Minding the Gap

Its been a while since I last blogged, much has happened, but has anything changed in the fight to 'save' Careers?

I'll keep it brief - Government line has hardened, private sector activity in the space has increased, even what is left of the depleted Connexions service is being forced to sell its services to schools without the historic subsidy.

Politically, Gove has made his stance clear, Hayes just doesnt have the power or influence to deliver against his previous encouraging rhetoric, Burnham is trying is best, LibDem MP's like Simon Hughes talk a good line of support but is currently making a great claim for Political Hypocrite of the Year...a TV show i'd love to see ;).

The real losers? You guessed it, the alarmingly growing number of young unemployed people in this Country.

What I don't understand is why the Government is so short sighted with its Careers Guidance strategy; is it not obvious that unemployment comes with increasing cost to the state, an increasing social cost to community AND .... an immeasurable cost to the young people being disenfranchised from the world of work?

At exactly the time we need to have a robust Careers Guidance service for ALL young people, the Government is creating a post code lottery of quality provision; with so many providers, how can the so called 'service' remain a quality service that has consistency wherever it is accessed or experienced?

With this current landscape it is hard to remain optimistic on behalf of future generations of school leavers - but , WE owe it to all young people to do their bidding for them, especially at a time when the Political will is weak.

Between now (September) and next April 2012 we have a gap at the centre of Careers provision to young people, whatever our Political pursuasions, we must unite when it comes to ensuring pressure remains on the Politicians and we must use our own social capital to influence where we can.

It doesn't look good for the near future, but if it doesn't look good we must work to change the view, collectively.

Thanks for reading, if you feel strongly about this subject matter then contact me directly - we can all help.

For The Record

Didn't want to write this short Post - but many that know me have urged me to respond to the constant misinformation that seems to flow from those associated with the Unison campaign, to save the jobs of Connexions staff.

I have been personally accused of going on to their Facebook site and being rude to the members - this is a blatant LIE and can be proven.

I have been personally accused of using the SaveCareers Campaign to promote the private sector businesses that i am associated with - you know, alongside OpenDoorsMedia, icould , CareerExplorer and others providing FREE CEIAG resources and media to schools, this is TRUE! I do not believe that at this time it is viable for anyone involved to sell or have to pay for CEIAG resources when there is so much FREE quality material available for students about the World of Work.

I am afraid that those trying to stop me and this SaveCareers Campaign are being deliberately misleading, are innacurate with their accusations and need to realise that they are currently working against a great number of careers professionals who realise that now is the time for a broader campaign which is truly inclusive of all stakeholders - it is not about saving jobs alone as there is a bigger battle that needs to be fought to ensure there are Careers jobs for the future too.

Thanks for your time and continued support

Nick.

#SAVECAREERS #FACE2FACECAREERS

WELCOME to the HOME of the #savecareers campaign.

For those that have been following the recent #savecareers Campaign, I can only thank you for your amazing support, debate and discussion.

I think this Campaign unites a broad cross-section of our society who understand and care about what is going on in the Careers/IAG world.

The cuts to Youth Services around the UK are going to leave a generation of young people without a Quality, Free and Face to Face Careers Guidance Service in school.

This Campaign is fighting for the Rights of those young people.

Thank You for Your support.


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Please support the #SAVECAREERS Campaign @savecareers on TWITTER

How Do We #savecareers ?

First of all thank you to all of my new found Twitter friends - what a great place Twitterland is!

As many of you may know I have been prattling on about the plight of the UK Career Service since I started Tweeting this year; it was only because of my interest and my role on the Board of an EBP that I witnessed at first hand what was really happening down on the ground in Careers. Fortunate enough to work directly with many schools in the UK, I also saw the potential warning signs from Education when faced with budgetry cuts and difficult choices.

So, for the academics out there you could say that although im not a careers practitioner, all of my knowledge in this field is evidence based.

So on to the Question in hand - how on earth, in a landscape of severe Government cuts, can anyone or any organisation save our Careers Service? They cannot.
The Government does not have the money to rebuild what it is in the process of dismantling.
Hull, Birmingham, Cambridge...we havent got the time to list them all - its easier to list those youth services that are NOT affected by the cuts than those that are. Add to the money problem a poorly led careers sector with little or no influence with the Government and you can see why I answered the Question as I did. But...it is not all doom and gloom - at least not for all; I believe there is a strategy that is needed, and should be adopted at this critical juncture in the history of the Careers Service.

The future existence of the Careers profession could hinge on a single point - influence.

Its not about membership organisations getting together in the same old way, careers professionals having to agree with politicians and civil servants to ensure future grants, the status quo enjoying the status quo - no, it can, and needs to be different from here on in.

I believe that the Careers Profession has been highly successful at 1 particular thing - networking and providing a platform for individuals to further their careers - the lifelong career professional. But this is why it is now weak and vulnerable to the point of being D.O.A. by spring 2012 when we are supposed to see the AACS operating (rumours of JCP shop windows backed by a Sheffield Call Centre). The Government are only interested in high profile 'cases'. So here is the challenge : Putting Careers back on the Government agenda - for good.

I think we are talking about a roots-to-branch approach - no more top-down blue sky stuff...there is no time for more research or petitions (although the latter is great supportive material) - time for action.

Short term action:

1. To provide careers professionals in the field and schools/educational establishments with an effective peer-to-peer 'Knowledge Bank' , utilising social media, mirroring the highly successful TeachMeet model.
2. To support careers professionals and schools/educational establishments with quality and FREE resources to assist in the delivery of career guidance.

The above can be achieved with collaboration and goodwill - not additional funding from schools or LA's directly.

The BIG issue in CEIAG services to schools in particular is the issue of WEX - work experience/placements. I have heard some horror tales of re-badged Connexions solutions being offered by LA's to schools at (per student) fee levels that are just shocking. And this highlights the problem for Heads who given the scenario of reduced financial support for WEX are left with little choice - thankfully many still see WEX as a 'must have' and will now be more 'creative' in ensuring students still get the service.

How do we create a National WEX Programme that is affordable for schools? This is, I believe, the real Q that many seem to be ducking - and it is the Q that is at the centre of a new, realistic strategy.

Social Capital is at the heart of the WEX solution. Fewer Careers resources and budget will probably mean many students will miss out on the opportunity of WEX over the coming years - in order to minimise the negative affect of this, I suggest 'Those that can, DO' and 'Those that cant? we focus on!'. It makes sense to focus on those that may slip through and get disenfranchised at such an early stage in their lives - helped to find work placements by the few resources still in place (and the help of an online WEX matching platform).

Those that have been made redundant by their LA and were working as careers professionals - you have 2 choices: 1. You leave the profession OR 2. You accept what could be a great opportunity.

There is, and will continue to be, a demand from LAs to outsource many of its youth services - Its a crazy situation: they do not have the budgets and have already culled large numbers of staff in these disciplines across the UK...but now will have to buy-in or at least find willing partners to 'fill the gap' in the LAs service portfolio. Here lies the opportunity.

For those of you still employed by LAs you know its going to be difficult trying to 'sell' ceiag services to school this year at £10k after the same service was provided last year at a fraction of the price. You know what I am saying is happening.

For those of you that have been made redundant or are going to be made redundant in this latest round of LA cuts - the opportunity exists for you to unite with fellow careers professionals, re-badge your skills, and represent yourselves as a 'dream come true' solution for the LA that has just made you jobless; with the support of FREE resources and PEER-TO-PEER ongoing personal development you CAN compete with those other organisations that are now bidding to do your job (which many suspect will be a shadow of the previous service).

Now is the time to dig in and show that what the Government is doing is morally bankrupt - and not something we will take without a bottom-up fight back !!

This week we will be putting together a #savecareers website to coordinate the campaign to get Careers firmly back in the public eye; another reason for the weak profession - failure to engage with the average person - great at networking but failure to connect with the mass audience.

If you follow me on Twitter - @newmanswords - you will be kept updated on the #savecareers campaign.

Well done for making it through a very long Blog posting for me :(

Thank You NUS

Delighted to learn today from @shanechowen on Twitter of the NUS Apprenticeship strategy that could save Apprentices from the jaws of the meddling politicians.

If the NUS is able to extend its important work to encompass the development, well-being and safeguarding of Apprentices going forward, then this really is an Apprenticeship Landmark - we could be on the verge of a vocational precedent which promises to at last bring Apprentices into the student fold.

No longer second class 'learners', I trust that the NUS will have the ethical substence to open its arms and create 1 big happy student family.

For too long Apprentices have had no real 'group' identity - they have lived, studied (and worked) in a kind of Govt-imposed isolation bubble ; not seen as true 'academic' students by some, not even seen as true 'employees' by others. An element of this still may exist as we progress to a more progressive 'relationship' between Apprentices and the VQ stakeholders in the UK, but this brave move by the NUS is long overdue and I can only applaud it - common sense finally kicking in.

So here's to the NUS - one of the few organisations left that are never too busy to protect the rights of learners.

Down But Not Out

This Post is all about  the future of a credible Careers service.

Current Followers to my Tweets and Posts will know I've been warning about the imposed careers void since the start of the year. It seems in the last month, careers professionals and so-called 'influencers' have been catching on...slowly waking to the nightmare which is becoming reality for the UK.

I suppose the main issue for me is this : For over 20 years the Careers 'service' has actually been fragmented; there are those advisers that work within Education, there are those that work in other sectors - and there are those that seem to be too far from where they started at practitioner level, and have sought to rub shoulders with the politicians in the hope of influencing them.

When fragmented, there is a greater reliance among professionals for a strong and influential professional body to represent them - a total reliance on these 'influencers' to protect, enhance, represent and guide.

I dont think anyone involved with Careers can question the ineffectiveness of the Careers influencers over this recent period when Government has been looking for 'soft' targets - it was a time when they needed to show strength, professionalism and, most importantly, a togetherness. It didn't happen, did it?

The Careers profession is weaker today than it has ever been. Those influencers? They failed; they failed for a number of reasons - they were naive with Government, they were too focused on survival rather than progression, they were effectively 'bought' with the promise of the all new All Age Career Service (AACS). I remember vividly the ICG Conference in Belfast when John Hayes MP launched the AACS as a strategy - and Careers professionals clapped in a delirous frenzy. One problem - they forgot to ask where's the money coming from to pay for the new AACS. That was the naivity perhaps.

What can be done now?

Well, to rely on those that have failed repeatedly before would be like continuing to bet Red on a Black-only roulette table. Crazy.

I know many of you have already made the change - seeking organisations that really can provide a modern and contemporary membership collective that protects and shapes the future of a Careers and Information service. But you know, with fantastic social media channels such as Twitter, the virtual collective could, over time, represent a thoroughly modern membership model - a model where we develop our own social capital and influence, share our knowledge and experience - dare I say, not be so precious about what and who we know but play for the 'team' ?

The shredded remnants of the UK's Career service will be scattered further by the Government's 'ill' wind of change - it is for those that care about the service (rather than their own profile with Government) to dig in now.

From here, we begin the fight back. We should not accept anything that results in the lessening of a careers service - and that is what is coming, make no mistake.

Time for those that care about the future life chances of the next generation to stand up and be heard - because, i think you know now that noone else will do this, for you.

We re-group around the old 'banner'and go forward, together - but not with the old leadership - it really is time for a new future for Careers professionals. Perhaps its time for a new organisation to pick up the baton.

Keep the faith!

Connexions United

Around the UK , right at this moment, what is left of Connexions 'United' ?

After the dust has settled,  like a football club that has done well to survive over the years with a limited budget, a harsher reality kicks in - no investment, no new 'players', no chance to compete at the highest level.

In this 'game', their manager knows little about 'football' - head turned by the ideas of others, others that have always controlled the beautiful 'game' and failed to make it a fair and level playing field for all 'teams', because their aim is different.

The 'manager' , on the eve of this most important moment, doubts whether the team can win; and in a free market, decides to enlist the help of 'mercenaries' - 'players' that will never care enough to play for the badge, they are just in the market for the money, financial return.

And so begins the decline of the 'team' and the 'badge'.

No Compass

Ive had to dip back into this old post and edit it with a topical update; the Government is now becoming ethically bankrupt when it comes to UK Education.

Today I learnt of their plans to ensure the rich and the talentless get an opportunity to go on to those Universities that want to swell their bank balance.

Anger is compounded when this news is put into the context of the following post:

In recent posts I have warned of the collapse of Youth Services in the UK and the impact on Careers Professionals and young people - feeling a bit like someone shouting from behind a sound proof wall sometimes, but thats the way social media 'rolls' hey?

Picture this: waking up in the morning and finding out that one of the most important times of your life is about to hit you, and, you have been training, learning, you are prepared for this big test.

Then, try and imagine how you might feel when your big test gets scrapped. Its not happening. You were lied to. Your moment, your future, scrapped. Everything you had been told, everyone you had talked to - a complete waste of time.

That exciting future horizon that you focused on for some years - replaced with a tardy, distressed photocopy of the real thing.

What was 'full' turned out to be 'hollow'.

What offered hope was nothing but a great deception.

What you understood to be the rules of this 'game' ? Screwed up and thrown on to a pile of other screw ups.

Those things that you felt were the cornerstone of modern life - opportunity, independence, safety, trust - now relegated to 21st Century pipe dreams.


Q: Now tell me, is this THE FUTURE we want for our children ?  

When you go home tonight from work, and if you are lucky enough to have children, how can you look them in the eye if you support the decimation of our Youth Services?

Your uncertain future, will be their bleak past - the worst foundation to build any comfortable life from.

This could be our legacy to the future youth of the UK - want that on your conscience when you get home?

Government is weak, some would argue opposition is weaker. In my eyes, 'politics' is weak, MPs are weaker.

Social Media gives us the tools and the means to unite - to pressure, to make life more difficult, to ask probing questions of those making decisions.

I cannot believe that most of us do not care.

Thanks for reading.

Social Media - The Ultimate Membership Organisation

The last few years have seen a decline in the numbers of some of the UK's oldest (and some might add respected) professional membership organisations. I think this is a trend that will not only continue, but exponentially shake the world of professional organisation membership for the future.

The cause? Technology and our ability to maximise our social capital by utilising this technology.

Unless, like some of the more enlightened membership organisations, these bodies are able to adapt to the imediacy of opportunity that exists within 'social media channelling', they will continue to witness a substantial drop in membership numbers.

So why? Part of the reason is that traditional membership organisations relied on traditional methods of communication and influence; monthly journals are being replaced by e-zines, market knowledge is public knowledge, membership 'benefits' don't seem to offer much 'benefit' anymore in a UK buying culture which has been shaped, after being savaged, by a global recession.

Where does it go from here? Well, as in the song, "Down to the lake, I fear"

The social media 'lake', that is.

 

The Kick in the Teeth for Careers Professionals

If it was possible to reduce the life chances of young people in the UK further, we can deduce from the cuts to Youth Services (which in turn have decimated Connexions services) that the Government is hell bent on finding out just how bad a Careers Service can get before it is, no longer, a 'service'.

Connexions and Youth Service workers up and down the UK have been made redundant from front line services to young people.

The 'new' AACS (All Age Careers Service) will be starting life with not just one arm tied behind its back but , as a complete basket case, in my opinion; potentially being demoted to unqualified staff in the corner of a JobCentre near you - where you might also be able to pick up an Apprenticeship opportunity or even a ...Job!

For young people in particular, it must be confusing - the majority of schools will continue to be pressured toward higher student numbers going on to HE, or otherwise they will become 'apprentices'. The funding issues surrounding HE options have been well documented so I wont go there, but suffice it to say that if ever there was little incentive to go on to HE, it could be now.

So, if HE is not the right option, is an Apprenticeship a realistic alternative option for the 'less academic' ? Well, it may have been once! However, with the new apprentice target numbers we have the potential danger of devaluing what being an apprentice actually means in a modern world ; we have already seen a similar devaluation in the graduate market place - alongside growing numbers of unemployed graduates as a result.

Its rather a bleak picture - when you add the context - that the 'Careers' market has been poorly served historically by the professional organisations that are in place to protect the profession; infact, if it wasnt for the supportive actions and foresight of the Trade Unions, the latest cuts could have been the final nail in the careers coffin.

So, what does the future landscape for careers look like? If you are a student or mature person looking for quality advice it comes down to postcode lottery or your own social capital. If you are a Careers Adviser, then you are one of the lucky few to still be in post; the private sector offers you potentially a future, all be it a different role in a modern market place where you will need to be flexible and adaptive.

So much for Big Society - for Careers, particularly in school, HT's will be spending much more time trying to evaluate the offerings from a myriad of potential new CEIAG suppliers - with many being shallow offerings that are weak replacements and could be argued sub standard going forward for young people.

There has been some recent and lively debate about 'techno natives' recently ( see @timbuckteeth on Twitter ) - but whether you agree that the 'young' are indeed this new techno savvy breed, or not, we may all have to agree that, when it comes to CEIAG, their technical knowledge may end up being their own salvation.

So, I predict that membership numbers of organisations such as the Institute of Career Guidance will fall substantially during this period of a new AACS - having failed to influence Government sufficiently to safeguard its members' futures, those that are left when the dust settles (and they will be fewer in number), may well look toward other futures - and with Library cuts equally violent, options are looking thin on the ground.

We will miss the Connexions organisation dearly - and only time will now tell if the private sector will fill that gaping void.

Patchwork Guilt

A mercifully short post for you here!

Im starting to think that, not since historical times past, have we had such a patchwork of opportunity across this so called 'United' Kingdom; Im also starting to think that the whole idea of a Coalition Government has nothing to do with 'Co' at all - oh apart from putting people like Danny Alexander and Vince Cable in the firing line as 'brotherly' protection.

So, as I recently found out from many a depleted Youth Service around the UK, the current public sector cuts are so deep and far reaching for staff, students and communities that it will actually take some time yet for the ramifications to be really felt, nationally.

Its depressing to think that we are still in the 'calm'  - before the 'storm' really hits.

This Government is dividing to conqueor, up to its neck in a fight to restore a political ideology at the expense of what is best for the UK as a whole - whoever shouts the loudest (and has the greatest 'amplification' ) , applies the most pressure and can unify like-minded groups and individuals really can influence what is becoming a rather unpopular 'beast' - we have seen this recently with the NHS - let us hope that the educationalists out there (and you are certainly all talking a good fight) are equally successful.

If we fail in this battle, we will surely be left with a wasteland of patchwork opportunities and vast cohorts of young people feeling disenfranchised and worthless.

Is this the sort of nation we are becoming again? 

No Excuse for Absence of Soft Skills

Time and time again research with Employers in the UK points to the shortfall in, to what is commonly referred to, as 'soft skills' .

Basically, we're talking about inter-personal skills; emotional intelligence and communication skills . Skills which, until now, have been rarely assessed within the school environment.

I was exploring this very question of why this shortfall exists in the UK recently - with some teachers and employers - when we hit upon the insane idea that there are so many great resources informing us about 'soft skills' , that we may be able to signpost our way to the solution? I know, I said it was insane; rich media resources being used to share experience and knowledge in education - tackling non academic learning issues? !

How can new cohorts of school and college leavers NOT have the sufficient 'soft skills' for their future employers in an online world?

Something is clearly wrong somewhere. Over at http://www.careersbox.co.uk/ is a FREE modular Interview Technique film which tackles, amongst other topics, 'soft skills'. This resource, LEVEL7, is free to view online 24/7. This resource, won a medal at the MEDEA2010 Awards, hosted by the Education Secretariat in Brussles - with the judging panel urging ALL young people across Europe to view and learn - especially in a recessionary climate.

Alongside the work of Careersbox are a bunch of equally keen and talented media producers of resources for education that really can make a difference to the choices of young people - if given the opportunity. And perhaps this is where we encounter part of the problem - I believe there are thousands of fab teachers out there, they just need more time and support to be more effective. I am suspecting that there may be a number of issues that prevent this - and the teachers among you will know what barriers you face each day personally. But, given the fact that the resources needed to up-'soft-skill' young people are in the public domain and freely available, what is stopping schools from ensuring this badly needed process actually happens?

If there are any other reasons beyond lack of time, ignorance of the said resources or lack of technology in the classroom, I  (and thousands of employers and parents) would love to know!

Flip or Blended?

Something has been playing on my mind about the exciting theories abounding education at the moment - 'flip' theory, Khan Academy approach, 'blended' learning etc...

First of all, I should confess that im slowly being converted (i suspect ) toward a 'flip' approach with a sprinkling of 'blended' ;-) Now that i've declared that I'll continue!

I see and read so many intelligent comments about the future purpose of education - check out the work of purposed - if you haven't already (conference coming soon in Sheffield) - all striving to re-evaluate where we are as a nation in the process of developing the right kind of educational and learning approach for learners.

Much of this thinking, to be fair, has been done before. But I see a big opportunity, now, with a weak government - a chance to really influence for a change that could be far-reaching.

Back to the problem im thinking about - and that is, quite simply, there appears to be a solution to the current inadequacies in opportunity within education, and as usual, it just requires a financial committment from Government.

Technology in the classroom, or not? E-portfolio for individual learning strategies? At the end of the day, there are many great free tools out there that can aid learning - can they change learning patterns ? Yes. Can they change attitudes to learning? I doubt that.

When it comes to the rub, ALL students and learners would benefit from this  1, single, change:

A committment to SMALLER class sizes.

Whether this is achieved through harnessing technology in a different way may remain the question and be debated for eternity, such is the passion of both sides of this particular argument.

But having digested the theory, Im left wondering about the practical solutions - do we not just need an investment committment that results in smaller class sizes, supported by well qualified and motivated teaching staff?

Start Up Britain - Big Society with Big Business Benefits?

The Press has been awash with the Government-backed StartUpBritain campaign this week - an initiative involving a handful of the usual 'suspects' offering vouchers and advice to potential 'entrepreneurs'.

It has amazed me just how mis-lead some of our so called business 'leaders' can be; there is only one way to create a sustainable culture of entrepreneurial growth in the UK and that involves a well-funded real connection with the audience from the bottom up, not another example of top-down 'idea a day' approaches to a serious issue.

If you're serious about finding a solution to an existing problem, then you really need to make sure you are affecting the root of the problem with the implemented strategy. In this case, you don't have to be a banker or a qualified economist to realise that there are next to no funds for Government to help anywhere in this problematic equation - hence the whole Big Society approach - passing not just responsibility back to us, but often the cost also.

So, to the root of this problem - you cannot sustain growth in new business start ups without a substantial budget to invest in real money. A small bit of cash and/or a handful of vouchers to be redeemed with participating orgs is not what i'm talking about; this is pass the buck territory again and it should be pointed out that some participating companies may have more than philanthropic thoughts in their heads when they sign up to participate - after all, what great brand awareness and access to potential new customers. I know, too cynical? Well some would say not cynical enough at a time when a stronger Government approach to Banking profits and tax evasion from big business would actually provide the necessary funding from the state to deliver a financially sustainable 'difference' to the vast majority of UK Tax payers. I'd like to see Top Shop, for example, relocate itself away from the profits of our UK High Streets in protest - do you think that would happen?

Without necessary investment from the Banks in the UK, start ups will continue to suffer from high % 1st and 2nd year business failure rates.

It's like trying to solve a famine with a fist full of food vouchers and promises; sometimes you need to get back to basics, this time the basic required ingredient is long term Banking support and assistance. Without this financial support, all the offers of mentoring and free website vouchers just make StartupBritain feel like the old BusinessLinks rebranded and represented with some new mates and freebies.

Things This Week That Will Change Your World

Less of a blog post and more of a list really today; just hit me how significant certain events this week have been, allbeit to my world of CEIAG.

Firstly, picking up on Stella Creasy MP's tweets last night, I became aware of the really disapointing news for careers professionals that, quite frankly, they may as well not be...er, professional. All Tory and LibDem MP's voted in favour of the careers 'profession' not actually needing to be professionally qualified to deliver CEIAG in schools.
I must say that if I was a practicing member of the Institute of Career Guidance or ACEG, I would feel that my organisation had let me down badly; what is your purpose if not to focus on the professional support and protection of your members? Failed.
Talk about grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory - the AACS (All Age Career Service) looks to be confined to a JobCentrePlus where an unqualified careers 'agent' will sort you out some training, an appfrenticeship or, fancy a bit of careers advice?

Secondly, with the axing of Connexions services Nationally (to the point of certain 'death'), the EBP's (Education Business Partnerships) were heralded as the new broker between LA's, schools and employers - well guess what? As of 31st March, for those of you reading today that means..tomorrow, £25m cuts are about to wipe the EBP's out as well. Smart.

Now the third point, and the icing on the rotten cake: with careers in school not coming under the view of Ofsted , careers advisers not having to be relevantly qualified to deliver CEIAG, schools not having Connexions to help with WEX (Work Experience) and schools being made responsible for their own budget spend in CEIAG - there can be only 1 outcome, and that is Generation Zzzzzzz

Apprenticeship - What's In a Term?

As readers of my Blog and Tweets will have no doubt sussed by now, I am a great fan of Apprenticeships as an instrument to improve social mobility in the UK and improve the life chances of young people, particlularly.

However, you will also know that im not a great fan of the current trend to promote Apprenticeships to the point of meaningless; we've seen with the down grading of degrees over time the adverse affect this can have on graduate employment - too many graduates in the labour market may have upskilled the UK but ask the graduates whether they are happy with their current chances of finding employment.

So, I was delighted to see the latest B&Q Tv ads where the emphasis was on the skilled workforce - in terms of City&Guilds qualified teams in store. Did they mention the term 'Apprenticeship'? No. I wonder why?

Because, like most of us who haven't got all loved-up on the hype around Apprenticeship place targets, that business needed to connect with its TV audience, it could have easily cashed in on apprenticeship association but it chose a different route, one that it thought would have greater relevance.

This should be an early warning for the Govt and the National Apprenticeship Service - are you hell-bent on replicating the graduate unemployment model by repeating the exercise in Vocational Training with Apprenticeships?

Graduate? Apprentice? They just don't mean what they used too - better stick to the actual qualification for clarity in future, its the more realisitic barometer of learning quality in my opinion.

WEXperience - Big Society and Social Capital Approach to WEX

WEXperience – An Affordable Alternative to Work Experience in the UK

The background - public sector cuts to frontline youth services such as Connexions are creating a serious squeeze on WRL activity, particularly Work Placement, which will adversely affect the opportunities for Gen Y to escape the rising unemployment and NEET trend.

Employer research proves that '1st Jobbers' are increasingly devoid of the social and 'soft' skills required in the modern workplace. Without real world experience of the work place, this skills gap will continue to increase, and the widening skills shortages for employers will also continue to increase.

WRL delivered within school does not provide students with the real world of work experiential learning they need to make them more 'work ready'.

The budget cuts to Local Authorities’ Youth Services actually mean a patchwork of provision nationally in this arena; some EBP's are managing to fill in some of the gaps in some of the regions - other EBP's have already disbanded before joining the fray.

It could also be argued that the Wolf Report may be interpreted by some schools as an excuse to cease WRL activity in school as it will neither be statutory nor reported on by Ofsted.

One example of the cost to school under the 'new school economy' is £45 per student per school being quoted to organise and deliver work placement services in a particular county - this figure is already being upgraded to a potential £90 per student per school for 2012.

If it is no longer mandatory/statutory for schools to provide this placement service, why wouldn’t they withdraw it if the saving is as much as £15 - £20k per year per year group?

The problem is clear - there is a real possibility of skills shortages increasing among young people unless we can provide them with focused, experiential, world of work opportunities.

The Solution - A scalable solution that encompasses the ethos of Big Society, maximises the breadth of social capital available and draws on some good ideas of the past.

In many schools we see active parents assisting in the process of work placements; infact, it is not so rare now for parents and students to actively seek work placements that they feel would be more beneficial than the current lottery .

This is the foundation for a new, more streamlined and simple solution, which encourages 'society' - ie parents, carers, guardians, friends to take responsibility for their children by helping 1 day a year with WEXperience - Take your Kids to Work Day.

Those students that do not benefit from the social capital that others may benefit from, would be helped by the streamlined WEX service directly to find Employer 'Adoptors' (as is the current system).

This would create a substantial cost saving to Government and LA's, whilst delivering a guaranteed 1 day per student WEXperience as the minimum delivery outcome for all students - quality and quantity. We have been looking at the outreach possibility in terms of assessment of work readiness skills following these WEXperience days, with a London University  looking with us at the possibility of providing a national assessment and a certifcation framework to help students what they will have learned from their 'WEXperience'.

Going forward, this WEXperience solution could be extended to tackle growing youth employment in the UK, by providing the basic world of work insight that many young people currently lack, which is often cited as a barrier to employment entry by the UK’s employers and is a rising and worrying trend.

Systems can be changed from the bottom up - WEXperience could be the start of a small but significant change to Work Placement provision in the UK - we are already working with a number of regions to create a scalable proof of concept pilot - email me for more information on how to help us shape a new solution for our students, you can't change anything if you don't get involved!    

The Apprenticeship Buzz could have a Sting in its Tail

You'd have to be on Mars (or Venus) to not have noticed, since the tale end of the Labour Government, the media hype around apprenticeships; millions of pounds of tax payers money pumped into the National promotion of this most ancient and honourable training system.

It's as though Ministers have competed to pledge the highest numbers of new apprenticeship places - it's as though I keep expecting to see 'Brucey' as Speaker encouraging John Hayes to go 'higher'.

Make no mistake, I am a long, well-documented fan of apprenticeship programmes - I still have the 'I Love Apprenticeships' badge that little Lord Young gave me at an event we were supporting in London once.

But, and it is a big 'but', however excellent the ideal of apprenticeships are, however important they are as an instrument in the skills of the future 'battle' (which we are losing btw), it seems we are on a dangerous course.

Apprenticeships are vital in any economy I believe. Yet, I cannot bring myself to be anything but mystified at the current Apprenticeship strategy being spearheaded by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) - although I appreciate they are merely servants carrying out the 'master's' wishes.

The problem I have is that the new strategy is to keep increasing the numbers of apprenticeship places in the UK - an ultimate strategy of 'over training'. Some say this model works well in other countries, often citing the Deutsche Telecom model of releasing their 'over-trained' back into the labour market. But in the UK this could well lead to just a more highly skilled queue at he door of the JobCentre as we wallow in  a recessionary hollow.
Training Providers have benefited from this model of over training in the UK - sometimes at the expense of Further Education colleges. Thousands of students put through the 'programme', with each and every one of them representing a positive entry on the Training Providers' cashflow. Can this be right?

Recently, the Government have been encouraging large employers to increase the number of apprenticeship places they offer, convinced, like some mad alchemist, that this magic ingredient called 'apprenticeships' is going to save the UK economy (or at least help them reduce the number of NEETS and improve the youth unemployment figures temporarily)  .

So, 300,00 apprenticeship places, 350,000...500,000 - I can't even keep up with the latest targets that are coming from Government, such is the intensity of their campaigning.

Big question - would their be so many apprenticeship places if the Government did not provide direct financial incentive to employers?
 If you beleieve the answer to be 'No', then you are probably the most realistic. Having interviewed many HR Directors and CEO's of the UK's top companies, I can assure you that only a few convinced me that the investment in apprenticeship programmes would continue without financial incentives from the Government.

So why is this point important? Because it clearly demonstrates the culture of 'over training' through increased apprenticeship places, which in turn can only result in a reduction in the actual quality of that training and the subsequent quality of the apprentices themselves over time - hardly a solution for the forecasted skills gap that we have looming for most industry sectors.

Government should stop using Apprenticeships as a political football. They represent the best opportunity to learn for thousands in the UK - and I believe they are also one of the best ways to improve social mobility in the UK. They need protecting by organisations such as City & Guilds, organisations that have witnessed the changing view toward apprenticeships over many governments but have renmained rightly focused on the importance of this kind of 'learning'.
 
My biggest fear is that apprenticeships are ultimately going to be devalued, downgraded and then dispensed with for another spell in the box marked 'Not Popular' - until another Government comes along one day and.....history tends to repeat itself.

The Genius of the Great Khan (Salman that is)

In Donald Clark's post about 'Flip the Classroom', he illuminates the theory and practice of Salman Khan - the much commented-on hedgefund manager turned learning guru.

Rather sceptically (I must confess) I started to read Donald's piece about Khan. I then searched for one of Khan's many video posts. I watched 1, 2, 3 and a bit films - then revisited the 'Flip the Classroom' post and read again.

Puzzled, yet surprisingly excited to think it through again. 

Khan's profile is huge, his theory is elegantly simple, yet far-reachingly radical. He speaks of removing technologies from classrooms like some crazy modern Luddite. He argues that the classroom was never created for the use of technology (you can probably see a link here to Sir Ken Robinson's  RSA  knowledge share masterclass, so brilliantly animated). Sir Ken speaks of a radical rethink being required on the modern purpose of education mapped against the current (historic) system that acts more of a trap than a springboard (in Newmanswords!). Salman Khan is questioning many of the same fundamentals that Sir Ken has, and continues to question, but with Khan there is, I feel, a dogged determination to see through this change - and he is, indeed, already 'putting his money where his mouth is' by actually being the instrument of change rather than just the influential orator demonstrating the need for this change.

To me, this is what makes Salman Khan the standout player in the 'purpose of education' discussion as well as being the rarest of beasts - a man that practices exactly what he preaches - because he influences by example not just by the use of infographics or a well delivered blog! ;-)

There is no desire by me to re-write the learned words of Donald Clark's post - so I urge you to read the piece (and all of Donald's other posts for that matter) about Salman Khan - http://bit.ly/fDHUA1 

I'm now convinced that I was wrong.

I was convinced that the problem in many classrooms seemed to be the lack of innovative technology and interactive technology, the lack of ICT expertise etc... I was wrong!

Rather worryingly (worrying because of the instant revelation ),  I'm now convinced that there is something so deeply simple in 'flipping the classroom' and redefining the purpose of education back to its basic principles, that it might just be possible for the disciples of Khan to really make this happen, creating the change and providing the innovation through thought rather than technology. 

  

So, I leave you with Donald Clark's more eloquent appraisal of the man - in his own words:

"..Khan’s trick, is something I’ve believed in for years. Don’t use technology in the classroom, use it before and after, outside of the classroom. Classrooms were never designed for technology, apart, perhaps, for Whiteboards. But the danger with whiteboards is that they reinforce talking at students and ‘lecturing’. Flip the classroom. Assign the short talks for homework, THEN use the classroom for the application of the concepts. The net result is that you humanise the classroom. It becomes a place primarily for learning, not teaching. Simple, but like most great ideas - brilliant."

The Poor Relation in Education

I recently mentioned that CEIAG, as a subject (if it indeed can be classed as a subject!) , is the poor relation within education. It's a subject (note the subtle change of use) that I have returned to discuss because I felt it needed expansion.

Although there are current rumblings that schools may be assessed on the quality of their CEIAG provision by the co-alition Government, I believe we are still awaiting a definitive statement on this particular issue, so as it stands CEIAG still remains outside of the Ofsted remit when it comes to school assessments.

Those that have the responsibility of delivering CEIAG within school have, historically, not always been the most well supported cohort when it comes to the vital tools of their trade; when you are working with students directly in the field of career options, relevant Labour Market Intelligence (Lmi), HE/FE and Training intelligence and an understanding of the person in front of you are all equally vital.

So why have we continually hampered the efforts of careers advisers in school by not recognising that these vital 'tools' need constant upgrading, redefining, assessing and sometimes replacing in favour of more contemporary and relevant alternatives? This community of careers advisers, many of them Connexions employees, many of them now facing redundancies on a scale never seen before, have, quite frankly, been doing the impossible job - trying to provide a service that is so outdated and archaic in its provision that it could be argued it has barely been fit for the young students it is there to help.

Is this the fault of the advisers, the system or even the professional bodies such as the ICG and the ACEG who, it could be argued, are light years away from the progressive work of some other membership organisations to keep up with the pace of a fast changing world?

True, it is often said that, when questioned, many of the public are able to recount a tale of poor career advice when at school - this kind of urban myth has echoed around the profession ever since there was a careers profession. But is it true? And if it is, on what scale? I know many great careers advisers, totally committed, innovative and motivational - they would be the first to agree that the quality of advisers responsible for careers provision in school has not always been a picture of consistent quality and expertise. They laugh when they recount their own version of the urban myth - the crocked P.E. teacher consigned to careers duty.

But, whether the myths are true or not, the issue is : CEIAG, the poor relation in Education?

If you combine the lack of support I mentioned (when it came to the right tools for the job), if you add to that an often non specialist careers advisory team, a lack of innovative leadership from the professional bodies that are 'representing' ,and, for good measure, underpin the whole cocktail with a 'subject' that is neither given the appropriate time within the school curriculum nor a financially-sustainable model for Local Authorities in the current climate to continually support at the same levels as historically witnessed, then, we have a problem Houston !

CEIAG has not only been the poor relation in education, it might actually become bankrupt in the eyes of those it needs to better serve - unless, or until, it is overhauled, enhanced, funded sensibly AND integrated within the curriculum so its not squeezed into 'collapse days' or hidden in PSHE sessions.

I've not even mentioned the lack of innovative technology in CEIAG - I'll save that for another day!

A Really Free Lunch

Over the last year or so there has been a real increase in the number of CEIAG services being offered directly to schools and Local Authorities; companies, social enterprises, charities - all seeking to make their mark and stake their 'claim' in the current Careers wilderness.

Many appear to be little more than re-listers or duplicators of content that already exists in the public domain - especially when it comes to Labour Market Information.

The trouble is some of these organisations not only provide little value-added to a schools' CEIAG offering, but, perhaps more importantly, some appear to be financially gaining from a rather mediocre service.

Why do schools buy in this services at all some ask - can't their ICT team support the needs of the CEIAG function and current CEIAG needs of the students?

It is fair to say that unfortunately not all technical teams, teachers or careers advisers have the personal knowledge or skills to effectively transform their establishments into the modern learning environment that is required in the 21st century. Ignorance and great 'selling' , I suspect, combine to provide schools with little choice - and the excuse to purchase some of these services in order to deliver what they believe to be necessary student CEIAG services.

And that's the problem - as learning innovators such as Prof Steve Wheeler, Shell Terrell and other commentators will confirm, their is a rich abundance of freeware and opensource solutions, that, with a little knowledge and a bit of research, can be fused together to provide an incredibly rich resource . Other free solutions to education don't even need that kind of investment of time - they get frequently shared around the Learning community and can often be as straightforward as plug and play.

The savage cuts to youth services are already impacting negatively on students throughout the UK - when it comes to CEIAG, these are probably the most fragile and hardest to protect - always the poor relation in education. The cuts mean that schools will be directly responsible for their spend in this arena as Connexions services deplete and the Local Authority hands across financial autonomy to many schools.

So, if you are responsible for CEIAG provision, are a Head teacher in secondary school, a governor, parent or guardian - infact,  a UK Tax Payer, you have a duty to question any school spending that seems unnecessary - especially where there are free alternatives in the market.

Viva Free Tools For Schools - it is the future, as long as school teams understand the need to have inhouse knowledge that makes the most of the free offerings out there, infact, it could be argued that it would be negligent in this financial climate not to do so.  

Careers provision is about to get very ugly

It's only been the last 12 months or so that I have been lured into the murky world of social media, as an active 'practitioner' - the guys in the studio hassled me for a long time, so they won in the end which perhaps says more about my stubborn approach rather than their collective persuasive ;-)
This flight today may be bumpy - but its how you land i'm told that makes the difference.

April 2012 signifies an important date for many careers professionals around the UK. As an MICG (member of the Institute of Career Guidance) for the past 5 years, without being a practicing careers adviser, I have lived a charmed existence of interviewing some of our nation's finest careers professionals, politicians, quango execs etc..The careers professionals have long targetted an All Age Careers Service as a kind of holy grail of attainment during this time - and finally April 2012 has finally been selected by the current Government to be the magic date that this dream becomes reality, again.

Whether the AACS works and delivers as per the expectations of the careers professionals or not, is, quite frankly, of no importance to those young students that have started their options as early as last December and are currently in the process of deciding their futures.

I am trying to highlight the danger of the unthinkable - that thousands of young students across the UK may about to become victims of the careers void - whilst Government, academics, lobbyists, consultants, advisors and careers professionals meet and debate the make-up of the new AACS, students, parents, guardians and carers are left to pick up the pieces; take the example of the Hull Careers Service - a service that has recently contacted me to help in their plight to keep HullCS alive and serving young people. Over 600 job cuts to the Youth Services in Hull and Kingston spells absolute disaster for the young people there - they will not have a careers service (nor many other youth services for that matter) left soon if we don't highlight these dangers - we are genuinely sleep walking into the abyss for the next 18 months.

In my own region, Cambridgeshire, as a Board member of the Cambs EBP I have experienced at first hand the damage of the Local Authority cuts on the Connexions Youth Service. The Connexions teams up and down the UK are naturally demoralised and de-motivated - great!!

So, if we're all waiting for a miracle come April 2012 - ie the delivery of a Careers Service that achieves what no other careers service has achieved in the UK to date - such as contempary world of work experience and a service relevance for young people - let us all hope that the thousands of students that are about to go into the 'black hole' from now until April 2012, get a miracle of their own too....they will need it.

Let us not allow another generation of young people to become the disenfranchised, in what is fast becoming, a thoroughly modern UK with thoroughly Victorian thinking and values. But hey, that's what we all voted for, didn't we?