Making the transition
How will vocational learners fit into a higher education system facing funding constraints and increased pressure to improve graduate employment? A study of the experiences of vocational learners making the transition from Level 3 to degree-level shows that universities have a key role in supporting successful vocational learner progression and career development, writes WAYNE CLARK
grapples with the government’s overhaul of university funding. Opportunities for progression to university for those studying outside of A-levels are particularly uncertain in the emerging environment. The withdrawal of existing infrastructure,
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such as the abolition of Aim Higher and the removal of the cap on tuition fees, are likely to be particularly significant. The universities minister, David Willetts, has called for universities to take increased responsibility for widening participation and attracting learners from under-represented and disadvantaged groups, although it is unclear exactly how universities will do this. Universities are also likely to face increased competition from new educational providers, including private institutions and further education colleges delivering more degrees. Increased pressure on higher education is also evident in the much-discussed need to improve graduate skills and employability to levels which allow the UK to compete in a global economic marketplace. Graduate unemployment, in particular, has received a great deal of often inaccurate or confusing media coverage during 2010. Will lifelong learning lose out in the emerg-
ing higher education system? A potential future role for universities in supporting lifelong learning has been raised, but not necessarily clarified, by the recent announcement by skills minister John Hayes of the launch of a new ‘all ages’ careers service for England in 2012. The potential for careers guidance to support lifelong learning is on the national agenda but the question of exactly where higher education will fit in to an increasingly complex guidance and education marketplace remains unclear. At the University of Westminster’s Career Development Centre we are engaged in
20 ADULTS LEARNING JANUARY 2011
he role of universities in contributing to lifelong learning is likely to undergo significant change in the next few years as the higher education sector
providing careers information, advice and guidance to a wide range of students from a variety of educational backgrounds, includ- ing A-levels, Access to HE, HNC, HND and other qualifications. The day-to-day experiences of providing support to a diverse range of students in a rapidly changing higher education environment has regularly prompted us to ask fundamental questions about the learner experience, for which there are often only limited answers.
Learning experiences As careers practitioners, we felt that we needed to know more about the learning experiences and career aspirations of students making the journey from further to higher education via vocational routes. Are there significant differences in the learning experiences of the various qualification entry routes? How do non A-level entrants develop career plans and make career-related decisions? What happens when they progress beyond university into the graduate labour market? FE to HE Transitions, a research project examining the experiences and aspirations of vocational learners making the transition from Level 3 to degree-level study and into the graduate labour market, is an attempt to explore how vocational learners manage these educational and work transitions. Recent statistical data on vocational leaner
progression into higher education provides limited answers to some of our questions. A-levels continue to dominate as the main route of entry into higher education for undergraduate courses. The latest data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency show 78.7 per cent of entrants to full-time first undergraduate degrees had A-levels as their highest qualification, whereas only 3.7 per cent were from Access to HE courses and 3.7 per cent were from ‘other entry qualifications’ (excluding GCSEs). In 2008- 9, according to statistics from the Quality Assurance Agency, just 1.8 per cent of
entrants to all undergraduate programmes in higher education came via the Access to HE qualification route. Despite invaluable work in widening part-
icipation over the past decade, there is still a widely recognised gap in attitudes to, and participation in, higher education by social class. According to the Department for Education, there is a consistent gap of 20 percentage points or more between the higher and lower socio-economic groups in the proportions of children in years 9, 10 and 11 intending to apply to university. Similarly, students who have parents from higher professional backgrounds are most likely to be studying for a degree, whilst those from ‘routine’ backgrounds are most likely to be studying for a Diploma in HE or other HE qualifications. Of course, these trends reflect much wider learning divides in society, as NIACE’s annual surveys of adult participation in learning show. These statistics on vocational learner
progression are undoubtedly indicative of the ways in which wider social inequalities are still evident in educational participation at Level 4 and above. However, our recurr- ing questions about the learner experience required improved understandings of the ‘real life’ experiences of learners as they progress across different levels of education and then into the labour market. Fundamental to the project has been an attempt to capture the personal stories of learners, and, in doing so, to establish a set of emblematic examples of successful learner progression into, and out of, higher education. We also recognised the need to promote vocational learner success stories by setting up an online resource of case studies. Interviews were carried out with non A-level students from a further education college in London considering applying to university (including Access to HE, BTEC and HNC qualifications). Staff responsible for delivering careers guidance at the same college were also interviewed, and, finally,
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