The ESFA has released a survey as part of continuing work to look at how they could improve the apprenticeship funding rules.

They would like to hear from employers, employer-providers and training providers.

The survey closes on 14 March 2019.

Access the survey HERE

It provides important information on training, hours and pay from current apprentices. The findings enable us to look at wage levels nationally, measure changes with previous years and monitor whether employers are adhering to the rules on fair pay. The research will help set pay policy and to make improvements in apprenticeship training.

IFF Research, an independent research organisation, will undertake the research on our behalf

The selected apprentices will receive a letter explaining the purpose of the research and who to contact if they have further questions. They are then interviewed by phone. Around 10,000 apprentices will take part in the phone interview which includes questions on: Read more

Ofsted has introduced a new questionnaire asking staff for feedback about their FE provider.

The new questionnaire, published on 6th November and available from Monday, will be used in short and full inspections, but not monitoring visits.

Questions include whether staff are proud to be working at the FE and skills provider, if they think it is well led and managed, and whether managers are considerate to their staff’s well-being and workload.

According to the inspectorate, providers will be asked to inform their staff about the online questionnaire at the point of inspection.

The Further Education and Skills Inspection Handbook has been updated to reflect the introduction of the new document. Read more

People and skills are at the heart of our economic prosperity. With a good education and the right skills, everyone has the best chance to get a job and get on in their career.

The Education and Skills survey is the CBI’s annual pulse-check on what business thinks about education and skills. It aims to find out more about the current and anticipated skills needs, what business really thinks the priorities should be in schools, apprenticeships, technical education reform, retraining – and much more.

The findings will shape the CBI’s future policy recommendations to ensure UK businesses have the skills required to flourish over the coming decades.

Take part in the 2018 Education and Skills Survey

Better understanding of what business thinks on education is more vital than ever. The next ten years the way we live, and work will rapidly change due to technological developments, globalisation, the impact of Artificial Intelligence, automation and other factors. This will bring exciting opportunities, but also present challenges for the next generation that will need to be addressed. The survey gathers the evidence needed to develop the policies and reforms that need to take place now and in the coming years. Read more

An urgent message from Education and Employers Research

We would like to invite you to share your valuable views on introducing children to the world of work and career provisions in primary.

The importance of early intervention in addressing the perceptions’ young people hold about careers and the range of possibilities ahead of them is widely recognised. Despite a range of evidence outlining the importance of engagement with careers from an early age, it is clear that more needs to be done to fully understand the role of careers at in the primary phase.

We are now working in collaboration with Teach First to understand better what works in primary.

The first phase of the research is a survey to find out what primary schools are doing to develop pupils’ understanding of the world of work and the challenges they face in doing so. We want to better define how primary schools can best plan and deliver career provision in primary school.

The findings from the survey will help define best practice by identifying what activities primary schools are currently doing and to establish where additional support and training is needed. Read more

The Big Lottery Fund is  working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to design a programme to help young people facing barriers to work to reach their full potential.

They want to find out what young people think so that they can design a programme that meets their needs. They will also be talking to other stakeholders like charities and community organisations, as well as businesses and the education sector.

This survey is only for young people aged 16 to 24 to complete.

If you have any clients how would be happy to complete the confidential survey, please signpost them to the following web page: https://www.surveygizmo.eu/s3/90072128/Dormant-accounts-survey

It will take about 10 minutes to complete.

The Department for Education has launched an exciting project looking into how young people can better articulate the ‘soft’ skills they’ve gained through extra-curricular activities.

These activities can be formal, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, or informal, such as caring for a relative.

They are interested in understanding views on students entering 16+ education and making career choices.

This will help their researchers gain a deeper understanding of how choices work from those either working in this space (e.g. careers advisers and teachers) or that would benefit (e.g. employers).

They are particularly interested to hear the views of Careers Professionals / Advisers, Employers, Teaching Staff and Voluntary Organisations.

Read more