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November 2004 |
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Well, that's it – all over for another year. No, not Christmas, that's still to come (as if you hadn't noticed). No, what I'm talking about is "the event of the year", the ADSET Annual Conference. The overall numbers were disappointing and some delegates noted the reduced networking opportunities as a result. However, it was a great opportunity to catch up on what is going on in our world – a world of change, confusion and disorientation! Maybe none of us are clear yet about who is doing what but John P G Smith in his opening presentation made it very clear that "what goes round comes round". John provided us with a clear and concise view of life around adult guidance since 1986. He shared with us his experiences of the various initiatives which have been set up by "the government" in order to improve the skill levels of the UK populace – mainly through providing information and advice (don't mention the "G word") about learning and work. Fascinating.
I did not get to any of the option sessions other than the three that I was facilitating and, since I spent break times preparing for the next session, I didn't get to talk to as many people as I would have liked to. Feedback forms indicate a considerable level of satisfaction with the topics – and some criticism that detail about the sessions was not available before the event. Actually the booking forms did say "more detail on the website" but ... next year you will have the information in writing with your booking confirmation. Whether you came to Darlington or not you will no doubt be interested in reading about the various option sessions (I know I will). I hope that Ruth will be able to get the slides or other material onto the ADSET website before too much longer. To be honest with you I'm usually the person that she has to nag the most – and I've got three to do from scratch as I don't use PowerPoint (not that I can't but that I don't!) I am, as always, very grateful to all the contributors, some of whom travelled long distances or for a long time to be with us. Here you will note that John McCarthy spent twenty (yes, twenty) hours on his return journey Brussels to Darlington whilst Andy Dean came the furthest, from his office in Berlin.
Changing the subject, but only slightly, I have to tell you that Andy Dean has taken up the reigns of ADSET chairmanship again. Dave Lowry, who had agreed to do the job, took up a new appointment with a training company at the beginning of November and, as his new employer is not an ADSET member, he will be unavailable for a while. Draft minutes from the Annual Meeting will be put onto the website shortly. Dawn will also be writing up notes of the informal (because it was not quorate) meeting of ADSET Council. The next meeting of Council is scheduled for 7 March at 11: 30 – any member organisation may send someone to the meeting but please tell us you are coming so we can provide lunch!
Why are publications in the DWP library like London buses? Because you get none at all for ages then three come at once. Unfortunately in the case of the fairly long, needs careful reading, Information Today, it was FOUR at once. I decided to skim-read issues 7 (July/August), 8 (September) and 9 (October) for anything that "leapt off the page" and concentrate on 10 (November), and save 11 (December), which I picked up at the online exhibition, for next week.
Only I ran out of time without doing November AT ALL!
Hazel Edmunds, Editor
Five leading business organisations are to meet in Brussels today (23 November) to issue a joint call for the burdens imposed by EU employment regulations to be reduced. Representatives from the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors and the Forum of Private Business will urge the new European commissioners to "halt the tide of employment red tape heading to the UK".
Jonathan Moules, The Financial Times 23 November
About 200,000 jobs could be created by small businesses if the burden of employment red tape were lifted, according to the Small Business Council (SBC). In its annual report, the SBC says that it is not the number of regulations that concerns small companies. Rather it is the increasing complexity of employment law which is the most frustrating aspect of self-employment. The report highlights research which finds that some 7% of sole traders have elected not to take on staff because they "could not face employment regulations".
Jonathan Moules, The Financial Times 24 November
Full report (PDF 36pp): http://tinyurl.com/6m94d
Commenting on the DTI's five-year programme, British Chambers of Commerce Director General, David Frost, said: "There are some useful messages but we are left waiting for the government to show a commitment to businesses trying to compete in the global market. The report lacks any real detail to reassure business. We welcome the government's ambitious target to raise R&D investment to 2.5% but the sketchy details in this report make this objective unrealistic. We are below the EU average for R&D investment and far behind the United States. There is no substantial evidence in this plan to suggest that we will be able to overtake our leading competitors."
British Chambers of Commerce press release 17 November
Nigel Griffiths, Small Business Minister, today (3 November) welcomed figures that show the highest number of business VAT registrations since records began in 1994. Statistics from the DTI's Small Business Service outline the number of businesses which registered and de-registered for VAT in 2003. They show an 8% increase in the number of firms registering, bringing the overall number of registered businesses at the start of 2004 to 1.8 million.
The full statistics can be downloaded from the Small Business Service website at www.sbs.gov.uk/analytical/statistics/vatstats.php
DTI press release 3 November
Client ref P/2004/407
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The financial impact of red tape on the UK economy rose from £6 billion to £7 billion in the last 12 months alone, according to new findings. Calculations from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) will strike fear into business and politicians' hearts. It means that successive government reviews on the issue, coupled with measures to combat red tape like regulatory impact assessments and set "red tape days", are having no impact on levels of paperwork. Even more frightening: the ICAEW statistics found that smaller companies shouldered the burden disproportionately. Micro-firms, with fewer than 10 employees, carried 69% of red tape compared with just 3% for big corporations. "Government measures to improve access to finance, reduce skills shortages and improve the burden of red tape are falling short of their objectives," said Eric Anstee, Chief Executive of the ICAEW.
Copyright BusinessEurope.com 2004
BCC Newsletter November 20045
Details of a new small business unit that will transform tax administration for small businesses were announced today (2 December) by David Varney, Chairman of Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise. The new unit will sit at the heart of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and will champion the needs of small businesses. It will be charged with improving customer experience and compliance as well as reducing costs – for both businesses and HMRC – by eliminating unnecessary contact. It will ensure that the development and delivery of the tax system takes full account of the needs of small business and that necessary contact is handled effectively, efficiently and comprehensively. The longer-term goal for HMRC is to enable its support and compliance staff to take a "whole view" of each customer, tailoring the services provided and minimising the burden of compliance by providing joined-up systems so that business needs to provide information only once, when possible through a single form; integrated audits covering direct and indirect taxes; a single account through which all payments and repayments may be made; and streamlined and effective support and access to information in a way that better suits small business customers, including more effective use of information technologies and the Internet. This longer-term vision will require enabling legislation as well as the development of new information and IT systems and will take a number of years to build. As a first step the departments will now begin consulting on the scope for a single tax return that would bring together all small business taxes.
Inland Revenue press release 2 December
Client ref
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Chancellor Gordon Brown is to announce the immediate abolition of substantial tax liabilities on academics' shares in high-technology university spin-out companies in his pre-Budget report on December 2. The Chancellor's decision, disclosed in an Inland Revenue internal email, goes much further than expected towards resolving a row over tax rules introduced in the 2003 Finance Act that have caused a slump in the number of spin-outs. The email, sent to academic campaigners by Janice Cross, the Revenue official in charge of the issue, says that "in broad terms the measures will aim to put spin-outs back to where they thought they were".
Kevin Brown, The Financial Times 19 November
Government plans to boost start-ups by sending business owners to study in America have come under fire from business groups and MPs. They complained that money allocated to the scheme – part of the Transatlantic Enterprise Partnership – would be better spent on providing support to businesses in this country, rather than lining the pockets of overseas institutions and companies. Moreover, many argue that poor management skills are not the root cause of poor business performance. A spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses said: "What [companies] really want, and are crying out for help for, is better access to public-sector contracts, to be able to access finance at reasonable rates of interest and for loans to help them expand their business." The scheme was also criticised by academics who said it would undermine British business schools.
Elizabeth Judge, Times Online 18 November
The government has pledged £60 million next year to a scheme that will match schools and universities with local businesses in an effort to "forge a stronger enterprise culture among students". Speaking at the launch of the first National Enterprise Week, Chancellor Gordon Brown called for firms to become "business champions" to schools in the UK – by, for example, visiting schools and speaking to students about business and enterprise. Mr Brown argued that the key to creating an entrepreneurial culture is to focus on the school curriculum and encourage a more risk-taking attitude in the young.
Anna Czerny, People Management Online 25 November
Education Secretary Charles Clarke has congratulated colleges and universities for "making strides" since 1997. However, he warned that there was no room for complacency, and called on higher and further education houses to build stronger links with employers.
British Chambers of Commerce Newsletter 18 November
Update comment: What? Again?
British universities are "powerhouses of innovation in the UK economy", enjoying far greater links with businesses than previously thought, according to a report from the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI). Research conducted by CMI found that as many as two-thirds of British companies use universities and higher education institutions as sources of knowledge, and almost a quarter of these businesses have research collaborations with them. However, the research also found that, while the UK may have more connections with universities than the US, the US university-business links were "deeper and more beneficial to companies".
Chris Johnston, The THES 3 December
Schools in deprived areas are struggling to build the links with business that the government says are essential, according to a leading ministerial adviser. Sir Howard Davies, architect of the government's drive to promote a sense of enterprise in schools, said: "Businesses are enthusiastic to become involved but are not necessarily in areas where they are most needed. Schools in relatively prosperous areas find it easy to establish links, but schools where two-thirds of pupils are from single-parent families or where parents are unemployed do not have the local business links."
Stephen Lucas, The TES 19 November
Innovative small firms helping to regenerate rundown areas of the UK are being priced out by their own success, a new report claims. According to the New Economics Foundation (NEF), companies listed on Inner City 100, an index of fast-growing companies in deprived inner city areas, are being forced to relocate because of the "urban renaissance" they have caused. The regeneration of previously rundown locations has created extra demand to move into the areas, resulting in spiralling rental and property prices. These costs cannot be met by many small firms so they have had to relocate. Paradoxically, this has undermined regeneration and weakened the enterprise base, NEF said. For example, Hackney Community Transport, an Inner City 100 award-winner, has fallen victim to the problem. Expansion plans by the London-based organisation have been blocked because land they hoped to move on to has been earmarked for the capital's 2012 Olympics bid.
Copyright BusinessEurope.com 2004
BCC Newsletter November 2004
"Nothing is interesting if you're not interested."
Helen MacInness
Conservative MP Richard Bacon has called for an official investigation after a "technical glitch" at the Inland Revenue resulted in thousands of tax records being accidentally deleted. The mistake meant that Pay As You Earn files dating back to 2001 were deleted from its systems. While Mr Bacon accused the Inland Revenue of "sloppy procedures", a spokesperson insisted that it would not be asking individuals for more money if they were found to have underpaid their tax bill. The taxpayers affected are people who left their jobs up to three years ago and did not start working again or begin drawing a pension.
Rachel Stevenson, The Independent 3 November
Public service sector unions have called for an inquiry into a massive computer crash which disabled the government's benefits system, forcing civil servants to write out benefit cheques by hand. Up to 80% of the 100,000 desktop computers at the DWP were knocked out following a blunder during routine maintenance. The disruption has caused a backlog of unprocessed claims. Officials at the DWP said that the crash had been "blown out of all proportion". However, a spokesperson for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) described the incident as the biggest computer crash in government history, and warned that the incident had cast doubt on the wisdom of plans to cut thousands of civil service jobs at the DWP.
Staff and agencies, The Guardian 26 November
An article in The Economist (20-26 November) argues that the government's new childcare policies have been undermined by the "mess" at the Child Support Agency (CSA). The CSA was set up in 1993, with the aim of managing child maintenance payments from one parent to another when a marriage breaks up or a parent leaves. Despite having strong regulatory powers (the CSA can imprison non-payers or confiscate their driving licences) the agency currently owes parents around £1.72 billion. Over £1 billion of this is deemed uncollectable. A new computer system, costing £456 million, was introduced in March 2003 and supplied by Electronic Data Systems (EDS). EDS, however, has "a patchy record in government IT projects" and has not been able to implement the new system as efficiently as all concerned would have liked. Indeed, if moving cases from the old system to the new one continues at the current rate, it will be 2067 before the task is completed. The government blames EDS, and has withheld some of its funding. This means, though, that the Department for Work and Pensions is exempt from blame, even though it was the DWP's task to supervise the project.
Update comment: EDS? "Patchy"? It leaks like a sieve!
An investigation by the National Audit Office has concluded that, while the Office of Government Commerce has made significant improvements in identifying why IT projects go wrong, there remains no room for complacency. The investigation examined the way in which the government "buys" information technology systems. It noted that the most effective measure that the OGC has introduced is a review process called Gateway. The Gateway system involves rigorous screening by independent examiners at six key stages in planning, procurement and implementation. Projects can be halted at any of these stages and problems attended to immediately, rather than following a well-publicised launch and a subsequent embarrassing failure.
Michael Cross, The Guardian 11 November
Improving IT procurement - The impact of the Office of Government Commerce's initiatives on departments and suppliers in the delivery of major IT-enabled projects
Executive summary (PDF 12pp) http://tinyurl.com/6bn5p
Full report (PDF 78pp) http://tinyurl.com/5dn3q
According to a report from the Society of Information Technology Management (SocITM), e-government targets for the delivery of all public services online by the end of 2005 may not be achieved unless a way can be found of enabling people to prove who they are online. The report acknowledged that local councils are "confused about which direction to take, and worried about impending deadlines". However, it warns that doing nothing "is not an option" and urges the government to take immediate action to devise a reliable system for authentication.
Michael Cross, The Guardian 18 November
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/5cejk
According to a recent survey conducted by NTL, 98% of UK local government organisations claim they will overcome time and budget challenges to reach 2005 e-Government targets. However, just 12% of the "Internet-literate public" are aware of the e-Government drive. Two-thirds of those questioned said that if they knew of the online services they would use them for activities such as paying taxes and fines, voting and accessing entertainment and information. However, over two-thirds expressed concerns about data protection and one-third said they would be reluctant to "trust" online transactions.
Info@UK Issue 44 (November 2004)
"Everyone is in awe of the lion-tamer in a cage with half a dozen lions – everyone but a school bus driver, that is."
Laurence J Peter
As part of its commitment to help employers comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the Disability Rights Commission, in conjunction with British Telecom, has developed a question-and-answer-based online self-appraisal toolkit. The toolkit has been designed with SMEs in mind, and seeks to reassure employers that compliance is not as difficult as it may seem.
Virginia Matthews, The Independent 28 October
A search engine that returns accessible websites only and rates them for accessibility for any query entered is to be formally launched by the end of the month. Website consultancy Net Progress's Net-guide currently features 1,000 sites from around the world in its database.
URL: www.net-guide.co.uk
E-Access Bulletin Issue 59 (November 2004)
Maria Eagle Minister for Disabled People today (18 November) awarded organisations from across the country which excel in providing access for their disabled customers and urged others to make sure they do the same. She congratulated the five small organisations which have excelled in their innovative and committed approach to their customers. Run by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Access all Areas awards give service providers with under 100 employees the chance to demonstrate how they have made changes to their business to enable disabled people to use their services.
Department for Work and Pensions press release 18
November
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Details have emerged this month of a new version of the main international standard for Web accessibility, to be launched next year, in a move which will make it easier for public sector bodies to meet their obligations to make online services accessible for all. Accessibility is most commonly measured against guidelines set down by the international Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Judy Brewer, Director of WAI, announced that the first major overhaul of the guidelines was set to make them easier to understand by non-technical people, and easier to test against using automated checks. The last call for contributions to a working draft of the new guidelines will be in Spring 2005.
For more details see www.w3.org/wai
E-Government Bulletin Issue 175 (29 November)
The proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) is to be given more powers than originally intended after discussions between the head of the Commission for Racial Equality and the Department for Trade and Industry. In light of concessions offered by ministers, the CRE has agreed to drop its opposition to the merger that will create the new commission. However, CRE Chair Trevor Phillips said that the Commission would not join the new body until 2008-09, as a result of "the rise in Islamophobia and the increased activity of the far right". The changes agreed by the DTI and the CRE include:
Alan Travis, Home Affairs Editor, The Guardian 19 November
A free online directory has been launched with the aim of providing information on the accessibility of facilities and services provided by every UK business. Direct Enquiries provides details about the current accessibility of facilities such as lifts, toilets, counter heights, lighting, information in alternative formats such as large print and Braille, staff assistance, and also what new accessibility features are planned to be provided in the future.
E-Access Bulletin Issue 59 (November 2004)
The Learning and Skills Development Agency has produced a new DVD to give teachers and support staff in post-compulsory education and training a better insight into the needs of disabled students. Learners' Experiences considers a range of disabilities and shows interviews with disabled adults and young people who talk openly about their experiences of education, and the impact that staff have on those experiences.
Learners' Experiences: A training resource on the Disability Discrimination Act is available free of charge
For more information, contact Sally Faraday
tel: 020
7297 9098
email: sfaraday@lsda.org.uk
Basic Skills Bulletin Issue 27 (October 2004)
The Disability Rights Commission published its annual review on 1 November 2004. It covers work undertaken between April 2003 and March 2004. Highlights of the report include:
Highlights for the DRC's work in 2004-05 include:
Gerard Goggin and Christopher Newell
This article considers questions of technological change, innovation, and communication from a disability perspective. Using a critical social perspective on disability, it offers an Australian case study to analyse disability in national telecommunications policy. In doing so, it critiques the systemic lack of incorporation of disability in national visions, policies, and programmes. Accordingly, it argues for a cohesive and genuine commitment to incorporating disability considerations in all areas of information and communication technology policy and scholarship.
Prometheus Volume 22 Number 4 (December 2004)
Few employers have taken steps to make their corporate recruitment website compliant with the demands of the Disability Discrimination Act, claims new research. The research, conducted by jobsgopublic – a public sector job board – found that just one in five local authority job sites was compliant. Central government performs worse than this, with less than one in 10 sites being accessible.
IRS Employment Review Number 810 (22 October)
Enable Enterprises is a leading provider of disability and accessibility services including training, consultancy, research, advocacy, information and payroll. Its primary goal is to assist organisations and individuals in ending "disablism" and maximising the life experiences and opportunities of everyone, in particular disabled people.
URL: www.enableenterprises.com
Community Care, 26 August-1 September
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) today (18 November) announced the launch of its Equality and Diversity Strategy. Aimed at improving contact with those groups of people who are not currently involved in learning, the strategy will improve learners' experience of the education and training they receive, and help them to progress in a way that is appropriate to their abilities and aspirations. Kit Roberts, Director of Equality and Diversity at the LSC, said: "For the past three years the LSC has worked hard to make a positive difference to individuals' learning experiences. We've introduced Equality and Diversity Impact Measures to identify local gaps and barriers to learning provision. We've made headway in addressing gender stereotyping in the take-up of Apprenticeships." The strategy identifies six priority areas or "strands" of work:
Mark Haysom, Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council, said: "The most important reason for delivering equality is because it is about people … it is about people with dreams and with needs, regardless of where they come from, regardless of what their backgrounds are, regardless of what advantages or disadvantages they have had in life. I believe passionately that they should have the opportunity to go as far as their talents and their efforts can take them."
LSC press release 18 November
LSC Equality and Diversity Strategy 2004/07 (PDF 6pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/4nnn5 with lots of colour photographs
The Kyoto Institute of Technology has developed a computer-aided camera that can "see" across roads. The device is able to detect pedestrian crossings, measure the width of a road and discern the colour of traffic lights. Worn as spectacles and with an earpiece to give commands to the user, it is hoped this device will make the production stage.
James Meikle, Health Correspondent, The Guardian 19 November
The OECD has advised the UK to abandon mandatory retirement ages in the forthcoming age discrimination legislation, unless they can be "objectively justified". The OECD also calls for:
Working Brief Number 159 (November 2004)
Over a third of British businesses could be damaged if the government decides to remove the right to set the retirement age of employees, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). In the largest business survey on retirement age of 1,200 businesses across all sectors, the BCC found that 36% of employers thought it was crucial to their business to retain the right to set a retirement age. The figures emerged in advance of a meeting of the government's Taskforce on Age Discrimination which will discuss taking away employers' rights to set their own retirement age for staff. Commenting on the results, British Chambers of Commerce Director General, David Frost, said: "Having a retirement age is the best of both worlds – employers know when someone is due to retire but can still have the flexibility to agree with individual employees who want to work beyond that age. When will the government and Europe realise that employers need to be trusted to run their businesses and look after staff, rather than this constant interfering?"
British Chambers of Commerce press release 12 November
The relatively low levels of over-50s in the workplace costs the UK economy between £19 billion and £31 billion each year, claims a report from the National Audit Office. This cost is primarily in lost output, although reduced tax revenue and increased benefits payments also form a substantial part. The report maintains that there are currently around 2.7 million people between the ages of 50 and the state pension age who do not work. Of these, around 1 million say that they would like to be earning a living, but face multiple barriers to finding work.
Professional Manager
Volume 13 Number 6 (November 2004)
Research from Vodaphone UK suggests that the UK could be doing more to combat ageism. The research particularly highlights the way in which older people are portrayed in the media, noting that there are few positive examples on television. In the introduction to the report, Bill Morrow, the American CEO of Vodaphone, says: "At a very fundamental level, it appears we tend to celebrate age a little more in the US – we have a host of television programmes that reflect maturity in a positive light and we have built a whole economy reflecting the affluence of old age. I was therefore intrigued to find that this is less clearly the case in the UK – it seems more common to caricature older people as grumpy, hard-up and feeling sorry for themselves."
Professional Manager
Volume 13 Number 6 (November 2004)
Three-quarters of the public believe that age discrimination will not improve in the next five years, and a quarter feel that it will get worse, according to research conducted by Age Concern. Of those surveyed:
In 2006 new laws will outlaw ageism at work for the first time and a statutory body must be in place to ensure older workers can seek advice and protection of their rights.
HRLook Daily News 4 November
Unions have given a lukewarm response to the government's plan to create a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said: "The new Commission would have to tackle discrimination and promote equality on grounds of race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age – a huge challenge. UNISON is against putting human rights in with equalities as it muddies the waters. They are two distinct issues requiring two very different responses." Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary, said: "We welcome the promise of effective enforcement powers for CEHR that this bill will bring but it needs sufficient resources and staffing if it is to be a success. The fear is that the creation of the CEHR without first harmonising the law on equality will prove to be a wasted opportunity." In addition, AUT General Secretary Sally Hunt pointed out that the 1970 equal pay act hadn't yet closed the gender pay gap. She added: "We will be closely watching the progress of the single equality body and how the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights will work in practice."
Changing Times News Number 49 (29 November)
An independent evaluation of Adult Learners' Week 2004, conducted by the Institute of Employment Studies, revealed:
Three hundred people who called learndirect during Adult Learners' Week were called back two months later. Of these:
Discover Number 15 November 2004
Two national inquiries into the state of adult education have been launched, amid evidence of "a sharpening decline" in participation. The first consists of a survey for the Learning and Skills Council, which will investigate the financial arrangements for adult and community learning, and examine exactly what the funding is spent on. The second will be conducted by NIACE, and will look at patterns of provision, participation rates and breadth of study. The findings of both studies will be published next year.
Ian Nash, TES FE Focus 12 November
Specialist colleges which provide further education for people with learning difficulties have come under fire for placing too much emphasis on caring and not enough on education. Both David Bell of OfSTED and David Sherlock of the Adult Learning Inspectorate argue that too many specialist colleges are failing inspections due to poor leadership and low educational standards.
Joe Clancy, The TES 26 November
The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) has published its annual report on the state of adult education. The report criticises constantly shifting ministerial demands on colleges. While it acknowledges that adults with poor basic skills need urgent help, it calls for "a more sophisticated understanding of the benefits of adult and community education". It states: "To achieve a sense of excellence and well-being, colleges need greater stability and clarity in the expectations placed upon them, and to learn to say no."
Steve Hook, TES FE Focus 26 November
How can further education be "demand-led" when courses that people want are closing down, asks Peter Kingston (The Guardian 9 November). He argues that, for all the talk of further education becoming more "demand- led", there is very little evidence that what is demanded by learners is of any consequence to the decision-makers. He says: "Ask the thousand or so punters at Bradford College who were enjoying their yoga, tai chi, swimming and other adult education 'physical health' classes, whether they demanded that the courses suddenly be scrapped this autumn. Or ask deaf students about the £138 fee that Macclesfield College is slapping on their lip-reading class, which has hitherto been free. … Indeed, ask adult students all over the country how reassured they are by this new demand-led mode of operations." Mr Kingston tells us that colleges have been placed in such a constrained position that, even if all their learners were to fully fund their studies, they would still have to refuse to provide the courses. Meeting the government's learning priorities means that for many institutions running courses which fall outside the priority areas is too big a drain on the available facilities and resources. Moreover, there is an argument to be made that course provision has always been demand-led, in that colleges only secured funding if they managed to recruit students.
Education and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke has encouraged the FE sector to engage more with employers for a more successful future. Launching a consultation exercise on the proposed introduction of a "National Quality Improvement Body" in 2006, designed to drive quality improvement in FE, Clarke said: "The role of the Sector Skills Councils is paramount. They provide an important new voice in identifying the skills that we need to drive up productivity across the UK sector by sector. I hope colleges take the opportunity to work with the Sector Skills Councils, and the Regional Skills Partnerships to put in place a coherent skills offer for individuals and employers."
SSDA Intelligence Number 29 (26 November)
The consultation closes on 8 February 2005. More details at http://tinyurl.com/6duh4
Further education colleges are planning to "divorce" themselves from partnerships with universities, so that they can offer foundation degrees validated by a new national consortium. The degrees would be validated by the University Vocational Awards Council, and the service should be available by next academic year. The move has been welcomed by FE college heads, many of whom feel that they have been given the rough end of the deal by their HE partner institutions.
Tony Tysome, The THES 26 November
According to research commissioned by Foundation Degrees, UK businesses hold vocational qualifications in high esteem and recognise the role industry has in the provision of such education. However, the research also found that employers are failing to take sufficient action to ensure that vocational qualifications remain relevant to industry. Further findings of the survey of 216 directors from companies with 50 or more employees across the UK include:
HRLook Daily News 22 November
According to a survey conducted jointly by The THES and the Association of Colleges, almost one-third of foundation degree courses run by further education colleges are struggling to fill places, and more than one in eight has been axed. The survey found that, of 234 degrees launched by the 52 colleges questioned, 72 are struggling to recruit and another 31 have been discontinued. While many college principals say that there has been insufficient demand for the courses, a substantial number blame mismanagement by higher education partners and difficulties with employer involvement. Others argue that the weak government publicity campaign also contributed to the poor take-up of courses. The findings of the survey "cast fresh doubts over the government's flagship two-year courses, intended to lead the expansion of student numbers in higher education".
Tony Tysome, The THES 12 November
This overview outlines the problems associated with inadequate basic skills and relates these to those who have recently finished statutory education. It highlights both the causes and likely outcomes of poor basic skills, and describes some of the obstacles that have arisen in attempts to deal with these. The Skills for Life national strategy is described, along with initiatives relating to teaching and the curriculum; students; local education authorities; prison and young offender education; and ESOL. Government, cross-agency, and community initiatives are all described. Finally some suggestions are made about how local problems can be identified and strategies developed to tackle them.
renewal.net education email update 7 (23 November)
Word Document 14pp: http://tinyurl.com/4kf96
The Basic Skills Agency has launched the first ever adult literacy core curriculum for Welsh. It has been designed so that it corresponds to the curriculum demands in English, and is based on the national standards for adult literacy qualifications.
More information from Helen Vaughan-Jones at the BSA
tel: 020 7440 6512
email: helenvj@basic-skills.co.uk
Basic Skills Bulletin Issue 26 (September 2004)
OfSTED has published the results of a survey designed to inform the development of government, funding council and college policies. It reports on how effectively colleges currently identify and respond to the needs of employers and to highlight instances and characteristics of best practice. Findings include:
SSDA Intelligence Number 29 (26 November)
Full report (PDF 58pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/4t9dn
The gap in A-level performance between schools and sixth-form colleges has halved in the past two years, official figures show. School students now gain an average of only one half-grade higher than their peers at sixth- form colleges. Moreover, all colleges outperform school sixth forms with fewer than 150 students.
Jon Slater, The TES 19 November
Most college heads remain undecided about top-up fees, a conference will hear his week, amid concerns that the further education sector may lose out when fees are introduced for higher education courses from 2006, writes Tony Tysome (The THES 12 November). Mr Tysome tells us that college principals are worried about the level of competition they face, with both higher education institutions and other local colleges, if they set their fees at the "wrong" level. Susan Hayday, head of the Association of Colleges' higher education working group, said colleges would have to make decisions soon about fee levels for 2006. She said: "Most colleges feel they are in a high-risk situation, trying to decide whether to set fees so they are in line with those set by universities, or set them lower and risk their courses being perceived as of lower quality."
Tony Tysome, The THES 12 November
Chief Inspector of Schools David Bell has described the news that 11% of FE colleges fail OfSTED/ALI inspections as "a national disgrace". Mr Bell said that a "national outcry would erupt" if the failure rate of schools matched that of further education colleges. He highlighted a growing north-south divide in quality, commenting: "What we are talking about is students who are not getting a decent deal."
Joe Clancy, The TES 26 November
A new report from OfSTED claims that there are nearly four times as many failing colleges in the south of England as there are in the north. The Inspectorate cites the north's industrial history and affinity for "artisan training" as being a key factor in this reversal of the north-south divide. The most successful colleges, however, are more evenly spread around the country, and 60% of them are sixth form colleges, OfSTED calculates. The findings were drawn from research published in two parallel reports – Why Colleges Succeed and Why Colleges Fail. They are based on evidence drawn from the inspections of 307 FE colleges between April 2001 and June 2004 and of 42 independent specialist colleges for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities inspected from January 2002.
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 30 November
Why colleges succeed (PDF 20pp): http://tinyurl.com/6gm82
Why colleges fail (PDF 22pp): http://tinyurl.com/5o4nu
The Association of Colleges (AoC) has hit out at the harsh criticism colleges received from OfSTED Chief Inspector David Bell, who branded their failure rates as "a national disgrace". John Brennan, the AoC's Chief Executive, said that, if colleges were to be judged according to the same criteria as schools, their success rates would be twice that of schools. He added: "It is highly inappropriate for immoderate language of this kind to be used about a sector which achieves remarkable success in the face of continuing government underfunding."
Joe Clancy, TES FE Focus 3 December
Charles Clarke has told colleges that the Department for Education and Skills will not be able to carry on funding them at the current 80% rate, and they will have to look for funding elsewhere, perhaps from students and industry, relating the skills taught to the needs of potential employers. Speaking at the Association of Colleges' annual conference, Mr Clarke said that the government would continue to support the expansion of 16-19-year-olds and adults to level 2 provision. However, he told college principals that they must "diversify their sources of funding".
Ian Nash and Steve Hook, The TES FE Focus 19 November
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has set out an agenda for change, outlining a major programme for the transformation of the further education sector. The agenda is fundamental to the LSC's commitment "to engage fully with the sector and work in partnership with colleges and training providers in a spirit of openness and transparency". It focuses on five key themes. Each theme has a dedicated lead person appointed from the LSC's Management Group. They will set up task groups for each theme, involving many representatives from the further education sector, to agree a way forward to address these key issues. The themes are:
The LSC will also work with FE college principals to raise awareness of the vital role of colleges in delivering education, training and skills for the 21st century.
LSC Update November 2004
The government's plans to "streamline the quality improvement landscape" for further education, announced by Charles Clarke at the Learning and Skills Development Agency's summer conference this year, include the setting up of a new quality assurance body for the sector. Mr Clarke has now confirmed that this role is likely to be undertaken by the Learning and Skills Development Agency itself. Consultation on the new body is expected to begin at Christmas, and will most probably be conducted by former head of the Audit Commission, Sir Andrew Foster. While the decision to offer the role to the LSDA falls short of actually creating a whole new quango, it has not prevented accusations that the government is "duplicating what it has already got in the inspectorates: the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Further Education Standards Unit, launched in Success for All".
Peter Kingston, The Guardian 16 November
Children as young as 14 could study part-time at university under the government's reform of secondary education, due to be unveiled in the New Year. Education Minister Ivan Lewis said yesterday (17 November) that encouraging children to engage in higher education would raise "aspirations and expectations" of youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as challenging the most able. Speaking at the Association of Colleges' annual conference, Mr Lewis said: "For many young people university is not on their radar screen. It has never been relevant to them, their families never went and they have no idea what it is like. This is a way of changing their aspirations and expectations."
Matthew Taylor, The Guardian 18 November
Pupils as young as 14 will be able to learn construction industry skills under a new initiative launched by the Scottish Executive. The Developing Skills for Work programme will give young people the chance to take vocational courses at college instead of traditional subjects such as geography and history. Jim Wallace, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, said the new scheme, which is scheduled to begin next year, would allow pupils to realise their full potential. He said: "Colleges' partnerships with schools across Scotland will help develop young people to become successful learners and effective contributors to society and work."
Kevin Schofield, Education Correspondent, The Scotsman 27 November
Building the Foundations of a Lifelong Learning Society, the interim report of the school/college review, was published today (26 November). The report outlines how the Executive will meet its commitment to allow 14-16-year-olds to gain vocational skills by:
Further consultation will take place on today's interim report before the final partnership strategy for schools and colleges, including an implementation plan, is published in April. The final strategy will be implemented from academic year 2005/06 onwards.
The consultation period will run until February 28, with two consultation seminars planned for Glasgow (27 January) and Edinburgh (28 January).
Scottish Executive press release 26 November
The principal of South Cheshire sixth-form college has accused the DfES of inventing the 14-19 educational phase as a "convenient" way to "solve discipline and curriculum problems in schools". David Collins has called for the government to give greater consideration to the impact admitting under-16s into FE establishments. He maintains that it is the voluntary nature of post-compulsory learning that gives it an adult focus and ethos, even in a sixth-form setting.
Steve Hook, TES FE Focus 12 November
In an article for The Guardian (1 November), Peter Kingston examines the publication of Equipping Our Teachers for the Future: reforming initial teacher training for the learning and skills sector. This document is a blueprint for reforming further education, which is intended eventually to give FE lecturers parity with school teachers. The initial teacher training reforms will be developed over the next two years and introduced in full from September 2007. The key features are:
Mr Kingston questions the logic behind maintaining two separate qualifications when the reforms are meant to create equality between FE lecturers and school teachers. He says: "The document notes FE teachers' desire for 'parity of esteem and of professionalism' with school teachers. So why have the separate QTLS certificate? Why not operate a common, qualified teacher status certificate for both sectors? The cynic might suppose that the new certificate is an effort to stem the flow of FE teachers into better-paid and more secure jobs in schools."
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/6ulhx
The Scottish Executive has teamed up with the Royal Bank of Scotland to launch a new scheme to encourage more young people from poorer backgrounds to go on to college or university. A special roadshow will visit more than 140 schools throughout the country with the aim of targeting 17,000 pupils – in particular those from families with no experience of further or higher education. Pupils are given a 30-minute presentation by a recent graduate who tells them how they benefited from further education.
Kevin Schofield, Education Correspondent, The Scotsman 3 November
Unless there is another overhaul in the way education is provided in prison, future adult learning inspections will not find much to be optimistic about, says Erwin James (The Guardian 24 November). Writing as a former inmate, Mr James says that the performance of prison education is no great surprise. Although his own experiences were largely positive, he argues that the difficulties faced by prison education departments have been greatly compounded by the expansion of the prison population. Like many other establishments, it now has to provide more teaching to more people without more money.
Full article: http://tinyurl.com/4gxgz
Employers view apprenticeships as more valuable than other qualifications according to independent research conducted on behalf of the LSC. The research found that 27% of employers put apprenticeships at the top of their list for value, with 26% choosing GCSEs, 8% A-levels and just 5% opting for university degrees. Commenting on the findings, Stephen Gardner, LSC Director of Work-Based Learning, said: "With employers recognising apprenticeships as a more valuable qualification than A-levels it is clear that the apprenticeship route offers an excellent career choice for young people."
Apprentice newsletter Number 8 (November 2004)
The Sutton Trust charity has attacked the "spurious debate" about social engineering in higher education, claiming that it has overshadowed some truly significant achievements. A report published by the Trust says that outreach projects and benchmarking have resulted in 15,000 extra state-school pupils gaining places at top research universities over the past five years. Sir Peter Lampl, Chair of the Trust, said that the recent row about a "discredited system" of benchmarks for widening participation should not be allowed to undermine these successes.
Paul Hill, The THES 5 November
State School Admissions To Our Leading Universities (Word document 10pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/4a94v
Teaching unions have reacted with anger after learning that not a single teacher has been invited to join a new government taskforce on university admissions. The 23-member taskforce has been charged with examining how a post-qualification application system may be introduced. A spokesperson from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers accused the government of sidelining teachers. She said: "The government's new relationship with schools is becoming a new relationship with headteachers."
Warwick Mansell and Michael Shaw, The TES 12 November
A significant number of universities look set to finalise plans for tuition fees and bursaries in 2006 by January – two months before the deadline. The Office for Fair Access revealed that a "great majority" of institutions hoped to submit access plans for the regulator's approval by January 4. The final deadline is 18 March. However, Sir Martin Harris, Director of OfFA, has agreed to respond to universities by 11 March if they submit their documents by 4 January. Without approval from OfFA, universities will not be able to charge the maximum £3,000 top-up fees.
Paul Hill, The THES 26 November
Two universities are considering charging top-up fees of less than £3,000 a year in a move that would shatter the national consensus that all institutions will inevitably charge the maximum. Both Leeds Metropolitan and Bradford universities have submitted proposals to their respective governing bodies for approval. It is understood that London Metropolitan University is also said to be considering such an option, and a spokesperson for OfFA confirmed that it had received a draft submission to charge less than £3,000 for all its courses. While the Vice-Presidents of the universities concerned say they intend to challenge the idea that low fees means lower quality, the Chair of Campaigning Modern Universities feels they will not succeed. Michael Driscoll stated: "I am afraid price will be equated with quality - that is how the market works."
Claire Sanders, The THES 3 December
Student leaders in Scotland have accused the Scottish Executive of introducing English-style top-up fees by the back door, with the introduction of a new law allowing ministers to set higher fees for selected university courses. The Executive has already announced plans to charge English students higher fees than domiciled Scottish students once fees are introduced in England. However, it has indicated that it also wants to impose even higher fees for medical courses.
A spokesperson for the Executive said that this move has become necessary as many English students study medicine at Scottish universities, then return south leaving a shortage of doctors in Scotland. Melanie Ward, president of NUS Scotland, warned: "They want to start with medical students, but what if there is a problem next year with lawyers or dentists or any other group you care to name? We see it as the thin end of the wedge. There is nothing to stop them extending it to Scottish students or any course the minister chooses."
Ian Swanson, Scottish Political Editor, The Scotsman 9 November
New figures released by the Welsh Assembly show that a total of 22,780 students applied for Assembly Learning Grants (ALGs) during the last academic year 2003/04. This figure is 13% higher than the number received in the ALG's first year, 2002/03. Moreover, the number of successful applications has risen by 9%, to 90% of the total applications.
Learning for Wales News 11 November
More than 70,000 students have not received their student loans and are in danger of failing their degrees as they neglect their studies to try to earn some money. Ministers are now demanding daily progress reports in an attempt to see if the payments will speed up. Nearly one in ten undergraduates has not been paid by the Student Loans Company since the start of the Autumn term. However, a spokesperson for the company insisted that everyone who applied on time has been paid and that over the past week alone it received 1,000 new applications. While it is not clear why so many students have not received their loans, it is believed that the introduction of a new computer system has contributed to the delays. Poor communication between local education authorities, students and universities has also been blamed for the poor state of affairs.
Alexandra Blair, Times Online 8 November
A submission by the Student Loans Company regarding how it would organise bursary schemes for universities could mean that institutions pay administrative fees of £15 for every bursary they award. While the Student Loans Company insists that this is far lower than using in-house systems to assess students' eligibility and allocate funds, it would still cost the sector around £3 million a year. Moreover, new universities believe that they are likely to be disproportionately affected by the costs, leaving them to pay out annual bills of five figures. Professor Michael Driscoll, Chair of Campaigning Modern Universities, said that the government had "remained pretty silent" about the hidden costs. He commented: "Our argument remains as it always has: there should be a central mandatory bursary system paid for by top-slicing the funding of the whole sector and distributing centrally. We think that we are being disadvantaged by the mandatory bursary system – as we have larger numbers of eligible students – and if we are going to be charged per student for the administration cost, it rubs salt into the wound."
Paul Hill, The THES 26 November
"To avoid making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is avoid having any ideas."
Leo Burnett
Students with big debts who are thinking of wiping the slate clean by declaring themselves bankrupt may want to think again. The Insolvency Service now has tough new powers to extend the bankruptcy process for up to 15 years, where an individual's bankruptcy results from "reckless or irresponsible spending".
Miles Brignall, The Guardian 13 November
A team of researchers at the University of Hertfordshire is developing a behavioral code for how future robot companions should react in social situations. "We are assuming a situation in which a useful human companion robot already exists," says project leader professor Kerstin Dautenhahn. "Our mission is to look at how such a robot should be programmed to respect personal spaces of humans. Without such studies, you will build robots which might not respect the fact that humans are individuals, have preferences and come from different cultural backgrounds. And I want robots to treat humans as human beings, and not like other robots."
BBC News 28 October
via NewsScan Daily 1 November 2004
The TUC is warning that bugs and germs, and dry, centrally heated offices could prove disastrous for millions of UK workers who rely on their voices to do their jobs. Research conducted by the TUC finds that as many as five million workers in the UK are routinely affected by voice loss, at an annual cost to the economy of over £200 million. Work hoarse, which appears in the TUC-backed health and safety magazine Hazards, says that teachers and call centre workers are the groups of employees most likely to be suffering a silent blight at this time of year. However, the report notes that other workers are also at risk of losing their voices as a result of the jobs they do, including childcare workers, shop workers, radio and TV reporters, sales staff, barristers, bingo callers, counsellors and fitness instructors. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "The lesson for employers is to listen to their workers while they still can, provide adequate breaks and welfare facilities and avoid coercing sick employees back to work before they are fully recovered. And workers need to know that voice loss is no laughing matter – they should speak up when they first develop symptoms or risk suffering in silence."
HRLook Daily News 19 November
Full report: www.hazards.org/voiceloss/workhoarse.htm
"Everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated."
Al McGuire
The European Court of Justice has ruled in favour of a French student who was denied financial support by a local authority because it believed he was not "settled" in the UK. The student had applied to Ealing Borough Council for funding when he enroled at University College London in 1998. He was refused a maintenance loan, despite completing his secondary schooling in London. He claimed the council had breached his rights as an EU citizen. The ruling is a result of changes to EU discrimination laws, which extended the remit of such legislation to education. If, as is expected, the judgement is confirmed by the EU in the spring, this will mean that public bodies will be unable to turn down grant applications from students from another country. However, students from outside the UK will have to prove that they have a strong link to the UK to qualify for support.
Alan Osborn, The THES 19 November
A Labour Assembly Minister has attacked the Student Loans Company after it admitted that students who wrote to it in Welsh would get a slower service than those using English. Leighton Andrews said: "This is unacceptable. I have raised this issue because it is important that if we bring powers over higher education to the National Assembly – including powers over the Student Loans Company – we must ensure that students who study through the medium of Welsh are treated on the same basis as those who choose to study through the medium of English."
Martin Shipton, The Western Mail 12 November
Jane Davidson, Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, today (2 November) announced £2.9 million funding for an innovative and collaborative scheme to extend Welsh-medium provision in the higher education sector in Wales. The University of Wales-led sector-wide bid is designed to increase teaching capacity and forms an integral part of the strategy developed by the National Steering Group chaired by Andrew Green. The bid essentially consists of two components – a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship scheme and a Postgraduate Research Scholarship scheme. The Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship scheme builds on the existing highly successful programme and will provide for up to six Fellows per year up to 2007/08 at an estimated cost of almost £250,000. The Research Scholarship scheme proposes to fund up to 10 scholarships per year. The scheme will extend over seven years, commencing in 2005-06 at an estimated cost of over £2.6 million.
Welsh Assembly press release 3 November
A survey of over 400 academics by The Times Higher has revealed "first-hand evidence of the widespread dumbing down of academic standards". According to the survey, many academics feel that they are being forced to teach students who are "not capable of benefiting from degree-level study". A substantial number also indicated that they had felt obligated to pass students who did not deserve it. Findings include:
Roger Kline, head of the universities department at lecturers' union NATFHE, said: "We have been saying for a long time that the government (and institutions) are trying to get a quart out of a pint pot." In contrast, while a spokesperson for the DfES said that it would be "worrying" if the findings were correct, Universities UK said that the survey represented only a small sample of academics and could not, therefore, be accepted as representative of the sector as a whole.
Phil Baty, The THES 19 November
According to research from London Metropolitan University, a student could gain a first class degree with average marks of "little more than 50%", depending on where they chose to study. The study, which exposes the "shocking" variation in the way that degrees are calculated, showed that the easiest place to achieve a first is Sunderland University. Here students require a minimum average mark of just 50.8% across their full course. In contrast, a minimum average of 68.75% is required for a first at the University of East Anglia, the most rigorous of all institutions. Lead author John Curran, an economist at London Met, acknowledged that the calculations were based on the lowest possible hypothetical set of results needed to gain a first, which would be unlikely in practice. However, he said: "What we have found is shocking. The figures show just how much easier it is to get a first at some universities than others. The system is unfair and it is very worrying. We need a debate."
Phil Baty, The THES 5 November
Vocational awards are poised to change, as the QCA proposes a simpler framework, writes Peter Kingston (The Guardian 30 November). The QCA proposes to replace the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) with the Framework for Achievement. QCA Chief Executive Ken Boston explains that the new Framework will be "immeasurably clearer than what it replaces". Work will be undertaken to streamline the units of work that make up qualifications. While there are an estimated 40,000 such units in the current framework, the QCA maintains that there is a great deal of overlap and duplication. In addition, the QCA will work to rationalise sector specific qualifications, so that there are no longer more than 100 possible study routes to "prove" a particular level of competency in a given field.
Ruth Barrett (University of Hertfordshire) and Anna L Cox (University College London)
This paper reports the results of a study which investigated whether there is a common understanding of the terms plagiarism and collusion between students and staff. Participants made judgements on scenarios describing student behaviour in assessments. The results suggest that although plagiarism is well understood, the same cannot be said of collusion. Both staff and students feel that collusion is much more acceptable than plagiarism because some learning is taking place. It appears that there is no consensus on the boundary between collaborative behaviour and collusion.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
Volume 30 Number 2 (April 2004)
Lore Arthur and Alan Tait, The Open University
The research project reported here arose out of questions we had in relation to time pressures, increasingly heavy workloads and concerns that we were, it seemed to us, neglecting our families and friends. We kept on asking ourselves: how do people manage? Open University students, for example, most of whom are working full-time, have families and friends, often study more than 14 hours a week on various programmes for either work-related purposes or personal development. How meaningful, therefore, is the concept of lifelong learning to adults in the context of everyday reality? Does the policy-led demand for lifelong learning not place too heavy a burden on individual learners? What does the concept of "time" mean to them? This paper draws on theoretical perspectives of time (rather than space and time) in relation to lifelong learning in the context of work, seen from both the employees' and the employers' perspectives.
Studies in the Education of Adults
Volume 36 Number 2 (Autumn 2004)
These figures relate to levels of highest qualification held by people of working age, the relationship between qualification level and rate of employment of those of working age, participation in job-related training by employees, and the proportion of adults who participate in any form of learning.
www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STA/t000543/index.shtml
Department for Education and Skills 24 November
This eighth edition provides an integrated overview of statistics on education and training in the UK, in some 60 tables. Chapters relate to expenditure, schools, post-compulsory education and training, qualifications and destinations, population, and international comparisons.
www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000538/index.shtml
Department for Education and Skills 25 November
This provides updates to statistical first release (SFR) 32/2003 and SFR 12/2003. For the first time, figures for the take-up of the higher education grant is shown.
www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000539/index.shtml
Department for Education and Skills 30 November
New figures released by the Scottish Executive show that the number of pupils on school rolls has fallen by more than 8,000 in the past year. The statistics also predict that school rolls will plummet by 113,000 (14%) over the next decade. While ministers insist that the figures are in line with wider population trends, opposition parties claim that the fall is a direct result of Executive education and economic policies which are "mired in confusion".
Kevin Schofield, Education Correspondent, The Scotsman 10 November
OECD in Figures is a pocket data book, containing key data on OECD countries, ranging from economic growth and employment to trade and migration. It offers comparable tables on the environment, science and public finances, and a selection of graphs, giving snapshots on subjects such as GDP, education spending, services, trade, health funding, development aid, and renewable energy.
Hard copies are available from the OECD online bookshop http://tinyurl.com/49wru
It can also be downloaded in full (PDF 96pp) from http://tinyurl.com/565nv
OECD Observer November 2004
Two more Sector Skills Councils (SSC) have worked with the University for Industry (UfI) to set up specific Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) services for current and prospective employees in their industries. SkillsActive (the SSC for the active leisure and learning industries such as sport, health and fitness, and playwork) and Automotive Skills (the SSC for the retail motor industry) are launching new services in the next couple of months. These launches follow the setting up of IAG services for a number of other established SSCs including:
Gareth Dent, Head of Information and Advice Services at UfI, said: "We are now working with a number of SSCs to offer them IAG services specific to their sector. The SSCs recognise that giving people access to the right advice and information at the right time is vital if they are going to make an impact on the skill levels in their industries and I am pleased SkillsActive and Automotive Skills are the latest to take advantage of UfI's experience in this area."
Reach November-December 2004
Kevin Morrell, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
This paper outlines a technique for enhancing the effectiveness of careers thinking by identifying and challenging tacit beliefs about career success. These beliefs can be understood as social scripts, i.e. cognitive structures that simplify common decision scenarios. An important contribution of careers counselling is to enable clients to recognise tacit beliefs and assumptions that limit the effectiveness of their careers thinking. In the process, this often involves finding problems. This paper outlines how an archetypal problem-finding technique – Socratic inquiry – can be adapted and applied in this particular context. Socratic inquiry can enable identification of social scripts which are a source of limiting assumptions. It can also enable cross-examination of these assumptions, and enhance the facility for internal dialogue.
British Journal of Guidance and Counselling
Volume 32 Number 4 (November 2004)
"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."
A A Milne
Lucy Joyce and Clarissa White, BRMB Social Research
Brief no: 577 ISBN: 1-84478-320-0 October 2004
As part of a programme of research to inform the development of the Connexions service, the DfES commissioned BRMB Social Research to carry out a longitudinal programme of qualitative research with young people who had experience of using the service, in order to enhance understanding of its role and value. The research comprised two stages. This research documents the findings of the second stage of research. The findings include:
The views expressed in this report are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills
The full report (RR577), price £4.95, is available
from DfES Publications, PO Box 5050, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15
0DJ
Cheques should be made payable to "DfES Priced Publications"
The Research Brief (RB577) is available free of charge
from the above address
tel: 0845 60 222 60
Research Briefs and Research Reports can also be accessed at www.dfes.gov.uk/research/
Further information about this research can be obtained
from David Berreley, Room W621, DfES, Moorfoot, Sheffield S1 4PQ
email:
david.berreley@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
Careers education in two-thirds of schools is being led by staff who have no formal qualification in the subject, according to a report from the Public Accounts Committee. The PAC called for improvements to the Connexions service, so that it can ensure that all children receive the career support they need. The report praised the work of Connexions with NEET clients. However, it said that there remained "risks that the wider population of young people may not always get the advice they need". The report recommended that Connexions staff work more closely with schools.
Michael Shaw, The TES 3 December
Inter-agency partnership working has been one of the guiding principles behind the Connexions Strategy, described by the Prime Minister as "our front-line policy for young people". Yet little is known about the practical problems involved in successful implementation of inter-agency work, what such an approach means for the daily tasks of front-line workers, or how effective it is in dealing with the complex problems faced by many young people. This research, by Bob Coles, Liz Britton and Leslie Hicks, examines the problems involved in inter-agency work at a time when UK youth policy itself is under review. The main findings include:
An overview of the research is at www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/d24.asp
The full report, Building better connections:
Interagency work and the Connexions Service by Bob Coles, Liz Britton and
Leslie Hicks, is published for the Foundation by The Policy Press (ISBN:
1-86134-661-1 price £13.95)
It is also online (PDF 61pp) at
http://tinyurl.com/5hxvp
JRF mailing list 2 December
L Nota and S Soresi
A number of theories and models have helped to elucidate the decision-making difficulties encountered by some young adolescents. These theories and models, together with the results of research focused on problems associated with career indecision in adolescents, provide the basis for the present study aimed at establishing and verifying the efficacy of an intervention programme whose purpose is to improve problem-solving and decision-making skills. We hypothesised that a programme designed to increase general competencies could greatly impact decisional problems and could reduce levels of indecision among adolescent students. The current study will provide a description of our intervention and an evaluation of its effectiveness.
International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance Volume 4 Number 1 (2004)
A pioneering counselling service for children at primary schools has been condemned by parent groups, despite a decision by the Scottish Executive to extend the programme across Edinburgh. The Place2Be programme, piloted in two Edinburgh schools, is a forum where children can express their feelings through talking, creative work and play. However, parent groups and teaching unions have criticised the scheme, saying that it encourages children to believe that they "feel" adult emotions like stress and fatigue.
The Scotsman 6 November
Teachers have reacted with dismay as Schools Minister David Miliband gave his support to an "e-mentoring" pilot scheme. The scheme, which is being organised by the Specialist Schools Trust and is due to begin in 15 schools early next year, will mean that teachers must stay in contact with pupils by email during exam study leave. However, teaching unions believe that this move will simply be the first step on a slippery slope, particularly since a growing number of schools already encourage their staff to accept email from pupils in the evenings if they are struggling with their homework. Chris Keates, Acting General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: "[These developments] appear to conflict with the reasonable work-life balance contractual change the government has introduced."
Michael Shaw, The TES 12 November
Tips on how NOT to mentor, by mentoring guru David Clutterbuck.
Cuttings Number 53 (December 2004)
Apprenticeships should be made available at degree level, claims the apprenticeship task force. The task force said that the scheme will not meet the needs of industry unless it is made available above the present Level 3 (A-level equivalent). It called for the DfES to "remove the obstacles" that prevent apprenticeships being offered at level 4 and beyond.
Steve Hook, TES FE Focus 3 December
Familiarity breeds contempt. This, believes Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, is the reason the retail industry doesn't come high up the careers wish-list of most graduates. "It's a sector we think we all know about because we all shop. And if we worked as students, the chances are we worked in retail," he says. "But both these experiences give a jaundiced view of retail. You don't get to see all the functions that are involved behind the scenes, like buying, store management, logistics and HR. The big retailers, in particular, are sophisticated businesses with some of the widest range of jobs and impressive training schemes." British notions that working in shops is for the unskilled and poorly educated don't help, adds Terry Jones of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services. Mr Jones said that the retail industry in the UK should do more to address its image problem. He said: "At a recent careers fair in London, Sainsbury's was the least popular stand. Students walked straight past it, despite having a realistic chance of getting on its graduate scheme, which is excellent."
Kate Hilpern, The Independent 25 November
C Brennan, M Daly, E Fitzpatrick and E Sweeney
The traditional methods of graduate recruitment do not adequately meet the needs of the changing profile of students and graduates. As industry becomes internationalised, the needs of employers are also changing. Graduate recruitment is in response to short-term needs and varying levels of experience are required. A case study method was used in Dublin Institute of Technology to evaluate the effectiveness of a virtual careers fair in providing greater access to job opportunities for students and graduates. Access by employers to potential employees was also measured. Findings showed that while access improved, other issues requiring attention emerged.
International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance Volume 4 Number 1 (2004)
Peter Elias and Kate Purcell
This paper uses a variety of recent sources of information to explore the labour market experiences of those who gained a degree in the 1980s and 1990s. Specifically, it addresses the issue of "over-education" – the view that the expansion of higher education in the 1990s created a situation in which increasing numbers of graduates were unable to access employment that required and valued graduate skills and knowledge. The paper concludes that, while there may have been a decline from the high premium enjoyed by older graduates, for those who graduated in 1995 the average premium was holding up well, despite the expansion. Although differences were found between established graduate occupations and the newer areas of graduate employment, evidence suggests that the development of new technical and managerial specialisms and occupational restructuring within organisations has been commensurate with the availability of an increased supply of highly qualified people.
NIESR Number 190 (October 2004)
The latest official monthly job statistics show there has been a healthy rebound in job creation, with employers adopting innovative approaches to filling vacancies and avoiding the need for inflationary pay increases, according to John Philpott, Chief Economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. However, record numbers of economically inactive people and continued rises in the levels of long-term sickness continue to give cause for concern.
CIPD press release 17 November
More details in the full release at www.cipd.co.uk/press/PressRelease/Jobstats_171104_PR.htm
Labour market statistics published this month (November) show an increase in the employment rate and more people in employment. The unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people have fallen but there is an increase in the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance benefit. There are fewer vacancies but the numbers of people made redundant has fallen. Growth in average earnings excluding bonuses is unchanged while growth in average earnings including bonuses has fallen slightly.
National Statistics press release 17 November
GNN ref 105528P contains full details
The latest edition of this publication is now available. Contents include:
News and research
Items on: revisions to Labour Force Survey estimates; new survey of hours and earnings; workers arriving in the UK; small businesses in the UK; and New Deal for Disabled People.
Workless households: results from the Spring 2004 LFS by Annette Walling, Labour Market Division, Office for National Statistics. The labour market characteristics of people living in workless households are discussed.
Labour productivity by Craig Lindsay, Labour Market Division, Office for National Statistics. An insightful analysis of the reasons why the UK lags behind its main international competitors.
Methodology for the 2004 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings by Derek Bird, Employment, Earnings and Productivity Division, Office for National Statistics.
Labour Market Trends
Volume 112 Number 11 (November 2004)
Full publication (PDF 143pp) is at http://tinyurl.com/5co76
Unemployment was down on both counts in the three months to August, according to official figures. Using the Labour Force Survey count, the total fell by 51,000 to 1.39 million, compared with the previous three months, giving an unemployment rate of 4.7% – the lowest level since 1984. The claimant count showed its 16th consecutive monthly fall. This gives an unemployment rate of 2.7%, and is the lowest level since July 1975.
Labour Research Volume 93 Number 11 (November 2004)
The level of disability benefits encouraged more than half a million unskilled males to give up work during the 1990s, according to a working paper from the Bank of England. However, the report also finds that the exodus has peaked now that disability benefits are less generous.
Health, disability insurance and labour force participation, by Brian Bell and James Smith (Bank of England Working Paper number 218) (PDF 27pp) is at www.bankofengland.co.uk/workingpapers/wp218.pdf
Community Care, 26 August-1 September
Jane Kennedy, Minister for Work, today (17 November) welcomed new statistics showing the continued success of the UK labour market. She said: "These figures show employment at its highest ever level. The number of people in work has increased by over 200,000 in the last 12 months and by more than 2 million in the last seven years."
DWP press release 17 November – as always has a
great deal of detail
Client ref STAT171104-LMS
GNN ref
105533P
Richard Dorsett and Diana Kasparova
Policy Studies Institute
DWP Working Paper Series - No. 15 November 2004
This working paper, published by the Department for Work and Pensions, is part of the Families and Children Strategic Analysis Programme (FACSAP). The focus in this analysis is on low-moderate income couples with children, their characteristics and their labour market transitions, using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Findings include:
The paper is available from Paul Noakes at the DWP Social Research Division on tel: 020 7962 8557. For more information on the Families and Children Study visit www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/facs/
DWP press release 2 November
The top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange gave 0.97% of their pre-tax profits to charities and community projects, according to the Guardian's annual survey of corporate responsibility, The Giving List. While the cash value of their donations is £872 million, almost 7% up on last year, just 34 of the FTSE 100 gave 1% or more. The bottom 14 gave 0.01% or less. The results will come as no surprise to respondents to a recent MORI poll, which revealed a large degree of public distrust regarding corporate social responsibility. The poll found that just 15% of the population believe that large companies are genuine about being responsible. Nigel Griffiths, the Minister for Corporate Responsibility, said: "Public attitudes are an important benchmark of progress and a powerful driver for change and companies should take the opportunity to communicate their activities."
Murray Armstrong, The Guardian 5 November
Dr William Kilbride, Assistant Director, Archaeology Data Service / Arts and Humanities Data Service Centre for Archaeology, University of York
Internet Resources Newsletter Issue 122 (November 2004)
Update comment: Not surprisingly I went to look at this – and printed it out from the "printer friendly format" link. Unfortunately, the end of the document contains a copyright statement which tells me that I should not be copying (i.e. printing) the document without prior written permission!
The Low Volume Document Delivery licence was originally issued on a trial basis. The licence has now been extended, and is no longer the subject of a trial. The CLA sticker scheme was also issued as a trial. The actual usage of the stickers has been lower than anticipated and whilst the scheme has been extended until October 2005 it is still offered as a trial.