Apprenticeship in Europe: 'Fading' or Flourishing?

This paper sets out the extent and defining characteristics of apprenticeship in Europe. Apprenticeship is then situated within the wider context of European provision for education and training of 16-19 year olds and a simple typology is proposed and explained. The German-speaking dual system countries are characterised as high employer commitment countries with minimal integration of apprenticeship into full-time 16-19 provision and weak links with tertiary education. The UK, the Netherlands and France are characterised as having relatively low levels of employer commitment but greater integration of apprenticeship into full-time provision and stronger links between apprenticeship and tertiary level provision. Recent evidence on the extent to which both apprenticeship models improve employment probabilities is reviewed and pressures on the two apprenticeship models resulting from increasingly competitive global markets and consequent changing skill needs are examined. A final section discusses whether apprenticeship in Europe can adapt to and survive these pressures.apprenticeship, dual system, school to work transition

Recent Trends in Engineering and Construction Skill Formation - UK and Germany Compared

Accurate accounting for annual flows of vocational qualifications by sector of economic activity has been greatly impeded by the data collection methods put in place since the setting up of the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ) in 1986. Using unpublished data from a variety of sources, the paper concludes that, allowing for differences in the size engineering and construction sectors in the two countries, Britain continues to lag well behind Germany in the production of intermediate level engineering skills and in craft qualifications in the building trades. Assessments of the relative quality of the NVQ Level 2 in Construction and the German construction apprenticeship show the standard of practical competence acquired to be similar in both countries. The standard of the German tests of technical knowledge and of mathematics was judged to be well above the building trade craft level in Britain. Unlike their German counterparts, British construction and engineering trainees awarded NVQ 2 and NVQ 3 qualifications are no longer obliged to pass externally set and marked tests in occupationally-related technical skill and knowledge mathematics. It appears that Britain is still some way from closing the skills gap with Germany in engineering and in the building trades despite sacrificing rigour in assessment and the breadth and technical knowledge base of traditional skills training programmes and concentrating instead on work-related practical competences.

Apprenticeship policy in England: increasing skills versus boosting young people’s job prospects.

Successive British governments have committed substantial public resources to apprentice training, but far too few young people benefit and not enough high value skills have been developed. That is the central conclusion of a new report published by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP). The report’s author, Dr Hilary Steedman, who has nearly 30 years of research experience in this field, calls for a change in the country’s apprenticeship model.

In brief: The state of apprenticeships

Hilary Steedman finds that the provision of apprenticeships in the UK lags behind other countrieseducation, apprenticeships

Measuring the Quality of Educational Outputs: A Note

This paper contrasts the approach to the measurement of stocks of education that is adopted by growth economists on the one hand and governments wishing to improve economic performance through education on the other. It it pointed out progress to date in demonstrating the link between human capital investment and economic growth for a range of countries world-wide has been disappointing. It is suggested that more precise measurement methods in compiling the datasets used by growth economists might contribute to research in this area. In the same way, the needs of governments monitoring the performance of their own country against those of others require a reformulated approach. To meet the needs of the latter group, data educational qualifications will need to be collected in a more consistent manner in the difference countries and adjustments made to take into account different types of certification. Inconsistancies in the current methods probably lead to a group of countries in which the real outputs are underrstated. A more rigorous and tightly-defined taxonomy should be developed in succession to the ISCED to from the framework for qualitative comparison. Decisions about the allocation of qualifications to a revised framework should be based on agreed measures of quality. Detailed information and qualitative data on inputs to qualifications need to be assembled, scrutined and analysed to permit the construction of such measures.

Benchmarking Apprenticeship: UK and Continental Europe Compared

This paper reviews the main characteristics of the provision, organization and financing of appprenticeship in a number of leading European countries - Austria, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands. These are compared to current practice in Britain as exemplified by Modern Apprenticeship. The main areas examined are the statutory framework and standards; employment prospects; achieving the employer-apprentice match; prior school qualifications of apprentices and motivation to enter apprenticeship; the management and financing of apprenticeship. The paper concludes that apprenticeship in Britain, judged as a programme, falls short of the standards of that provided elsewhere in Europe on every important measure of good practice.

Young People Without Qualifications: How 'Headline Numbers' Shape Policy and Aspiration

England's most widely used indicator of young people's education and labour market status is the NEET category - 'not in education, employment or training'. Making comparisons with how France and Germany measure school leavers' progression and achievement, Hilary Steedman argues that NEET is no longer good enough.Apprenticeships, education, policy making, youth unemployment

GCSE grades and GNVQ outcomes: results of a pilot study

This paper reports an investigation into the importance of basic skills in literacy and numeracy in the promotion of success on intermediate vocational courses at age 16+. Two measures of attainment in literacy and numeracy are examined; GCSE passes in English and Mathematics analysed by grade awarded and the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit (ALBSU) tests in communication and numeracy. The study examines the relationship between prior attainment as attested by GCSE grades and ALBSU scores and course outcome. The extent to which a consistent relationship is found between GCSE grades and ALBSU scores is also examined. The study uses a random sample of 142 students drawn from a population of all first year 16/7 year old students who enrolled at a London Further Education college in 1994. A sub-sample of students on GNVQ Intermediate and NVQ level 2 courses is examined in greater depth. Data on course outcomes was collected at three points in time, 1995, one year after enrolment and on two occasions in 1996. It was therefore possible to chart the progress of students in the sample who took more than one year to complete an Intermediate (G)NVQ. Initial analysis found that at the GCSE middle grade range (Grades C,D,E,F) there was a wide range of literacy and numeracy outcomes as measured by the ALBSU literacy and numeracy tests. GCSE Maths and English passes at these grades do not appear to guarantee threshold attainment levels in basic numeracy and literacy. No significant relationship is found between prior attainment as measured by GCSE Maths and English grades and course outcomes. The ALBSU test scores proved to be more helpful in predicting student outcomes on the Intermediate GNVQ but were still fairly weak predictors. The high proportion of leaves from the sample, probably influenced by ''pull'' factors from the labour market, gives cause for concern. There is no evidence to indicate that weaker students leave Intermediate GNVQ courses early, if anything, the reverse is true. A significant proportion of Intermediate GNVQ courses early, if anything, the reverse is true. A significant proportion of Intermediate GNVQ students gained their awards after the prescribed one year study period. Commitment and motivation to succeed appear to be as - if not more - important than academic qualifications for success on Intermediate GNVQ. The study offers evidence that, for those motivated to persist with the studies, GNVQ can offer a valuable ''bridge'' to further and higher education opportunities to students who have performed poorly on ''academic'' GCSEs

Disengagement 14-16: Context and Evidence

This paper presents an overview of our current state of knowledge regarding poor motivation of 14-16 year oldschool pupils in the UK. A number of experts in the field from a variety of disciplines presented papers on thistopic to a series of seminars held at the London School of Economics between 2002 and 2003. These papers,summarised here, present evidence from a historical, comparative, and social science perspectives and report theresults of evaluation of government intervention programmes to improve motivation. International comparisons(PISA) show UK disengagement below the OECD average but the UK has the strongest link between socioeconomicdisadvantage and disengagement. We identify a very small 'out of touch' group who have practicallylost touch with school and a larger group - around one fifth of the cohort - who could be characterised as'disaffected but in touch'. Finally, we identify a further group - perhaps 15 per cent of the cohort who gainbetween 1 and 4 GCSE passes at Grades A*-C but who have not reached full potential as a result of loss ofinterest in learning. The 'out of touch' group often requires intensive one-on-one mentoring outside the schoolcontext. Evaluation of government intervention programmes has not so far shown an obvious way forward forthe 'disaffected but in touch' group, targeted principally by workplace learning measures. For the '1-4 Grade C'group, there may be something of a magic bullet - namely better vocational options.disengagement, motivation, under-achievement