institute for employment studies

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Building on Young Apprenticeships
Equal Opportunities

Newton B, Miller L, Page R, Tuohy S
Report 444, Institute for Employment Studies, November 2007

commissioned by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)

The Young Apprenticeships and the 14-19 reforms

The Young Apprenticeships sit within a framework of reforms aimed at increasing both choice in, and quality of, provision for young people aged between 14 and 19. The government’s commitment to increasing participation in training and learning beyond the age of 16 means that programmes for 14-16 year olds are particularly important. By 2013 young people will be entitled to access Diplomas, which will offer a broad range of subjects and qualification levels within the vocational framework alongside the traditional GCSE choices and it is likely that some elements of the Young Apprenticeships, Increased Flexibility and Key Stage 4 Engagement programmes will remain in place for certain target groups.

These programmes suggest some of the actions that will be needed to for the 90 per cent target for post-16 participation to be met. The vision set out in the consultation document Raising expectations: staying in education and training post-16 is for an interaction between the right provision, the right support (including information, advice and guidance) and increased employer involvement to prevent disengagement. Underpinning these will be effective partnerships between schools, colleges and training providers to ensure access to seamless provision delivered in these different venues.

The Young Apprenticeship evaluations, as well as those from the other programmes, have provided crucial evidence regarding the barriers to, and promoters of, these three integrated pillars of support. These programmes are also trialling the ways in which effective partnerships can operate between schools, colleges, training providers and employers. It is important that lessons from the programme transfer more widely into 14-16 provision so that it may support the 14-19 entitlement, particularly to the newer Diploma programmes.

Background to the Equal Opportunities research

In September 2004 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) to evaluate equal opportunities in the second cohort of its Young Apprenticeship (YA) programme (the section of the DfES that commissioned the evaluation was moved to Department for Children, Schools and Families in June 2007). The evaluation and the recommendations based on those findings were reported in the IES publication Young Apprenticeships: Equal Opportunities.

To support its implementation of the recommendations contained in that report, the Department commissioned IES to undertake a further programme of research. This research consisted of three strands: work with Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to develop information about the YAs, careers and training opportunities in three strongly gender-segregated subjects; workshops to share findings about taster events and encourage wider provision of taster sessions; and case study research to provide an update on progress with equality and diversity within the five sites visited as part of the first YA Equal Opportunities project.

Legislative background

In between the first and second stages of the equal opportunities evaluation of the Young Apprenticeships the Equality Bill made its way through Parliament. Enactment of the Equality Act 2006 amended the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and paved the way for introduction of the Gender Equality Duty (GED) in April 2007.

The GED requires public bodies and private/voluntary sector bodies carrying out public functions on behalf of the state, to actively promote equality rather than merely to avoid discrimination. The GED will therefore make the equal opportunities criteria set out by the Department for Children, Schools and Families for YA providers central to provision requirements. The change in law will make the equal opportunities requirements a necessity for mainstream training provision also, and therefore makes the good practice guidance contained in the report of value to all providers, not just those involved in delivery of YAs.

Methodology

• Case study research. The five good practice partnerships visited in 2005 were followed up after recruitment for cohort 3 in 2006. This longitudinal element allowed the sites’ progression in terms of EO practices to be tracked.
• Tasters research and development. This work built on the ‘taster’ case studies provided in the first report, and featured development workshops to explore taster delivery issues; regional workshops to share findings and offer support to partnerships delivering tasters; and development of a toolkit and illustrative case studies for the design, delivery and evaluation of tasters.
• Development of YA information with Sector Skills Councils. This work was a response to the earlier finding that young people wanted more information about sectors and careers to help them with their decision regarding the YA. The process involved elicitation meetings with key staff in the SSCs to discuss issues including occupational stereotypes in the selected sectors, and the realities of work and areas of growth in the sector. From this, three booklets were designed for use by Partnerships during cohort 4 and subsequent recruitment.

Key findings in the good practice case studies

Targets and monitoring

The setting of recruitment targets is not common practice. In the best example found within the case studies, targets had been set across the programmes offered within a single subject (the subject in which the YA was offered) and the organisation was planning to implement targets for recruitment for each school participating in the next cohort.

While monitoring the profile of pupils from application onwards is common practice, the monitoring of the earlier parts of the recruitment process, such as activities to raise awareness of the YA or to encourage wider choices, requires greater encouragement. One organisation intended to start asking schools to provide more data about referrals to the YA (compared to the group that was potentially eligible for the YA). Arguably this should be replicated elsewhere.

Awareness raising, Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG), recruitment and selection

The recruitment models operated by Partnerships remained largely the same as those found in the previous research and continued to determine how pupils heard about the YA. While these models were felt to impact on the awareness-raising activities that partnerships were able to undertake, there was less concern about the impacts of the school-led model, which placed selection ahead of giving information, on the diversity of the cohort. The need to select candidates of sufficient quality to ensure they would cope with the demands of the YA was instead emphasised, in some cases based on experiences of operating the entry criteria more flexibly in the past. Partnerships were now less certain than before, that taking positive action to include atypical entrants whose scores were below the entry criteria had been in pupils’ best interests, since some had struggled with the YA (and in some cases had left the course).

The main way in which the partnerships worked with schools to ensure diversity was to agree a contract, most frequently verbally, for the inclusion of a representative ethnic mix based on school populations. This appeared to work well and could be extended to meet the requirement to target socially disadvantaged groups. However, it was less effective as a means to encourage greater gender-balance in non-traditional subjects. Here it appeared there was a lack of real policy drive to make schools act on this issue. This also suggests that strengthening the partnership relationship, so that equal opportunities are seen as a shared responsibility, might be beneficial.

There was evidence that further reinforcement of the information given during sessions to introduce young people (and parents) to the YA would be beneficial. Some young people claimed not to have understood, for instance, the extent of work placement that would be involved. Partnerships continued to be concerned about the advice available to pupils, particularly in relation to the value of vocational education compared to traditional GCSE routes. However, some good examples of advice and guidance were found. For example, in one case the partnership assessed each young person’s skills and abilities assessed and offered guidance regarding the options that might best suit them.

One aspect of good practice that was seen across the partnerships was the extension of recruitment processes to better enable pupils to demonstrate their skills and motivation for the YA. This had led to a more holistic view of performance prior to selection. The new practices included teacher references (to support selection decisions following interview) and assessment centres, with these often being integrated into interview days or tasters.

Support and delivery

The best support models were those which had been put in place for all Young Apprentices but were sufficiently individualised to meet the needs of atypical entrants. An example of this kind of support was one partnership in which the YA co-ordinator took on a more hands-on role and whose job it was to keep in touch with pupils across learning sites: at college, school and on work placements. Their responsibilities also included conducting individual review sessions with each pupil. These drew on feedback from each of the stakeholders, as well as the young person.

Where a number of partners are involved in providing support to young people, responsibilities need to be clearly set out. In such situations, a co-ordinator with an overview role will help ensure that all individuals are aware of their responsibilities and that adequate support and monitoring of pupil experience takes place.

Some workplaces continue to display inappropriate materials which can be embarrassing not just for minority or atypical groups but for any young person in that environment. However, some partnerships were more confident about talking to employers about this issue than others. One way in which this had been successfully achieved was to include an assessment of suitability during a health-and-safety/risk-assessment site visit. The partnership that took this approach subsequently provided guidance to the employer that was couched in terms of issues that should be considered when having any 14- or 15-year-old at the work site, rather than focusing on gender or race per se. Other support for minority or atypical groups included the provision of a suitable buddy at the placement and the opportunity to network with peers across courses when at college.

It is also important to offer all pupils, but particularly minority ethnic and gender-atypical entrants, the opportunity to discuss their experiences at their placements and to use specific rather than general questioning. The research revealed that one young person was the subject of ‘sly jokes’ at their work placement, and another whose peers teased them about their subject choice. Neither was too concerned and had not raised the issue with YA staff. However, this could have formed a significant barrier for less resilient young people.

The needs of pupils with special educational needs may require particular consideration, and partnerships may find that some employers are better placed, in terms of available time or work priorities, to provide placements for more vulnerable young people.

For young people entering large organisations or companies that use shift patterns, displaying posters about the young person can help ensure that staff know why the young person is there and what tasks they are able to do. Another means of support during the work placement is the provision of guided or independent study materials so that young people can use any time available in between specific tasks to work through this resource; this can also be used as a way to catch up on any missed elements of the course.

Barriers to, and the encouragement of, wider choices

The barriers to activities to encourage wider choices remain much the same as those that were reported in the earlier study.

School engagement with equality and diversity. The extent to which schools allow activities such as information or taster sessions to take place prior to Key Stage 4 option choices is a potential barrier to encouraging wider choices. The views of staff – and particularly those with a role in providing advice to young people – can also be a barrier. While there was some evidence of more success in engaging with schools, partnerships reported little evidence of changed staff attitudes, which in many cases remain unfavourable to vocational options.

Parental stereotypes. Parents too are crucial influences on young people’s decisions. While partnerships felt they had improved their communications with parents, they were still concerned that progress was slow. Parental influence was a particular concern for partnerships seeking to increase numbers of pupils from ethnic minority groups. Their concerns largely centred on whether parents would support entry to vocational education, rather than academic routes leading to university. There are particular difficulties in encouraging the participation of young ethnic minority women on the YA.

Funding. The lack of funding for activities to encourage wider choices was felt to be an obstacle. Support from national organisations in this regard was felt to be lacking, although this is not specifically restricted to the Young Apprenticeship. Where funding is available, this is usually for one-off projects rather than longer-term initiatives. There were fears that reduced funding for the YA in the longer term might limit future activities.

A number of strategies to encourage wider choices were reported, including the provision of tasters, industry days and careers events. The use of employer role models in these events was seen as particularly important. Other strategies included maximising opportunities to celebrate success through press coverage. Good practice more generally included an annual audit and update of learning resources to ensure these reflected the YA community, use of nationally-available resources to promote gender and race inclusion, and providing opportunities to discuss cultural and religious beliefs.

Many examples of good and innovative equality and diversity practices were found during the case study visits and these are highlighted in vignettes throughout the report. In addition, these vignettes have been produced as a stand-alone document to maximise accessibility and impact of the good practice findings. This document is available within the appendices to this report and is also available as a download from the LSC Apprenticeship website.

Using the critical success factors as a framework for equality and diversity

The second round of the research clearly demonstrated the link between good equalities practice and good practice more generally. While equality and diversity practices cannot be separated from the concepts identified as Critical Success Factors (CSFs) by the Department and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), it is also the case that practices introduced because of attention to equality and diversity issues typically result in an improved learning experience for all learners.

The case study areas had made some significant progress towards improving the YA delivery process to ensure that all pupils, including those who are atypical, have the best experience possible. The best-example partnerships were not complacent, instead assessing all aspects of their delivery to enable them to change their practice where necessary. Linking equal opportunities and diversity to the CSFs, and making sure they are central to all quality-improvement activities, is the simplest way to ensure success.

Embedding tasters in Young Apprenticeship recruitment models

Tasters provide an active form of IAG. They allow young people to experiment within a subject and to understand the vocational learning mode, which most have not experienced previously. The partnerships visited during the first phase of the work had successfully challenged occupational and sector stereotypes using taster events. In this strand of the research, partnerships who were new to the idea of taster events (or who wished to gain information on how they could extend their provision) were encouraged to explore equality and diversity issues in tasters and consider how they might design and run new or different taster events. A toolkit was subsequently designed for use by partnerships in developing and delivering tasters. This is included in the appendices to this report and is being disseminated in conjunction with a set of case study vignettes through the LSC’s Apprenticeship online repository.

Developing Young Apprenticeship information with Sector Skills Councils

The earlier report recommended the provision of more detailed information about the industrial sectors offering the YAs, and the careers and opportunities within them. The third element of the work therefore sought to address this issue in partnership with the relevant SSCs. Information was identified in meetings with four SSCs offering three YAs (CITB Construction Skills; Automotive Skills; Skills for Care; and Skills for Health), including the sorts of activities and skills involved in the various different occupational areas, the sorts of career options available and the likely pay that an entrant might expect. The information gained from the discussions with the SSCs was then incorporated into a brochure template that had been designed by IES. Each of the three brochures was then illustrated with images showing a diverse, but still realistic, range of views of the sector, apprentices and other workers.

The three brochures produced using the IES template and the information and images obtained were distributed to all Partnerships offering YAs in construction, automotive and health and social care in cohort 4. The template and a toolkit to help other SSCs identify appropriate information to develop brochures for their own sectors are available through the LSC Apprenticeship repository.

The work also revealed that SSCs do not necessarily have appropriate images or other resources available to them, and so may require support in sourcing such materials. For this project, the DfES, LSC and the Equal Opportunities Commission supplied images, as well as the partner SSCs and their YA partnerships.

Next steps for YAEOs

A key recommendation is that the commitment to sharing good practice is sustained. While evaluation of the programme will devolve to the national inspection and monitoring bodies, there would still be benefits to encouraging partnerships to share their delivery challenges and solutions.

This aim is partly met through the forums provided by the SSCs for each of the subjects. Ensuring that equality and diversity are kept as an ongoing agenda point for meetings will keep this as a high priority. There may also be opportunities to establish networks that operate across subjects and allow for good practice to be transferred across sectors. One possible approach is for regional LSCs to host or facilitate such forums; alternatively, in light of the increasing use of electronic resources within YA delivery partnerships a virtual forum might also provide a way forward. Collaboration at regional and local levels may also help support partnerships to meet the requirements arising from the new national diploma entitlement and other vocational changes expected to be in place by 2013.

As noted by the Department within the cohort 4 documentation, many of the critical success factors are relevant to all 14-16 provision, not just the YAs. As suggested above, the CSFs provide the framework through which equality can be addressed, and, since quality and equality go hand in hand, we strongly recommend that partnerships seek explicitly to address the CSFs in their delivery. Through doing so, and through the sharing of good practice, expertise will be gained that can transfer to the wider 14-16 vocational education agenda.

• Building on Young Apprenticeships: downloads

Building on Young Apprenticeships: Equal Opportunities, Newton B, Miller L, Page R, Tuohy S. Report 444, Institute for Employment Studies, 2007.
ISBN: 978-1-85184-389-3. £35.00

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