CORVET

With the support of the Leonardo Programme of the European Union

VET and Career Orientation in UK

Modena, ItalyApril 22-24 Workshop

Rajash PathakEuropean Learning Network Limited

KEY ISSUES

• Introduction to UK Education• VET in UK Historical Context• VE Developments• VET in UK Reforms• Beyond reviews

UK POPULATION

• England• pop 51.1 million

• Scotland• pop 5.1 million

• Wales• pop 3 million

• Northern Ireland• pop 1.8 million

• Estimated figures National Statistics updated 2008

UK and Northern Ireland

UK EDUCATION ENGLAND

• No separate government of its own education shaped by the Education Act 1944

• Primary legislation on education made by UK Parliament at Westminster

• Separate education systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

• Following introduction refers mostly to education in England

BUTLER EDUCATION ACT 1944

Created a tripartite system post age 11 i.e. after 11+ Examination

• Grammar Schools for 11+ passes

• Technical Schools for lower passes

• Secondary Modern for majority who failed 11+

• Gave rise to criticisms levelled at governments creating a class system in UK

• Stigmatisation of 11+ failures led to many comprehensives in 1960s and 1970s

• Some local authorities allowed to keep Grammar schools

• No Grammar schools in Scotland and Wales

UK EDUCATION ENGLAND – SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES

• Government departments (DfE & BIS) & associated non-departmental public bodies e.g. QCDA, TDA

• Local authorities

• Schools (headteachers and governing bodies)

KEY PLAYERS

Department for

Education

Local Authorities

Schools and

Governing Bodies

Source: British Council Connecting Classrooms

UK EDUCATION ENGLAND

Compulsory• From age 5 – 16• From 2013 up to age 17

• From 2015 up to age 18

• Students follow National Curriculum

• Currently no requirement to ‘graduate’

Further Education• Currently aimed at 16-18 age group

• Prepares students for university or a vocation

• Variety of exams such as A levels, IB and Scottish Highers taken at age 18

UK EDUCATION ENGLAND

Higher Education• 200 + universities in Britain• Offer broad range of

subjects• Ex-polytechnics retain

sandwich courses• Undergraduate courses

- Usually only three years

- Specialise in one subject

- Entrance requirements

Good English proficiency

Previous examinations

Postgraduate courses• Masters

• Can be teaching or research based

• Usually examined by dissertation

• One or two years

• Doctorate

• Always research, never taught

VET IN UK HISTORICAL CONTEXT

• Celts (500 BC) metallurgy and jewellery skills• Romans (43AD) construction engineering• Anglo-Saxons (450) agricultural methods• Vikings (793) oceanography and boat making skills• Normans (1066) legal and administrative skills• Tudors (1485) Victorians (1837) industrial revolution, trade and

crafts, Mercers • Royal Society of Arts (1754) established to promote Art,

Manufacturing and Commerce• City and Guilds Institute (1867) and today C&G has a presence

in some 28 countries covering 500 different qualifications

VET IN UK HISTORICAL CONTEXT (2)

• C&G qualifications cover both theoretical and practical knowledge and some of the largest employers in UK use these qualifications as part of their CPD such as Lloyds TSB, Asda, Shell and London Underground

• VET development in UK sporadic• Early advances short lived• Evans (c.2008) suggests that the decline of UK’s earlier

successes and Industrial Revolution exploits were short-lived not because of “workmanship” but due to lack of a national strategy for technical education (VET today) by successive governments of the time, including current times

VET REFORMS

• Started with 1976 speech by James Callaghan at Ruskin College, Oxford

• Callaghan wanted a better education and for all with a vocation element so industry could benefit from a well-trained workforce

• The Callaghan speech paved the way for vocational modular qualifications as a series of local initiatives developed by a group of teachers in the early 1980s;

• since the mid 1980s and throughout the 1990s, educational development in England has been characterised by the growing role of modularisation in the 14–19+ curriculum.

VET POST 1980S

• Encourage strong partnership between education providers and employers.

• Establish employer led national sector skills organisation (e.g. Sector Skills Council).

• Develop a national qualifications framework – Diplomas, BTECs

• Legislation introduced enabling VET providers to grow and develop.

VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (VQS)

Diplomas work related and available in

• health and social care• retail and distribution• hair and beauty• business and management• food, catering and leisure services• construction and property

AIMS OF VQS

• To simplify qualification system;

• To Break down old courses into digestible units and to increase learners’ motivation;

• To motivate young people (including disadvantaged youth), since they are able to achieve a certificated qualification in a limited time

• To enhance chances of employment among 1.7 million unemployed in London. Of those who are unemployed include:

• 100000 youth and students unemployed

• 33000 single or lone parents

• 28000 with no or very few qualifications

• GLA target to help these people by 2015

QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK

Source: Mutton, J.., Principal, Loughborough College (2008) Chengdu UK VET System

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Sector Skills Council

Design Occupational

Standards

Training Providers

Design Syllabus

Awarding Bodies

Issue Qualification

Select Teaching materials

A B C

Learner

Demonstration of Skills and knowledge

Source: Mutton, J.., Principal, Loughborough College (2008) Chengdu UK VET System

SECTOR SKILLS COUNCILS ALLIANCE

• Independent employer-led organisations which ensure that skills system is driven by employer needs

• They gather Labour Market Intelligence (LMI)

• Used to influence the development of apprenticeships and qualifications

• Major impact on delivery of public and private funded skills training in UK

VET, REVIEWS AND POLITICS

• Leitch Review (2009) found that UK’s skills base weak compared to those in the EU and other International Standards

• STEM Audit (2010) suggested that of the 17 out of 23 highly prioritised jobs STEM skills will be necessary

• Wolf Report (2011) highlighted the need for good information and professional career advice for young people, the 14-19 group

STEM AUDIT (2010)

• There will be a significant demand for:• ICT skills amongst managers and professionals

across a range of sectors (particularly in computing)

• STEM related skills in science, technology, engineering and manufacturing

• Management skills across a range of sectors • Technician roles across a range of sectors• Frontline service staff especially in social care • Managers and associate professionals in health &

social work• Employability skills and basic skills

WOLF REPORT (2011)

• The system must stop ‘tracking’ 14-16 year olds into ‘dead-end’ courses

• The system must be made honest so young people are not pushed into damaging decisions

• The system must be dramatically simplified • We should learn best practice from

countries doing things better than us, such as Denmark, France and Germany

UK SKILLS COMMISSION

• With the increasing emphasis on lifelong learning, VET teachers (and trainers) as learning facilitators can now be regarded as the core profession in the knowledge society. Improving the standing of the teachers, is therefore, a significant lever for increasing the quality of vocational education, as acknowledged by many national and international organisations

CHALLENGES FOR 21ST CENTURY

Government priorities must be to:• Create a demand led system in which power

and funds are in the hands of the learner and employer

• Give employers a stronger voice to shape the system

• Integrate welfare and skills• Align the social and economic purpose of

learning and skills

GOOD PRACTICE AMID TURMOIL

• Aston University have developed

• An Integrated and Bolt on VET programme that has:

• E-portfolio based Foundation Degrees which include:• Work Experience Year with

mentor/tutor liaison• PDP level 1, Level 2

academics with careers and • Assessed within the

module. • Credit bearing.

Employability modules.

• Centre for Learning, Innovation and Professional Practice

• Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Practice

• Skills Academy Gateshead

• Automation, Manufacturing, Logistics and Engineering in partnership with Toyota Motors

Career Orientation in UK – Definition of CEIAG

Careers education (CE) is a programme of planned activities within the curriculum to provide learners with the knowledge and skills to manage transitions through learning and into work

Career-related information, advice and guidance (IAG) is a term that refers to a range of activities and interventions that inform learners’ decisions regarding progressions through learning into work.

Careers information – accurate and objective information on learning options, progressions routes, careers opportunities and sources of help and advice

Careers advice – impartial advice to help students gather, understand and interpret information and apply it to their own situation for career and learning pathways

Careers guidance – impartial guidance to help young people understand themselves and their needs, aspirations and influences on them and to make career and learning choices that are right for them.(TDA)

Career Orientation-UK: concept widely used during career interviews

Rodger’s (1952) 7 steps Physical make-up Attainment levels General Intelligence Special Aptitudes Interests Disposition Circumstances Bedford’s (1982) FIRST framework 1. Establishing the broad purpose of the interview. 2. Creating a friendly, encouraging atmosphere. 3. Gathering information. 4. Identifying the young person's needs. 5. Giving information. 6. Summarising progress made during the interview. 7. Clarifying the next steps to be taken.

Career Orientation in UK (2) – Career Advisor’s Four Stage Planning Model

• Knowing yourself – self evaluation and other psychometric tests • Exploring Opportunities – searching journals, newspapers and

the internet• Deciding where to go – making decisions and developing an

action plan• How will you get there – CVs, applying for jobs and networking• How far has the young person narrowed down options? • How well-informed is the young person about the career options

s/he has in mind? • How realistic is the young person (both in relation to own

abilities and the constraints of the market)? • How aware is the young person of the range of options

available? • To what extent has the young person worked out the practical

steps necessary to achieve his/her career objective?

Career Orientation in UK (3)

May be divided into:

Career Education and Guidance (CEG) in schoolsCareer Planning Services in FE and HECareer Advice, Information and Guidance (IAG) for all ages at

any stage available from the public sector (e.g. Job Centres) to the many private organisations specialising in this area

Career Orientation post Sept 2012Government vs Private Sector

• Phone calls 0800 number 8am to 10pm 7 days a week• Web-chat• Emails• Text• Text phone (hard of hearing)• Moderated chat room and message board

Private Sector fee based Offer Coaching, Mentoring, Career Guidance Planning• http://www.careerfoundations.co.uk/ (since 2001)• http://www.careeranalysts.co.uk/ (since 1965)• http://www.careerbalance.co.uk/ (since 2000)• Advisors and Coaches may have qualifications from or be

registered with CIPD, BPS (British Psychological Society) or International Coach Federation (ICF)

Schools’ Responses: New Models for Career Guidance delivery

Internalemploying professionally qualified careers advisersupporting own staff to gain guidance qualificationguidance provided by non-qualified staff

Commissioned traded services bought from local authoritylocal authority ‘approved providers’ free market

THE FUTURE – CHALLENGES

Graduate Responses %

Too many unpaid internships

17.00

Lack of jobs and opportunities

23.4

Not having enough experience

25.6

Other graduate applicants

13.5

CV writing skills 3.9

Other skills, economic downturn, doing a job I do not like

16.6

Guardian careers Feb 2012

THE FUTURE – CORVET INFLUENCE

• Sharing best practices across UK• Through CORVET network offer personalised

online space to clients• With ELN-CORVET on the ground develop the

human side of Career Advice in London rather than the online, telephone model of the Govt.

• Through CORVET supporting, creating or reinforcing closer links of VET to working life

• CORVET can open flexible pathways for VET engaging more “actors” on the ground and improving life chances of socially disadvantaged and the NEETs

Q&ATHANK YOU