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This qualitative study uses in-depth case studies within six occupational sectors to explore the outcomes of Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) and National Traineeships (NTs). The occupational sectors were construction, motor vehicle service and repair, information technology, business administration, retail and hospitality. The study aims to provide an understanding of the utilisation and enhancement of skills developed on MA and NT programs. It aims to give a clearer view of further training, career development and the progression into further or higher education undertaken by the young people participating in these programs. Show less

The National Skills Task Force has been established by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to assist him in developing a National Skills Agenda. The Task Force was asked to provide advice on the nature, extent and pattern of skill needs and shortages, including associated recruitment difficulties, how these are likely to change and what can be done to ease such problems. This paper is one of a series that has been commissioned to review and evaluate existing literature in a number of skills-related areas.at has been commissioned to review and evaluate existing literature in a number of skills-related areas.

The author begins this paper by attempting to define both the size of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the importance of their contribution to the United Kingdom (UK) economy. Considerable changes within the sector have made precise definitions difficult. These include sectoral shifts, economic uncertainty, technological change, organisational changes, and public policy which has encouraged the growth of small businesses. Johnson analyses national evidence on SMEs and skills, and includes tables of selected results from the Skills Needs in Britain (SNIB) studies and the Cambridge SBRC surveys. The third section deals with research findings on management skills, general workforce skills, graduate and higher level skills and the use and impact of policy initiatives. The last section presents key findings and the implications for future skills needs. Johnson comments on the incidence and types of training provision, the position and influence of owner/managers, and the suggested policy directions for skills and training initiatives within the SME sector, although the heterogeneous nature of the SME sector makes it difficult to provide categorical statements about the findings.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.633 to TD/TNC 62.644 and from TD/TNC 62.646 to TD/TNC 62.651. Show less

The National Skills Task Force has been established by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to assist him in developing a National Skills Agenda. The Task Force was asked to provide advice on the nature, extent and pattern of skill needs and shortages, including associated recruitment difficulties, how these are likely to change and what can be done to ease such problems. This paper is one of a series that has been commissioned to review and evaluate existing literature in a number of skills-related areas.

This paper examines the provision of post-compulsory education and training (PCET) particularly as it relates to vocational qualifications for young people. The author maintains that working through the many options and routes is a daunting task and that the provision is 'fragmented and incoherent, with a number of competing pathways of varying status and value' (Evans et al, 1997). She identifies five key questions which need to be addressed by policy-makers. Do vocational qualifications act as a barrier to young people's participation in vocational education and training? How credible are vocational qualifications and vocational courses in the eyes of young people and employers? How might vocational qualifications and vocational courses be improved and strengthened? How are vocational qualifications and vocational courses viewed by education and training providers? How do vocational qualifications and vocational courses relate to their academic counterparts and how might that relationship be improved? Unwin looks at all the options that 16 year-olds face at the end of compulsory schooling and highlights a plethora of apprenticeships, traineeships and other initiatives. Destination patterns are analysed and the strengths and weaknesses of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) are examined. She presents a range of conclusions to support the young people themselves, the providers of training and the employers, and makes ten policy recommendations to simplify and coordinate the PCET process.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.633 to TD/TNC 62.636 and from TD/TNC 62.638 to TD/TNC 62.651. Show less

This report is intended to highlight policy issues to do with the delivery of Youth Training (YT) programs. It has three main aims. They are: (1) to test the feasibility of using existing data sources on the former YT to improve estimates of early leaving from YT and other work based training; (2) to identify common characteristics of early leavers; and (3) to compare characteristics of YT early leavers with those who complete their period of YT but do not achieve their planned outcome. The research raises a number of questions in the areas of the quality of data and internal factors relating to the programs. These policy issues are briefly discussed. Show less

Subsidised skills training has an important role among the battery of measures that comprise the British government's policies to help long-term unemployed adults to find jobs. This study evaluates the effectiveness of such training for the individual who receives it. Does it help unemployed people to find jobs more quickly, and if so, what kinds of jobs does it lead to? Which elements in training programs are the most effective? How long-lasting are the benefits that training gives unemployed people and does it increase their potential earnings? The present evaluation focuses on a program formerly known as Training for Work (TfW). Although this program no longer exists under that name, most of the features of TfW have been retained in what is now termed 'work-based learning for unemployed adults' and such training is one of the options available to unemployed people under the New Deal. Thus the findings of the study remain highly relevant to current policy. Show less

Launched in 1995, Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) offer 16 to 24 year olds in England and Wales a work-based route to the skills and qualifications needed at craft, supervisory and technical level in industry and business. More than 3,000 MAs and 1500 students at school or college studying for A levels or advanced General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) were surveyed. This study examines what motivated respondents when they made their decisions about their futures, how they found out about their respective activities, what they think about their choices now, and what they expect to be doing after completing the MA. Show less

National Training Organisations (NTOs) were set up to help employers and employees meet their sector training and education needs. The NTO policy is an intervention in the labour market to correct the under-investment in skills. The key objectives of the 'Evaluation of the NTO Network' were to: assess the change and progress made by the NTO network in meeting its overall objective; identify and provide feedback on good practice and barriers to achievement of NTO objectives; and make recommendations on whether Government requirements on NTOs or interactions should be modified. This report presents the progress made by the Network within the last 30 months in meeting its objectives and Government expectations. Show less

Young people who do badly in their GCSE examinations at age 16 present two challenges for social policy. The first is to minimise the numbers getting poor results while maintaining credible academic standards in examinations. The second is to mitigate the consequences of poor results by providing opportunities for low achievers to improve their qualifications. It is the second of the challenges that this report addresses. It aims to inform the policy debate on how best to provide for these young people through a detailed study of a cohort of low achievers who reached the end of their compulsory schooling in 1995. This report is not about the causes of low achievement. It is about the recent trends in low achievement, and about how the routes low achievers took after age sixteen differed from those taken by young people with better examination results. The report tracks the low achievers' progress after age sixteen over two and a half years, looking at their educational participation, work-based training, employment, any further qualifications that are gained and their satisfaction with the way that things worked out for them. Show less

The National Skills Task Force has been established by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to assist him in developing a National Skills Agenda. The Task Force was asked to provide advice on the nature, extent and pattern of skill needs and shortages, including associated recruitment difficulties, how these are likely to change and what can be done to ease such problems. This paper is one of a series that has been commissioned to review and evaluate existing literature in a number of skills-related areas.

This paper was commissioned to examine the evidence about employers' attitudes to training, how training is encouraged and supported, and the effectiveness of levies and other legal obligations. The author points out that, because the area to be covered is so large, the emphasis has been on problem areas and covers a range of smaller topics focusing on certain sub-sections of the adult workforce, provision by smaller employers, and provisions of adult training for the longer-term skills. Following the introduction, Section 2 offers a brief overview of the evidence on employer-provided adult training, highlighting the complexities and providing information on volumes, flows and recipient populations. Section 3 examines the United Kingdom (UK) employer attitudes to training and the factors that affect them, including globalisation, the impact of new technologies, and the changing and increasingly competitive nature of the workplace. Keep analyses the complex nature of the infrastructure that supports adult training, including sectoral support, local/regional foci, existing legislative requirements, trade unions, and national institutions and schemes. Section 4 looks at what international evidence and past experience reveal about alternative approaches on the use of levies. Research indicates that caution is needed in using the experience of other countries to solve UK problems. The author points to the UK experience with Industrial Training Boards (ITBs) and briefly looks at French and Australian experiences with levies. Finally, Section 5 considers implications and reviews a range of possible policy responses, including levies. In conclusion, Keep raises two key questions. First, why has the problem resisted previous efforts at change? He notes that this paper shows that there has been too narrow a focus concentrating on skill supply rather than changing organisational strategy. Second, how might the National Skills Task Force (NSTF) mobilise support for change? He suggests that policy-makers need to address the development of a genuine consensus, ensuring that all employers, including small and middle sized enterprises (SMEs), support the initiatives.

Other research reports in this series are indexed from TD/TNC 62.633 to TD/TNC 62.646 and from TD/TNC 62.648 to TD/TNC 62.651. Show less

This is an evaluation of the Small Firms Training Loans (SFTL) scheme. One of the aims of the project was to establish whether SFTLs are increasing training in participating firms. Of particular interest was what impact, if any, this training had on the business performance and on the employability or continued employment prospects of the staff members who undertook the training. The key partners' views of SFTL process and its outcomes were also examined. The final part assesses the scheme's value for money and makes practical recommendations for the future to improve the scheme. Show less