Schools and education
Policy Exchange’s ‘Education Manifesto’ has called for greater incentives to attract more teachers into the profession. It calls for the devolution of teacher recruitment and retention to local authorities, so that areas that have shortages in particular areas can take greater responsibility and ownership of recruitment through more targeted incentives, including pay and professional development opportunities. The Manifesto also calls for greater public funding for individuals taking on qualifications in nationally strategically important areas. Removing the necessity for individuals or employers to take on the burden of a loan or additional costs respectively will, the Manifesto argues, enable growth in sectors that are considered to be strategically important; where there are high levels of skills shortages in particular industries; and sectors where there is predicted to be significant future jobs growth.
England’s post-16 education system is “messy and fragmented” and needs comprehensive reform, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). It claims that too many young people are failing to get the necessary qualifications, skills and wider experience to make the transition into the workplace. Part of the reason is that there is no clear definition and vision of what post-16 education – particularly non-academic routes - should look like and what the desired outcomes should be. The report calls for post-16 vocational education to focus around a single curriculum or set of vocational standards covering both school or college-based learning and work-based learning, with learners expected to complete a core of subject knowledge to gain a rounded education. This view has been previously expressed in the CBI 2014 Education and Skills Survey, which said that businesses want young people who are “rigorous, rounded and grounded”. The IPPR report calls for a “much broader and more demanding programmes of study” for young people based on core learning, literacy and numeracy skills, independent application of skills, and personal and social development.
Skills
Key announcements and reports from Apprenticeship Week 2014
The recent Apprenticeships Policy Briefing setting out some of the Science Council’s current views and reflections on the status of science apprenticeships and their position within the wider skills agenda should be considered as helpful background reading to the below section.
A report by the UKCES has called on Government, employers and trade unions to work together to “raise the bar on skills in sectors, regions and supply chains”. While the UK and global labour markets have ‘recovered’ since 2008 there is a concern that labour markets are becoming polarised by increased demand for high-level skills and for low-level skills, creating an ‘hour-glass’ economy. In contrast to Policy Exchange’s Education Manifesto (see above), UKCES calls for greater employer leadership on workforce skills development, with Government providing active support. UKCES calls for a step-change in attitude towards apprenticeships and vocational qualifications, in which high-quality apprenticeships are seen as career pathways equal to academic routes. As a means of achieving this, UKCES argues that apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications should be “underpinned by high quality UK-wide occupational standards that are owned by the industry”.
The Demos-led Commission on Apprenticeships has welcomed the renewed focus on apprenticeship policy, and argues that linking them to defined occupations is “essential to ensuring their status in society and their currency in the labour market”. However, the Commission’s report – to which the Science Council contributed – highlights what it considers to be a continued ‘imbalance’ between information and advice that schools provide to young people about academic and vocational pathways. The Commission calls on schools to promote technical and vocational pathways as actively as they do traditional academic routes.
The Prime Minister has announced nine new degree-level apprenticeships in chartered surveying, electronic systems engineering, aerospace engineering, aerospace software development, defence systems engineering, laboratory science, nuclear; power engineering and public relations. Degree apprenticeships will follow the apprenticeship Trailblazer funding model, currently being trialled. This will mean Government contributed two thirds of the total cost of the degree course with employers contributing the other third. The Government’s recent Science and Innovation Strategy announced that it will support employers to develop and offer more higher-level Apprenticeships (Levels 4-7) in STEM areas.
A joint report by the Universities of Sheffield and Warwick on the future of higher vocational education argues that research-intensive universities have a “responsibility and opportunity” to provide high-quality technical and vocational education, and calls for greater collaboration between UK universities and business to develop and lead on a new ‘gold standard’ for advanced apprenticeships. The report contends that industry’s science and engineering needs cannot be met entirely through graduate training and recruitment alone. It insists that the establishment of university-business designed higher vocational degrees can challenge existing negative stereotypes of technical education to attract more young people to pursue a technical pathway into post-16 education, higher education and beyond.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills interim review of the apprenticeship Trailblazer scheme has found “themessages arising from the research are very positive”, with the majority of employers indicating that genuine progress has been made towards increasing quality and employer ownership. Direct employer involvement in developing the standards and ownership of those standards has meant that employers are more confident that apprenticeships will offer high-level education and training; that they have a better understanding of the skills and competencies that apprentices will gain; and are more assured that these skills and competencies are relevant to their organisation. However, some employers – mainly those in emerging sectors of the economy - expressed uncertainty about the nature and value of linking apprenticeship standards with professional registration. The review points to a number of risks to the future success of the programme, including the details of future funding and employer contributions; the pace of development; and the Government’s proposed standards being unacceptable to employers. It concludes that future Trailblazers should consider streamlining their size and structure to ensure quicker decision-making; and consider the involvement of professional body at an early stage as they “are likely to be able to supply considerable bodies of expertise that may speed developments”.
A number of Science Council Member Bodies are engaged in Trailblazer projects. The Institution of Chemical Engineers,Royal Society of Chemistry and Society of Biology are involved in the Life Sciences & Industrial Sciences Trailblazer, which is developing the standard for Laboratory Technician and Science Manufacturing Technician. These are being designed to be recognised at Registered Science Technician level. BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT is involved in the Digital Industries Trailblazer, which is developing the standard for Software Development and Networking.
The Science Council has established a Vocational Qualifications Committee to provide expert advice on vocational qualifications in science. The Committee will be reviewing existing processes for mapping and approving standards between existing qualifications and the RSciTech and RSci register standards. The Committee will report to the Science Council’s Registration Authority which has responsibility for upholding the standards of its professional registers, and will provide expert advice on the approval of qualifications against the register standards and an independent view on the development of new qualifications.
The Committee is looking for volunteers to contribute to the mapping exercise. For more information about the Vocational Qualifications Committee contact Professional Development Project Executive Amy Reed.
The Government needs to provide greater opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to engage with the apprenticeship Trailblazer scheme, the House of Commons Education Select Committee has argued. Its report on Apprenticeship and traineeships for 16 to 19 year olds says that while increased employer ownership of apprenticeship standards is a worthwhile goal, the dominance of larger companies risks alienating smaller businesses from the scheme. The report call on the Government to review the mechanisms by which SMEs engage with the programme, concluding that “the success of the scheme will rest on whether wider industry sectors have confidence in the standards the Trailblazers have developed”. The report also warns that the unintended consequence of focusing on apprenticeships as a means of tackling youth unemployment “risks painting them as a ‘second class option’”.
Science and industry
Hilary Reynolds has been announced as the first Executive Director of Research Councils UK. Before joining RCUK she was Director of Change at the Care Quality Commission, and has worked for the Ministry of Social Development in New Zealand and Director of Operations at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Dr Ruth Mckernan MBE has been announced as the new Chief Executive of Innovate UK, formerly the Technology Strategy Board. Dr McKernan has spent 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry. She sits on the Royal Society’s Science, Industry and Translation Committee; Cancer Research Technology’s Board and is a Council Member for the Medical Research Council.
The House of Lords Liaison Select Committee has undertaken a review of Lords’ Select Committee activity in this Parliamentand has identified the need to establish two specialist Select Committees which will be of interest to Members. The recommended Committees would address the development and implementation of national policy for the built environment; a committee to consider social mobility in the transition from school to work. The Science Council will keep Member Bodies informed of developments of these Committees, and potential engagement opportunities.
