Less careers strategy, more high-risk experiment

The UK’s careers so-called “strategy” is to ditch trained, independent professionals in favour of volunteers, warns Dr Deirdre Hughes

The long-awaited careers strategy is finally in the public domain. There will be a huge sigh of relief from the DfE – and a sharp intake of breath for those at the coalface trying to deliver careers support to young people in their local communities.

There is certainly some good news for those working with adults: “All adults should be able to access free face-to-face advice, with more bespoke support for those who most need it.”

What’s more, career learning pilots and a national retaining scheme will be funded in support of lifelong learning. But careers support for young people continues to form part of a high-risk experiment in England.

Careers support for young people continues to form part of a high-risk experiment in England

The government plans to allocate more funds on top of the initial £30m+ investment to the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to embed all eight Gatsby benchmarks throughout England. These key ‘good guidance’ principles were introduced in 2014. The CEC has been very slow to embrace the careers profession at board and operational level. 

In 2017, two of the eight National Careers Service contractors achieved an ‘outstanding’ grade from Ofsted; the rest were rated ‘good’. These included the Inspiration Agenda, which supports teachers and young people’s encounters with employers and experiences of workplaces. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has now informed National Careers Service providers that funding for this work will end in September 2018. Trained and professional careers advisers face uncertain futures.

There will instead be 20 new careers hubs, led by CEC. But how will these differ from partnerships that are already established in communities? And CEC is to be involved in primary school activities, competing with other well-established providers. But there is no mention of careers advice for young people in training.

Research published alongside the careers strategy shows that of the 2,000 young people asked who helped them make decisions about what to do after year 11/13, only two per cent pointed to a CEC enterprise adviser. Forty per cent spoke to an adviser at school or college. Although most young people are willing to access information online, they prefer face-to-face help.

A parallel DfE report indicates that staff feel that there are enough tools and resources available, but that more personnel are required. Both reports are a reality check – many young people want greater access to face-to-face careers guidance, no different to adults.

The DfE proposal is to train 500 careers coordinators, now called “careers leaders”. Will they be existing or new teachers? There are over 3,000 schools and 280 colleges.

This is a unique experiment not evident in other OECD countries; we over-rely on volunteers and employers, and have a major void in the system when it comes to government investment in careers professionals’ work. Ironically, as more young people face more complex education and labour market choices, their access to independent and impartial careers professionals is left to chance in England, in contrast to other parts of the UK and further afield.

Some good news is that the Education and Training Foundation will provide professional development for those working with special educational needs and disabilities. But what of those young people not in schools and colleges? Does the CEC role now extend to cover those in apprenticeships/traineeships?

Delivery and implementation in communities is what really matters. Local partnerships will do their best to make things work. Over the next 12 months, it will be essential to monitor closely what’s happening at both a national and local level. Fortunately, the minister has promised a review, so watch this space.

Deirdre Hughes is an associate fellow at Warwick University’s Institute for Employment Research, and former chair of the National Careers Council

‘Social mobility’ means nothing without financial support for FE

This Conservative government certainly talks the talk when it comes to social mobility. But, as Emily Chapman explains, it doesn’t walk the walk when it comes to FE students.

Social mobility has become a bit of a buzzword for the current Conservative government. Justine Greening claims that education is at the heart of social mobility, Anne Milton sees the careers strategy as central to ensuring social mobility for all, and last year Theresa May set out her vision for a truly meritocratic Britain, where social mobility meant that “everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and their hard work will allow”.

This vision took a bit of a beating last week when the Social Mobility Commission released its damming ‘State of the nation’ report, highlighting the stark regional differences that exist in Britain today. It sustained an even bigger blow when all four members of the committee quit last week, with Alan Milburn claiming that he has “little hope of the current government making the progress I believe is necessary to bring about a fairer Britain”.

This is something I’ve been reflecting on myself since I started as vice-president for further education at the NUS six months ago. The findings in the report were incredibly disappointing and concerning, but I would be lying if I said they’d come as a surprise. In my role, I meet students all across the country. The huge gulf that exists between those that have and those that don’t is particularly stark when considering FE. Yet I’ve seen little evidence that this government is truly committed to supporting FE students to become socially mobile.

The huge gulf that exists between those that have and those that don’t is particularly stark when considering FE

FE students disproportionally come from deprived backgrounds; they need the most support to access education, but you wouldn’t know it from the current discourse around education funding.

As is often the case, higher education dominates and the issue of maintenance support in FE is glossed over.

The much-anticipated tertiary education funding review is expected to cover age 18 and above, and let’s be honest, we’ll be lucky if it addresses the significant drop in advanced learner loans or the serious lack of maintenance support adults get to access FE. Last week, Anne Milton was asked a written question about the frankly inadequate maintenance support that 16-to-18s in FE receive.

Her response suggests that the Department for Education is happy with the postcode lottery that discretionary bursaries create.

This issue is a particular feature of the commission’s report, which found that the effect of one’s postcode on one’s prospects is particularly acute for young people, and that disadvantaged youths in urban areas tend to benefit from better outcomes than young people in other areas.

A huge range of factors contribute to this, including a lack of access to higher education institutions. One recommendation it made is for local authorities to offer travel bursaries to enable poorer young people to study degree courses.

Transport is an issue that consistently comes up as a problem for learners, and so I agree that they should receive financial support. But I don’t believe this should be limited to people who want to access higher education. Transport provision and costs vary considerably across different regions in England, but one constant is that plenty of people suffer from poor, unreliable services with little to no financial support.

Last month I launched the #myFEjourney campaign, which lobbies for subsidised or free travel for post-16 learners and apprentices, so that everybody can access and succeed in education, not just those at university.

Further education does so much to support social mobility, but this is often in spite of government policy, not because of it. The government claims to be committed to creating parity of esteem between further and higher education and to ensuring social mobility for all.

To achieve this, though, there needs to be an honest discussion about financial support across the entirety of tertiary education – not just higher. Without this, the government’s great “meritocracy” is nothing more than a buzzword.

Emily Chapman is vice president of FE at the National Union of Students

Adult learners are vital to our skills strategy

The government is taking positive steps on skills development, but adult learners must be attended to, says Ruth Spellman

In recent weeks, our government has set out its vision for a country that’s “fit for the future”. The chancellor’s budget, the industrial strategy and now the Skills Summit have all shone a spotlight on the need to upskill and retrain home-grown talent to close the productivity gap.

Last week, Justine Greening used her speech at the summit to develop this agenda further and the WEA welcomes many of the ambitions she set out.

For instance, she was right to say that alongside investment in manufacturing and technology, we must invest in our country’s biggest asset, our people. She was right because it is an investment that underpins not only our economic strategy but that reaps dividends across every part of society.

She was also right to address the needs of both young people and adults in regards to education. Yes, we must prepare our workforce for jobs that don’t yet exist, through high-tech training and investment in STEM, but we must also offer support for services and education providers that help adults take their first steps back into employment.

We need to invest in our adult learners, just as we do with our under 19s, to connect them up to new opportunities

The WEA welcomes a National Retraining Scheme, with career learning pilots and initiatives on digital and construction skills, but there is currently no clear vision for a future in which access to learning for all ages is recognised as a driver of productivity and creativity.

This government’s “future” also needs to include support for millions of adults who would benefit from accessible learning to help them with their basic skills, enabling them to get back to work, or retrain across all sectors of the economy.

We face today, as the education secretary rightly explained in her speech, a problem of lost potential. What we must remember is that potential is not only found in young people. We need to invest in our adult learners, just as we do with our under 19s, to connect them up to new opportunities.

Our own recently launched impact report showed the positive impact of offering people the chance to return to learning. 57 per cent were better equipped to find work, and 82 per cent reported improvements in mental health and wellbeing. Our report showed that people who undertake adult education courses do not rely so much on the benefits system, find employment more easily and become active citizens.

Many of the opportunities are going to come from business, which is why we are pleased to see links forged between education providers and employers.

Business must absolutely be present in schools and colleges

As well as helping learners develop new skills and confidence, it is important for people to get a sense of the needs and the culture of employers.

Business must absolutely be present in schools and colleges, inspiring students and setting out clear pathways to employment, but they should also be involved in working with adult learners, for example through mentoring programmes and through volunteering. If firms were more closely involved in lifelong learning they could ensure that the skills and talents of adult learners were evolving to keep pace with a changing workplace.

That’s also why we should see greater emphasis on careers guidance for adults as well as young people. Skills development and training alone will not necessarily help people back into employment, and we should not assume that adults don’t also need support in navigating the world of work.

We know through many years of work that people respond best to flexible, accessible learning opportunities close to home. This means offering education courses that often don’t look like education at all, but that offer people a local and welcoming environment in which they can start to develop the skills that they require to find their own pathways in life.

This government’s vision to invest in our people is positive, but we must ensure that really means all people and give adults the chance to contribute to our economy and society and to be great role models for their children.

Ruth Spellman is general secretary of the Workers’ Educational Association

High transport costs are letting SEND learners down

It has become all too clear this term that learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who want to study further education are being badly let down.

The local government ombudsman warned in October that growing numbers are missing out on places at colleges, because of delays with local councils producing their education and health care plans.

Now Natspec, the membership association for SEND providers, has warned that more and more learners with special educational needs or disabilities are not now taking up FE places as the cost of travelling to and from lessons is too high.

Every single county council paid for their travel in full a little over a decade ago, but our investigation has shown two thirds are currently charging wildly variable fees.

The financial burden is worse for SEND learners, due the long distances they and their families often face to reach suitable colleges.

The government was wrong to ignore the Association of Colleges’ call last year for a review on travel costs, and it simply isn’t good enough that they’re still passing the buck to local authorities.

I know that councils have statutory responsibility, but the DfE admitted it has an overview and requires LAs to make “reasonable decisions”. It should take this role more seriously.

Paul Offord is deputy editor of FE Week

No sign of hoped-for levied apprenticeships surge in latest statistics

There is no sign of the major upturn in levied apprenticeships that the government has been praying for, according to the latest statistics.

There were 13,910 commitments made through the apprenticeship service in October, down from 27,130 the previous month, the Department for Education has said.

A fall-back is normal after the September surge – but at 49 per cent it is a much bigger drop by proportion than in any of the past three years, which have seen an average die-back of around 39 per cent.

These figures suggest the government will have to wait even longer for an upturn in apprenticeship numbers, which have been in freefall since the introduction of the levy in May.

Figures for the final quarter of 2016/17, from May to July, were down 59 per cent relative to the same time the previous year, according to the November statistical first release.

But Justine Greening told an education select committee hearing in October that the government had been “expecting” this fall in numbers, on the basis that employers would “take some time to look at how they wanted to invest” their levy money.

Others in the sector have attributed this fall-off to different causes, however. 

These include changes to apprenticeship rules which mean apprentices must do a minimum of 20 per cent off-the-job training – a rule that the AELP insists is a barrier for many employers who can’t afford a “non-productive” apprentice for the equivalent of one day a week.

Companies not subject to the levy also now have to pay 10 per cent of the cost of apprenticeship training for the first time, another circumstance widely held to have contributed to the collapse in starts.

The government’s first attempt at a non-levy procurement exercise had to be scrapped in June, after it was “markedly oversubscribed”.

Providers are still waiting to hear the results of a second tender, launched in July, which are now two weeks overdue.

That exercise descended into farce just days before the September deadline, as the Education and Skills Funding Agency issued multiple confusing clarifications to its complex tender rules and requirements.

Figures for apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers aren’t included in the latest experimental figures, which are just for commitments made by levy-paying employers through the government’s apprenticeship service.

This means it’s not possible to directly compare these figures to previous years, which include starts for all employers.

However, by looking at the percentage drop from September to October – which has remained relatively static until now – we can get more accurate picture of the current position relative to previous years.

There has been no indication of an upsurge in the number of employers signed up to use the apprenticeship service.

Just 600 employers registered an account in October, the same number as the previous month – which was already at its lowest since February.

There are now 11,800 employers with levy accounts, which represents around 61 per cent of all the companies the DfE estimates are eligible to pay the levy.

Apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton said in October she was “flabbergasted” to find that many large employers were unaware of the levy, even though they were paying it.

A DfE spokesperson told FE Week in November that feedback the department had received from employers has shown they were “taking their time to plan ahead and maximise the opportunities the apprenticeship levy can bring” and “they plan to increase their demand for apprenticeships”.

 

As we beef up the IfA, don’t knock down AOs

The government should be wary of diminishing the role of awarding organisations in its T-level proposals, argues Julie Hyde, as many already work closely with employers

With Christmas fast approaching, the government has been making announcements left, right and centre – revealing more about plans for post-16 education and skills. It has been an exciting time for organisations across the FE sector, which have been eagerly awaiting these announcements.

It began with the autumn budget, swiftly followed by the industrial strategy white paper, Justine Greening’s speech to the Skills Summit, the T-Level consultation, and now the careers strategy.

Each of these built on the next, fleshing out the plans further.

Licensing one AO will essentially create a monopoly in a sector area

With so many announcements in rapid succession you would be forgiven for failing to keep up, and in many ways this onslaught of information has raised more questions than it has answered.

One aspect that remains constant is that the government’s focus is still clearly on putting employers at the heart of the technical education system, and ensuring that the UK has the skilled workers it needs to create an economy fit for the future. This is an important and welcome ambition, and the Skills Summit and skills partner statement of action that followed it was a clear sign of the importance that the government is placing on this.

The T-level consultation also suggests that the Institute for Apprenticeships’ role is more significant than perhaps expected. It will not only administer T-levels, license awarding organisations (AOs) to deliver and sell them to providers, but the eventual qualification may also be generically branded and will not name the AO.

While we understand the impulse here, and recognise the need to ensure that all qualifications are rigorous and of a high standard, we feel that the government may be diminishing the role of AOs, many of which already work closely with employers to develop courses that will help students succeed in the workplace.

AOs generally know better than most what employers are looking for, and what makes a skilled professional with the occupational competencies to succeed in the workplace.

We feel that the government may be diminishing the role of AOs

Particular qualifications and AOs are also often synonymous with certain sectors, and employers actively seek people with these qualifications. This expertise is important in any technical education system that delivers the skilled workers employers need.

The 15 routes are extremely broad, and there will be a number of different pathways and therefore T-levels within them. Licensing one AO for a procured pathway or bundle of pathways will also potentially lead to a significant loss of sector expertise. The government may already recognise the issue; the consultation already states that AOs can bid as part of a consortium for T-level contracts, but again it remains to be seen how this could work in practice.

Licensing one AO will essentially create a monopoly in a sector area, and without ongoing competition between organisations, standards could fall, ending up with little incentive to innovate. As the recent report by Frontier Economics suggested, having a single AO could ultimately risk system failure.

We look forward to working with the government over the coming months to answer these questions and create a system that achieves its ambition of parity of esteem between academic and vocational education routes.

It is crucial that we get this system right and that it is workable. It is important that the government engages with a range of organisations from across the sector throughout the consultation process. This will ensure that T-levels not only deliver the skilled workforce we need, but that learners can navigate the new system successfully, that awarding organisations can deliver rigorous, effective qualifications, and that providers can deliver them. Ultimately, we must all work together to make a success of them.

The T-levels consultation is open until February 8, and can be found here.

Julie Hyde is associate director of CACHE

Citrus fruit suppliers and Europe’s largest equine hospital exhibit at careers fair

Seed merchants, citrus fruit suppliers and Europe’s largest equine hospital were among the businesses exhibiting at Writtle University College’s careers fair.

Over 60 organisations were in attendance at the fair in Essex, including Colchester Zoo, the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery and representatives from the Sanger Institute’s genomic research centre, who showed students a few of the options available to them post-study.

Alongside exhibitors, there were workshops on how to use social media to find work, how to cope with assessment centres and even a crash course in running your own business for students on courses ranging from global ecosystem management to garden design.

“The nature of our specialist courses means that there are some very interesting career options for our students, such as nutritionist, equine behaviour consultant or government research scientist,” said Mark Yates, Writtle’s careers coordinator. “It’s a great chance for students to think through how their studies will improve their future career and studies.”

College senior management team take part in cooking challenge

Members of Barnsley College’s senior management team have taken part in a Masterchef-style cooking challenge at their on-site student restaurant, the Open Kitchen.

Under the watchful eyes of the college’s catering students, staff had to prepare, cook and serve four different dishes to diners, including beer-battered plaice, trio of sausages, burgers and chick peas, and spinach and butternut squash bhuna.

The winner of the event, as voted for by chefs and students, was the vice-principal for corporate services, Tony Johnson, who impressed the judges with his energy and cooking ability.

“It was exciting and a lot of fun to make the dishes. The event was fantastic and I now have a better understanding of the pressure our catering students feel on a regular basis,” said Phil Briscoe, vice-principal for quality and student experience at the college. “I will take home a lot of skills that I can use in the future.”

The college’s Open Kitchen restaurant currently has a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor, and is ranked the 96th best place to eat in Barnsley out of 360 eateries on the website.

Performing arts students invited to perform refugee play at Parliament

Performing arts students from Leyton Sixth Form College have been invited to perform their self-written play about refugees at Parliament.

They were the only college chosen to perform in the under-18s category at The Sunday Times National Student Drama Festival in Hull, for their play No Human is Illegal, and went on to stage it at a venue in Newport, where it was spotted by the local MP, Paul Flynn.

Now the 40-minute play, which explores UK foreign policy and the Syrian refugee crisis, will be performed in front of an audience at parliament in February after an invitation from Mr Flynn.

The majority of the cast members come from BAME backgrounds, and are nearly all first-, second- or third-generation immigrants.

“The students that I teach come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, many of them are migrants themselves, yet they were oblivious the harsh reality of the current global crisis that I presented to them,” explained Katy Arnell, a performing arts tutor. “I found this fascinating and this directly fed into the devising process.”