DfE announces Technical 'A' levels

The DfE has announced details on the first wave of 142 technical qualifications which are aimed to be a practical alternative to A-levels. Matthew Hancock, the Skills Minister, said: “We must be honest with our young people. For too long, too many students have been taking qualifications that do not help them get a job, into training, or to university.” Last year, the government stripped out 91% of the 3,721 vocational qualifications currently taught in England from future league tables. The new ‘Tech Levels’ will be included in league tables from 2016.

Exam boards must obtain endorsements from five companies, confirming that they provide the skills needed for particular trades, before qualifications can be registered under the Tech Level banner. Amongst companies backing the new qualifications are, Vauxhall, Npower, Volvo, Procter and Gamble, Kawasaki, Honda and Cisco. Whilst Arsenal is endorsing a diploma in sport and the Royal Ballet School is backing a qualification in performing arts. Courses must be able to lead directly to a job, Apprenticeship or further study and be equal in size to an A-level. The government has also unveiled 87 generic vocational qualifications, which provide broader study as “Applied General Qualifications”. The qualifications need the explicit backing of three universities and will be equal to half an A-level.

[ source: gtassociates.org ]

Free on-line magazine for Sixth Form students

Loud is a free, on-line magazine which is available five times per year for all Sixth formers and college students.  It contains useful information about university course opportunities, fees and finance, applying for uni and other options students might consider such as Apprenticeships.  Click here for more information and the latest edition.  There are videos on topics such as Apprenticeships and student finance too.

Apprenticeship Guide 2014

The 2014 Apprenticeship Guide has just been published and is available in the Reference section of the school's Careers Library.  The guide contains lots of advice about how to apply to an Apprenticeship as well as information about the range of training courses available.  Anyone considering alternatives to Further and Higher Education would be well advised to look through this guide ...

Higher Education: Face the Stats!

Going to university is a typical aim for 16-18 year olds:  49.3% of young people entered Higher Education last year (BIS, 2012) and with good reason.  More than a quarter of UK jobs are 'graduate only', up from around one in ten in the mid 1980s [ The Institute of Education Skills & Employment survey, 2012 ].  But university is expensive. According to a survey by the National Union of Students this year, the average cost of a student room has gone up by 25% over the past three years.

 

What about after university?  Currently, 22% of male graduates and 15% of female graduates move back home after completing university.  According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), there were 3.2 million 20-34 year-olds living with their parents in 2011.  This is a 20% increase on the number in 1997.  Returning "home" is often the choice of graduates entering internships.  Becoming an intern is now seen as a shortcut to employment and 60% of paid internships lead to at least one job offer ( compared to 37% of unpaid internships ).

 

According to an ONS survey, having a degree can add £12 000 to your potential salary.  However, the same organisation has recently published data showing that half of graduates are in non-graduate jobs.

 

Suffice it to say, staying in education and training is essential to maximise your choices and flexibility in employment.  Just make sure you weigh up the facts and seek out informed and impartial advice in making your choices.  The quick links top left might be a useful start ...

Interested in a career in Arts management?

The Inspire to Aspire Academy (ITA) is running an ambassador programme for 16-19 year olds for the Heart of Flame Festival 2014.  The application process has just opened and will close on the 10th December 2013. The programme will start in January/February and will run through until July. The ITA describes the benefits of being part of the ambassador team for 2014 as 'enormous'; all ambassadors will receive an emergency first aid at work qualification along with either a Bronze, Silver or Gold Arts Award (Gold Awards are worth 35 UCAS Points).  In addition ambassadors, get 'an amazing work experience opportunity of running their own event, making their own promotion video/documentary and work on professional events'.

Ambassador opportunities are as follows:   

· Producing - Film and/or Events

· Event Management

· Stage Management

· Marketing

· Film Production

Ambassadors will meet on a weekly basis either on a Saturday or Monday Evening at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, to complete the Arts Award along with other courses, in addition to workshops on their chosen job area.  All skills developed look great on UCAS applications as well as CVs. 'The best way to learn is to do in the arts industry, ITA try to make this possible wherever we can'.

Click here for further information.

'Moving On' Careers Day: 12.11.13

All Year 11 students will be attending the Moving On Curriculum Enrichment Day on Tuesday 12th November which includes a "Careers Fair" in the Assembly Hall.  This will last from 8.30 - 11.00 a.m.  Sixth Form students who are available are also welcome to attend as the organisations involved include representatives from universities, employers in areas such as engineering, broadcasting and marketing and professions such as medicine, accountancy and law.  For a full list, click here.

New funding announced for Traineeships

An extra £20m is being made available to the Government’s new Traineeships programme to support even more young people into Apprenticeships and other jobs.  Traineeships, which began in August, provide 16 to 23-year-olds with the skills, experience and confidence to compete in the labour market  –  helping them secure Apprenticeships or other jobs.  More than 500 providers have pledged to take on trainees this year and so far 150 companies, both large and small, have all expressed an interest in offering placements to young people. They include household names such as BAE Systems, Siemens and Virgin Media. 

 

Traineeships last a maximum of 6 months and provide:

• work preparation training such as interview preparation and CV writing
• support to improve English and maths skills
• a high-quality work experience placement (between 6 weeks and 5 months)
• training from providers who are rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ by Ofsted