UK

Citation

(2008), "UK", Education + Training, Vol. 50 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2008.00450fab.004

UK

Article Type: Research news From: Education + Training, Volume 50, Issue 6

Research shows benefits of vocational education for finding work and pay prospects

A survey by YouGov has found that holders of vocational qualifications are half as likely to spend a long time looking for work compared with people who have degrees. More than a fifth of those with vocational qualifications are also more likely to feel ready for work from day one. The research shows vocational qualifications make a big difference to career prospects, even for adults, and 35 per cent of people surveyed with degrees told how they later achieved a vocational qualification as well. Figures reveal over a quarter who took a vocational qualification received a pay rise as a direct result, which is double the 13 per cent who received an increase following an academic qualification. 21 per cent also told how their employer paid more attention to their career, compared to 11 per cent of those with a degree.

In results which reveal the extent of business investment in staff, half of respondents said their employer paid for the whole vocational course, while 19 per cent took a course which was publicly funded, and 23 per cent paid for their course themselves. The survey also revealed that most adults support vocational qualifications, and 57 per cent would encourage young people to take one.

The date of 23 July 2008 will mark “VQ Day” in the UK for the first time. This is to nationally celebrate the achievements of people who have successfully gained vocational qualifications. A report into the vocational qualifications landscape is also due to be published on the day, which will see a national event in London and regional events held around the country.

HEFCE league tables

A research report investigating league tables and their impact on higher education institutions (HEIs) in England presents findings from two strands of research:

1. 1.

   an analysis of five league tables selected for the study, their methodologies and the underlying data employed; and

2. 2.

   an investigation of how higher education institutions respond to league tables generally and the extent to which they influence institutional decision-making and actions.

The five league tables analysed are:

1. 1.

   National:

2. 2.
   • •

     Sunday Times University Guide;

   • •

     The Times Good University Guide; and

   • •

     The Guardian University Guide.

3. 3.

   World rankings:

4. 4.
   • •

     Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Higher Education); and

   • •

     THES-QS World University Rankings.

The purpose of the research is to stimulate informed debate about the approaches and limitations of the various league tables, and greater understanding among the users and stakeholders of the implications of making decisions based on these sources of information.

The main findings from the league tables suggest:

• •

  the five league tables do not provide a complete picture of the sector;

• •

  some of the measures included are poor proxies for the qualities identified;

• •

  there is insufficient transparency about the way the league tables are compiled;

• •

  the resulting rankings largely reflect reputational factors and not necessarily the quality or performance of institutions; and

• •

  the format and content of league tables could be brought up to date.

Overall the report concludes that the influence of league tables is increasing both nationally and internationally, and cannot be ignored despite serious methodological limitations. They are being used for a broader range of purposes than originally intended, and being bestowed with more meaning than the data alone may bear. It is possible that the influence of league tables will increase further if the cap on tuition fees for full-time undergraduate courses is raised or lifted altogether. It is possible that ranking position will affect an institution’s ability to charge the highest fees across all its courses. The world rankings are growing in influence due to internationalisation and are likely to continue to do so if bibliometric indicators are introduced to assess research quality in the UK.

The report identifies a number of areas that would benefit from further research, in particular, into users’ perspectives, including:

• •

  prospective (including international) students’ use of league tables;

• •

  the use of new sources of information on higher education institutions, e.g. social networking internet sites and Unistats; and

• •

  the influence of league tables on foreign governments, scholarship bodies, employers and individual academics.

IT “Graduate” labour market

At a time when the number of Higher Education students and graduations for “All Subjects” is at a record high, Higher Education Computing student numbers and graduations are falling. According to a study by Research Insight HE Computing students fell by 22.3 per cent from 2003-2004 to 2006-2007 (from 137,650 down to 106,910), and are now at their lowest level since 1999-2000. Over the same period “All subject” student numbers increased by 5.1 per cent (from 2,247,440 to 2,362,815). HE Computing graduations fell by 16.5 per cent from 2004-2005 to 2006-2007 (from 37,445 down to 31,270), and are now at their lowest level since 2001-2002. Over the same period “All subject” graduations increased by 2.8 per cent (from 633,045 to 651,060). An even larger decline can be seen in the number of pupils studying A-Level Computing courses (down 46.8 per cent since 2003). The number of UCAS applications and acceptances for Computing courses has fallen for the last six years (UCAS applications hit their highest point in 2001 and lowest in 2007). This will result in a fall in the number of students graduating until at least 2010.

Higher Education qualifications are of fundamental importance to employment in the IT labour market. In 2004, 54 per cent of IT professionals had a degree, and 39 per cent of IT professionals with a degree had a Computing degree. The IT labour market is set to grow by 163,000 from 2007 to 2016 (from 1,069,000 up to 1,232,000). A total of 179,800 appointments are made each year in the IT labour market, the majority (78.5 per cent; 141,300) of which will go to “new entrants” (people who are not currently in the IT labour market). Of this annual requirement of 141,300, 26,800 will be joining direct from university. Only a proportion of this 26,800 (14,472 or 54 per cent) will be Computing graduates. A decline in the number of Computing graduates will result in fewer “new entrants” from Higher Education having the necessary deep-based technical skills.

The report is available at: www.cphc.ac.uk/docs/reports/cphc-itlabourmarket.pdf

Employer training spend hits record high at £38bn

Companies have spent an all time high of £38.6 billion on training, up 16 per cent from 2005, according to findings from the National Employer Skills Survey 2007 (NESS07). This accounts for an increase in real terms of £3.5 billion after inflation. The research shows that the proportion of vacancies that can’t be filled due to a skills shortage has dropped from 25 per cent in 2005, to 21 per cent in 2007 and affects 5 per cent of employers.

NESS07, which spoke to over 79,000 employers and provides the most comprehensive analysis of skills in England, reveals a nation more committed to training than ever before. It is clear that there is awareness of the benefits of a better skilled society – especially in the face of rising competition from international countries – as employers are committing more money and time towards training. Last year, over two thirds (67 per cent) of the country’s businesses spent a combined total of 218 million days training their workforces. The average money spent per employee on training increased by 11 per cent from £1,550 in 2005 to £1,750 in 2007.

At the same time there has been a rise in take-up of the Government’s flagship service, Train to Gain. Train to Gain has already helped more than 78,000 employers. Launched nationally in August 2006, Train to Gain is a skills advice and support service that gives employers access to the right training to help their business succeed. Evaluation of the service, surveying almost 4,000 employers involved with Train to Gain, has found that 80 per cent of employers and 77 per cent of employees have been satisfied with the advice and training received. Furthermore over three quarters (77 per cent) of employers questioned would be likely or very likely to use the service again and eight in ten (80 per cent) would recommend the service to a colleague outside of their organisation.

The evaluation research also highlights the clear benefits of the training received through Train to Gain. Three quarters (74 per cent) of employers using the service reported an improvement in their employees’ job-related skills while four fifths (80 per cent) of learners who had received a qualification through Train to Gain reported that they had gained skills to help them do a better job in the future. Train to Gain has also been instrumental in reaching those parts of the workforce that are often not able to access training with higher than average take up from black and ethnic minority groups and workers aged over 46 (12 per cent and 31 per cent respectively).

The full reports are available at: www.lsc.gov.uk

Entrepreneurship in higher education (especially within non-business studies): final report (April 2008)

The primary purpose of entrepreneurship education at university is to develop entrepreneurial capacities and mindsets. The teaching of entrepreneurship has yet to be sufficiently integrated into university curricula – indeed it is necessary to make entrepreneurship education accessible to all students as innovative business ideas may arise from technical, scientific or creative studies.

This EU Expert Report explores key issues regarding the teaching of entrepreneurship in higher education, identifies existing obstacles and proposes a range of solutions, taking into account the different levels of responsibility (public policy, institutions, educators and relevant stakeholders). The report focuses primarily on learning about entrepreneurship as part of non-business disciplines, in particular within technical and scientific faculties and universities. The full report can be obtained from: European Commission, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, Unit E.1: Entrepreneurship; Fax: +32-2-29.66 27 8; E-mail: Entr-entrepreneurship@ec.europa.eu; website: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/index.htm

Graduates require newer technologies to communicate in the workplace

New research suggests that recent graduates, the so called “Generation Y”, want more innovative communication technologies, such as instant messaging and web cams, to help them perform to the best of their abilities in the office. The survey of 1,000 graduates and managers carried out by Plantronics, shows that technologies used frequently by people outside of the professional environment to communicate are now considered by graduates to be ripe for the office too. A massive 82 per cent of graduates believe a hands-free headset would allow them to carry out conversations away from their desks with greater privacy, while approximately three quarters think a webcam (77 per cent) and access to instant messaging applications in the office (73 per cent) would help them to respond more quickly and personally to clients and suppliers. In contrast, almost a third of their managers (27 per cent) believe the office to be well-equipped enough. Fewer than 20 per cent agree with graduates over IM and webcams, indicating a digital divide in the workplace as younger workers appear more tech. savvy and likely to use non traditional methods and equipment.

When questioned about the skills of their graduate workforce, 63 per cent of managers in the UK indicated that graduates communicate less vocally than their colleagues and believe them to be forsaking face-to-face and telephone conversations in favour of email. However, graduates and managers alike blame the lack of privacy in modern offices (78 per cent) and the security of being able to refer back to emails (53 per cent) as the main reasons behind this behaviour. Just 16 per cent of graduate managers blamed their resistance to pick up the phone or talk face to face on a lack of interpersonal skills.

Across industry sectors, 60 per cent of graduates working in architecture, engineering and construction cite disruptive work colleagues as their main distraction, whilst HR workers find that the constant need to respond to email (88 per cent) is to blame for breaking their concentration. The survey also found that smaller companies are the most restricting working environments for graduates. Nearly half of graduates surveyed (40 per cent) say that they do not provide mobile communications devices or sufficient flexibility in working hours and location.

Interestingly, the survey showed that both managers and graduates relied mostly on email to communicate, spending over two hours a day sending and responding to email, despite neither group believing that it is the best way to communicate with colleagues or clients. A massive 64 per cent of workers actually believe that meeting face-to-face is the optimal method of client communication, but less than half of that percentage (31 per cent) actually found the time to do so. Contrary to popular belief, the Plantronics survey also reveals the majority of graduates are not wasting work time on social networking sites, with almost 60 per cent claiming to spend no time at all during work on sites such as Facebook. Just 6 per cent of 21-24 year olds admit to spending two hours or more hours a day socialising online with the average length of time spent by the remaining third of respondents averaging between 15 and 30 minutes.

Technology is cool in the playground but not in the careers centre! A third of girls turned off by technology careers due to lack of smart role models

Research by Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry® Women & Technology Awards, reveals that nearly 90 per cent of girls aged 11-16 think using technology is cool and regularly talk to their friends about it. Just over a third (38 per cent) of them chat about the latest technology on a daily basis – anything from social networking to online gaming and mobile downloads. Despite this love of technology, only a quarter (28 per cent) of girls have considered a career in technology compared to more than half (52 per cent) of boys.

Over two thirds (73 per cent) of girls aged 11-16 believe that there is a gap between the playground and careers centre because the UK lacks smart female role models in the technology industry who they long to emulate. Over half (55 per cent) also think that there should be fewer celebrity role models and more inspirational business role models. This becomes more pertinent with age, with 71 per cent of 14-16 year old girls thinking this. Other key findings include:

• •

  a total of 43 per cent of young people didn’t consider a career in technology because it was “not exciting”; and

• •

  a total of 30 per cent of young people deemed a career in technology as “too geeky”.

The research indicates that young people are keen to enter a career in technology but feel they need more support and guidance to do so. Nearly half (43 per cent) of the respondents (boys and girls) said that they would be more attracted to the technology industry if they were provided with more information and help about opportunities in this sector at school. This was more significant amongst 14-16 year old girls, clearly giving careful thought and consideration to their future career at this time in their life. Pay is also a huge pull factor, with three quarters (75 per cent) of young people saying they would be attracted to a career in technology if they felt there was a significant financial reward on offer. Good pay and excitement are the top priorities for young people (both boys and girls) when it comes to their future careers. Interestingly, good pay was slightly more important to younger respondents, with “excitement” cited by a significantly higher proportion of older respondents, rising from 22 to 32 per cent for girls.

The research was conducted by Dubit Ltd, a Youth Communications Group on behalf of Research In Motion. This study was conducted among 1,000, 11-16 year old girls and boys from Dubit’s research panel. The sample is representative nationally of the target demographic.