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This research study addresses a number of research questions regarding the engagement of employers with higher education institutions (HEI). These include: how do employers use and view graduate skills; what are employer views on high-level skills development and HEIs; is there scope for greater employer-HEI collaboration in pursuit of knowledge transfer through high-level skills development; and what are the geographical patterns of employer-HEI engagement and is this engagement organised at national or local (city-region) levels? Evidence was compiled from a literature review, a compilation of statistics from the Labour Force Survey, National Employers Skills Survey 2005, and Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Origins and Destinations data, and from case studies with 74 employers, all of whom had recently recruited new graduates. The case studies were distributed across 18 city-regions in England. Key findings include: the majority of employers are satisfied with the recent graduates they had recruited; there is already a considerable degree of employer engagement with HEI, especially amongst larger employers; continuing professional development (CPD) is mainly a local relationship, as employees need to be able to study close to where they work; and the introduction of Foundation Degrees, although highly regarded by those employers that have committed to them, has had little impact on employer-HEI engagement. Show less

Group training arrangements enable smaller firms to effectively meet their training needs through the sharing of resources. In the UK, a number of collaborative employer groups operate to deliver employer-led provision and involve smaller employers as members and clients. There are a number of sectors where this model has not developed and areas where these employer groups did not exist. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) provided a fund to finance the establishment of several Employer Learning Network (ELN) projects in England between November 2000 and July 2001. The main aim of this study was to identify successful ELN models that were potentially sustainable and could be copied by other groups. The evaluation also examined how ELNs were established and developed, the sustainability of the ELNs after the initial funding ceased, and the outcomes and benefits for participants. The evaluation found that the concept of getting employers to develop training solutions with the support of partners coordinated by an impartial but credible lead body can be successfully applied within sub-regions, regions, nationally and by sector or industry grouping. However, financial sustainability was problematic so ways to access ongoing funding need to be found. The preferred model for future network development is an integrated presence of networks that relate to each other, i.e. employer networks identifying training needs, learning provider networks providing training solutions, and Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) providing national/regional skills knowledge to ensure that training needs are sufficiently funded. 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 summarises the current information about skills issues in the post-16 education and training sector. Its particular purpose is to draw together common themes that affect employers and employees working in further and higher education, community and adult education, and training and workforce development. The report examines drivers of change in the sector, current employment in the post-16 education and training sector, employment trends and projections, workforce demographics, workforce development and qualifications, skills issues and recruitment, and sector responses to the skills challenge. 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

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

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) holds its annual research conference as a means of communicating its research and information interests to the research community and to encourage engagement in key policy issues. This report provides details of the papers presented at the conference along with information about the Department’s recently commissioned work and research publications. The report begins with the keynote speech by John Healey, Minister for Adult Skills, in which he emphasised the importance of strong links between policy and research evidence in education and skills. Strategies to achieve this goal include improving accessibility of research evidence to potential users outside the research community, employing a strategic approach to investment in research, and ensuring a coherent research effort and the effective dissemination and impact of research. Charles Desforges, Director of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) teaching and learning research program, outlined the challenges ahead for educational research over the next five years. The report provides summaries of the following seminars: Education and exclusion: multi-agency responses; Childcare; School; 14-21 participation; Skills; Adult participation and basic skills; The wider benefits of learning; Early years: Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE); The teacher labour market; Returns to education; Youth issues; Workforce development; Higher education: widening participation; EPPI-Centre (the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre). The concluding plenary session summarises the contributions of a panel discussion of future directions for education and skills research. The final section of the report lists research funded by DfES in 2000 and 2001. Show less

The aims of the study reported here were to use a range of research methods to investigate the validity of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) assessments and the transferability of NVQ achievements. The study intended to examine: the National Standards and the requirements of the workplace; how far candidates achieve and sustain competence in the course of training, certification and subsequent employment; the impact of learning routes, contexts and strategies on the achievement of competence; and the assessment methods and criteria used by assessors. The research was conducted by means of: a cross-sectional study of engineering apprentices; a longitudinal study of child care candidates; and short-term tracking studies of administration and hairdressing candidates. The outcomes of the research were analysed in the light of relevant theoretical constructs, in particular, situated cognition theory. The study concludes that it is essential that all NVQ candidates are encouraged, at all stages and in all contexts, to engage in learning that goes beyond the immediate requirements of the situation, in order to foster the growth of the deeper knowledge and understanding which is the basis of the ability to transfer the competence acquired in one context to another. 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

In 2005 the UK government established a review of information, advice and guidance (IAG) services for adults in order to help facilitate the long-term objective outlined in the White Paper, ‘Skills: getting on in business, getting on in work’ (2005) (indexed at TD/IRD 88.162). This objective comprised a universally available, high quality and well-used service offering linked information, advice and guidance for adults covering jobs, qualifications, training and related support such as childcare. One part of the review involved conducting and evaluating a trial extension of the UfI/learndirect telephone guidance service to manage a substantially larger volume of calls, and to test a three-stage call-back and action planning model. This evaluation of the learndirect guidance trial aims to assess: how successful the trial has been in generating and meeting demand for telephone guidance; the feasibility of delivering guidance by telephone; how far short-term positive outcomes of guidance are achieved; and the cost-effectiveness of telephone guidance compared to face-to-face services. Show less

In the United Kingdom (UK), prisoners who are unemployed on their release are twice as likely to re-offend as those with stable employment. Success in the workplace is more likely if prisoners have the mix of vocational skills and personal qualities which employers are looking for. This statement outlines a plan to lift prisoners' knowledge, education and skills levels along with their self-esteem, both in prison and in the key period after their release, to enable them to succeed in the workplace on their release. The plan is to be achieved through a strategic partnership between the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Prison Service and in cooperation with all the key agencies. The statement describes the partnership's aims and objectives and concludes with an outline of the new partnership model and priorities for immediate action in the first year. Show less