Search Results

This study, based on Cohorts 9 and 10 of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), addresses a number of questions, including: (1) How many students work part-time in Years 12 and 13, and how many hours do they spend in jobs and on their studies? (2) What factors increase the probability of students taking part-time jobs? (3) What kinds of jobs do they do, and how much do they earn? and (4) What impact does part-time employment have on examination results? The extent of part-time employment amongst young people in full time education, both at age 16/17 and age 17/18, is described. Patterns of part-time employment amongst students in different types of courses, as well as the factors that increased theprobability of part-time employment from perspectives of gender, Year 11 results, ethnicity, home background and region, are looked at and a statistical model is fitted to disentangle the impact of these variables. The labour market for students aged 16/17 is analysed, providing information on occupational and industrial structure and wage levels and comparing the student labour market with that of 16/17 year olds who were not in full-time education. Further statistical models that explore the impact of part-time employment on examination results and/or vocational qualifications in Years 12 and 13 are presented. The final section highlights the main findings from the analyses and discusses their relevance to educational policy. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather, and Furniture, Furnishings and Interiors Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in these industries. These industries have faced a difficult transformation over the past three decades as a result of overseas competition and technological change. The report provides overviews of these industries, examines issues related to the demand for, and supply of, skills, including employment change, occupational change, skill requirements, skills gaps and shortages, and summarises common skills issues. The report suggests that to maintain competitiveness, the industries will need to further enhance skills, particularly in management, marketing and technical expertise. Major skills issues common to these industries are: (1) changes to the skills mix resulting from the transition to a combination of UK and overseas production; (2) overall skills deficiencies exacerbated by lack of experience and of basic skills; (3) skills gaps particularly at management levels and for clerical, craft and plant and machine operatives; (4) the equal demand for soft skills and technical and information technology (IT) related skills; and (5) that recruitment and skills problems are responsible for business problems and delays in developing new products. Show less

This report is the third in an annual series of employer surveys that investigate workforce development ('Learning and training at work 2000' is indexed at TD/TNC 67.435 and 'Learning and training at work 1999' is indexed at TD/TNC 62.664). The objectives of the 2001 survey were to collect information about: the volume, type and pattern of off-the-job training; key indicators of employers' commitment to training such as Investors in People (IiP); learning opportunities offered; and awareness of, and involvement with, a number of initiatives relevant to training. Show less

The ‘Skills for Life’ survey, carried out in the UK between June 2002 and May 2003, aimed to produce a national profile of adult literacy, numeracy, English as a second language (ESOL), and information and communications technology (ICT) skills over five broad levels of competence, and also to assess the impact that different levels of skill had on people’s lives. There were two parts to the survey; the first part collected respondents’ background details and tested literacy and numeracy skills, and the second part consisted of two ICT assessments, including a practical component. The results were assessed against the national framework of standards for literacy and numeracy, and revealed that 16% of respondents had only entry level literacy skills, and 47% had entry level numeracy skills. Other important findings concerned the relationship between low literacy and numeracy skills and socio-economic deprivation, the relative skills of men and women, the differences between age groups, and the association between good literacy and numeracy skills and education and salary level. Show less

The Neighbourhood Support Fund (NSF) is designed to re-engage disaffected young people aged 13 to 19 years in education, training or employment through targeted intervention at the local level. Managing agents deliver NSF through local voluntary and community-based organisations that offer a range of activities and support for young people. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to carry out research into the extent to which the NSF is supporting its goals. This report presents the key findings from the research undertaken between July 2001 and March 2002. The objectives were to investigate how NSF is being received by young people and to identify the key factors influencing their participation and outcomes. The perceptions of project workers and the benefits of the program for participants were also investigated. The research included an analysis of NSF project management information and case-study visits to 20 projects. The research indicated: (1) an ongoing demand for services provided by NSF projects from young people whose needs were not being met by mainstream education provision; (2) an increase in participation levels; (3) positive outcomes for around half of those leaving NSF projects; (4) positive feedback from NSF project staff; (5) that NSF is successfully recruiting youth from target groups; (6) that NSF projects are valued by youth participants; (7) that the NSF projects enhanced skills, self-esteem and educational and career aspirations; and (8) that critical factors contributing to engagement of youth in NSF projects included building relationships and providing participants with a sense of ownership and choice. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Tourism and Cultural Industries Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in these industries. The ability of these industries to compete successfully on a global stage relies on raising service standards to meet rising customer expectations and choice. In the UK, competitive weakness is mainly a result of growing skills gaps and shortages. The report covers a number of sectors: hotels and catering; arts and entertainment; cultural, natural and built heritage; travel, tourism services and events; and sports and recreation, leisure parks and attractions. It examines in detail changing social patterns, employment patterns and economic drivers, employment trends, skills needs, and skills supply and skills gaps. Common skills needs for the sectors are identified. Skills gaps apply across the sectors in management skills, the need for multi-skilling whilst being a specialist, work readiness of graduates, adequate information and communications technology (ICT) skills, and customer care skills and positive service attitudes in front-of-house staff. The low level of training provision across the sectors is one of the most important reasons for the skills gaps. The report demonstrates the need for more investment in skills and training across the sectors to ensure the quality of products and services provided. Recommendations for future action are provided in the areas of: education and training, particularly in management skills, information technology (IT) skills and customer care skills; the development of the whole workforce including part-time, seasonal, transient, and freelance/casual workers; and support for small and medium-sized businesses in developing staff management skills, providing appropriate training to meet changing market needs, and improving the retention of their existing staff. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Process Industries Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in this sector. This group of industries covers ceramics, chemicals, downstream petroleum, extractives and minerals processing, glass, metals, offshore petroleum, paper, pharmaceuticals, polymers, refractories and building products, and surface coatings. These industries are essential elements of the supply chain for British industry and over recent years have undergone significant changes. Managing change is the main driver for investment in skills and the industry now has fewer, more highly skilled, employees. The key issues identified by the skills dialogue are: (1) recruitment; (2) management and leadership skills; (3) supporting process improvement and supply chain development; (4) safety, health and the environment; (5) using workplace qualifications; (6) basic and key skills; (7) new technology skills; and (8) choosing high quality learning provision. Show less

This report is a follow-up to an earlier study undertaken in 2000 that examined the wage returns to academic and vocational qualifications in the UK in the 1990s (indexed at TD/TNC 69.166). Data was drawn from the National Child Development Study (NCDS), the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), and the 1998 Labour Force Survey (LFS). This report extends the earlier work in a number of directions. The data from the LFS is used to disaggregate the estimated returns to detailed qualifications with a particular focus on changes in returns over time, by public and private sector, by age cohort and by highest school qualification. The report uses information on all qualifications held by each person rather than just the highest. This allows an estimation of the returns to each qualification on the basis of the earnings of all individuals who acquire them rather than just the individuals who acquire a particular qualification and progress no further. Key findings are that: (1) the returns to key academic qualifications are very similar for men and women; (2) men and women earn positive returns on Higher National Certificate/Higher National Diploma (HNC/HND) qualifications and BTEC or SCOTVEC National Certificate/Diploma (ONC/OND) qualifications, and professional, teaching and nursing qualifications; (3) there has been virtually no change in the estimated returns to most qualifications over the time period considered; (4) degrees and A levels yield a greater return in the private sector than in the public sector for men and similar returns across sectors for women; (5) the returns to most qualifications do not vary to any significant extent over the working lives of individuals; and (6) individuals who do not obtain any qualifications at school obtain positive returns to a wide range of qualifications. Show less

In 2001, the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) in the United Kingdom (UK) initiated a series of Pathfinder Projects to test key elements of the Skills for Life strategy (indexed at TD/IRD 88.171). These elements included delivering learning using the new core curricula for literacy and numeracy, delivering learning by teachers who had received intensive training on the new curricula, and entering learners for the new National Tests at Levels one and two. Later in the year, the Communications Research Group (CRG) was commissioned to undertake an early stage evaluation of the projects, focusing on aspects of good practice. Key aims of the evaluation were to provide information on the numbers of individuals passing the National Test in various learning environments and to evaluate the competence of the new Basic Skills infrastructure in a range of settings in the nine Pathfinder areas of the UK. The evaluation criteria also included the performance of partnership activities, teacher training, screening, diagnostic assessment, learning plans, educational programs, quality assurance, the National Test, and progression to further learning. This report provides: an introduction to the Pathfinder Project evaluation; a report on progress in the various areas specified for evaluation; a discussion of issues arising for key groups of 'stakeholders'; outcomes of the Prison Pathfinder; an assessment of good practice; and brief conclusions from the evaluation. Key findings include positive reactions to the program of teacher training, better results than expected for trainees taking the National Test so far, encouraging take-up patterns for Pathfinder-linked literacy and numeracy support programs, and the delivery of a wide range of programs in various learning environments. The report suggests a number of areas to be kept under active review and makes a number of recommendations in terms of specific areas of good practice. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Media and Creative Industries Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in this sector. This dialogue covers the audio-visual industry (including broadcast, film, video and interactive media), design, photo-imaging, print and graphic communication, and publishing (covering books, journals, newspapers, magazines and electronic information services). The industries in this sector share several common interests related to new technological developments but differ widely in size, scope and characteristics. Each of the industries reported the existence of hard-to-fill vacancies. Key drivers influencing future skill needs are economic forces, changing patterns of demand, and changing patterns of doing business. A number of common concerns that exist to differing extents across each of the sectors were identified. These are: (1) attracting the workforce needed; (2) influencing education provision; (3) attracting the best talent: (4) workforce development; (5) emerging skill issues; (6) managing a small firm, freelance and casualised workforce; and (7) involvement in government initiatives. These concerns are discussed in the report and initial suggestions are made as to further action. Show less