ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY SOCIAL MOBILITY GROUP-SEVEN TRUTHS ABOUT, AND POLICY RESPONSES TO SUPPORT, SOCIAL MOBILITY

 Parliamentarians report publishes a guide to help policymakers support social mobility

Comment

The All-Party group on Social Mobility was formed to “discuss and promote the cause of social mobility;  to raise issues of concern and help inform policy makers and opinion formers”. Social mobility in the UK has, we know, stalled, as the Sutton Trust confirms  in its  research. The Coalition government is committed to improving social mobility. The All Party Parliamentary group  has just published an interim report, which flags up some truths about social mobility and some possible  policy responses and options. Although much of what it concludes might seem obvious its seventh truth ‘ Personal resilience and emotional well-being are the missing link in the chain’ is striking and reinforces the case being put by reformers that better  support for  character development , positive thinking and resilience among pupils is both  possible and desirable.

The Chairman of the Group is Damian Hinds MP, and one of the Vice-Chairs is Baroness Morris of Yardley, the former Education Secretary.

The Seven Truths and the Policy responses according required:

Truth

1.The point of greatest leverage for social   mobility is what happens between ages

0 and 3, primarily in the home

Policy Challenge

A massive premium on ‘parenting’ skills

Truth

2. You can also break the cycle through education…

Policy Challenge

Children must be able to access learning (school readiness; reading ability)

Truth

3. …the most important controllable factor being the quality of your teaching

Policy Challenge

Focus first on quality of teachers & teaching

Truth

4. But it’s also about what happens after the school bell rings

Policy Challenge

Find ways to level the playing field on out-of school opportunities, and participation

Truth

5. University is the top determinant of later opportunities – so pre-18 attainment is key

Policy Challenge

Reinforces importance of school years – but also raises questions about university admissions

Truth

6. But later pathways to mobility are possible, given the will and support

Policy Challenge

Find the exemplar programmes, analyse and demonstrate impact

Truth

7. Personal resilience and emotional well-being are the missing link in the chain

Policy Challenge

Recognise that social/emotional ‘skills’ underpin academic and other success – and can be taught

Link to All Party Group Report

THE COMING JOBS WAR

JOBS WAR

We must create new jobs as a matter of urgency and the key is leadership

Clifton gives depressing analysis but suggests too that  there is hope

Comment

The book The Coming Jobs War-What every leader should know about job creation- written by CEO of Gallup, Jim Clifton argues that, of the five billion adults in the world aged 15 and over, three billion tell Gallup they want to work. But there are only 1.2 billion such jobs, leaving a staggering shortfall of 1.8 billion who will be unable to find quality, interesting, full-time jobs.  We are experiencing very high rates of youth unemployment here in the UK, including among recent graduates, but our situation is better than in Greece, Italy and Spain. The Spanish figures show almost half of all 16-24 year-olds in the country are jobless – 48.6%.

Although Clifton focuses mainly on the USA  he  clearly sees his analysis as having a global relevance.  It’s a provocative book and presents a challenge for business and government leaders.  Leaders of countries and cities, Clifton says, should focus on creating good jobs because as jobs go, so does the fate of nations. Jobs bring prosperity, peace, and human development – but long-term unemployment ruins lives, cities, and countries.  Creating good jobs though is tough, not helped by many leaders are doing many things wrong. They’re undercutting entrepreneurs for example instead of cultivating them. They’re running companies with depressed workforces. They’re letting the next generation of job creators rot in state bad schools.  A global jobs war is coming, and there’s no time to waste he claims. Cities are crumbling for lack of good jobs. Nations are in revolt because their people can’t get good jobs. The cities and countries that act first, that focus everything they have on creating good jobs — are the ones that will win. This really has to be a war on job loss, on low workplace energy, on healthcare costs, on low graduation rates, on brain drain, and on community disengagement,” he says. “Those things destroy cities, destroy job growth and destroy city GDP. Every city requires its own master plan that is as serious as planning for war.” The next big breakthrough, and the one that will help keep the United States on top, will come from a combination of the forces within big cities, great universities, and powerful local leaders:

Local leadership: The leadership at the local level is key to creating new jobs. Cities need leaders who will bring in new companies that create new jobs. Companies need to hire the right people. “More money, jobs and GDP turns on who is named manager than on any other decision,” says Clifton. “Fire all lousy managers today.”

Entrepreneurial innovation: “Entrepreneurs are the rainmakers,” says Clifton. When enough entrepreneurs gather in a city and create formal jobs, they start a virtuous cycle. Silicon Valley is a great example of this phenomenon. Other cities are showing positive signs of growth. Business leaders who are willing to take risks will pave the way for new jobs and economic growth.

Education: A few of the most well- known entrepreneurs dropped out of college, and some people believe that college gets in the way of innovation. Not according to Clifton. Great universities are the origin of most highly successful start-ups. They are a critical part of new-company formation, and America has a decided advantage because its top 100 universities are its most differentiating global strength in the war for jobs.

Clifton concludes The Coming Jobs War with ten findings that are “the most important of literally trillions of combinations of data and opinions Gallup has studied” for the United States to win:

The biggest problem facing the world is adequate jobs.

Job creation can only be accomplished in cities.

The three key sources of job creation in America are: the country’s top 100 cities, its top 100 universities, and its 10,000 local ‘tribal’ leaders.

Entrepreneurship is more important than innovation.

America cannot outrun its healthcare costs.

Because all public education results are local, local leaders need to lead their whole cities and all youth programs to war on the dropout rate, with the strategy of one city, one school, and one student at a time.

The United States must differentiate itself by doubling its number of engaged employees.

Jobs occur when new customers appear.

Every economy rides on the backs of small to medium sized businesses.

The United States needs to more than triple its exports in the next five years and increase them by 20 times in the next 30 years.

The basic message here, from Clifton, is that sustainable jobs do not just happen or are the result of government action. Indeed, the all-important ‘start-ups’ and ‘shoot-ups’ don’t occur because of new legislation, new rules, more free money, or any other government tweaking. They occur during moments of unusually high inspiration. More specifically, high inspiration toward entrepreneurship and free enterprise. There is no other way out, he argues There will in practice be no surge in ‘start-ups’ and ‘shoot-ups’ until leaders change the environment from its current state of no confidence to high confidence.

Easier said, than done.What is clear is that our economy  is not creating enough jobs for those coming into the jobs market and    you can have loads of entrepreneurs out there , but  if they cant  arrange lines of credit and loans, or  attract investors, no amount of good ideas is going to create sustainable jobs .Our politicians have no quick fix to  address this.Operation Merlin the governments plan, with the banks, to ease credit shows no sign of working .  Improving the supply and price of credit to the lower end of the market is an urgent priority

LOSING OUT IN THE ARTS-US STUDY-ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ARTS HELPS ATTAINMENT OF DISADVANTAGED PUPILS

LOSING OUT IN THE ARTS-US STUDY

Engagement with the Arts helps  the attainment and civic engagement  of  the most disadvantaged pupils

Are the Arts being crowded out?

Comment

Rocco Landesman, the Chairman National Endowment for the Arts (US), says that over the past four decades, budget pressures and  an increasing focus on just reading and maths have  crowded the arts out of too many school days. What’s  lost?  Landesman claims -The chance for a child to express himself. The chance for the idiosyncratic child who has not yet  succeeded elsewhere to shine. A sense of play, of fun,of discovery.  But, adds Landesman , James Catterall and the  fellow authors of a new report on Arts and Achievement,  have shown  that something else is lost, too- potential.

Students who have arts-rich experiences in school  in fact  do better  across-the-board academically, and they also  become more active and engaged citizens, voting,  volunteering, and generally participating at higher  rates than their peers.

The reports key finding is that ‘Socially and economically disadvantaged  children and teenagers who have high levels of  arts engagement or arts learning show more  positive outcomes in a variety of areas than their  low-arts-engaged peers.’ They earn better grades and demonstrate higher rates of college enrolment and attainment.

At-risk teenagers or young adults with a history of intensive arts experiences show achievement  levels closer to, and in some cases exceeding, the  levels shown by the general population studied

Young adults who had intensive arts experiences in high school are also  more likely to show civic-minded behaviour than young adults who did not. They take an interest in current affairs, as evidenced by comparatively high levels of volunteering, voting, and engagement with local or school politics.  In many cases, this difference appears in both low-  and high-SES groups

Most of the positive relationships between arts involvement and academic outcomes apply only to at-risk populations (low-SES). But positive relationships between arts and civic engagement   are noted in high-SES groups as well.

The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from  Four Longitudinal Studies; James S. Catterall,   University of California Los Angeles   with   Susan A. Dumais,   Louisiana State University   and   Gillian Hampden-Thompson,   University of York, U.K.

April 2012

http://www.nea.gov/research/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf

DELAYED STATUTORY GUIDANCE ON CAREERS GUIDANCE IN SCHOOLS- CRITICISED BY PROFESSIONALS

Sham Consultation- followed by weak Guidance?

What do you think?

Comment

Long delayed Statutory Guidance on Careers Guidance in schools has just been published (26 March). The delay suggests differences of opinion between Ministers about how robust and how detailed the Statutory Guidance should be. As Professor Tony Watts points out (see commentary) this delay means that schools have been setting their budgets for the financial year  beginning April 2012, without guidance of any kind about the  new  duty they have to  discharge from September 2012, and the financial provision required for this. The final published version of the Guidance does not according to Professor Watts,  incorporate any of the substantive  amendments  proposed by members of the Advisory Group.

Section 29 of the Education Act 2011 places schools under a duty to secure access to independent careers guidance for their pupils in school years 9-11. Careers guidance secured under the new duty must:

be presented in an impartial manner

include information on the full range of post-16 education or training options, including Apprenticeships

promote the best interests of the pupils to whom it is given.

Schools ‘must have regard to it when carrying out duties relating to the provision of careers guidance for young people’ The purpose of this guidance is to identify the key responsibilities of schools in relation to careers guidance for young people. Academies and Free Schools will be subject to this  guidance through their Funding Agreements

The Education Act 2011 inserts a new duty, section 42A, into Part VII of the Education Act 1997, requiring schools to secure access to independent careers guidance (Independent is defined as external to the school) for pupils in years 9-11. Careers guidance must be presented in an impartial manner (Impartial is defined as showing no bias or favouritism towards a particular education or work option )and promote the best interests of the pupils to whom it is given. Careers guidance must also include information on all options available in respect of 16-18 education or training, including apprenticeships and other work-based education and training options.

Crucially the Guidance states ‘ In fulfilling their new duty, schools should secure access to independent face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support for young people to make successful transitions, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds or those who have special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities.

 ‘Schools may work individually or in consortia/partnerships to secure careers guidance services. Schools can commission independent careers guidance from providers engaged in delivering the National Careers Service or from other providers or individual careers guidance practitioners, as they see fit. Where schools deem face-to-face careers guidance to be appropriate for their pupils, it can be provided by qualified careers professionals.’

 Note it says it ‘can’ be provided by a qualified  professional rather than ‘must’ be provided.

Professor Tony Watts is absolutely scathing (see commentary) about the Statutory Guidance and the consultation, with the Advisory Group, that preceded the release of the Guidance. He described the consultation exercise as  a  sham   and the document  as ‘dismal’ saying -‘It effectively leaves it open for schools to  decide not only what they want to do for their pupils in this area, but also whether they  wish to do anything of substance at all. Most schools will do whatever they can, because  they care for the futures of their pupils; but some will make minimal provision, because  they consider that the Government does not require them to do more.’

The Guidance, he claims, largely ignores recent Ministerial assurances over the importance of face to face advice particularly for the most disadvantaged pupils. Watts  writes:

‘The Statutory Guidance as published ignores these recent assurances. It offers no  means for preventing a school from stating that it has discharged its responsibility bysignposting to a website or helpline. All the school has to do, in the terms of section 13 of the Guidance, is to state that it views such signposting, rather than providing independent face-to-face guidance, as ‘the most suitable support for young people to make successful transitions’. Despite the assurances sought and presumed to be given in the House of Lords, and the statements by Ministers …..the Guidance appears to  provide no basis on which a sustainable challenge to such a position could be mounted.’

Watts continues ‘ There is no indication of who is to determine ‘where it is the most suitable  support’, or on what criteria. Implicitly, it is left for schools to determine this, on whatever criteria they choose. If they decide that access to independent face-to face guidance is not ‘the most suitable form of support’ for most or indeed for any  of their pupils, they are free to do so. No provision is made for young people or their parents to have any say in the matter, in the form of a right or entitlement.’

Watts adds ‘ The statement that such guidance is ‘particularly’ relevant to children from  ,disadvantaged backgrounds or with special educational needs can easily be read  as implying that it is only relevant to such pupils. The point was strongly made by  the Advisory Group in the consultation that this should be balanced with a strong  statement about the value of independent careers guidance for most, if not all,  young people. No such statement has been included.’

There is genuine anger among many professionals who feel that expert opinion has been largely ignored in the consultation process and that the document doesn’t honour ministers very public commitments.  The guidance is seen as too weak and will mean that many schools fail to offer access to face to face advice to those who need it most and that if and when it is provided, it doesnt have to come from a  qualified professional.

Statutory Guidance on Careers Guidance in Schools-March 2012

Careers England Release on Guidance

 

Commentary on Statutory Guidance-Professor Tony Watts

SHIFT IN GOVERNMENT POLICY ON CAREERS GUIDANCE IN SCHOOLS

Careers advice in schools

Signs of a shift in Government policy

Comment

Minister John Hayes has provided assurances to Careers Advice and Guidance professionals that statutory guidance on careers advice in schools will make it clear that schools have a duty to provide access to independent professional guidance outside the school. So schools wont be able simply to rely on an in-house teacher to give careers guidance to pupils. In a statement, released by Careers England, this month the Minister said:

“”The new statutory guidance to schools on Section 29 of the Education Act 2011 will  underline the new legal duty on schools to secure independent and impartial careers advice  and guidance. It will not be sufficient for schools to employ their own careers professional, good though they may be, and then rely on signposting to a website, excellent as that may be.  Young people benefit from face-to-face careers guidance. As Lord Hill said in the House of Lords during the passage of the Education Bill, ‘Pupils can benefit enormously from support offered in person that raises their aspirations and leads them onto a successful path.’”

So ,Statutory Guidance ,providing chapter and verse on this thorny issue,  will be published soon .It marks  a  shift in policy . The original Government position was  that this was  a matter best left to schools who should be given autonomy to decide how best to deliver advice and guidance to their pupils ie via a web portal, by phone or face to face.  Simon Hughes MP and others argued that high quality independent, face to face, professional advice is hugely important  and  particularly so  for the most disadvantaged pupils, many of whom have either not been getting good , timely advice in schools  or  have been getting no advice at all, which damages their life opportunities, and undermines, overall , the   governments social  mobility agenda. So, although it will, in theory, be left up to schools, where appropriate, they will be ‘encouraged’ to provide access to independent face to face advice. This corresponds with efforts to raise the quality of professional advice on offer in the guidance sector.

Minister David Willetts said, in reply to an oral PQ on careers guidance 15 March, “The Department for Education will publish statutory guidance for schools very soon, and it will make it clear that schools cannot discharge their duty (in respect of careers guidance) simply by relying on in-house support or by signposting to a website.”

But there is a problem. The  prevarication  and delays, including the failure to issue guidance as expected  in January  means that  schools have been setting budgets without any guidance costs being  taken into account.

RUSSELL GROUP HELPS WITH POST 16 CHOICES

 

RUSSELL GROUP HELPS WITH POST 16 CHOICES

Useful guide for students to help choose the right qualifications for post 16 options

Comment

What you decide to study post-16 can have a major impact on what you can study at degree level. Whether or not you have an idea of the subject you want to study at university, having the right information now will give you more options when the time comes to make your mind up.  The Russell Group of Universities, with the help of the Institute of Career Guidance, has published a guide that  aims to help students make an informed decision when choosing their course for post-16 education.  The Group believes that it will be of use to parents and advisors too. This is an important document. It would surely help to have a similar one for pupils aged 13 and their parents and advisors as the wrong choice at that  crucial age can massively influence a child’s future options post 16 too and indeed whether they can apply for university courses.  It is the case that many pupils, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, are limited in their choices of HE courses because they have not taken appropriate GCSEs or vocational equivalents, often because they have had poor advice in school  or indeed no advice. One question put by the Guide is – Know what you want to study? – Check out the entry requirements  If you have a university course which you are keen on, have you checked  the relevant university website or UCAS course search to find out whether  this course requires certain subjects at advanced level? Pretty obvious, of course, but some pupils don’t even do this.  The preamble to the Guide says ‘ Getting your post-16 subject choices right is an important first step towards university but it won’t guarantee you a place on your chosen degree course. Entry to Russell Group universities, in particular, can be highly competitive and academic background, while vitally important, is only one of several things universities will take into account when they consider your application. They will also want to select students who are clearly well-motivated and passionate about their subject. In some cases, they may even ask you to gain some work experience in a relevant field. ‘

 Informed Choices; A Russell Group guide to making decisions about  post-16 education 2011

http://russellgroup.org/Informed%20Choices%20final.pdf

 

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS-WHAT IS GOVERNMENT POLICY?

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS

Graduates ripe for exploitation

So what’s government policy?

It is a fact of life now that many jobseekers, particularly graduates, are asked by potential   employers how many internships they have done in job interviews and details  are now  included in CVs. They are expected to have done two or three internships before applying for a permanent job.  Internships typically last  from one week to up to six months. Most internships are unpaid and frequently interns are not even given their expenses or travel costs by the host company or charity. The net result is that many are exploited and feel used. It’s a given that this area needs greater scrutiny and offending companies should be named and shamed. So, what  is the government’s policy on this?

This is David Willetts’ answer to a PQ on internships-7 February- ‘ We want to make as many opportunities as possible available to talented young people from all backgrounds. It is important we do not close down potentially valuable options, for example where the intern is acting as a volunteer. For this reason we do not rule out unpaid internships but ask businesses to offer internships openly and transparently and provide financial support to ensure fair access. We have recently updated guidance on Business Link and Directgov to provide more clarity on internships and to remind employers of their legal responsibilities, including that those who are entitled to the national minimum wage (NMW) should receive it. The Graduate Talent Pool website, funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, also directs employers to this guidance and along with the vacancy quality assurance process, ensures that no employer is left in any doubt about his or her obligation to comply with national minimum wage legislation.’

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS

UNPAID INTERNSHIPS

One of the less attractive US imports

Comment

In the States internships- meaning unpaid work experience for mainly graduates (college leavers) which looks good in a CV, have been around for a while. They are increasingly popular here too. Graduates are now expected to have completed at least three or four such internships before applying for a serious paid job. Many internships last just a week or two .Others much longer, up to a year. Generally interns do not get paid anything for their work. Some will get free food and travel costs, but by no means all.  A survey by campaigning group Interns Anonymous found that half of interns –had completed two or more internships. Eighty-six per cent of the 647 people who responded to the online survey said their internship lasted over a month. A further 12% said they had completed a six-month placement recently.  Employment law is clear on pay. If people are adding value to a company they can be deemed workers and should be paid at least the national minimum wage. As the Guardian has revealed, the government’s own lawyers believe most interns are workers and should be paid, but the survey – the biggest of its kind so far – found that most interns only received expenses and very few of those who  were paid at or above the minimum wage, which is  currently £6.08 an hour. Only those with supportive parents can really afford to do these internships. So they are not then drivers of social mobility. Who can offer three months of their lives working without pay, living in a big city? Simple answer-only people with alternative financial support.  Simply travelling to and from work and eating will cost a minimum of £50 a week. And this assumes you are paying nothing for accommodation. Straight away that excludes a whole chunk of society. If it looks like exploitation, it probably is. Some graduates are now even  paying for internships. Start-up Etsio has made selling internships its business model. They charge interns up to £100 a day to get work experience in small, specialised businesses. Kit Sadgrove, who manages Etsio, admitted internships were harming social mobility by stopping poorer people from gaining experience but did not believe he was breaching minimum wage laws. “Large companies are typically taking advantage of interns,” he said. “They are replacing paid staff with interns who work for them for six months or longer at a time and they are doing jobs that should be taken up by proper people. We are not doing that.” Some of the worst of the exploiters ironically are the big campaigning charities, the first of course to criticise politicians the city for sharp practice and yet they offer long term internships and don’t pay graduates what they are worth.  One intern who blogged about her experiences did an internship with a leading children’s charity which specialised in getting disadvantaged children into further and higher education, yet the charity could see no problem with expecting interns to work full time and would only pay expenses if the intern asked for them. She found herself in the awkward position of explaining that she was one of those children they currently helped and that working full time on no pay was impossible.

Some employers are clearly taking advantage of interns, deceiving them, offering shallow experiences that won’t actually help them develop their professional skills . They are often dangled the carrot of possible future employment, only to be strung along for weeks, and not offered a job at the end of it .Some Interns appear to be trapped in a cycle of getting within sniffing distance of paid work, only to be replaced with the next cohort of ‘free’ interns with graduate level skills.  Interns provide a huge amount of the low level labour required in many professions, and do the job of a normal worker rather than just ‘shadowing’ one. If this is the case then it is almost certainly illegal.  There are those who praise internships.  They provide a chance to gain knowledge, skills and confidence in the transition from education to employment. They allow students to test the water in a particular profession before making a firm career choice.   They are not truly exploitative as internships are entirely voluntary.  Maybe.  But how voluntary are they, if employers are now expecting students to have done a number of internships before they apply for any job? That doesn’t look voluntary to me. How voluntary is it if its expected on the CV? Most interns do unpaid work because they believe, with some justification, that this is what is now expected of them in the employment market and among recruiters.

Here’s a case study. An intern,  with a good Degree, working as  a runner for a  reputable film production company was asked to  organise  temporary  staff security  for some location shots at night  in central  London. He organised this, and was himself   part of the team providing security cover over several hours. Those he recruited were paid. He wasn’t.  Why?  Because err.. he was  an ‘unpaid’  intern. He did the same work as the others and clearly added value, undertaking a task that otherwise would have been undertaken by a paid member of staff – so clearly he should have been paid. No argument.  But , sadly, and this isn’t news to most reading this, this kind of exploitative behaviour is widespread-if you don’t believe me talk to recent graduates.   With this logic at work within seemingly reputable companies we ought to wake up and smell the coffee -we have a problem- its called exploitation – and with unemployment for those aged 16-24 at 22%, this exploitation looks likely to increase rather than diminish.  In a recent poll held by the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the professional body for careers staff in 130 institutions, 85% thought the government should clamp down on unpaid internships.  Agcas believes that unpaid internships are not just exploitative of individuals, but also restrict social mobility as they are disproportionately difficult for graduates from lower socioeconomic groups to take up. Agcas advises its members that they shouldn’t advertise or broker internships that contravene legislation. The Association also urges the government to take action on employers offering unpaid internships illegally and, if appropriate, to review policy and legislation so the benefits of these are available to all.  Why are politicians and the mainstream media so quiet about this issue – could it be because they employ interns?  Internships may have worth for both the individuals concerned and those who employ them-but we surely need to address the issue of exploitation sooner rather than later.

SCHOOLS WILL BE EXPECTED TO OFFER FACE TO FACE GUIDANCE TO DISADVANTAGED PUPILS

FACE TO FACE GUIDANCE

Statutory Guidance will place a clear expectation on schools to offer face to face careers guidance to disadvantaged pupils

Comment

Lord Hill conceded in the Lords recently, during the passage of the Education Bill, (which has just received Royal Assent), the need for face to face professional careers guidance for disadvantaged pupils. This was confirmed in an answer from Nick Gibb, the schools minister, to a PQ on 8 November ‘ ‘The Government recognises that many young people can benefit from a face-to-face discussion of their skills, abilities and interests to help them think through future education and career options. We will highlight this important issue to schools through statutory guidance in advance of the new duty to secure access to independent careers guidance commencing in September 2012, subject to the passage of the Education Bill. The guidance will place a clear expectation on schools that they should secure face-to-face careers guidance where it is the most suitable support, particularly for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.’…

Ministers appear to have got the message, albeit pretty late in the day ,that the more disadvantaged the pupil  is ,the more mentoring support  and good  face to face , independent professional advice and guidance they  will need  to help them make the appropriate choices   for qualifications, and  to identify the best pathways into training , higher education and work, and the earlier they have this the better .Whether Statutory Guidance makes this happen, in schools , remains to be seen.  With record rates of youth unemployment just announced   this issue  now has a much larger signature on Ministers  radar.

Hansard 8 November  PQ

Notes:

John Hayes, Minister for Skills, announced on 3 November, at the ICG conference,   that in the New Year he intends to establish a National Council for the Careers Service. Addressing delegates concerns that online and telephone services will replace face to face guidance, he said: “I share the view that face to face guidance is crucial, but I don’t make light of [the importance of] online and telephone advice. However, I do understand that face to face advice marks the difference between information and advice, particularly for those with no access to social networks.”  The new National Careers Service launches in April 2012 .The careers sector is currently leading the development of new professional standards to which careers advisers can aspire. The Careers Profession Alliance is working to agree those standards by next year, A revised matrix Standard  was also launched last month.  The new model will transfer the responsibility (in 2012) for career information advice and guidance from local authorities to schools. Schools will have a duty to secure access to these services – which must be independent and impartial – for pupils in years 9, 10 and 11.

TWIGGS EDGE SPEECH

TWIGGs EDGE SPEECH

Wants a great debate on the future of Vocational Education

Likes UTCs and the  BTEC

Warns about lack of good Apprenticeships for Young People

Comment

Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg in his 2 November lecture praised the Edge Foundation saying that few have done so much to raise the status of technical, practical and vocational education. He praised,  in particular, the Foundations role in support of  the studio schools movement.

Education   is important, he said, for  personal development;,for cultural enrichment ,to enable people to be good citizens  but  it is also ‘an important tool for social justice and social mobility and, of course , it must help people get jobs.

Having delivered an impassioned defence of the last Governments record in education (Twigg had been a schools Minister) he identified three main immediate challenges ahead:

 

Delivering high status, rigorous pathways in vocational education

 

Addressing the Literacy and Numeracy levels post 16, which obstruct personal development and act as a barrier to economic progress

 

And fostering high class and high status institutions- such as the UTCs that are striving to become the exemplar model – in vocational education

On pathways and robustness, Twigg championed the BTEC qualification, as opposed to GNVQ (similar to HE Minister  David Willetts on this issue ).  He said “ Many in the field tell me that rigorous and work based vocational qualifications- such as the BTEC- motivate young people to stay in education and make progress as a result. Strengthening the evidence base for making this case will be important for Edge and others for the argument to be successful. My instincts are that Edge is right on this but I will make an evidence based judgement on this.”

On apprenticeships he said that according to The Guardian, fewer than 7% of the new places for the Academic Year 2010-11 have gone to 16- 18 year olds. The number of new apprentices under 25 accounted for just 16% of the figures for this year. That’s just 1 in 6 new apprentices at a time when youth unemployment is almost one million. Within the Government’s own defined target sectors, modest increases can be seen in construction, engineering, planning and the built environment. I welcome these increases, while remaining concerned about the lack of apprenticeships for young people.   He warned that ‘”Apprenticeships risk becoming a tainted brand unless rigour is applied.” He said “ I want Apprenticeships to be seen as the Gold Standard of post-16 Vocational Education. For parents to be as proud of their child securing a top apprenticeship as they are of their child going to university.”

On the Literacy Challenge Twigg said ‘As Professor Wolf notes ‘English and Maths GCSE (at grades A*-C) are fundamental to young people’s employment and education prospects. Yet less than 50% of students have both at the end of Key Stage 4 (age 15/16); and at age 18 the figure is still below 50%. Only 4% of the cohort achieve this key credential during their 16-18 education.’ So,there should now be a focus on Literacy and Numeracy from the age of 16.

Twigg welcomed the progress on UTCs, an initiative launched by the last Government. He added ‘ I want to make the argument for a Technical Baccalaureate. It cannot be right that where UTCs offer high value qualifications- enabling educational progression and developing a workforce that meets the needs of a new economy, that such qualifications are not recognised.” The Baccalaureate would provide valuable recognition for hands on technical and vocational subjects as well as academic achievement.

“Engaging pathways for all”-2nd Annual Edge Lecture, November 2nd, 2011 Stephen Twigg MP, Shadow Education Secretary

Note:Edge champions technical, practical and vocational learning and  seeks to demonstrate how it leads to inventive, rewarding careers. It supports a Technical Baccalaureate. The Edge Foundation is Chaired by Lord Baker who has championed University Technical Colleges.

Note 2. There was an Adjournment debate in the Commons on  2 November on UTCs

Hansard 2 Nov

 

http://www.edge.co.uk/news/2011/november/edge-annual-lecture