{"id":44805,"date":"2014-07-09T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=2c5715701e585ecc0bb4eced1a5ea6d9"},"modified":"2014-07-09T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-09T14:30:00","slug":"speech-bridging-the-divide-between-academic-and-vocational-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=44805","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Bridging the divide between academic and vocational education"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Thank you to Jim and Change Board, I\u2019m glad to have the opportunity to speak to you today.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re living in a time of change. Our economy is recovering and youth unemployment is falling. The UK is set to grow faster than any advanced economy this year, and there are more jobs in every part of the nation. <\/p>\n

This huge growth in jobs is an equally huge opportunity \u2013 to make sure that every young person across the country can secure those jobs and fulfil their potential. <\/p>\n

We won\u2019t rest until all our young people have the opportunity not just to get by, but to get on. <\/p>\n

Bringing together the worlds of work and education<\/h2>\n

So my priority is to tackle two challenges: to bridge the divide between academic and vocational education and to bring the worlds of education and work closer together. <\/p>\n

We must do everything we can to create a better skills system that gives everyone the chance to achieve \u2013 led by employers, linked to jobs, to develop the skills and knowledge that young people need to succeed and that employers need to open up the talent pools of the future.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019ve insisted all pupils should have access to a demanding, knowledge-based curriculum up until the age of 16 \u2013 because that\u2019s the best possible preparation for both vocational and academic study. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s why we\u2019ve driven up standards in vocational education, filtering out low value courses and introducing a new, rigorous vocational offer from 14 right through to 19. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s why we\u2019re introducing new Technical Awards \u2013 developed in partnership with employers \u2013 which are equivalent to a GCSE and will offer 14 \u2013 to- 16-year-olds the opportunity to learn real-life practical skills.<\/p>\n

And new, rigorous Tech Levels, to be studied alongside or instead of A levels between 16 and 19 \u2013 all of them endorsed by employers, trade or professional bodies.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s why we\u2019ve reformed apprenticeships \u2013 getting rid of short duration, programme-led apprenticeships which weren\u2019t proper jobs, and bringing in new standards designed and delivered by top employers.<\/p>\n

All of this is designed to make sure that this country\u2019s vocational education \u2013 and, for that matter, this country\u2019s academic education – is truly world class.<\/p>\n

Careers guidance and inspiration<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re raising expectations for what the system can achieve. And I\u2019m determined to raise expectations for what all young people can achieve. <\/p>\n

I want every young person leaving school or college to be able to choose between university or an apprenticeship. To be confident that each option will give them a great start in a rewarding career \u2013 and to be inspired by the exciting job opportunities it opens up for them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re getting employers much more closely involved in designing, delivering and endorsing the qualifications young people take at school or college.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s also why we want to give employers a much greater role in inspiring and motivating young people about the world of work. <\/p>\n

For too long, careers advice in this country has been too weak \u2013 characterised by a top-down approach that couldn\u2019t keep up with the modern labour market, and couldn\u2019t prepare young people properly to take their place in it. <\/p>\n

But we know that getting more business leaders and employers involved with schools and colleges has a positive effect on young people\u2019s feelings about the world of work.<\/p>\n

When young people choose a career, they don\u2019t just do a dry totting up of the pros and cons. They want to be excited, inspired, motivated. And the best motivation and advice comes from people in those jobs, using those skills, passionate and knowledgeable about what they do and why they do it.<\/p>\n

Early impact<\/h2>\n

The evidence is increasingly available. What matters is the inspiration.<\/p>\n

So we have now strengthened statutory guidance, effective from September, to give schools a clear framework to engage the best possible careers guidance. Updated guidance for colleges will be published shortly, along the same lines.<\/p>\n

This guidance makes it clear that schools need to focus on preparing students for work and encouraging high ambitions for every student. <\/p>\n

Ofsted has given careers guidance a higher priority in school inspections. And importantly, we will now record the destination where students end up after school; whether in an apprenticeship, university, a job or further study – to hold schools and colleges to account for the outcomes their young people achieve. <\/p>\n

These are important changes. They give schools and colleges much more power to deliver the best possible careers guidance for the young people in their care. And they encourage them to work more closely with employers in their local area. <\/p>\n

Involving others<\/h2>\n

Evidence shows just 4 contacts with employers reduces the chances of a young person being unemployed by half. <\/p>\n

Work experience works. Not fake work experience but real experience of real work. Do you offer work experience. If not you should.<\/p>\n

For this is not just about schools and colleges.<\/p>\n

We need employers to invest in the workforce of tomorrow. <\/p>\n

That is why we are reshaping the National Careers Service: expanding its offer to schools and colleges, making it easier for employers and educators to engage.<\/p>\n

We need inspiring organisations to step forward to try new ideas and innovative approaches. That is why I applaud examples like the Career Academies model \u2013 which prepares students for work through an exciting programme linking them to employers through masterclasses, mentoring, workplace visits and internships.<\/p>\n

It is clear that more and more employers are supporting this culture change and I have seen many inspiring examples for myself. In the Black Country where employers and schools are collaborating to promote local job opportunities, I saw exciting initiatives like Manufacture your Future, a pioneering UK project that provides inspiring careers guidance to change perceptions of careers in engineering and manufacturing \u2013 young people are invited to manufacture their own Quad Copter, completing a series of missions against the clock to help them experience the daily challenges of a manufacturing engineer.<\/p>\n

Plotr<\/h2>\n

Plotr is an excellent example of employers coming together, to create an innovative website allowing young people to really understand what employers offer \u2013 in their own words \u2013 and to match their skills and ambitions with a range of jobs. Jim Carrick Birtwell and his Board have worked hard to get employer support from firms like Waitrose, Deloitte, Centrica and McDonald\u2019s for this website \u2013 and we\u2019re delighted to support them in government. <\/p>\n

And they\u2019re making it even bigger and better \u2013 using the latest gaming and profiling technology to enable an even better fit between jobs and young people\u2019s experience and skills. <\/p>\n

Call for more employers to get involved<\/h2>\n

This culture change is all about inspiring the next generation by connecting them with the world of work. It has started with employers interacting with young people in the classroom and giving them an insight into the workplace. But it certainly shouldn\u2019t end there and I would like to see more coaching and mentoring, more work tasters and work experience. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m here today to encourage you to join in. Perhaps you could work with a local school \u2013 sending members of your team in to talk about their jobs, or welcome young people into your workplace? Perhaps you could offer work experience, mentoring or get involved with schemes like Movement to Work who I know are represented here today.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to see more employers take up the opportunity that Plotr presents \u2013 promoting their companies, their industries, directly to young people themselves.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d encourage more employers to follow the lead of the BBC, Siemens and Virgin Media in expanding the Apprenticeship programme, supporting our new Traineeships programme, offering work experience to support young people to progress to apprenticeships and other jobs.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

By linking the education system much more closely to the world of work: with more respected, relevant qualifications, more employer influence over courses and inspiring advice and guidance we are ensuring that all young people get the best possible start in life, no matter what path they choose.<\/p>\n

Clear pathways. Straightforward choices between high quality, valuable courses. Choices that are informed by inspiring contacts with employers and insights into the workplace.<\/p>\n

That is our goal. It is economically necessary but not just that it is a moral mission for social justice. We will not rest until every young person has the chance to fulfil their potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By linking the education system more closely to the world of work, we\u2019re aiming to ensure all young people have the chance to fulfil their potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44805\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}