Vocational / Skills

WORK EXPERIENCE: IMPACT AND DELIVERY
The role of work experience in clarifying career aspirations is highlighted in a report written by Anthony Mann for the Education and Employer Taskforce Network. Somewhat contrary to the findings of the Wolf Report, the author sees work experience as under-utilised as a means to stretch the careers horizons of young people. He sees value in placements that are sometimes perceived as negative in that they help determine that a specific career is not, after, all for that individual young person. He also appreciates the benefits of work experience in terms of challenging social stereotypes about the realism of occupational ambitions. www.educationandemployers.org/research/taskforce-publications/work-experience/

WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS THAT WORK: a guide for employers (updated April 2012)
This publication encourages employers to deliver the kind of high-quality work experience many are already delivering and is to support firms that want to offer work experience, but may have been deterred by negative publicity. The updated guide includes a clear ‘quality charter’ for work experience, setting out what employers should put in and what participants should get out. Produced by CIPD, website:http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/guides/work-experience-placements-work.aspx

BUILDING THE WORLD OF WORK TOGETHER
Business and Schools: Building the World of Work Together is the title of a briefing paper by the UK Commission for Education and Skills (UKCES). This report presents the key findings from the research which the UKCES has carried out to look at the perceptions and experiences of businesses when working with schools to build the world of work into education. It focuses on how businesses influence the design and delivery of the curriculum, provide work experience and raise awareness of careers. www.ukces.org.uk/publications/business-and-schools-building-the-world-of-work-together

 

Pathways to Employment (P2E)
End of Project Evaluation Report – April 2012
“P2E commenced in August 2007. The project was aimed at specifically raising the aspirations of young people aged 14 to 16 years who were at risk of disengagement from learning or potentially becoming NEET (Not in Education Employment and Training). At the time of bid submission, Suffolk had more than 1 in 5 young people aged 16-18 who did not continue their learning.  This further exacerbated the low adult skills levels in Suffolk and had the potential for those young people being unable to achieve economic wellbeing in adulthood. To address this, P2E offers 14-16 year olds an accredited programme of work related learning and work based experience which provides them with a stepping stone into post 16 employment with training. Young people were mainly recruited through the Year 9 options process in each school. The programme particularly focused on recruiting those judged to be at risk of not continuing their learning post 16.” Read the full report here.

 

 

The impact of KS4 vocational courses on disengaged young people’s engagement with education 15-18

Previous research and anecdotal evidence has suggested that offering a broader curriculum, and in particular, vocational qualifications, may be a way to motivate young people who have become disengaged from education and improve their subsequent attainment. However, this hypothesis has not been systematically evaluated.
The analyses presented here explore the educational outcomes of disengaged young people from a nationally representative cohort who reported taking vocational courses in Year 10 compared to similarly disengaged young people who did not.
The study explored outcomes across a range of different subgroups of young people from the Longitudinal Study for Young People (LSYPE), defined using different characteristics of being disengaged in Year 9. Read the full report here or go to the DfE website for more information and related publications: https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/RSG/AllPublications/Page1/DFE-RR165