WorldSkills 2017: Josh attempts to repeat European success

A welder from Norwich who has a family history in the trade is aiming to replicate his golden success at EuroSkills in this week’s WorldSkills competition.

Josh Peek (pictured above), a 21-year-old who trains at Great Yarmouth College, described how “happy” he was with his progress on day two of the global skills contest being held in Abu Dhabi.

Josh himself is no stranger to international skills success. He won gold in Gothenburg at EuroSkills 2016 last December, and he’s hoping that triumph has set him up for more glory on the world stage.

“I won gold in Gothenburg so I’m definitely hoping to replicate that success, but it is a different level here. We’ve got Korea and America, Australia and loads more completely different countries so it is a different atmosphere to Gothenburg.”

Josh might be a step ahead in his experience of welding compared to his other international competitors, after his Grandad got him to start the trade aged just 13.

“When I was about 13 years old my grandad taught me to weld so I went on from there, he was a welder fabricator and my uncles and cousins are welders too, so it is a family trade really.”

But whatever the result, Josh will be taking home one hell of an experience after the past two-year WorldSkills cycle.

“There’ve been ups and downs, excitement and we’re finally here so hopefully next few days will end in glory,” he said.

Another Team UK competitor happy with their progress on day two of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi is Daryl Head, whose discipline is in car painting.

The 21-year-old, who works for the UK’s biggest crash repair country, Nationwide Repair, has had to design three tasks so far, each to different specifications and working on different parts of a car – such as the wing, doors, and bonnet.

Daryl Head

“I’m really happy with my progress. I’ve prepared for every scenario so it is going well,” he said.

“I’m using paint I’m not used to but I’ve had lots of training to prepare for this scenario.”

He added that being part of Team UK has been “a long journey” but it is “a once in a life time competition” that he’ll “never forget”.

Daryl has brought a full team out to Abu Dhabi to support him, including his mum and dad, girlfriend and sister,

“We’re very proud of him for coming through the qualifications rounds and then getting to this final stage,” said dad Andrew.

“The amount of training he’s put in over the last two years and especially the last three or four months has been intense but excellent.”

Mum Julie added: “It is amazing coming here to support him but yesterday watching him on the first task was a bit nerve wracking but we’re really proud.”

WorldSkills 2017: BAE Systems apprentice aims for gold

Team UK’s Shane Carpenter is hoping the 12 weeks he was allowed off work from Britain’s biggest defence manufacturer to prepare for WorldSkills is enough to bag him a place on the podium at the end of competitions.

The 21-year-old IT Network System Administrator, who benefitted from the generosity of BAE Systems during the summer, said he “couldn’t be happier” with how day one has gone.

Shane (pictured above), who trains at Nescot College, will be set a different task in cyber security over each of the four competing days and will have to get his head around fixing systems on a variety of platforms, including Microsoft, and troubleshooting various “topologies”.

Today he was working with Cisco systems and said he had a “massive topology [the arrangement of the various elements of a communication network] to configure different protocols and basically make everything work”.

“I was very very happy with the progress I made, it went amazingly well and I have had the day of my life,” he added.

Shane is putting his early success down to the mammoth three months that his employer allowed him to have off to train doggedly for the competition.

“BAE Systems is a pretty awesome company to work for. I took about 12 weeks off work to train for the event in which me and my expert went to college every day during the holidays and studied and practised there from 8am till 5pm just constantly doing work to prepare for it.”

He started his WorldSkills journey at the age of 16 when he entered regional competitions after his college spotted his talent in IT. But it wasn’t until he won gold at the Skills Show in 2015 that he was then made part of Team UK.

“Being here in Abu Dhabi has been a long time coming. For me it has been a five year journey and I’ve learnt a lot, it has honestly been the best experience of my life.”

He added that his goal in the competition is to get a top three finish – a feat that no other UK competitor has managed to achieve in IT Network System Administration.

Also going back to their hotel feeling positive tonight is Betsy Crosbie, Team UK’s competitor in Mechanical Engineering CAD.

Betsy Crosbie

The 21-year-old, who trains at New College Lanarkshire, is one of only two girls competing in her skill (out of 25).

But despite being in a male dominated job, Betsy is confident she will go far in the competition.

“Today went really well, I got everything finished and to a good standard that I was happy with,” she told FE Week.

“There is still a little bit of pressure obviously being male dominated but I just come in every day and feel confident I know my skill and just smash it.”

Betsy, who won a medallion of excellence in EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016, takes part in a “blind” skill – meaning she doesn’t know what is coming up until the morning of each day.

Today she had to do a design challenge using 3D design printing.

“We were given a small torch and we had to make a handle for it to essentially make it all work. We had to make a 3D model for it so it was functional.

“There definitely is a step up from EuroSkills obviously firstly because there are so many different countries which adds to the pressure and make it more nerve wracking but I just get on with it.”

No matter the result at the end of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi, Betsy will be taking home more than just a medal.

When she first started out she said she was “really shy” and when she first went to college she didn’t speak to her lecturers for two years. But that has all changes now.

“By being part of WorldSkills and the squad it has definitely brought me out of my shell. It puts you out of your comfort zone not just in your skill but in your social life but it has been well worth it for me.”

Send your message of good luck to the team using the #TeamUK and our ‘Go Team UK’ social media image. (click here to download). Also include the official event hashtag #WS_AbuDhabi.

FE Week are proud to be the official media partners for Team UK and WorldSkills UK, sponsored by Pearson.

WorldSkills 2017: Spectacular opening ceremony marks the start of competitions

The best of British took centre stage with the world watching tonight as Abu Dhabi put on a spectacular opening ceremony to officially open the 44th WorldSkills.

Around 10,000 people packed inside the du Arena on Yas Island for this year’s competition opener, which was live streamed around the globe and featured authentic Arabic dance performances and a 60-piece orchestra.

But it was a breathtaking display by the gymnastic troupe Spelbound, who rose to fame in the TV Show Britain’s Got Talent, that stole the show.

The act was tonight’s finale and had the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the risky routine.

It followed a centre piece performance based on a theme of ‘Progress through Skills’, which featured live dancers who portrayed the role skills have had in the development of the UAE, and after the traditional Parade of Nations.

“It was truly an outstanding opening to the competition,” Peter Lauener, chief executive of the ESFA and the UK’s Official Delegate for WorldSkills, told FE Week after the ceremony.

“To see so many UK supporters out here, friends, family and of course the WorldSkills UK experts & team, was heart-warming. The atmosphere they created when the team walked through the arena waving our flag was really something.”

He added: “To see a British act [spellbound] be the pinnacle of the evening made me even more proud of our nation and our education system.

“Tonight’s opening ceremony reflected on the importance of technical and vocational skills. Team UK are a fantastic example of the worldclass talent we have in our country.

“I wish all of the team the best of luck over the coming four days.”

 

The opening ceremony started at around 19:45pm after a slight delay due to the sheer volume of spectators attempting to enter the arena.

To kick proceedings off the UAE national anthem was played to a standing audience, and was followed by music and dance performances featuring a 60-piece orchestra and 100-member choir, made up of local and international residents of the UAE.

The Parade of Nations then got the crowd even more pumped as all 1,300 competitors from the 59 competing countries waved their flags across the stage.

“Hosting WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 is an honour and an important moment for the UAE”, said His Excellency Mubarak al-Shamsi, the Director General of ACTVET. “Vocational skills present huge opportunities for young people in this country, and WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 is the perfect way for us to introduce these prospects to tens of thousands of young UAE nationals.”

President of WorldSkills, Simon Bartley, took to the stage at the end and thanked the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the other leaders of the UAE for hosting WorldSkills in the Middle East for the first time.

“Their vision acknowledges that to transform and develop an economy you have to put skills at the very heart of your efforts,” he said.

The competitions at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi will open to the public in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre at 10Aam tomorrow (October 15), where 100,000 people are expected to attend including 80,000 school children, and 10,000 international visitors.

Send your message of good luck to the team using the #TeamUK and our ‘Go Team UK’ social media image. (click here to download). Also include the official event hashtag #WS_AbuDhabi.

FE Week are proud to be the official media partners for Team UK and WorldSkills UK.

WorldSkills 2017: General Assembly hands 2021 competition to China

The WorldSkills General Assembly has today officially confirmed that Shanghai will host the 2021 competition.

China was the only country in the running for the award, after Switzerland pulled out its bid earlier this year.

On the eve of the Abu Dhabi opening ceremony, the General Assembly made it official that Shanghai would host the 46th WorldSkills in two years’ time.

“Congratulations to WorldSkills China for winning the bid for the 2021 International Competition!” WorldSkills International said today.

[Click here to watch China’s video bid]

China has taken part in the last three WorldSkills competitions, winning five gold medals, eight silvers, seven bronzes and 29 medallions of excellence.

Speaking ahead of the announcement, Jia Jie, the team leader for WorldSkills China said: “For China, the WorldSkills movement and skills competitions as a whole are a good tool to promote the spirit of craftsmanship, which was called for by Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, as well as to create a friendly atmosphere that respects skills and work.

“Every year, a great number of skill competitions at various levels take place nationwide, so China is experienced in organizing skill competitions.

“China is now the second largest economy in the world and the largest developing country, as well as the most populous country. So, it is necessary to bring the WorldSkills Competition to China to raise the visibility of WorldSkills as a whole.”

WorldSkills Abu Dhabi officially kicks off tomorrow as the country puts on its opening ceremony. Follow @feweek on Twitter for live updates. You can tweet your support by using the hashtag #TeamUK.

Ofsted watch: Sixth-form college lifts grade to ‘good’ in mixed week

A sixth-form college has improved its Ofsted rating by one grade to ‘good’, in a mixed week for FE and skills providers.

“Leaders and staff” at King George V College in Southport, were praised for developing “a positive culture” and for “delivering high-quality teaching, learning and assessment”, in a report published October 12 and based on an inspection in September.

Students were found to be “enthusiastic” and “very positive about their learning”, and the majority “make good or better progress” – with pass rates in both A-levels and vocational courses “very high”.

However, a “small minority” of students’ attendance was “too low”, while “too many students” on vocational diplomas did not complete their courses.

Meanwhile, Morthyng Group Limited, an adult and community learning provider based in Rotherham, held onto to its grade two, in a report published October 12 and based on an inspection in early September.

Senior leaders at the provider, which mainly delivers study programmes, were found to “have a clear strategy to engage and support disadvantaged young people”.

Inspectors noted that learners developed “good personal, social and employability skills”, and also improved their English and maths skills “well”, with the “large majority” progressing to further education, training or jobs.

But they also found that learners’ attendance “although increasing, is too low”.

On the other side of the coin, First City Training slumped to ‘inadequate’ from its previous grade three rating, in a report published October 12 and based on an inspection a month before.

As previously reported by FE Week, management of the health and social care provider’s apprenticeship was deemed “weak”, with managers failing to provide “sufficient oversight” of the programme.

And apprentices were not getting “sufficient” off-the-job training, and were consequently making “slow progress”.

Two other independent learning providers – Sysco Business Skills Academy Limited and North East Employment and Training Agency Limited – held onto their ‘good’ ratings this week, following short inspections.

Sixth Form Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
King George V SFC 20/09/2017 12/10/2017 2 3

 

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
First City Training Limited 12/09/2017 12/10/2017 4 3

 

Adult and Community Learning Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Morthyng Group Limited 12/09/2017 11/10/2017 2 2

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Sysco Business Skills Academy Limited 11/09/2017 11/10/2017
North East Employment and Training Agency Ltd 12/09/2017 09/10/2017

MPs consider investigating the state of FE loans

The student loans system will come under parliamentary scrutiny – an investigation which may include FE.

The Treasury select committee’s inquiry into student loans, launched today, will focus on a range of issues including raising the repayment threshold, and how effectively the government is managing the loan book.

The initial remit focused on higher education, rather than advanced learner loans for FE learners, which have struggled with low take up since they were launched in 2013.

“The committee is scoping its inquiry at the moment and given the DfE’s advanced learning loan budget is administered by the Student Loans Company in the same way as HE loans,” a source told FE Week. “They may also be of interest to the committee as part of their student loans inquiry.”

FE loans, originally known as 24+ loans, were introduced in 2013/14 for learners aged 24 and older and studying courses at levels three or four.

Unlike HE loans, FE loans are only available to cover course fees, and not living costs.

Their introduction corresponded with a drop in adults studying at these levels – from 273,400 in 2012/13, to 169,400 in 2015/16.

Despite this fall, loan eligibility was expanded in 2016/17 to include 19- to 23-year-olds, and courses at levels five and six.

FE Week reported last month that almost £1 billion in loans funding has gone unspent since they were introduced, as FE learners have been reluctant to get into debt to pay for their education.

That’s not the only problem to plague the system: apprenticeship loans, originally introduced alongside the FE loans for apprentices aged 24 and older, were quickly scrapped after adult apprentice numbers plummeted.

Just 404 people took out an apprenticeship loan in the seven months after they were brought in, leading then business secretary Vince Cable to execute a quick U-turn on the policy.

The first evidence session of the inquiry will be held on Wednesday, October 18, and will hear from Dr Helen Carasso, a lecturer in higher education at Oxford, and Dr Andrew McGettigan, a freelance writer and researcher on higher education – both of whom have written extensively about student loans.

It will focus on the impact of student loans on the public finances, the success or failure of fee funding to act as a “market” for higher education, and the impact of student finances on students.

Further evidence sessions will be announced in due course.

“Student loan debt is projected to be around £160 billion within six years, and the government has announced that it will review the whole student finance system,” said former education secretary Nicky Morgan, who is now chair of the Treasury committee.:

“The committee will scrutinise the current system and any future developments closely.”

SPONSORED: Colleges should embrace blended learning

To remain competitive in an ever-changing FE landscape, colleges must provide an exceptional learning experience – which means investing in learning technology. 

We know there are huge differences among teaching staff in the use of digital technologies to support learning. Some hardly use technology at all, others create a few resources for the virtual learning environment, while innovators integrate educational technology as part of a richer approach that we call “blended learning”. We’ve produced a new toolkit on the subject to help colleges embed EdTech into courses.

Under this approach, traditional face-to-face methods are combined with online, often interactive, activities and content for study, feedback and assessment. It can be a powerful tool as colleges strive to implement the recommendations of the FELTAG report and become learner-led organisations. 

Blended learning enables learners to access a wealth of resources, take more control of how, when and where they study and develop the digital capabilities that they will need in the workplace. Integrating EdTech into the curriculum also helps clear obstacles to education for people who have previously found themselves excluded, including those with disabilities or caring responsibilities. 

Used imaginatively, blended learning can also develop skills in collaborative working and team-working, for example through project-based learning. In turn, it can improve both engagement and attainment – and so boost the reputation of any college. 

What do students want from learning technology? 

First, colleges must understand where to invest. Does your college know how students use technology to study, what they feel about using it and what they expect from it? One of the best ways to secure answers to these questions is to involve students in the discussion.

Some colleges took part in our pilot student digital experience tracker project, and you can sign up now for the 2018 tracker survey.

The latest tracker survey results from 2017 reveal that, when technology is used on their courses, more than 70 per cent of students feel it enables them to be more independent in their learning and that study fits more easily into their lives.  

Students expect to be able to access study tools and resources remotely from their personal devices as well as using technology in the classroom or the library, and for feedback and assessment.

What sort of education technology is available?

Enriching learning content with images, audio and video that have been labelled for reuse can add variety and impact. Our inspiring learning blog includes a post on copyright-free resources, while our accessibility blog includes a post on how to add variety of media without adding barriers. We have also put together some of our favourite tools and techniques for making presentations interactive, engaging and accessible for the audience.

Teachers who need help understanding EdTech can benefit from free online courses, such as the blended learning essentials MOOC on FutureLearn, delivered by the University of Leeds. Or choose another free course from FutureLearn or Coursera.

Don’t forget, through Jisc, your college has access to free and heavily discounted digital resources via Jisc Collections. This includes free, curriculum relevant e-books for FE (covering A-level and BTEC courses plus GCSE English and maths), and diverse teaching and learning multimedia content which includes:

Furthermore, we provide a suite of library management tools that will enable staff and learners to find and assess the content and resources they need. 

There’s lots more help, and case studies, in our quick guide to developing blended learning content.

Developing digital capability
College staff need to be proficient and confident in the use of technology so they can make the most of resources, present an enhanced learning experience and realise a good return on digital investment.

Our building digital capability project provides guidance, tools and resources to help equip staff in a variety of roles with digital skills. We also provide a variety of events and training; for example, a digital leadership course supporting senior leaders. College leaders may also benefit from our blended learning consultancy service.

For comprehensive information about integrating digital practice throughout a college, see our guide on developing organisational approaches to digital capability, where you’ll also find case studies illustrating best practice.

We have the experience and expertise to support colleges transform digitally, a process that can be particularly valuable for newly merged – or merging – colleges, which often have to cope with complex issues around integrating different learning management systems across multiple sites. 

Jisc is already working with colleges across the UK supplying expertise and services to drive the changing FE landscape. To find out more, get in touch with your account manager and check out our new blended learning toolkit.

Employer-ownership isn’t compatible with social justice

We now know that the first three months of the new apprenticeship funding regime went as badly as some were predicting.

The Department for Education’s response to FE Week suggested it was unfazed by the 61 percent fall in starts, although requests for an interview with the minister Anne Milton went unanswered.

But the DfE is probably right that many big employers will, given more time, work out how to use their levy pot and more through the 90 percent subsidised co-investment model.

But the figures the DfE refuses to share (we did ask) are the starts in May to July within each industry sector.

Anecdotal evidence suggests lower-level heath and care apprenticeships have been decimated while generic team leader and higher-level management qualifications and degrees are picking up unstoppable steam.

Do we really want to switch funding away from job creation in health and care to management skills for existing and often already senior employees?

FE Week exposed and warned about the unstoppable rise in management apprenticeships over a year ago.

I’ve repeatedly said that employer-ownership simply isn’t compatible with social justice – so at some point levy funding will need ring-fencing so it is only spent only on priorities.

Priorities which, according to the Conservative manifesto commitment, include three million apprenticeship starts for YOUNG people.

DfE ‘watching it closely’ as management becomes England’s second most popular apprenticeship subject

Management has soared in popularity to become the second most common apprenticeship framework, FE Week analysis can reveal.

According to statistics released by the DfE, the management framework had 46,640 new starters in 2016/17, a figure which grows to 64,480 when counting standards (see full figures at end of article).

The data shows management has narrowly overtaken the business administration framework in popularity, while health and social care still reigns supreme with more than 85,000 new starters last year.

These figures will only give further validation to concerns raised by sector figures that the government’s new apprenticeship levy, which started on May 1, would encourage businesses to draw down funding for management courses for existing employees instead of offering lower level apprenticeships to young people.

The question of the apprenticeship levy being used to fund executive MBA’s was mentioned at a public accounts committee meeting on October 12, when chair Meg Hillier MP raised a concern about companies trying to use the qualifications to “get a chunk of the apprenticeship levy back”.

The interim chief executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships, Peter Lauener, told the committee it had been expected that businesses would use the apprentice levy to pay for higher and degree apprenticeships, which he described as “a rapidly growing element of the programme”.

He said: “Levy paying employers will be able to fund any degree apprenticeship standards that have been approved.

“It’s certainly the case that that levy paying employers can use their levy to pay for degree apprenticeships.

“We’ve done a lot of modelling, as you would expect, about the levy budget and it’s quite difficult modelling to do because there are so many variables that might be changed by the changed behaviour of employers paying a levy.

“But we certainly modelled an expectation that there would be an increasing number of degree apprenticeships in the system as a result.”

DfE permanent secretary, Jonathan Slater, added: “This is very early days in the new levy and we are watching it closely.

“The [public accounts] committee at a previous hearing was keen to make sure there was a definite switch from level two apprentices to three, four, five and six. That’s what is happening. We need to make sure that is manageable.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we found that some of the early assumptions we made are a bit different from the reality. We will keep that under review and we will be happy to report back as we go.”