learning insights
A working life
The e.learning age/City & Guilds Kineo Learning Insights report ‘Learning at the Speed of Need’ looks at the trend of developing people through apprenticeships and traineeships
Victoria Williams
of these young people entering the jobs market are far from prepared for working life. This is a point recognised by employers, who are being seen to take the matter into their own hands to develop these specific skills. Businesses are achieving this through the use of their own skill programmes, traditional apprenticeship schemes and encouraging the acquisition of formal qualifications. A number of employability programmes have emerged to develop qualities such as confidence and workplace etiquette that young employees are seen to lack – and which the education system is failing to provide – which employers interviewed valued as crucial core skills. These initiatives, such as Barclays LifeSkills programme – which promises to help young people to ‘discover and grow their people skills’ – are aimed at those with gaps in their skills, preventing them from being ‘work ready’. Such initiatives should help to improve the quality of the labour market. Despite the view of some that apprenticeships may be outdated or too costly, employers interviewed for the report saw it as a compelling way of cultivating these skills within the work environment. Apprenticeships are seen as a low cost way of gaining good employees, developing the aptitude needed without hiring greater skill at a greater cost, while also gaining loyalty and a name for providing a nurturing and supportive environment for new
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lthough it is widely recognised that young people are often highly qualified, Learning At The Speed of Need highlights the issue that most
employees. However, if this high support network is seen as too costly to some, this can be reduced by increasing the e-learning basis of the scheme – providing e-learning content, platforms and the ability for new employees to build and develop ePortfolios. Apprenticeships are also seen as a popular
alternative to university or other qualifications for school-leavers. To coincide with the publication of A-level results in August 2014 , a report published by QA Apprenticeships states that the demand for apprenticeships in IT increased by 108% in the approach to the release of A level results at the end of August. This significant rise shows the desire of employees as well as employers to develop practical work skills in a work environment, as well as the growing importance of technology careers. The report does also recognise, however, that the high direct cost of these programmes must be lifted from the employers to make it a more viable and attractive way of filling the skills gaps. The value of formal qualifications, a more traditional development of skills, is seen to vary within sectors. Certain professions, such as caring professions, highly value indicators of competence; often this means organisations develop their own qualifications which are specific to their needs, ensuring the standards they have set can be met by their employees. In the same way, the desire for qualifications in regulated industries, driven by the need for a licence to practice, encourages the development of specialised areas of competence. The report found that – perhaps surprisingly given the
The demand for apprenticeships in IT increased by 108% in the approach to the release of A level results at the end of August. This significant rise shows the desire of employees as well as employers to develop practical work skills in a work environment
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number of new and more modern ways of gaining and assessing skills – these kinds of accredited models and endorsements from respected bodies are of high value. Employers interviewed commented that: “Our staff are highly motivated by this”; as well as instilling motivation, qualifications are also seen to provide assurance that a high level of standards has been reached, both for those within and outside the organisation.
Despite this support, some organisations highlighted that, unlike apprenticeship schemes, qualifications do not necessarily encourage loyalty to a specific company. Employers interviewed in the report argued these qualifications create the risk of people advancing to new roles outside the organisation, using the qualifications that the organisation helped them to achieve. Others took a different angle; in the current labour market the more important issue is that employees could fail to gain the correct qualifications and yet continue to work at the organisation. Qualifications are less outdated than they may sound thanks to learning technology, which is seen to play an important role in improving systems and accessibility for young people, as it does in apprenticeships too. Learning technology is increasingly important in providing more immediate and examinable models – such as the Mozilla open badge project which provides an automated certification of skills. The acquisition of certain crucial skills for employability, which are not developed through traditional education systems, are becoming easier to gain through the development of systems and schemes by companies using learning technology.
n See
www.elearningage.co.uk to download the report. And look out for the 2014 report coming soon.
Victoria Williams is about to start the second year of a psychology degree at Bristol University
e.learning age september 2014
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