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This paper provides a summary of recent research and statistics on the position of different ethnic groups in education and training in England compared with the rest of the population. The focus of the paper is on the participation and attainment of minority ethnic groups including people of Black Caribbean, Black African, Black Other, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Mixed heritage. Also included are Gypsy/Roma children, children of Travellers of Irish heritage, and refugee and asylum-seeking children. The key findings associated with participation and attainment are reported under the headings of early years’ education and childcare, school, post-16 education and training, higher education, adult learning, and participation in the education workforce. The authors conclude by stressing the need to understand the diverse experiences of the minority ethnic population in England, partly explained by differences in socioeconomic status, in order to achieve race equality in education. They add that the combination of improved data collection and new statutory duties should enhance research and practice across educational provision. Show less

In December 2004, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned a mapping of qualifications and training developments across the children and young people's (CYP) workforce. The aims of the research were: to support the creation of a qualifications framework and structure for career progression opportunities for members of the CYP workforce; to map the qualifications and existing training and development provision that is available; to provide information on the current take up of key qualifications and training provision that is available both nationally and locally; and to identify specific variations and gaps in qualifications and training provision and the funding streams available to support individual members of the workforce. The project covered all major occupational groups within the children's workforce, nationally available and approved qualifications from levels one to eight together with a mapping of the detailed content of significant qualifications against the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge. The research was organised in two related strands: the collection data about qualifications and training; and the exploratory development of the workforce through contextualising studies. A database was constructed: to store information about the qualifications associated with a set of agreed job roles within the CYP workforce; to capture how far the most significant qualifications for those roles cover the Common Core; and to allow analysis of the provision to identify, for particular clusters or roles, gaps, over-provision, and the differentiation in the level of coverage of the Common Core. This report summarises the process of developing and maintaining the database during the project, highlights some of the issues and difficulties associated with the process and describes the projected costs for its continued development and maintenance.

This report is one of six, each with a different theme. The reports are indexed from TD/TNC 85.226 to TD/TNC 85.231. Show less

The Skills for Life programme is designed to improve literacy, numeracy and language skills of adults and of young people (aged 16 to 17) who have left full-time education. As part of the programme, literacy, numeracy and ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] training was provided free of charge to those without literacy or numeracy qualifications at Level 2. This report is the third in a series of reports of the evaluation of the impact of participation in a literacy or a numeracy course at a college for a qualification. As such, the evaluation does not assess the full Skills for Life programme (notably excluding ESOL courses and courses delivered outside college). The analysis is restricted to those aged 19 and over. The evaluation examines the impact of participation on a range of economic, personal and social outcomes, including employment, health and involvement in one’s children’s education (at Wave 2 and Wave 3). It also describes course benefits, as perceived by the participants (at Wave 2), factors affecting qualification gain and dropout (at Wave 2) and progression in education and training (at Wave 3). The first report [indexed at TD/TNC 83.460] described the characteristics of participants and their courses and identified factors affecting participation in Skills for Life literacy and numeracy courses (Metcalf and Meadows, 2005). The evaluation is being conducted through a longitudinal survey of participants on literacy and numeracy courses (Skills for Life learners) and a matched group of non-participants with low or no literacy or numeracy qualifications. A short test- based assessment administered prior to interview confirmed respondents to be lacking literacy or numeracy skills at Level 2. Respondents were first interviewed in 2002/03 (when course participants were on their course), with second and third wave interviews taking place one and two years later, respectively. This report provides findings based on analysis of the first three waves of the survey.

Published excerpt.

The second report is indexed at TD/TNC 83.461. Show less

This report provides an update of earlier projections published in July 2000 and commissioned for the National Skills Task Force. Economic models developed at the Institute for Employment Research are used to project the numbers of people employed in sectors and occupations across the United Kingdom (UK), the demand for levels of qualifications in the workforce, and the supply of, and demand for, highly qualified people in the workforce. The report presents detailed projections for 2005 and 2010 based on 1999 data. The report is published in two volumes. Volume one presents the results for the whole of the UK and volume two presents the results for the Regional Development Agency (RDA) regions of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The key features of the projections are that: between 1999 and 2010 there are expected to be over two million additional jobs; around two-thirds of these jobs are expected to be taken by women; the working age population and the labour force are expected to undergo significant growth; the level of unemployment is expected to remain stable at relatively low levels but for most people, unemployment will be transitory.

Volume two is indexed at TD/TNC 69.141. Show less

The Further Education (FE) Learners Longitudinal Survey examines the destinations of FE learners over a period of 18-21 months. These findings are from the Wave Two survey that interviewed learners who undertook an FE course in 2003-2004, about one year after completing their course. The Wave Two survey takes places 12 months after Wave One, and will attempt to re-interview all Wave One respondents who agreed to be re-contacted. The survey examines adult learners (19 or over) only, and focuses mainly on learners who completed their course. The key objectives of the survey are to: analyse the nature of the destinations that FE learners take after learning, such as into employment, further learning or training, and the impact this learning has on their future learning participation; assess what impact learning has on socio-economic circumstances (employment status, income), particularly the cumulative impact of further learning on the individual’s welfare; and assess what impact learning has on wider outcomes such as health benefits and active citizenship. Key findings include: one in four learners (24 per cent) had increased their highest level of qualification by the Wave Two interview and around one in eight learners (13 per cent) appeared to have increased their level of qualification following their original course through subsequent learning; in the Wave One survey 50 per cent of learners had gone on to start FE or training and by Wave Two (another year later), this proportion had risen to 63 per cent; the overall level of employment among FE learners remained similar, from immediately before the original FE course through to the Wave Two interview (61 per cent and 64 per cent respectively); learners felt that they had gained a number of skills or benefits from taking the original FE course; and a third of learners who had started a new job since the course said that the course helped them to get the job.

The report on the findings from Wave One are indexed at TD/TNC 86.302. Show less

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced in the UK in April 1999. This report investigates the impact of the NMW on the wage structure for young workers in the UK and the associated influence on young people’s participation rates in education and training. It examines changes in the level and distribution of pay of young workers and in the probability of receiving both on-the-job and off-the-job training between 1998 and 2000. It also considers whether there have been any associated changes in both pay expectations and the lowest level of pay that a young person would consider for a full-time job. From this information, inferences about participation decisions for young people may be made. The report is based on analysis of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), a regular survey that tracks a large nationally representative sample of young people between the ages of 16 and 19. The analysis revealed that average real hourly earnings increased both at age 18/19 and 16/17 even though the NMW applies only to workers at age 18/19. For both ages the increases were much larger at the bottom of the earnings distribution. Changes in expected pay and reservation pay were found to be unrelated to the introduction of the NMW. Therefore, the study was unable to assess whether the NMW had an effect on participation in full-time education other than the fact that jobs may have become more attractive to young people because of the actual increase in pay. None of the changes in training receipt were found to be related to changes in pay over the period studied. Show less

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) to carry out the Pathways in Adult Learning Survey (PALS) 2003 to track individual learning paths over time. PALS is a longitudinal survey that follows up a sample of respondents to the National Adult Learning Survey (NALS) 2001. This report on the findings from PALS 2003 updates information from the first PALS survey on individual learning paths and provides data on new issues that are pertinent to the current context of adult learning. The survey was conducted between February and May 2003 and achieved a 59 per cent response rate. The survey asked respondents about a variety of learning experiences in the previous two years since they were last interviewed. Four key learning groups were used for analysis throughout the report based on whether the respondent’s learning status changed between NALS and PALS: long-term learners; lapsed learners; new learners; and non-learners. The survey noted socio-demographic factors most strongly related to learning status, types of learning being undertaken and whether learners were studying for a qualification. It also examined motivations to learn, whether previous learning experiences were associated with subsequent learning status, barriers to learning, and the impact of learning on jobs and qualifications. Also investigated were the wider outcomes of learning, the role of information, advice and guidance (IAG), the use of information and communications technology (ICT), respondents’ involvement in family learning and the community, and future learning intentions. Show less

This longitudinal research study reports on the experiences of young people with special education needs (SEN) three years after they have completed statutory schooling. The study aimed to provide an overview of the experiences, achievements and attitudes of young people with SEN during their post-16 transitions and beyond and to identify strengths, weaknesses and barriers to further and higher education, training, employment and independent living. This is the third wave of longitudinal research with young people with SEN to record and track their progress as they move from compulsory schooling to early adulthood. The first wave of research with young people with SEN, and their parents and carers, was undertaken in 2000-01 when they were in curriculum year 11. The second wave of research went back to these people in the 2002-03 academic year. This third wave caught up with the young people again in 2003-04 when they were aged 19 or 20, and has sought to update the earlier studies and to map their activities and achievements over time.

The report on wave two is indexed at TD/TNC 80.295. Show less

The main aim of this study was to carry out a new customised survey of training behaviour in UK firms as well as a quantitative analysis of the relationship between training and business performance. The survey process is described and a detailed description of the characteristics of the data arising from the survey as well as an analysis of various indicators of training activity cross classified by the size and broad industrial sector of the firms surveyed. There is a comparison of management characteristics and practices of firms classified into two broad groups in terms of their level of training intensity. Performance of the firms is measured in terms of the growth of employment, turnover, productivity and profit margins. A multivariate analysis of the determinants and the performance impacts of training and a qualitative analysis of training determinants using a series of case studies are provided. Appendices offer the questionnaires used in the survey, an analysis of the sample design and unit response bias characteristics of the sample, an analysis of non-response rates and the detailed individual case records of the firms used in the cast study analysis. Show less

This eighth edition of ‘Education and training statistics for the United Kingdom’ uses over 50 tables to provide an integrated overview of statistics on education and training in the UK. It covers: expenditure; schools; post-compulsory education and training; qualifications and destinations; population; and international comparisons. Key facts reported under ‘Post-compulsory education and training’ include: in 2001/02, 72% of 16 year olds and 58% of 17 year olds were in post-compulsory education either at school or in full-time further education; there were 47,300 new starts on Advanced Modern Apprenticeship schemes (AMAs) in England in 2002/3; the average number of learners on AMAs in 2002/3 was 108,300, representing almost two-fifths of the average year for the total number of learners on work-based learning for young people; people with high levels of qualifications were much more likely than those with low or no qualifications to have received job-related training; the economically inactive tend to receive job-related training of a longer duration than that received by employees; and a further education college or university is the most common location for off-the-job training. Show less