June 7, 2011
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 moreJune 6, 2011
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 moreJune 6, 2011
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 moreJune 6, 2011
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 moreJune 1, 2011
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 moreJune 1, 2011
June 1, 2011
The celebrity role model is ‘a myth’ for young children. Ordinary people they meet in real life have much more of a positive impact on their behaviour and aspirations research suggests. Read the full BBC story.
Read moreMay 26, 2011
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 moreMay 25, 2011
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 moreMay 24, 2011
May 24, 2011
In this economic climate, with such high rates of graduate unemployment, should school leavers give far greater consideration to vocational qualifications? The debate intensifies. Read the full Guardian story.
Read moreMay 24, 2011
May 24, 2011
Demand for internships shows no sign of easing and now the pressure to bag a career-boosting placement is leading students not just to work for free, but to pay for the privilege. Read the full Guardian story.
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