Could Work Based learning happen at university!!

Please see link below 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jul/25/white-paper-universities-training-jobs 

This article fits in with my previous post about work experience whilst learning!! The white paper the government's higher education document is realising how important employability is for young graduates. Many countries in Europe including Germany and Sweden as I mentioned in my previous post put a greater emphasis on the need for vocational learning.  

As someone who did one of their careers placements at UEL (docklands) I was able to observe the advantages of empolyability training. UEL encouraged their graduates and fellow students to seek employment in positive ways. Universities should provide empolyability training but the question is why are some universities still thinking such training is a little beneath them. 

It is clear that academics who teach at more prestigious universities may not be so willing to teach about actual work experience. If this should be case then shouldn't the government bring in people who are willing to do this. Also some universities are known for being more employable then others is that really fair? The empolyability rates for universities after 6 months from the guardian league tables indicate that some of the universities with high empolyability rates include Cambridge, oxford, Imperial UCL etc. The lower ranking universities were among London Met, Bolton and University of east London. 

Having traning programmes for graduates that coming from universities who have lower empolyability rates could prove useful. This may be a some food for thought and as this article indicates its only an idea at the moment so things may not change only time will tell.

Work Experience is for Life not just for a week!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/10/labour-schools-work-michael-gove

Please read this article above about what labour says about vocational education. I found this article quite interesting and think it links quite well to my previous post because many young people are unsure about what all their options are. 

One of the main problems that seems to a recurring theme with previous graduates or young people who have gone onto do Alevels is a lack of work experience. This article is saying there is more of a need to educate and train young people with the necessary work skills needed in the work force. This is essentially true and alot of people who graduate sometimes have little or no work experience at all. So what can be done about this? Yes vocational options are a great idea but what about people who still want to have a degree. Many people suggest internships and getting work experience during the summer but sometimes this can be just as challenging as finding a proper job!! So wouldn't it make sense to actually incorporate work based training for young work maybe whilst they are still at school. 

Apprenticeships are a great way for young people to learn about a specific trade and learn valuable work skills at the same time. When I spoke to young people about them reactions about it were often negative especially if the word vocational was used. Many bright students would look upon btecs and apprenticeships as something which was designed for non-intelligent people.One young person said to once 'Miss only thick people do those courses'. Indicating that young people in general didn't want to be associated with a course that makes them seem less intelligent. This is why its so important to educate them about necessary life and work skills. 

I did a group work in a secondary school with some SEN students about work experience. It was a interactive discussion about skills we use in every day life that are necessary in the workforce. For example communication, listening, team work etc. This discussion helped them to see why particular skills we learn in life can be built through education and developed in the workforce. One student who had worked in a shop gave an example of communication skills by saying if you don't communicate well with customers they will not want to return to that establishment etc. This particular group stays in my mind because it made me realise that young have alot of the answers in their heads but need to be driven  in the right direction. Also it made them realise that into order to gain a job its not just how well you do in your gcses or Alevels. Its also how much you put into the necessary life skills. I.e engaging in other activities such as sports, volunteering etc to help develop those skills if necessary.

Please see quote below about the Swedish education system. 

'Post-secondary studies include advanced vocational training (Kvalificerad yrkesutbilding) which is intended to meet the labour market's needs for the skills required for modern production of goods and services. About one-third of the course period takes place at the workplace. As from January 2002, this form of training is a permanent part of the Swedish educational system but does not belong to the higher education sector. Admission is based on three-year upper secondary education or corresponding proficiency. The training is normally intended to correspond to two years of study and leads to a Certificate of Advanced Vocational Training (Kvalificerad yrkesexamen).'

Just to summarise in Sweden they actually incorporate work related training for everyone you could say this is exactly like our work experience here. However this system is alot longer hence the two years!! Work experience here is usually 2 weeks if at best and sometimes some young people struggle to even get a placement for that!! I have not criticising the system here and know that Sweden is prominently a rich country but having something like this in our education system would benefit so many young people and help them with those essential skills needed in the workforce.

Why University?

When I was working as an adviser the question I challenged some young people about was Why do you want to go to university? Many young people in Year 13 who were eagerly waiting to hear back from Ucas who hadn't heard back from any universities or were not given offers almost seemed to feel as though this was the end of the world for them. Alot of these students seemed to be following a trend of applying because their friends had and were not aware of the other possibly choices that were available to them. In fact many students wanted to apply to universities which were not suitable for their potential grades and couldn't quite understand why they couldn't get in.

I also observed that alot of year 12 A level students were not sure if they actually wanted to do a degree and if in fact university life would be something they wanted to pursue. I had a young girl who came to see me and she had a few different career ideas in her mind but wasn't sure of the type or kind of degree necessary for her to take. Sitting down with her and explaining that certain degrees like psychology, English etc could set up a wide range of careers for her helped her to think a bit more clearly. However if these young people aren't able to access this kind of help and advice how will they make such decisions.

Then in contrast to that I met a young girl who was doing Alevels but wanted to pursue an Apprenticeship after she completes her Alevels. She has looked into the university way of life and wanted to do something more practical where she had the potential to earn some money. The reason why I give these brief examples is to show how different each client who came to see me was. They had different needs and wants. The need for going to university seems to be have lessened in the past few years.With so many people who have degrees but still find it difficult to actually obtain employment. Many have criticised David Cameron for allowing a rise in fees to divide a line between middle class going to university and those who from poorer families not being able to go.

This may seem like the case to many but what I have observed is many young people ended up or are still going to universities without all the options being explained to them. I am not saying this for everyone but many of the young people I spoke said they were unsure if they even wanted to go to university and alot of them were worried about how they would cope financially and also for many of them a fear of being far from family was not something they thought they would be able to manage. I think this is where we as careers advisers need to come in and help educate young people. It shouldn't be the case of if you go to university only then will you be successful. There were many people I know of who did a certain degree and struggled to find a job related to it or ended up doing something totally different. I am not saying that a degree is useless but for many it seemed to be more like a trend they followed then a necessity.

Vocational qualifications are still being frowned upon and it seems that many young people I spoke to didn't want to disappoint their family by doing a apprenticeship or btec. Even though they didn't have necessary entry requirements to do Alevels etc. 'I want to go university because its the best way for me to earn lots of money ' a ypung person said to me once. I challenged them about this because they were not a sutiable candaiate for Alevels. This was difficult but what I want to put across in this post is that those young people who want to go university in the next few years will need to think more carefully about whether it really is the best decision for them. Fees for degree courses have escalted to up to 7000+. Maybe a line of elite vs non elite will be established who knows.A young person has a right to know to what their other options are and that is why more then ever organisations like 'Not going to Uni' etc are essential for young people to know about. To end on a note of saying the number of careers advisers being cut will effect this because if advisers aren't around how will a young person really know what all of their options are.