NTfW Annual Conference – Nurturing Talent: Building the Future Workforce in Wales

18th October 2013

Edge CEO Jan Hodges OBE spoke today at the NTfW Annual Conference, here is her full speech

Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to address your conference. The Edge Foundation is a national organisation working across the UK and I am delighted to be here with you in Wales today.

As Arwyn (R-Wyn) mentioned in his introduction, the Edge Foundation is an independent, charitable organisation which champions technical, practical and vocational learning. It's great to be speaking to an audience that appreciates the importance and the benefits of technical, practical and vocational learning!

Prior to becoming the CEO of The Edge Foundation I was Principal of a College of Further and Higher Education and I was also Chair of a large Apprenticeship training consortium with a number of partners both private and public. I have always believed in the benefits of healthy competition but also always felt that with complementary strengths, working together as providers, we could do more for the people in our area.

I even have some experience myself of being an Apprentice - very limited personal experience I must say but nevertheless it gave me an interesting insight.

A couple of years ago during National Apprenticeship Week I found myself working as an Apprentice in 2 very different locations. In the morning I was working in a very hot and very busy kitchen in Jamie's Italian restaurant in Canary Wharf cooking a risotto and in the afternoon I was in a small garage, open to the elements, on a bitterly cold day, in Grays, Essex learning how to change the brake pads on a car! Two very contrasting situations but a valuable experience and I managed - just - not to get fired!

Anyway I thought I would tell you a bit more about the Edge Foundation and the work we do and suggest ways we might be able to work more closely together going forward and support each other. I know we already get great support from Wales for VQ Day and that at your conference last year Arwyn shared with you Edge's Six Steps for Change - our manifesto if you like about the kind of change we would like to see in the education system to get the recognition we believe vocational training and the kind of work you do deserves.

Our motto is " There are many paths to success" and we want an education system that recognises individual success in all its forms, not just exams; that helps people choose paths that support their talents and ambitions and which will ensure that we create the knowledge, skills and talents needed by the UK economy.

We have a particular focus on employer led vocational learning and vocational learning where there is significant employer involvement as an indicator of quality, and because we acknowledge that recognition by employers and their significant involvement, does raise the status of vocational education and training.

We do a variety of things to take forward our mission. There are 4 main ways we seek to champion technical, practical and vocational learning.

We commission research in order to strengthen the evidence base.

We undertake policy work and seek to persuade others of the merits and benefits of technical, practical and vocational learning. We communicate our views and encourage debate and discussion.

We celebrate vocational success and showcase vocational excellence, wanting to give greater recognition to the success of those who follow these routes.

And we support a range of projects with grant funding. Supporting innovation, practical demonstration projects and new institution creation.

So if I can just say a little bit more on each of those 4 different ways that we carry out our mission and work.Firstly in terms of research we seek to share evidence of what works here and across the world and research underpins our work with policy makers, opinion formers, educators and trainers.

For example, we have tracked the changing perceptions of Apprenticeships by MPs and teachers. It wasn't good news - many MPs and teachers felt that, while they had in most cases heard of Apprenticeships, they didn't actually know much about them. In the case of teachers it's understandable in that they will have in many cases followed an academic route themselves but very worrying if you think about what a key influence they are on young people's career choices!

We have co-sponsored new reports on progression to HE from FE and Apprenticeships. Previous reports focused largely on progression within a year of completion of an Apprenticeship or FE course. The new research shows that many people enrol on higher level courses between 2 and 6 years later. Accordingly progression rates are higher than previously estimated.

Secondly in terms of our policy work and the messaging and lobbying that we do, we see policy makers and key stakeholders and opinion formers as our main audiences. We use our expert knowledge and marketing and communication tactics to promote the importance and benefits of technical, practical and vocational learning. We work with like-minded partners, attend and organise events and use digital and social media to amplify messages. For example just this week we had the Edge Annual Lecture given by Matthew Hancock, the Secretary of State for Skills & Enterprise followed by an Education Conference looking at the 14-19 phase of education.

We lobby hard on issues, for example, around the school curriculum and assessment. We agree that the curriculum should have a strong academic core but that the curriculum should also include Technical, Practical and Vocational learning. Of course knowledge is important but is not enough alone - young people need to learn to apply it and applied learning such as project based learning gives them the opportunity to do this and achieve deeper learning.

I have been following the Welsh review of qualifications with interest and admire your drive to develop an inclusive qualification system and recognition of the need to develop skills and not just knowledge and moves to build on and further strengthen the Welsh Bacc.

As I mentioned earlier you know that in 2012 we published our "Six Steps for Change".

Our key message is that we believe that high quality technical, practical and vocational learning should be part of every young person's broad and balanced education and preparation for life and work. We are particularly keen to encourage more young people into STEM careers such as Engineering, Technology and Manufacturing where as a country we face some skill gaps and shortages.

Technical, Practical and Vocational learning is for all - our research shows that young people of high ability get just as much out of it as so called less able students.

I stress high quality technical, practical and vocational learning - that is designed with input from employers and recognised by them, which includes real life projects, taught with the good quality kit and facilities and taught by people with experience of the industry and sector.

We are also particularly interested in and big supporters of Apprenticeships as a high quality vocational route. As we know a lot of work has gone into increasing the number of Apprenticeships in recent years and raising their profile as a valid and important route but clearly we still need to do more to further raise their quality and in particular to ensure we engage yet more employers, especially SMEs.

As you are no doubt aware we have had a number of reviews and reports and proposals for Apprenticeships in England. Following the Richard's review there are new proposals to route the funding differently. The founding principle behind the proposed changes is that employers should make a financial contribution towards external training and assessment costs for all adult Apprenticeships. However the Government's own research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills suggests that if the state subsidy was reduced Apprenticeship numbers would fall.

I imagine as in Wales the Apprenticeship system in England is a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. There is a case for reform at a time when public finances are constrained but the Edge Foundation is concerned that these proposals will lead to a large reduction in Apprenticeship numbers and it seems to us a risky way to proceed. So we have been vocal in contributing to the debate and discussion about these proposed reforms and giving support to others such as AELP - your English equivalent - the Association of Employment and Training Providers. It's often easier for Edge to say things as we are seen as independent and not having a vested interest.

The third main area of work for us in terms of raising the profile of technical, practical and vocational learning, is that we celebrate vocational success and showcase excellence in vocational education and training. We founded VQ Day 6 years ago to raise the profile of those who follow vocational routes and, as I mentioned earlier, we have been delighted with the support we have had in Wales. So thank you. This year the event was bigger and better than ever with more national media coverage including the BBC 1 Breakfast Programme.

We sponsor an AOC Beacon Award for practical learning and we sponsor WorldSkills and the Skills Show to support competitions and the showcasing of vocational excellence. We are particularly keen on supporting opportunities for people - not just young people but also their parents and teachers - to "have a go".

I went to the international Worldskills competition in Leipzig earlier this summer. It was really inspiring to see the young people competing and the high standard of skills that were achieved. It felt very much like the Skills Olympics with competitors in their UK kit and draped in the Union Jack flag. And in a few weeks we will be at the 2013 national Skills Show in Birmingham - only the 2nd time it has been held. We are proud to be a premier sponsor alongside City and Guilds.

Now I appreciate not everyone can get to Birmingham and to extend the Skills Show's reach we are very excited about the developing network of local programmes and events around the country, in partnership with the National Careers Service, which is pioneering a new more experiential style of careers advice where people can have a go at a range of activities.

At the Edge Foundation we set out to challenge stereotypes around vocational education - that it is only about low level, low skill jobs and doesn't include higher education; that it is only for the "less able"or those who are good with their hands. None of which of course we all know is true. We must get away from the snobbery about vocational education and training that has bedevilled our education system for so long and the false academic/vocational divide.

I can give you a great example of someone who challenges this inappropriate stereotype.

This year's VQ Learner of the Year, a young man called Aaron Freeman, not only achieved an advanced level vocational qualification, he then went to University and got a good degree and then set up his own successful business which provides work experience and employment for students from his former College. A truly inspiring story.

And the fourth and final area of our work relates to our grant funding of various projects, The Edge Foundation supports a number of innovative projects. We look for projects which include high quality technical, practical and vocational learning, of course, and which have significant employer engagement; which are innovative and which have the potential to be exemplars for others, scalable and sustainable in the long term.

Let me give you a few examples.

We set up the Edge Hotel School working closely with the industry and where the students run a 4 star hotel rotating round all the various jobs and can achieve a fast track 2 year degree in Hotel Management. I was there only a couple of weeks ago checking on progress and in many cases it was impossible to work out who were staff and who were students which I think is a true mark of its success.

We have supported the establishment of new schools such as UTCs and Studio Schools.

A University Technical College you may be aware is sponsored by a University or College and by one or more employers. They have been set up by a range of organisations including training providers and FE Colleges. The schools generally have 1 or 2 specialist vocational areas with a strong technical focus. Students are there typically from 8.30am to 5.00pm and they undertake a rigorous programme of academic and vocational study such as engineering, undertaking projects designed with input from industry. For example, designing a part for a Rolls Royce engine or level crossing gates for Network Rail.

Studio schools tend to be smaller, again with close links to employers and focused on ensuring their students are well prepared for the world of work.

And just this week a new initiative has been launched that we are supporting - to develop what are being called Career Colleges for young people aged 14-19 in non-STEM areas to complement the UTC developments.

However to be fully scalable and affordable appropriate choices and pathways need to be available within all schools or through networks of schools working together with colleges and training providers.

We are trying to increase the range of opportunities for young people to experience vocational education and training and to engage more employers and get more profound employer engagement.

And despite high levels of unemployment employers still report skill gaps and shortages. There is a mismatch between what the education system is producing and what our economy needs.

Arguably many of the current reforms in England risk taking us in the wrong direction with an over emphasis on traditional academic subjects and with an emphasis on final written exams as the only means of assessment in some subjects.

We admire the Welsh model. The Welsh Bacc is much closer to what the Edge Foundation wants to see and here in Wales you have a much broader concept of what school is for and a much better chance of ensuring that every child and young person achieves a broad and rich set of skills, knowledge and capacities which should be the goal of education.

Other countries have a different approach with better results - as you are probably aware countries like Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland have far higher percentages of young people taking vocational routes and there is a correlation between these countries and lower youth unemployment.

Between now and 2020 we need an additional 40,000 people with graduate level qualifications in Science, Engineering and Technology each year. And we need many more technicians with qualifications at level 3.

Employers want people with good literacy and numeracy but also wider skills such as team work, problem solving and communication skills. There is also evidence that those who follow vocational routes are more likely to set up their own business and our economy needs more people with entrepreneurial skills.

I know I am probably largely preaching to the converted today so finally how can we work together and better support each other to ensure the needs of the economy and employers are met?

I would be interested to hear your views and ideas on that. I hope that today is just the start of an ongoing dialogue and relationship between us.

As a starter for 10 my thoughts are that:

  • I hope you will continue to support VQ Day and offer more opportunities for people to "have a go" and experience vocational options first hand in your local areas.
  • I hope you will share your good news stories and case studies with us so that we can promote and share them more widely.
  • That you will share your views on current and proposed policy changes with us as we seek to respond and stimulate debate and discussion
  • For those of you on social media I hope you will follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Our website is where you can keep up to date with what we are doing and the latest research.
  • And as we approach the 2015 general election I hope you will support our Six Steps and that together we can lobby to get vocational education and training the recognition, status and importance that it deserves.

I will be around over lunch if you have any comments and questions.

Thank you.