June 8, 2011

World Skills 2011 – complimentary tickets available

June 8, 2011

WorldSkills London 2011 is the largest international skills competition in the world and incorporates ‘Have a Go’ bite-size activities, skills showcases, impartial careers advice and an interactive exhibition. It is taking place in the UK for the first time in decades. Further information on WorldSkills London 2011.

Read more

June 7, 2011

Surge in the number of female apprentices

June 7, 2011

With the labour market for the under-24s looking grim students are becoming more entrepreneurial and take up of apprenticeships has increased for both sexes. Colleges are reporting a sudden upsurge in students signing up to learn how to be an electrician, decorator, mechanic or builder, and much of the increase seems to be down to […]

Read more

June 6, 2011

Harvard professor to speak at Taskforce research conference

June 6, 2011

The Taskforce’s 2011 research conference keynote speaker is Professor Robert Schwartz who is Francis Keppel Professor of Practice of Educational Policy at Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a lead author of Pathways to Prosperity (2011), an influential US analysis of the roles that employer partnerships with school have to play in easing the […]

Read more

June 6, 2011

Charity warns of need to “promote employability in higher education”

June 6, 2011

Universities should offer courses in communication, problem solving, presentation skills and customer relations to get students ready for full-time employment, claims a study by charity Edge. Edge warns of a systematic failure to “promote employability across higher education”, meaning a “notable majority” of graduates were unable to function in the workplace. Universities were also advised […]

Read more

June 6, 2011

Importance of vocational learning stressed by government advisor

June 6, 2011

At least 40% of teenagers should be required to do apprenticeship-style qualifications that lead directly to a job at the age of 16, a leading education expert has said. Tim Oates, director of research at the Cambridge Assessment exam board, said the move would cut the youth unemployment rate and boost economic competitiveness. Read the […]

Read more

June 1, 2011

A city of children who cannot read

June 1, 2011

London is in the grip of a literacy crisis with one in four children practically illiterate on leaving primary school. The London Evening Standard highlights the issue in the capital. Read the full Evening Standard story. What can be done to help schools, young people and parents? New research shows that employee volunteering improves reading. […]

Read more

May 26, 2011

Latest issue of Taskforce News

May 26, 2011

This edition covers the launch of the Inspiring the Future campaign to get 100,000 people to volunteer in education to give insights into careers, an update on Robert Peston’s Speakers for Schools, the Taskforce’s academic research conference at Warwick University, the launch of BIS’s Enterprise Champions Programme and plans to recruit more school governors from […]

Read more

May 25, 2011

The Wolf Report – perspectives from Europe

May 25, 2011

Dr Andrew McCoshan’s The Wolf Report – perspectives from Europe PowerPoint presentation and audio recording are available to download. The Wolf Report puts forward radical proposals for vocational education and training in England. Her analysis proposes that there should be a heavier emphasis on work related learning and work based learning at 16-18, rather than […]

Read more