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This document outlines a number of key proposals and opportunities for young people. Those relating to information, advice and guidance will be of most interest to schools. These proposals will help schools to deliver the 14-19 curriculum set out in the recent White Paper, as well as giving them a clearer voice in the services that are delivered to their pupils. They will also provide clearer routes to help outside the school for pupils with additional needs. Show less

The Small Firm Development Account (SFDA) pilot program operated in the UK between April 2002 and April 2003. Its broad aims were to: (1) increase the number of small businesses taking part in developing their workforce, particularly at basic and intermediate levels, to improve business performance; and (2) develop within the small business, an internal resource or 'training champion' able to identify workforce development opportunities and engage with diverse training provision to identify the most effective solution. Following the successful delivery of the SFDA pilots in 2002/03, it was extended for a further year to reinforce the principles of structured training and test different methods of learning. Second year aims were: (1) to embed and develop the training plan approach in companies; (2) to offer clients a mentoring facility as a further option in relationship building between companies and business support services; and (3) to offer clients additional support, including management and leadership training for key workers, specifically targeted at areas of weakness in first year plans. The evaluation concludes that SFDA year 2 has achieved its primary objective to fully embed a structured approach to training within the vast majority of participating companies.

The first year evaluation report is indexed at TD/TNC 77.142. Show less

This report has been prepared to describe how the UK can best promote progress in taking forward the Lisbon Agenda to develop 'a dynamic, competitive, knowledge-based economy in Britain', the British contribution to the same, broader EU goal. The report sets down the UK's position in relation to education, skills and lifelong learning and examines how these can best support economic reform under the Lisbon Agenda. The report examines four key areas: where the UK is doing well; where it is falling behind other member states; where there are significant differences between member states; and what can be learned from other member states. The author suggests that the UK has emerging strengths in developing a knowledge economy and implementing the Lisbon Agenda, and, in most areas, policy is encouraging movement in the right direction. However, there are still significant weaknesses, for example, lower levels of skills among the adult workforce than other member states, the lack of a well-established formal system of vocational training, a lack of parity of esteem and integration between vocational and academic pathways to learning, and a poorly coordinated, under-resourced and undervalued further education system. Political and institutional cooperation and determination will be required to continue taking forward the Lisbon Agenda. 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. This report discusses the findings from an analysis of the extent to which existing qualifications cover the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge and the perceptions from those working in field of the significance of the Common Core as identified within the contextualising studies.

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 Success for All program (policy document indexed at TD/TNC 72.207) was established by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in November 2002. It represented a major set of policy reforms to the post-16 learning and skills sector to 2010 and beyond. The program aimed to raise standards, increase participation and improve outcomes through four interlocking themes. A monitoring and evaluation framework including separate but complementary evaluation plans for each of the four themes was also established. ECOTEC Research and Consulting were commissioned by the DfES in September 2004 to establish the feasibility of attributing impact to specific themes or initiatives within Success for All. This study is intended to support the existing monitoring and evaluation framework, by establishing a methodology for attributing impact, where targets and quantitative data collection are insufficient. This document is the final report of the study, which was completed in December 2004. A key conclusion is the varying degree to which attribution is likely to be possible for different aspects of the program. Any attribution framework will need several different elements. The report concludes by proposing a potential strategy for the development of an attribution framework, based on two related methodologies for modelling impact, one against the cross-cutting targets and the other against the theme level targets. 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. This report is an executive summary of the entire project. It contains information about the overall research aims and objectives, information which contextualised the project, and research methodology including how relevant stakeholders were consulted during the design and implementation stages of the project. The report details key findings and summarises the recommendations made in each of five reports, which contain more detailed discussion of the key aspects of the project.

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

This report explores the important issues of recruitment and retention of staff who work with learners across the post-16 learning and skills sector. The study has involved four key elements, comprising of: a large-scale quantitative telephone survey; a large-scale quantitative telephone survey of human resources (HR) managers in further education (FE); large-scale qualitative interviews with staff with an emphasis on those working in maths and science subjects; and small-scale qualitative telephone interviews with dissatisfied staff (identified at the initial survey stage). The main aims of the research were to identify: what motivates those who teach to join the sector; the main barriers to entering the sector; the main benefits of teaching in the sector and general levels of satisfaction; at what point in their career teachers join the sector (and their previous occupation) and at what point they leave the sector; and reasons for leaving the sector and subsequent destinations. The report contains: an outline of the methodology and a profile of respondents; a section on what motivates staff to join the sector; a report on the experiences of staff on entry to the sector; information about turnover, vacancies and hard to fill vacancies; a discussion of issues relating to working in the sector; a report on levels on satisfaction, benefits and drawbacks; a report on training and development issues; an examination of staff perceptions of government strategy for the sector; and conclusions resulting from the research. 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 2004 National Employers Skills Survey (NESS) was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in partnership with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), to provide detailed information on skills and workforce development issues facing employers in England to serve as a common basis to develop policy and assess the impact of skills initiatives. The survey included 27,000 employers across all sectors of business activity in England. This report is presented in three main sections: 'Skill shortages and other recruitment difficulties' explores the scale and nature of recruitment problems, focusing on the incidence, number, distribution and density of vacancies caused at least partially by a lack of skills, experience or qualifications among those applying; 'Skills gaps within the existing workforce' examines the incidence of skills gaps within the workforce, both in terms of the frequency with which employers have skills gaps and the proportion of staff described as lacking in proficiency, and explores the main causes of skills gaps and the skills that are described as lacking among the workforce in England; 'Training and workforce development' explores the extent, nature and volume of training and workforce development activity, including the proportion of establishments that provide on- and off-the-job training, the extent to which employers plan and budget for training, and the factors that influence training activity. The findings indicate: that skills deficiencies continue to affect about a quarter of the employers; evidence of a slight easing of skills problems for employers in terms of the number of staff lacking skills and the number of vacancies where skills shortages are experienced; skills deficiencies affect different size and sector of employer, and occupational group, very differently; and there have been significant increases in the proportion of employers with training plans.

The key findings report is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 83.264. Show less

This White Paper, published by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in March 2005, builds on the Government's first national Skills Strategy, published in July 2003. The principles and direction of the original Skills Strategy [available in VOCEDplus at TD/IRD 88.169] continue to be valid and good progress has already been made in implementing it. However, the skills challenge is still considerable and the White Paper describes how the Department intends to address it along with its partners. The White Paper develops the government strategy for ensuring that employers have the right skills to support the success of their businesses. It also aims to ensure that individuals gain the skills that they need to be employable and personally fulfilled.

Selected papers associated with this White Paper are indexed at TD/TNC 81.113 and TD/TNC 81.114. Show less