Why I want other apprentices to enter skills competitions

Ashley Terron tells how he nearly didn’t become an apprentice, then went on to win gold for bricklaying at WorldSkills

When I was at school, all the kids wanted to be the best at something – the best footballer, the best dancer. For me, building was the family trade so it felt right to go into bricklaying, but never did I think for one moment that I would be named the best apprentice in the UK, let alone in the world.

Receiving my Gold Medal at WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 in front of an audience of apprentices, industry representatives and government officials from all over the world, I made a promise to myself. I wanted to make sure that other apprentices got the same opportunities that entering WorldSkills UK Competitions had given me.

I nearly didn’t become an apprentice

This was made all the more important to me, as I nearly didn’t become an apprentice. At school, my teachers encouraged me to go to university, apprenticeships was a dirty word. I was fortunate that my dad employed apprentices so I could see the benefits of training on the job. I secured an apprenticeship with his company and I also attended Warrington Collegiate.

Having completed my apprenticeship in 2011, I went on to complete a degree in Construction Project Management at the University of Salford. I now manage a team of apprentices at Redrow and it has given me the opportunity to see what is missing from the current training set up. For me, it is criteria that stretch the apprentice, make them ambitious in the pursuit of skills and the opportunity to develop transferable skills.

Skills competitions deliver on all of these points.

For me, a competition element should form part of any apprenticeship assessment. Yes, you could say I am biased. But would I be where I am now without my competition experience?  No, I wouldn’t.

I have seen first-hand the huge benefits of entering competitions

I have seen first-hand the huge benefits that entering competitions can offer apprentices. Not only does the activity develop their technical skills but also helps shape wider attributes including effective teamwork, communication skills and working to tight deadlines, all of which are as important as high level technical skills on site.

At the end of March I am taking a group of apprentices from Redrow to watch the UK’s top bricklayers compete at Stockport College to secure the one place in the team to represent the UK in bricklaying at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. After achieving its best ever result at WorldSkills Sâo Paulo 2015, the UK is currently in the top ten in both the WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe rankings. This means the apprentices are learning from among the best in the world but it also shows them what they can realistically achieve in their own apprenticeship. You can see them becoming more motivated on site.

For me the visit will bring back a mix of emotions, but what I wouldn’t give for the chance to represent the UK and our apprenticeships on the world stage again.

FE Week is a media partner for the WorldSkills 2017 competition. Registration is open until 7 April.

Ashley Terron, an apprentice with Redrow Homes, was Gold Medallist in Bricklaying, WorldSkills Leipzig 2013

Breaking: Halfon sets out priorities for 2017-18 in skills funding letter

Spending priorities for 2017-18 have been set out by minister Robert Halfon in the annual Skills Funding letter.

The letter from the skills and apprenticeships minister to Skills Funding Agency boss Peter Lauener has just been uploaded onto gov.uk.

There are no surprises in terms of spending plan, with the £1.5bn commitment to support participation in adult FE through the adult education budget the same as last year.

But Mr Halfon signed-off with an intriguing final paragraph, looking ahead towards further change.

He said: “We are committed to investing in and strengthening the FE sector and are in the process of exploring opportunities to further build upon the important reforms already in train.

“I will write to update you of the government priorities for the sector once this work is complete.”

The minister stressed that the government remained committed to priorities set out in the 2016-17 skills funding letter.

He said: “We are retaining our commitment to maintaining funding for the adult education budget.”

“For 2017-18, we are investing £1.9 billion to fund participation in apprenticeship training for all ages; £1.5 billion to support participation in adult further education through the adult education budget, and £325 million available for provision at levels three to six through advanced learner loans,” he added.

Mr Halfon said he would leave it to Mr Lauener and his team to continue the implementation “of our high level priorities”.

“Please continue to work with the Department [for Education], in developing government funding policies and to make arrangements for monitoring progress and resolving any issues as they arise,” he said.

“I would like to thank you and your team for all that you have done over the past year and look forward to our continued progress going forward.”

This is likely to be the last skills funding letter to Mr Lauener.

FE Week reported on March 3 that the Education and Skills Funding Agencies are preparing for an imminent merger that will clear the way for him to retire. Mr Lauener held the role of EFA chief executive before he took on the top job at the SFA in November 2014.

How Toyota uses skills competitions to develop its workforce

Pete Spence explains how Toyota has used skills competitions as a benchmarking exercise to boost standards and develop its workforce

Our business ethos is one of premium quality and premium skill.

It is fairly obvious how we might go about proving the former: by making premium quality vehicles. But how do you demonstrate premium skill?

The answer is that you pitch yourself against the best in the UK, Europe and the world – which is exactly what we have done through our involvement in WorldSkills UK Competitions.

Competition activity is now fully embedded in our apprenticeship programmes

Toyota has a strong association with WorldSkills Competitions, with many of our manufacturing plants across the world entering apprentices into the competition. I am proud to say that the Motor Manufacturing apprentices were the only Toyota UK representation to make it to WorldSkills Sâo Paulo 2015, where they were awarded a medallion of excellence, to recognise them reaching the world class standard in mechatronics. We then had further success at EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016, where our apprentices were awarded the bronze medal in mechatronics. I’m also extremely proud that our involvement in these competitions helped the UK achieve its best ever result, with the UK currently ranked in the top ten in both the WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe rankings.

This is fantastic recognition for the talent in this country but we still have a fair way to go to close the skills gap.

In 2013, we started a benchmarking exercise to gauge the skills of our current workforce. I attended WorldSkills UK Competitions as this is a great way to compare the skills of apprentices throughout the UK. Following this, we introduced development plans to close the skills gaps in our company using elements of competition to address key areas including work accuracy, speed improvement in tasks, and error control in our apprentices’ work.

The training of apprentices continues and competition activity is now fully embedded in our apprenticeship programmes. Competitions enhance standards in apprenticeships by setting extra challenges. This mirrors what UK businesses need to do in order to thrive in a global economy. Everything our apprentices do in competition is required by them in the workplace. Competition activity is driven by and for the business.

The senior management have really bought into skills competitions

Last year, our apprenticeship placements grew to 48. I feel that this is, in part, due to the success of our apprentices Robyn Clarke and Andy Smith in the mechatronics competition at WorldSkills Sâo Paulo 2015. They are great ambassadors to young people thinking about a career in engineering. Their success shows potential apprentices the opportunities that exist in our company both in the UK and internationally.  

The senior management have really bought into skills competitions as a mechanism for developing our workforce, with our managing director travelling to Sâo Paulo to cheer on Robyn and Andy at the WorldSkills Competition. This created a real buzz throughout the company.

We have recently introduced the new Mechatronics Maintenance Technician apprenticeship which strongly features elements of skills competitions to ensure standards are continually being raised. At the end of March, our apprentices will once again focus on an international competition as they compete for the place to represent the UK in Mechatronics at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. I can proudly say the whole of Toyota Manufacturing UK will be behind them.

Registration for WorldSkills, for which FE Week is a media partner, is open until 7 April

Pete Spence is Senior Specialist in Technical Development at Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd

UTC joining college-backed multi academy trust after Ofsted blow

Swindon’s university technical college will join the Activate Learning Education Trust, after being hit by an ‘inadequate’ grade in its first ever Ofsted inspection.

UTC Swindon, which specialises in engineering and business entrepreneurship for students aged 14-19, will be the fifth school to join the multi-academy trust.

Other members of the multi-academy trust include ‘outstanding’-rated UTC Reading, UTC Oxfordshire, The Bicester School and Bicester Technology Studio.

Activate Learning Education Trust was established by Oxford-based education and training group Activate Learning, which also includes Banbury and Bicester College, City of Oxford College, and Reading College.

As part of the trust, UTC Swindon will be led by Joanne Harper, who is also principal of UTC Reading, with the aim of improving its leadership.

Ms Harper took up the new role of executive principal after supporting the UTC in her capacity as a National Leader for Education since November.

Current principal, Angela Barker-Dench, has reportedly been unwell for some time.

In her absence, the deputy principal, Jon Oliver, will work alongside Ms Harper as acting principal.

UTC Swindon received a damning review in its first ever Ofsted report, published last Friday (March 10).

The government’s watchdog slapped the UTC with grade fours in almost every category, including effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, outcomes for pupils, and 16 to 19 study programmes.

It received a grade three, or ‘requires improvement’, for personal development, behaviour and welfare.

Criticisms included “inadequate achievement of pupils in Years 10 and 11 in mathematics”, leaders making “insufficient use of the wide range of engineering-based industrial partners”, and the failure of senior leaders and governors to deal with “significant weaknesses in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in order to raise pupils’ achievement”.

The UTC was also slammed for delivering an engineering-based curriculum that “does not meet pupils’ needs well”, and failing to monitor the development of students’ “wider employability skills” in 16 to 19 provision.

Some strengths were identified, such as pupils behaving “well in lessons and around the site” and being “well looked after, including the high proportion who have special educational needs and/or disabilities”.

Ms Harper said: “I have been working with the UTC Swindon team since the autumn term and together we have already made significant progress against the areas highlighted in the inspection report.

“I am pleased that this was noted by the inspection team, who recognised that leaders have a clear picture of what needs to be done to improve.”

She added: “We are clearly not there yet and more needs to be done to ensure that UTC Swindon is a good school which offers the very best learning experience and outcomes for its students.

“By working with our staff, students, parents and partners we can raise standards to ensure that the school delivers the first-class education it has been designed for.”

Lee Nicholls, executive director for the Activate Learning Education Trust, said: “We are pleased to welcome UTC Swindon to the trust.

“The UTC has all the ingredients required to develop young people for successful careers in leading local industries. I am confident that, with the right support, it will deliver the improvements required to become a good school.” 

It comes after former education secretary Michael Gove called on a general FE college in Bedfordshire to save the latest University Technical College (UTC) to suffer Ofsted grading disappointment, as reported in FE Week.

A spokesperson for Bedford College said it was stepping in at the request of Mr Gove at the inadequate-rated Central Bedfordshire UTC — the third UTC to have been inspected.

Studio school to stop recruiting from 14 and become sixth form

A former Ofsted ‘outstanding’ studio school has announced it will stop recruiting from age 14 and only offer provision for 16 to 19-year-olds from 2018/19.

Rye Studio School, in East Sussex, wrote to parents to inform them of the conversion to a sixth form centre last week.

It will become the 16th institution of its kind to either close or stop delivering provision from 14 since the model’s conception in 2010.

Studio schools are a vocational-based alternative to mainstream education for 14 to 19-year-olds, similar to university technical colleges but with smaller cohorts of up to just 300 pupils.

The news on Rye Studio School will be the latest blow to those who have been trying to push post-14, including Lord Baker for UTCs, as a better age for vocational-based learner recruitment to post-16 traditionally for FE colleges.

The school in east Sussex, which was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2015 but slumped to ‘requires improvement’ in January, will have a “period of consolidation” during 2017/18.

This means the school will continue to deliver teaching to pupils who have already started courses from age 14, but not be accepting new pupils for years 10 and 12 from the next academic year.

In 2018/19, the studio school will re-design as a 16-to-19 sixth form centre and will be called Studio 6.

Tim Hulme, chief executive of Rye Academy Trust which runs three schools, said the decision was down to financial pressures which are hitting the trust as a whole.

He said the trust is “now at breaking point” and the only way some schools are going to manage “this significant cut in real terms” is through a “re-organisation”.

“The trust is a relatively small one and cannot sustain the current level of operating costs against a backdrop of cuts to pupil funding,” Mr Hulme said.

“Our three Schools are struggling to function adequately on a day-to-day basis, and, in addition, we are severely hampered in our ability to recruit and retain staff.

“I am totally committed to all our learners – we are looking to have a year of consolidation for the studio with view to re-design it for 2018/19. Studio 6 will offer several vocational pathways alongside the popular creative courses.”

Mr Hulme added that for any pupils who have applied and been accepted to join the studio school from 2017/18, they will be “escorted to other local colleges who offer sixth form provision”.

Rye Studio School’s conversion decision makes it the 16th institution of its kind to either close or stop delivering provision at age 14.

It follows plans to close by the Future Tech Studio School in Warrington earlier this month, which cited low pupil numbers as the reason for the decision – a common problem for the studio school model.

The two recent announcements mean just 34 studio schools will be left open.

Analysis of Ofsted data by FE Week’s sister paper FE Week last March showed that of the 31 studio schools that had been visited, 21 were less than half full and only one reached the 300-pupil mark.

David Nicoll, the Studio Schools Trust’s chief executive, previously told FE Week that the schools have had difficulties recruiting because the model is not seen as “traditional”.

Recruitment at 14 has proved to be a tough ask, with Michael Gove, a key ministerial architect of the UTC model, recently admitting the experiment had failed.

The former education secretary wrote in his column in The Times in February that “the evidence has accumulated and the verdict is clear” on the 14-to-19 institutions.

He said: “Twice as many UTCs are inadequate as outstanding, according to Ofsted. UTC pupils have lower GCSE scores, make less progress academically and acquire fewer qualifications than their contemporaries in comprehensives.”

Warm tributes paid to ‘doyenne’ of the employability and skills sector Janette Faherty

Fond tributes have been paid to Janette Faherty OBE, a “doyenne” of the employability and skills sector who has died after a short illness.

The founder of Avanta Enterprise Ltd, which provided welfare-to-work and skills training services across the UK, was aged 67.

Ms Faherty started her company in 1983 as TNG, but it became Avanta after a merger in 2006. It employed over 800 staff and delivered outsourced government services in employment, vocational skills and enterprise.  Avanta was later acquired by Staffline, a national recruitment and outsourcing organisation, for £65.5 million in May 2014.

James Clements Smith, managing director of employability and skills provider Prevista, where Ms Faherty was also a board member, had known her for almost 20 years.

He said: “Janette was an inspirational leader, she never compromised her belief that women entrepreneurs could be that: women.

“Janette was an inspiration to me personally and professionally and helped me shape my thoughts and direction for my business; she was selfless in that respect.”

Her friend Helen Richardson, managing director of traineeships, and employability provider Workpays, described her as a “doyenne” of the industry, who still “knew everyone’s names and cared about their opinions”. 

“Her gentle style encouraged us to share our thoughts and follow through on our ambitions,” she added.

Ms Faherty, who died last Friday of cancer, was widely praised for dedicating her career to the sector, gaining an OBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list 2010, for services to unemployed people and entrepreneurship.

Born in 1949, Ms Faherty was educated at Ellesmere Port Grammar School.

She gained an honours degree in politics and modern history at Manchester University, and went on to achieve a master’s degree in philosophy at Brunel University.

As well as her role as chief executive and founder of Avanta, she was one of the founding members of the Institute of Employability Professionals, the professional association for the employability profession, and its chair from 2011.

From 2012, she served as a director of the Digital Youth Academy, which offered training programmes in digital marketing and social media skills and a trustee of My Bnk, a charity that delivers financial education and enterprise workshop. 

Fran Parry, managing director at employability and skills consultancy Bright Sparks, described Ms Faherty as a ‘friend, colleague and mentor”.

She said: “She was a generous giver of time; taking the view that ‘ if you ask a busy woman’ the job is most likely to get done.

“She was constantly available with good advice and was always free with her introductions to her remarkable contacts list.”

She added: “She was the consummate networker. Janette more than deserved her OBE and the sector was delighted to reflect in some of the glory of that honour.”

Friends and colleagues of Ms Faherty are working in her memory to develop an annual Janette Faherty OBE, Award for Entrepreneurship in Employability & Skills. 

Sponsored  by education and employment organisation Workpays and Prevista,  the award will be for made to a new business set up to provide education, skills or employability which operates against a strong set of values to meet the needs of its customers. 

Ms Faherty’s family has set up a just giving page and ask that instead of flowers, donations could be made to the North London Hospice: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/JanetteFaherty

It’s time to back T-levels

It’s fantastic news that the government has backed-up its T-level plans with a significant cash commitment.

Yes I know that the headline figure of £500 million-a-year won’t be realised until after 2020, with far lower sums committed in the preceding couple of years.

But it’s worth remembering that the government said last July there would be no new money to fund these 15 new routes.

There’s obviously been a major change of heart which is to be welcomed.

Lots of detail still needs to be worked on, with the plan for example for just one awarding organisation for each qualification bound to cause headaches.

But a sensible amount of time is being allowed, for the many kinks to be ironed out, before full implementation in 2022, with a small number of pathfinder routes in 2019.

This is of course in stark contrast to the imminent apprenticeship reforms, which many people justifiably fear are being rushed.

All in all I think the sector needs to embrace T-levels. If we maintain a positive outlook, we can help shape qualifications that should significantly boost the standing of FE and benefit thousands of learners in the process.

The UK needs to demonstrate global skills standards

Hosting skills competitions sends out a strong message that the UK is amongst the best, says Lesley Davies

Many say a week isn’t long enough to celebrate the success of our apprentices and I’m inclined to agree with them. I, for one wish the success of last week’s National Apprenticeship Week could be repeated throughout the year. 

As a sector, we should all be proud of what we have achieved over the last ten years in establishing National Apprenticeship Week as a fundamental event in the academic calendar. At Trafford College, we played our own part by celebrating the success of the apprentices we work with and also providing information, advice and guidance to school leavers and their parents, enabling them to hear the benefits first hand from existing apprentices and employers.

However, since the first National Apprenticeship Week in 2007 the political and economic backdrop against which we are working has changed significantly. We are increasingly facing global employment challenges, and as a result we need a renewed focus on the training we deliver through our apprenticeship programmes. There has been much discussion about the apprenticeship reforms, but alongside increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of the training delivered, we need to work with employers to focus on world-class standards.

Many of the businesses we work with in Greater Manchester are international organisations, which is why we need to show that global standards are embedded in our training. We can achieve this through the knowledge and experience gained from the UK’s involvement in the international WordSkills Competition.

We have long been using competition activity to enhance training programmes

Working with other local colleges and training providers, we have long been using competition activity to enhance the training programmes we run. For me, they are a proven mechanism in motivating and stretching apprentices and students, showing them just what they can achieve in the workplace. However, the opportunity to be able to benchmark standards in the UK with over 70 countries through the WorldSkills Competition is invaluable.

The UK’s success at the last two international competitions, which saw us placed in the top ten in the WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe rankings, shows we have a strong base from which we can grow our expertise in training to world-class standards. But to do this, we must all play our part: Government, industry and our sector.

I am proud that Trafford College, alongside The Manchester College, Stockport College, Coleg Cambria and Training 2000 will be hosting Team UK Selection for WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. Not only will the UK’s top apprentices and students be using our facilities to demonstrate they should be chosen to represent the UK on the world stage, but we will also host apprentices from countries including India, Denmark, Canada and Russia as they use the opportunity to test their skills against the UK.

In addition, hosting the competitions helps us to internationalise our existing students, opening their eyes to the world that they live and compete in, and providing them with the opportunity to see the very best students at work. This sends out a strong message to the employers we work with but also to employers where those international competitors are from, that the UK is amongst the best, rising to the challenges that a fast-changing global economy presents.

Registration for WorldSkills, for which FE Week is a media partner, is open until 7 April

Lesley Davies is Principal of Trafford College

Ofsted watch: College bounces back from inadequate to good

A college that has bounced back from a grade four to a grade two is leading the charge on a week that has been good almost across the board.

Stanmore College was applauded for its “rapid and significant improvement” since it received the lowest possible grade in September 2015, in a report published March 6 but based on an inspection at the end of January.

The 3,000-learner institution was rated good in all areas, with inspectors noting that the proportion of learners achieving their qualifications “has risen and is high”, while learners and apprentices were “making good progress”.

Teachers were praised for their “skills, which are now good, to support their learners effectively and raise their expectations” and to “be successful”.

East Kent College retained its overall grade two rating – but with outstanding aspects – following a full inspection in late January, in a report also published March 6.

The college’s “outstanding leadership strategies” met the “economic and social needs of students across the region” as well as “employers’ skills needs”, the report found.

Its work experience provision was also deemed “outstanding”, while the “almost all students enjoy very good levels of progression”.

Brockenhurst College had less reason to celebrate its grade two this week, as it lost the outstanding rating it had held for nearly nine years.

Leaders were commended for their “decisive and swift action” which mean that “in-year progress and achievement has improved considerably” following a fall in performance in 2015/16, in a report published March 6 but based on an inspection at the end of January.

A “high proportion” of learners “make good progress and achieve” thanks to “good teaching”, but “not enough apprentices” achieved their qualifications on time.

Independent training provider Skills Training UK Limited also retained its good rating, in a report published March 8 but based on an inspection in mid-February.

Leaders at the Wembley-based provider were found to have a “strong commitment” to learners with “low educational attainment and from areas of deprivation”.

Trainees progress successfully into “sustained employment, further training and apprenticeships”, while apprentices “develop high levels of practical skills and behaviours”, inspectors noted.

The Leigh University Technical College, in Dartford, received a grade two overall in its first ever inspection.

The report, published March 7 but based on an inspection in early February, noted that the 14 to 19 institution’s sixth form students “typically achieve well”, and “at a high level in technical qualifications and core mathematics” in 2016.

Two adult and community learning providers, Leeds City Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly, also retained their grade two ratings following short inspections.

That means the only FE and skills provider not to have received a grade two this week was independent training provider Brooks and Kirk Ltd.

The Boston-based provider received a grade three overall following its first ever inspection, carried out mid-February, in a report published March 6.

The proportion of learners completing their qualifications on time was found to be “too low”, while senior managers were criticised for not ensuring that “staff improve their practice sufficiently to secure high achievement rates and good progress by all learners”.

But inspectors also noted that “learners enjoy their courses”, with benefits from participation including “progress into employment or promotion”.

 

GFE Colleges Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Brockenhurst College 31/01/2017 06/03/2017 2 1
Stanmore College 31/01/2017 06/03/2017 2 4
East Kent College 24/01/2017 06/03/2017 2 2

 

Independent Learning Providers Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
Skills Training UK Ltd 14/02/2017 08/03/2017 2 2
Brooks and Kirk Ltd 15/02/2017 06/03/2017 3 –

 

Other (including UTCs) Inspected Published Grade Previous grade
The Leigh UTC 01/02/2017 07/03/2017 2 –

 

Short inspections (remains grade 2) Inspected Published
Leeds City Council 08/02/2017 08/03/2017
Council of the Isles of Scilly 15/02/2017 07/03/2017