Extra funding for Vocational Education.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/response-vocational-education

Please see this article about the government making vocational education a priority. It makes for quite a interesting read. As in my previous posts I have mentioned the need for trying to decrease unemployment amongst the 16-24 category and this is becoming more apparent.

If you want to find out more about the governments plans for young people visit the link below which is also featured in the article.

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/youth-contract

This contract was established in April this year and features some of the key features of decreasing unemployment amongst those aged 18-24.

Time will tell how effective this contract will be and once reviewed we will see if there are any changes in youth employment. If you are currently working with young people looking for work I am sure you are keeping positive for them. If incentives like this prove to successful maybe this could prove beneficial to not only our current labour market but also to the young people themselves.

Hopeful Graduates

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/aug/22/graduates-principles-tough-jobs-market

Please take time to read this article about graduate employment!! At a time where unemployment is high graduates should be hopeful and look at other avenues.

It also figures some good news about the state of economy from Labout market statistics stating that unemployment has decreased which gives some reassurance for anyone looking for a job at the moment.

Clearing for university

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/aug/21/quarter-of-students-still-to-gain-a-university-place

Please take time to look at the above article on clearing. The article states that 52,023 students are still waiting to hear about confirmed university places. 

If you look at the figures at the bottom the article it gives a good break-down of students who have been accepted into university, found a place through clearing ,those still waiting for a decision and those who have withdrawn their application. The overall figure of those who have secured a place is fairly high but number of students still waiting is higher then those who have obtained a place through clearing. This wait for some students may be longer then expected as some universities don't start their terms till October. 

If you are someone who is going through the clearing process best of luck and please be patient and hope you get onto a course you will find enjoyable and it impact well on your future happy clearing!!

Government's plans to help boast Youth Empolyment

"The Education and Skills Act 2008 increased the minimum age at which young people in England can leave learning. This requires them to continue in education or training to the age of 17 from 2013 and to 18 from 2015. Young people will be able to choose whether to stay in full-time education, undertake work-based learning such as an Apprenticeship, or part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering for more than 20 hours per week." (Poltics.co.uk website)

This quote above demonstrates some the changes the government want to make in order to decrease the current unemployment situation amongst youngsters today but will increasing the age help or hinder our current unemployment situation for those aged 16-24? I have spoken about the subject of youth unemployment before in posts. If you haven't read these please see posts dated Sunday 20th November 2011 and Friday 24th February. 

What ever your thoughts about this subject we all know someone who falls with this age category and know someone who is struggling to find or seek steady employment. The government thinks rising the age will help reduce the number of NEET's in the UK. Which means those who are not in education and training. I am sure that this will help some young people stay on and obtain more qualifications. However will it alter the situation of unemployment among the youth today?

Take a look at what Nick Clegg has to say about the increase of age in education and training.

Sitting at home with nothing to do when you're so young can knock the stuffing out of you for years. It is a tragedy for the young people involved - a ticking time bomb for the economy and our society as a whole. This problem isn't new, but in the current economic climate we urgently need to step up efforts to ensure some of our most troubled teenagers have the skills, confidence and opportunities to succeed."

This quote came from Clegg after the government decided to put in some extra funding to help 16 and 17 olds who are currently NEETs. What's interesting for me as an adviser about what he says here is how he assumes some of these teenagers are troubled. Yes this could true to some extent as I have worked with many NEETs and yes some of them are troubled. However has Mr Nick Clegg spend time with some of these teenagers to see what they are really like and understand why we have NEEts in the first place? In some cases young people see the unemployment system as a cool thing so they don't have to work. I am not generalising here as many of them want to work but if they know they can claim JS9 for up to 6 months from 16 and still not have to be in education and training where is the real motivation to find work really.

The government have all these great plans, rising the school age, extra funding for NEETs, apprenticeships, welfare to work etc. All unique and they all have pros and cons but shouldn't they be looking at why all this has happened in the first place. Yes they should be thinking about solutions definitely but if they don't go back to the root of the problem youth unemployment how can they actually help these young people. Yes the recession may have contributed to the high unemployment figures we have in the UK, not just amongst young people but amongst everyone.However its not the only reason for our high unemployment rates.

How about the fact that a large number people within the UK have poor levels of basic numeracy of literacy. There is a large number of young people who are in FE colleges who are doing level 2 courses who don't have a c or above in English or maths. These are essential subjects and some this effects how well they do on the level 2 courses. Many get stuck in a zone where they can't even pass their level 2 courses. Wouldn't it wiser to let them retake their gcse english and maths and in addition do a course they are interested in? This is also affecting employment rates because employers want to hire competent people who have the essential basic skills required to do work effectively.

http://www.skillsforlifenetwork.com/half-all-young-people-cities

Please see the above link about the number of people without gcse maths and English. The skills for life website also says this will impact young peoples future. So yes the government have all these incentives but I think they also need to look at how they can support those who aren't academic the average students who don't always get a A in Maths. What happens to them? If we have the best of the best what about everyone else. Stricter rules need to put in place so that we have better literacy and numeracy levels. Which ever way you look at this I think this is a factor that effects employment.

The Future of Further education(FE) students!!

Currently Further education in the UK is going through many changes. One of the main changes that has happened this year is lack of funding that FE sector has and this has affected many of courses being run within individual colleges. It has also affected the number of staff, colleges are able to employ and many in the FE sector have faced job cuts and have been at risk of being made redundant .

Working within a few different FE colleges in different areas of London including Havering, Kensington and Chelsea and Newham it has been interesting to see how the mentality of 16-19 years olds in theses colleges differ from those in school sixth forms. Young people in colleges doing Alevels seemed to have a more relaxed attitude towards applying to university and some of them didn't have a proper university plan in place. The contrast for these in school sixth forms is teachers take it as a responsibility to help prepare their Alevel students for the university journey and go through the UCAS process with them at length.

Further education colleges have a vast array of different courses which range from Alevels to vocational and work based learning courses. For example hairdressing, catering, travel and tourism, business etc. Some students who aren't able to get on to Alevels do a level 2 courses which is a 1 year course and after which do a level 3 course a two year course which is equivalent to 2 Alevels. The pattern I saw emerging with many of these students is alot of these students needed a college place and some of them were not actually interested or driven by the subject they picked so what happens then. This applied mainly to subjects like Business,Sports, and Hospitality. Were perhaps the career route seemed more open then subjects Beauty, Catering and Fashion. So why are students sometimes on these courses where there is no future aspirations for them in that field and what can be done about this. Is the need to fill college spaces greater then the aspirations of a young person and how will this affect their future?

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs unempolyment is high in the UK especially for those who are aged 16-25. If the economy is suffering then this age group should have a clearer vision of where they want to be. I am not just talking about being advised my careers advisers but people they are inspired by teachers, parents etc. One of the colleges I worked in had a really good careers team who did progression interviews with the young people a few months before they left the college. This allowed them to see if students would stay at the college or go else where. If they had other plans they could sometimes discuss with them if they already had a college or university place etc. This in theory allows colleges to help prevent the numbers current Neets emerging. This also gives young people some of the structure they need if they want to survive in this current economic climate.

A good website to look at if you are interested into looking at the current changes of Further Education sector is www.http://www.fenews.co.uk/. This website gives a comprehensive overview of what  the government is doing within this sector.

So what is the future for FE students only time will tell. The FE sector for me personally is becoming more vocationally based espeically for young people which leads me to think that those who who will contuine to seek FE in the future will want to do more vocational careers only and those who want to go university will go onto do Alevels. A divide not only in the form of learning for students but a major divide in the social spectrum of this country too.