the potential impact of assessment changes” with a number of awarding organisations, including Pearson.
One assessment expert who did not want to be named warned that learners could have “lost out” on a year of education or training, or found themselves unable to progress onto other education or training.
FE Week contacted a number of colleges that are among the 100s to have learners affected by the safety net change (see table below).
Some said several learners had dropped out after failing their courses last year, though many were permitted to carry on into the second year in an effort to boost their grades.
Uxbridge College said that 10 learners on one course will have their results reversed. It is petitioning the Education and Skills Funding Agency to have these changes reflected in official achievement statistics.
This represents a 19-per-cent increase in the success rate on that course, and a 0.1-per-cent uptick in overall 16-to-18 achievement rates.
But the ESFA insisted that it had “no immediate plans” to amend achievement rates – although it would keep this under review.
The courses were reformed in 2016 to make them more rigorous, under rules set out by the Department for Education.
These rules have not changed, but a spokesperson said the DfE had “recently reiterated guidance to ensure consistency”.
According to Ofqual statistics, there were 144,855 tech level certificates issued in 2016/17, and 222,445 applied general certificates.
Pearson, has by far the largest share of both: 79,970, or 55 per cent, of the tech levels and 180,225 or 81 per cent of the applied general.
Other awarding bodies include UAL and OCR, which had a nine- and six-per-cent share respectively of applied general qualifications in 2016/17. City and Guilds is the second largest awarding body for tech levels, responsible for 31,945 or 22 per cent.
An Ofqual spokesperson said it is “pleased” that Pearson had applied the change to BTECs.
“In weighing up the need to make changes to their qualifications, we asked awarding organisations to ensure appropriate standards were achieved in these new qualifications,” they said.
Click to enlarge
Spreading the news: How have providers been affected?
Hundreds of providers have now been given the joyous task of telling students who previously failed their courses that they have now passed.
Original failures for these learners would have had huge consequences: they might have been rejected from university, stopped from progressing onto higher courses or missed out on potential jobs.
For the training providers themselves, achievement rates would have taken a hit – meaning current government figures are not a true reflection of their training offer.
Although most are still trying to figure out the ramifications for themselves, a number of colleges with over 50 affected students between them, gave FE Week their initial reaction.
Uxbridge College has 10 learners on applied science courses affected, and some are now even being told that they actually achieved an overall ‘merit’.
However, the college said it took a “local decision at the time based on our own assessment and knowledge of the students’ standards and achievements in this qualification, before this was known, in order to not disadvantage these learners”.
All 10 were allowed to progress into their second year of the extended diploma “in an effort to improve their grades”.
It is not considered that these learners will be unduly and adversely affected by the change
“It is not considered that these learners will be unduly and adversely affected by the change and can focus their attention on improving the quality of the grades they obtain,” a spokesperson said.
However, she added that there is an impact on the college’s achievement rates.
“The changes do represent a 19-per-cent increase in the achievement rate of the applied science course and a 0.1-per-cent improvement to the overall 16-to-18 achievement rate for HCUC [the merged institution of Harrow and Uxbridge College], which at 85.5 per cent is now the highest among west London colleges and third across London colleges.”
She added that the college will make “representations” to the ESFA to ensure these results are reflected in the overall data record.
South Essex College was told by Pearson that it had 12 students affected.
“We are working with these students to support them through the process,” a spokesperson said.
“Six left the college to pursue other employment opportunities while six are continuing their studies at the college by progressing on to a different course.”
The Sheffield College had 20 students affected.
“The majority of those, 15, have re-enrolled and continued with the second year of their course,” a spokesperson explained. “We are in the process of contacting all of those affected.”
NCG, which had 3,160 students on the level three diplomas last year, knows of nine students at two of its colleges affected so far. Other colleges in the group are still waiting to hear if they have any learners affected.
A spokesperson said the group is “monitoring the impact closely and will liaise with learners at the earliest opportunity”.
Nottingham College and Exeter College informed FE Week that they only have a handful of students affected but said it was too soon to comment.
The rules explained and what has changed
Level three applied general and tech level qualifications were reformed in 2016, so that they could be counted in the Department for Education’s 16-to-19 performance measures.
The qualifications were designed to meet technical specifications set out by the DfE, which include a portion of external assessment.
These rules don’t say that learners have to pass all of their exams to achieve their qualification, but that was how most of the courses were designed, including those offered by Pearson.
This meant, for example, that a learner who had a distinction in three out of four exams but who narrowly failed one exam would fail the overall qualification.
In its letter, Ofqual said it is “concerned that this may impact the validity of grades issued and is not fair to students who narrowly miss passing one or more units”.
It asked the AOs to “provide a safety net for students who narrowly pass on one or more externally-assessed units” on these courses, so that a learner could still pass the overall qualification without having to pass all the externally-assessed exams.
It’s not clear where the original interpretation of the rules came from, or the impetus for Ofqual’s letter.
The DfE is insisting that its rules haven’t changed.
“We have always been clear with awarding organisations about the standard that is expected and nothing has changed. We recently reiterated the guidance to ensure consistency,” a spokesperson said.
An Ofqual blog post on the topic said AOs had designed the qualifications to meet official guidelines that learners had to pass every externally assessed exam.
Awarding organisations would have had to submit their qualifications to the DfE for inclusion in the list of awards that count towards the performance measures.
Reviewing tolerances: What are awarding organisations doing?
Pearson is by far and away the biggest provider of both applied general and tech level qualifications, though other major awarding organisations including City and Guilds and OCR also offer their own versions of these courses.
OCR offers both applied general and tech level qualifications through its level three Cambridge Technicals (2016) suite of courses.
A spokesperson said it would be “introducing a near-pass unit grade for this summer’s exams” for all qualifications in the suite, and that the change would be applied retrospectively.
However, it couldn’t say how many learners would have their results changed.
“We’re running the data checks now and will be in touch with any affected centres as soon as possible,” they said.
At this stage we cannot give exact figures of how many learners will be impacted
Similarly, City and Guilds, which offers tech levels, will be introducing a yet-to-be-determined “tolerance” for learners that would be completing their courses this year.
It intends to “consider those results that are within a tolerance of marks below the pass mark as having achieved the component”.
A spokesperson said the body is still “reviewing options” for learners that completed courses last year, and would “communicate further to centres once we have been through this process”.
“At this stage we cannot give exact figures of how many learners will be impacted,” she said.
AAT also offers tech levels. A spokesperson said it will be “reviewing what actions it needs to take in light of Ofqual’s letter, if any”.
And VTCT will be consulting over the summer before making any changes to its applied general qualifications in sports, active health and fitness.
It is “considering assigning a minimum points threshold” that would allow learners to pass the qualification without having to pass every external assessment.
Not every awarding organisation is making changes to their courses, however.
Graham Hastings-Evans, managing director of NOCN, which offers tech levels, said it “will not need to” do so, as “no learners have been adversely affected”.
Julie Hyde, the director of CACHE, said it had “determined that no safety net was required” for either the NCFE CACHE technical or NCFE applied general qualifications, after “reviewing the assessment strategy and purpose” of the courses “alongside consultation directly with Ofqual”.
The IMI is “not intending to make any changes” to its tech level qualifications”, and ActiveIQ, which offers tech levels, “cannot adjust the qualifications’ assessment specification”.
A spokesperson for University of the Arts London, which issued the second highest number of applied general qualification certificates in 2016/17, said its courses aren’t subject to the Department for Education’s rules. As a result it didn’t need to make any changes, and none of its students were affected.
A college that charged up to 57 per cent in management fees has been found to be attempting to use up £100,000 of skills funding with tactical subcontracting.
But the Education and Skills Funding Agency has refused to say whether it will take enforcement action over what appears to be a clear breach of funding rules.
According to a posting on the government’s contract finder website from late April, Stephenson College is on the lookout for subcontractors to deliver part of its adult education budget for less than three months.
The contract worth £100,000 will run from May 14 to July 31. Bids from interested providers were requested by May 4.
The duration of under three months suggests it’s a tactical move to use up unspent adult education budget.
Funding rules state that providers “must not subcontract to meet short-term funding objectives”.
We ultimately wouldn’t have this problem if those that delivered got the funding directly
But the ESFA said it could not comment on this specific case – even though it has begun a subcontracting crackdown to ensure funding is used for “recognised costs”.
The college avoided repeated opportunities for almost a week to defend itself.
It also declined to justify management fees topping 50 per cent, as detailed in its subcontracting supply-chain policy, which is supposed to be reviewed in November.
“Stephenson College retains a management fee from all subcontracted partner organisations; typically this is between 22 to 57 per cent,” it said.
The policy was changed shortly after FE Week’s enquiry.
After taking six days to respond, a spokesperson eventually said: “The subcontracting supply chain fees and charging policy on our website reflects our current practice.”
The policy was actually updated on May 1, one day before the statement was issued.
It now says that the subcontracting charge is “typically” 20 per cent.
Mark Dawe, the head of AELP, said this proportion should be the “absolute maximum”.
If Stephenson College or any other provider is breaking funding rules on subcontracting, he insisted that the ESFA needs to “enforce them”.
“We ultimately wouldn’t have this problem if those that delivered got the funding directly,” he stressed.
In March, AELP, the adult community education body Holex, and provider group Collab all signed up to new best-practice guidance that lead providers should charge no more than 20 per cent in management fees.
Lead providers often claim that pricey management fees are necessary to cover administrative costs, but many in the sector, including the education committee chair Robert Halfon, believe that too much money is being diverted from frontline learning.
Management fees of up to 40 per cent, as were infamously charged by Learndirect, have long been a source of major controversy – but this figure pales in comparison with Stephenson College’s 57 per cent.
The college has an AEB allocation of £2,182,600 for 2017/18. It currently has a single declared subcontractor, Canal Engineering Limited, which delivers £80,000 of AEB on the college’s behalf, according to the ESFA’s list.
Four subcontractors delivered AEB and apprenticeships provision worth £206,730 on behalf of the college in 2016/17 – of which it retained £40,813, or a little under 20 per cent, according to the college’s website.
But in 2015/16 it retained a massive 40-per-cent cut on a subcontract with one provider worth £186,163.
Last month the ESFA announced it would be reviewing subcontracting fees and charges, and any changes will come into force from August.
“The ESFA rules are clear that providers must not subcontract to meet short-term funding objectives,” a DfE spokesperson said. “The ESFA investigates such cases and can take action where necessary.”
The ESFA must enforce rules that are supposed to be putting a stop to wasteful short-term subcontracting.
The example uncovered this week showed Stephenson College seeking to find subcontractors to use up £100,000 of funding by the end of July.
That’s less than three months from the start of the contract to the end, proving that it’s a tactical move with the short-term aim of simply hitting its adult education budget allocation.
The funding rule they are clearly breaking states that providers “must not subcontract to meet short-term funding objectives”.
So what is the ESFA going to do about it?
It sadly wouldn’t tell us, and passed up a perfect opportunity to show that it’s getting tough.
Incidentally, 57-per-cent management fees are way too high, so it’s good that the same college changed its policy after we confronted them.
AELP, Holex and Collab were right to stipulate that lead providers should charge no more than 20 per cent.
The system must not be abused. Unscrupulous lead providers will have to find other ways of supplementing their income.
The 45-day placement requirement in the new T-levels is a laudable goal, but colleges need differentiated support, writes Andy Stittle
Work placements are a valuable undertaking: they set theory in context and develop sector-specific employability skills.
Like most colleges, Truro and Penwith welcomed the T-levels work placements pilot, which gave us the opportunity to identify a few problems that need to be addressed before final roll-out.
Lessons from the pilot are crucial if we are to ensure that T-levels do not follow earlier failed attempts at reform to vocational and technical qualifications.
Engagement with employers, given the small scale of the pilot, was not an issue – it simply involved building on our existing employer relationships. However, we did come up against numerous challenges.
Typical of rural areas, our students travel significant distances to study and work, many for over three hours every day. Rural bus services are limited and costly. With a flat-rate payment allocated to a work placement travel and no rural uplift, this is a major problem.
Securing high-quality placements that are “affordable” in time and cost to students is a challenge. Cornwall is characterised by rurality and low productivity. Access to some sectors is difficult and the reason why substantial numbers of our students eventually leave the county.
The 45-day minimum requirement is highly problematic for a large tertiary college in an area with predominantly micro, small and medium enterprises. Significant block release or timetabling college attendance over three days a week in one year, for example, would mean that many staff teaching across comprehensive provision (technical/vocational and academic) would be unavailable. Even in the pilot phase, a minority project can dominate timetabling structures at the cost of other provision.
Quality placements are potentially as demanding on employers as apprenticeships.
When the initiative is rolled out across all curriculum areas, we suspect from conversations with employers that saturation point could be reached. The period also rules out the “one-day-a-week” placement model often favoured by employers.
Furthermore, many smaller employers typically secure orders three to four months in advance and cannot commit to placements further ahead than that. The opportunity of a longer-term placement is valued by many employers however; it develops the student as an effective team member, though it can result in an offer of employment and leaving the college course.
In many sectors, we have set up sector employer representation groups.
Quality placements are potentially as demanding on employers as apprenticeships
These have proved particularly useful in keeping employers abreast of the new developments and in addressing potential hurdles. Some of these solutions, such as sharing the work experience between two employers, need to be addressed in final roll-out. They are particularly keen on the model of a qualification which progresses to a higher-level apprenticeship, as this is where their skills gap resides.
However employers are keen that the college retains its own commercial town-centre operations, such as a hair and beauty salon or restaurant, as an eligible placement.
These provide a range of vocationally specific yet rounded employment skills by rotating job roles. Employers are very complimentary about the range of work-ready skills students acquire in these venues, something difficult to facilitate in a busy small enterprise.
The enhanced placements align particularly well to occupational courses with clear progression to employment or apprenticeships. Students on the pilot enjoy and value their placement. It builds aspiration, informs career choice,s signals future options and can enhance work ethic in college.
However, additional funding simply to meet additional delivery hours will not be sufficient.
Only financially healthy colleges will truly be able to meet the new technical reforms, and with half the sector in deficit, this needs to be addressed through wider review, including: increased flexibility or changes to address student demand, the time limitations of a busy small business, the diversity of courses and regional complications.
Andy Stittle is director of teaching and learning at Truro and Penwith College
Employer buy-in is only going to get more important as T-levels arrive, and Mike Cherry has some advice for colleges that want to engage more small businesses to help out on skills
Investing in our young people and supporting them to move into work is a topic that I care very much about, both in my capacity as national chairman of FSB and personally as a small business owner. I am passionate about helping small businesses flourish, and nurturing the skills of the next generation. This is why Young Enterprise has been FSB’s chosen charity for over five years and why we are supporting the government’s opportunity areas initiative.
The last few years have seen many changes to education and training in England.
One of the most fundamental shifts has been the movement toward a skills system that is increasingly employer-driven in an attempt to better meet the needs of business. Whether you’re an advocate or sceptic of this approach, it has placed greater emphasis on the role of business in educating and preparing young people to make decisions about their pathway into work.
Although 82 per cent of small firms agree they should be involved in careers education activities, over half of business owners have never engaged
But beyond this, fostering better links between business and education is crucial if we are to address troubling skills shortages that many small businesses are facing.
Our own research has found that a third of business owners who have attempted to recruit in the last 12 months have been unable to find the individuals they’re looking for. This is particularly the case in skilled trades, which is worrying given that our members tell us that technical skills are the most important skillset for growth.
I am proud of the fact that many small businesses are already actively involved with schools, colleges and universities. They are participating in careers and apprenticeship fairs, workshops and providing opportunities for students to experience and understand the world of work. In Kent, over 400 students and small businesses have taken part in Skills 3030 workshops – a two-hour event involving facilitated “speed networking”, employment-related workshops and inspiring stories from entrepreneurs.
However, by their very nature, small business owners are time and resource poor – factors that can inhibit this engagement. Although 82 per cent of small firms agree they should be involved in careers education activities, over half of business owners have never engaged with a school or college.
Of course, the introduction of T-levels and apprenticeships, for example, will pave the way for more students to experience the workplace first-hand – many in local small firms – but we need to keep looking for ways to achieve a greater impact for all young people, in all routes.
Small firms want to help, but educators need to take the lead and follow a few golden rules to successful engagement. Firstly, SMEs provide clear information about participation in careers activities. Over a third said better guidance on how to get involved would get them more involved.
Secondly, try to ensure that the business has a consistent point of contact in the college.
Thirdly, once a relationship is established with a business, prioritise maintaining and nurturing it.
Many small firms we’ve spoken to have been involved in a careers fair, never to be approached by the college again. Finally, don’t forget to approach small business owners to educate young people about self-employment and entrepreneurship.
Our small businesses are lynchpins of their communities, recognisable faces on our high streets, and employers of local people. They understand the value of giving back, providing opportunities and inspiring young people in education.
However, I’ve found that the benefits work both ways – over half of small firms believe that improving their involvement with their local college would have a positive effect on their perception of the skills and aspirations of young people, which can only be a good thing.
There are clear gains to be had on both sides, but my opinion is that the success of business and education engagement depends on strong leadership, clear communication and effective resourcing by the education sector.
This can only be achieved with sustained support from government. The careers strategy was a step in the right direction, but time will tell as to how effective it proves to be.
Mike Cherry is chair of the Federation of Small Businesses
Sessions included presentations on the status of Britain’s hedgehog population, a talk from Nigel Reeve, the author of Hedgehogs, as well as a session with veterinary pathologist Alex Barlow, who dissected hedgehogs that had died in care to examine their cause of death.
