Scrutiny Report Apprenticeships. Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Infrastructure. Introduction

Transcription

1 Scrutiny Report Apprenticeships. Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Infrastructure Introduction The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy, Skills and Infrastructure welcomes the report by the Scrutiny Task Group on Apprenticeships. The recommendations by the Panel are timely and well received to improve the intake of Apprenticeships in Worcestershire. The Cabinet Member response to the recommendations is provided below. Area Recommendations Comments Society R1. There needs to be a major rebalancing of aspirations and esteem in society, away from the pre-eminence of academic study and university degrees, towards the route more common in Europe, especially Germany, where Apprenticeships are seen as a valued way in to a successful career. Considerable time and effort has been focused by the Economic Development team since the previous scrutiny report to co-ordinate with providers and stakeholders through the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership s Employment & Skills Board all marketing activities / campaigns to improve / promote Apprenticeships as a successful career especially for young people. Particular effort has focused in removing the negative perception about apprenticeships which have resulted in a significant increase in Apprenticeships in Worcestershire since Key activities in 2013 have included: Real Apprenticeship Event in Worcester in November 2013 Employer Engagement Event in November 2013 Targeted marketing campaigns in Worcestershire media and at key industrial estates via the Worcestershire Business Central Trailer Apprenticeship Workshops in 23 Worcestershire Schools attended by more than 2500 young pupils. Real Apprenticeship Event in March 2014 in Kidderminster attended by more than 500 young

2 people and their parents / guardians, Real Apprenticeship Event in April 2014 in Redditch Key activities planned for 2014/15 include: Marketing Campaigns in Worcestershire media June / July 2014 Launch of the 'Worcestershire Apprenticeships' brand to co-ordinate all activity June 2014 Launch of Apprenticeship Clearing House for young people in October 2014 Apprenticeship Celebration Event in November 2014 Apprenticeship Training Agency launch into Worcestershire in September Higher Level Apprenticeship Frameworks are being launched in Worcestershire July Events targeted at young people / employers / parents Chamber Expo September 2014 Large event in Apprenticeship Week March 2015 R2. Society needs to re-evaluate the importance of university qualifications for many careers, given that the idea that every other adult needs a degree has led to high graduate unemployment and disillusionment for many pursuing higher education. Professional status should rest more with the practice and development of skills in the workplace than with the qualifications attained. Particularly in the medical profession, over-qualification has led to jobs normally done by nurses, for instance, now being done by others, often to the detriment of patient care. Nurses may seem to be too posh to wash! Noted. This is a national issue which requires the right balance to be struck between degree qualified graduates / post graduates and people choosing alternative careers including Apprenticeships to meet the needs of the economy. Schools R3. With the withdrawal of the Connexions service, the major

3 burden for advice on careers now rests with schools. Despite financial pressures, they must accept this as a major priority in their concern for all their pupils. R4 Schools need to present the various routes for their school leavers impartially recognising the importance of non-academic roles in society. R5 This is particularly true for schools with sixth forms, who gain financially from pupils staying on after GCSEs, while for many of their students a route involving Apprenticeships in a different institution or employment would provide a better development opportunity. R6. Careers advisors in schools should have a higher profile and more should be done in schools to draw attention to the reward and fulfilment possible in non-academic careers. R7 Careers support provided in schools needs to ensure young people are well prepared for a range of pathways, including guidance in writing applications and CVs, and interview skills. R8 There is a possible role for Scrutiny in overseeing issues of schools moving to academies, and therefore away from engaging with WCC. R9 Schools should explore how good, consistent advice and This is the responsibility of schools under the increased devolvement of responsibilities. It is expected that schools will provide impartial advice and need to work collaboratively to ensure that young people understand the most appropriate routes available. As per the comments above. The advisors need to ensure that young people understand the various and most appropriate routes and options for career progression. Information, Advice and Guidance includes not only the advice on the appropriate routes but how to write successful applications and interview skills. The Connecting Schools and Business programme is also working to build on-going relationships between the schools and business to support awareness of work opportunities, offer mock interviews, work experience and company visits. Schools which have moved to academy status have continued to engage with the council to the benefit of the students. Scrutiny should refer to the 2011 Cabinet paper on Academies, it would be appropriate for scrutiny to oversee issues in line with the paper.

4 guidance can be embedded and continuity assured for students with regards to all potential routes post-16. Sharing good practice between schools will help establish such consistency and continuity, and we recommend this be supplemented by a schools conference to promote Apprenticeships, offering channels for positive networking and discussion. An advantage of a conference is the opportunity to discuss and explore challenges and solutions, in a concentrated environment, together with the very representatives who can offer support, for example schools careers advisors with experience of successful approaches, governors, employers, and those who have achieved conspicuous success after having taken the Apprenticeships route. This event could be organised by the Economic Development team, with the intention being for those taking part to increase their understanding of the value of Apprenticeships for employer and employee, and to inform the wider public of the contribution of Apprenticeships to society in general. R10. The raising of the participation age is widely and incorrectly viewed to be the equivalent to raising the school leaving age. Further in-depth investigation of this topic should be undertaken at a later date once the raising of the participation age has been fully embedded recognising that there is a lack of sufficient data at a local level in the present state of transition. Worcestershire County Council's Economic Development Team in conjunction Worcestershire Apprenticeship Group (WAG) a subgroup of the Employment & Skills Board - is planning to hold the conferences under the 'Connecting Schools &Business Programme as per this recommendation. A significant element of the 'Raising of the Participation Age' (RPA) Trials that ran from 2009 to 2012 included a communication strategy and the RPA team delivered presentations to schools through consortium meetings across the county. RPA updates from the team were delivered to Heads via Consortium Directors at Worcestershire Association of Secondary Headteachers and the Partnership Meetings. When RPA is embedded after 2015 it will be possible to undertake an analysis of the impact of the changes. R11. We strongly recommend all schools study the excellent Youth Cabinet report Skills for life: getting ready for work to gain an overview of the youth perspective of careers advice in schools. Schools careers advisors should be able to recognise when nonacademic routes would be the most appropriate option, although the Agree. The report has been sent to all Schools' Advisors and secondary school headteachers.

5 evidence is that not all schools do this well. R12 Following the work of Prof Alison Wolf for the Department of Education, which gave rise to similar recommendations to the "Whole School Assessment" proposal in our earlier Youth Employment Scrutiny report, the DfE now publish on their website "Destination Measures" data for all schools. We recommend schools monitor this for themselves and with parents to raise awareness of the routes young people from their own and other schools take on leaving, and of the range of progression pathways available rather than focusing on those that will contribute positively to their league table position. R13 The current league table system ranks schools on the basis of their performance in GCSEs, this percentage being the number of pupils gaining grades A* to C in 5 subjects. The system results in great store being placed on getting pupils over the boundary between Grade D and Grade C, with the result that the performance of pupils away from that boundary is relatively neglected. A new system will replace letter grading with a number system, which will reward good performance over the full ability range, as detailed in Appendix 4. We recommend that all Worcestershire schools anticipate the change, scheduled to start in 2017 for English Language, English Literature and mathematics, and publish the results of the intervening years in the new form, to give a better way of comparing the performance of their institutions. It would be possible to translate existing letter grades for all subjects into a numerical equivalent, before the full application of the system at national level. Government is proposing substantial change to the assessment process in the future, one aspect of the change will be to broaden recognition of a whole range of skills and qualifications which will take into account more than just the 5 A*-C grades. Schools are preparing for the changes which will provide a wider range of measures in the performance tables Agree. As above. The new assessment systems will ensure equal weight is given to performance at all levels not only movement from D to C but all levels of progression. We encourage all schools to plan now for this change, including considering how they may make comparable information available. One consequence of this change would be to avoid the damaging perception by weaker students that they cannot contribute to the success of their schools, unless they can achieve grades at C or above.

6 Employers R14 Employers should, wherever appropriate, follow entry requirements as stipulated on national frameworks (including the new format soon to be adopted), with monitoring to ensure Apprentices are provided with the appropriate opportunities and support to achieve the Level 2 qualifications. This may require an extension of the Apprenticeship period to allow for time away from work to achieve these qualifications. The issue remains that employers are not always responsible for the setting of entry requirements into their schemes, however, over raised expectations of a polished employee can sometime inhibit the success of apprenticeships. Often the entry requirement is set by the training provider as it is likely that a young person with a higher entry level equals higher success rates. R15 There needs to be increased engagement between employers and learning providers concerning provision of information including ways to access Traineeships and other options designed to help students gain the skills needed to enter into Apprenticeships. R16 Employers should explore options for assistance for young people applying for Apprenticeships to ensure they understand the requirements and can represent themselves well. This work could be carried out in partnership with schools careers advisors. Worcestershire County Council Economic Development Team has worked through the WLEP Employment & Skills Board to facilitate greater engagement between employers and training providers in order that training provision in the County reflects the needs of business and young people have better information on the skills required to progress into apprenticeships and other opportunities. Currently, a major piece of work being undertaken is a sector based career 'pathways' model which will set out the routes a young person can take, including the skills and qualifications required, to get to a specific type of employment. The model will be shared with schools, careers advisors, training providers and employers recruiting apprentices. Advisors will continue to provide appropriate Information, Advice and Guidance to students. In conjunction with this the Connecting Schools and Business Portal will provide a structured framework for work experience giving students invaluable experience

7 WCC R17 Employers are urged to engage with support to ensure the investment they make in developing placements is rewarded through successful recruitment. This could involve, for example, participating in the proposed Apprenticeship clearing house programme, or working in partnership with Worcestershire County Council's Economic Development team to ensure placements are appropriately marketed to attract interest from talented and motivated young people. It is important for employers to make clear that their support for Apprenticeships is not a device to access cheap labour, to be discarded once the initial training is completed. R18 There is still a need to grow demand for Apprenticeships in order to provide encouragement for more employers, particularly in sectors which presently generate smaller numbers of placements, to come on board in recognising their benefits and offering opportunities. R19 We recommend the Economic Development team leads on a marketing campaign to promote Apprenticeships in local news media, ideally to include television and radio coverage. This should focus on success stories in local businesses, the benefits for business in taking on an Apprentice, and aim to dispel negative perceptions of Apprenticeships as cheap labour. R20. The Schools and Businesses programme clearly has a positive effect in raising understanding of the value of of the work place. Employers will be encouraged through established linkages such as Find it in Worcestershire and Worcestershire Business Central to recruit and take advantage of the proposed Clearing House, which will be launched in October In addition, The Connecting Business and Schools Portal will also act as the matching service for businesses and young people. Regular Employer Engagement Events, FIIW Events and media campaigns help address the issue as highlighted in the recommendation. A comprehensive action plan is in place and being delivered through the Worcestershire Apprenticeship Group and accountable to the WLEP Employment and Skills Board As discussed above Worcestershire County Council Economic Development Team works with providers and stakeholders through the Employment & Skills Board on a wide ranging marketing campaign. Events for young people such as The Real Apprenticeship are a regular feature in the overall team's business plan and have included two set piece events in Redditch and Kidderminster. Dedicated business engagement events are also organised for employers including an Apprenticeship Campaign to be launched later in the year in conjunction with the Worcester News. Regular updates are also provided through Worcestershire Business Central, Social Media and FIIW. The programme is a positive example of how schools

8 Apprenticeships for employers and employees, and in informing the wider public of the contribution of Apprenticeships to society in general, and we recommend this work continues. R21 We recommend a focus on promoting Apprentices' achievements and progression, for example through case studies of what young people progressed to after completing their Apprenticeship, and with visits to schools from local and national business leaders, some of whom will have taken the Apprenticeship route and have been very successful. The aim would be to provide clear role models beyond those who are conspicuously successful in television and music. Where visits are not possible, school notice boards (posted within school or electronically) can provide articles about such people to help inspire and encourage examples could include Jo Malone (the founder of the eponymous perfume company), Ron Dennis (the Chief Executive of the McLaren Group, makers of racing and road cars) or Ross Brawn (the team principal who assisted Michael Schumacher to his seven world F1 drivers titles). R22 To support the development and success of Apprenticeships, change needs to begin within schools to seed and grow understanding of, and interest in, this route. The Economic Development team are ideally placed to help ensure young people are supported to progress into education, training or employment, ensuring all young people have opportunities and knowledge to progress to the route that is right for them and help retain their skills within the county, supporting WCC's primary aim of keeping Worcestershire Open for Business. We are pleased to note that the Economic Development team are working on this following an agreement at the January 2014 meeting of the Employment Skills Board. R23 With the raising of the participation age, work needs to be done with schools to ensure that young people are not pushed into have worked closely with businesses in identifying clear challenges and developing solutions which are now being taken forward collectively. Worcestershire County Council Economic Development Team, working with partners such as National Apprenticeship Service, Training Providers Association and other stakeholders, through the Employment & Skills Board are developing local case studies which are published in local print and electronic media. The team is also organising a Worcestershire Apprenticeship Celebration Event in November 2014 to celebrate the success of individuals, businesses and providers which is being supported heavily by the private sector. Agreed as above. As schools no longer have Connexions Advisors

9 continuing at school or going to college as the only routes for progression. Apprenticeships include opportunities to continue studying for qualifications whilst learning a trade and earning a wage, and this should be encouraged. attached to their schools many have appointed Careers Advisors to offer impartial careers advice and guidance. The new Ofsted inspection framework includes a focus on the diversity of Post-16 opportunities made known to potential school leavers, and good quality Labour Market information to ensure young people are aware of the employment opportunities/skills priorities in the area. The Worcestershire, Herefordshire & Shropshire Training Provider Association has been working in schools raising awareness of Apprenticeships. DWP R24 Future scrutiny of Apprenticeships should include study of the impact of JobCentres funding young people to apply for Apprenticeships and Traineeships, e.g. how young people entering from this route (as announced in late 2013) are supported, and how this differs from those applying from the more traditional routes such as direct to employers and colleges. The WLEP Employment & Skills Board has identified the importance of good, high quality advice and guidance being critical to its wider strategy to increase apprenticeship take up and growth in Level 3 and Higher Level Apprenticeships in the County's key economic sectors. As well as the development of a careers pathways model by the ESB to inform choices, it is working with schools through the Connecting Schools & Business Programme to increase employer involvement in supporting careers advice. Alongside this, WCC has recently tendered its Post-16 Study Programme Provision to increase Traineeship opportunities for young people leaving school who are deemed not to be quite ready for a full Apprenticeship. This is a 6 month programme that will support young people into Apprenticeships. Response from DWP: DWP do not fund or support young people to apply for Apprenticeships and Traineeships, (unless funding means receiving JSA). Apprenticeships are a job which means that a young person stops claiming

10 User Experience R25 In determining what support should be provided, we strongly recommend that young people who have been through, or are going through, the process of choosing their pathways for progress should be invited to be involved in any consultation. benefit, in the case of Traineeships young people can still claim benefit if the Traineeship hours are full time (the 16 hour rule has been relaxed specifically for Traineeships) DWP's role is to refer claimants to these opportunities but the delivery is down to the employer/ training provider. We don't set them up, fund them or monitor them, that is the role of the SFA / NAS and ultimately BIS from where the funding stream comes through. Young people have been actively engaged through the Youth Cabinet to inform many of the areas currently being rolled out including the Connecting Schools & Business programme and will continue to be included in any future consultation.