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Edge hosted four seminars as part of a full programme of events at the 2015 Skills Show.

We’d like to start by thanking the four leading figures from the worlds of business, journalism, furthereducation and skills who kindly agreed to set the scene for us and guide our discussions. They are:

● , Senior Specialist in Technical Skills Development at Toyota Motor Manufacturing(UK) Ltd

● , Managing Director of Lsect, publishers of FE Week and Schools Week

● , Principal and Chief Executive of North Warwickshire and Hinckley College andSouth Leicestershire College

● , former Chief Executive of the National Apprenticeship Service

This report covers the main points of discussion as fully as possible. As we adopted “Chatham House”rules, comments aren’t attributed to individuals, with the sole exception of the opening speakers.

The four seminar topics were:

●●●●

Edge at the Skills Show, 2015:

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Connecting employers with thecurriculumJohn Byrne started by describing the two pillarsof "the Toyota way", continuous improvementand respect for people. People working forToyota make every effort to understand eachother and to work and develop together,stimulating both personal and professionalgrowth.

John said the Trailblazer groups developingapprenticeship standards for the automotive andaeronautical industries appreciated thatemployees need more than just technical skills -personal qualities matter, too. This is important ifmanufacturing is to become an aspirationalcareer choice, as it is inGermany.

About ten years ago,Toyota was struggling torecruit people of therequired calibre andexperience, so thecompany decided todevelop its ownapprenticeshipprogramme. It was sosuccessful that low staffturnover eventually ledto a declining need fornew apprentices.Rather than slim downthe apprenticeshipcentre, the programmewas opened tobusinesses in Toyota'ssupply chain -especially small andmedium-sizedcompanies that lackedthe means to run theirown in-house apprenticeship schemes. In thefirst year, the centre recruited 21 apprentices inthis way; today, almost 100 apprentices are onthe programme, from 21 different companiesacross the East Midlands.

The next challenge was ensuring that youngpeople would be ready for apprenticeshipswhen they left school. Toyota got involved inSTEM showcase events in primary and secondaryschools and colleges. A key message was thatapprenticeships can provide a fast track toengineering careers and higher education,

while gaining valuable workplace experience.The company arranges for engineers to visitschools and colleges, hosts visits to the Toyotacomplex, and supports "have a go" opportunitiesso that young people can try their hand at arange of skills. Toyota is not unique in providingthese opportunities: at Nissan in the North East,the programme has become so popular thatschools even arrange visits during the summerholidays.

Toyota's connection with UTCs began with theJCB Academy, which asked for help to devisereal-world technical challenges linked to thecurriculum and qualifications. The challengesare co-designed and co-delivered. In John'sview, it is especially important for people from

businesses to be seenand heard in theclassroom or workshop,to make challengesfully authentic. Oneaspect is health andsafety: Toyota requiresall staff to abide by strictrules, and that needs tostart in the classroom.

The next step was tosupport plans for DerbyManufacturing UTC,which opened inSeptember 2015.Alongside majorbusinesses such asToyota and Rolls Royce,Derby has attractedgrowing support fromsmaller businesses.Even if they can onlyoffer one hour in aneight-week period, theycan add something tothe curriculum: in

return, they get to meet potential employees ofthe future.

John was asked whether Toyota recruits adultsaged 25+ onto apprenticeship programmes. Heconfirmed that they have previously deliveredan in-house programme, to allow Toyotaproduction employees to train for amaintenance role if they showed the correctpotential. Programmes for this age groupwere shorter than for young people, who need akind of "year zero" to build up experience of the

● Any school requesting help must be very clearabout what they need, as businesses don'thave spare capacity: any help has to bescheduled in advance.

● Awarding organisations can (and do) helpmap challenges/projects to the curriculumand qualifications; it helps them appreciatewhat employers are looking for. That said, theyare in the midst of major reforms, so the timethey can commit to curriculum mapping willbe limited in the immediate future.

● Young people need to leave school with agrasp of the vocabulary and grammar ofmaths. Employer links can help bringmathematical concepts and techniques to lifeby showing how they are used in a meaningfulcontext.

● The Industrial Cadets programme provides aflexible framework for all sizes of employers torun accredited workplace experiences foryoung people aged 11-19.

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workplace. However, some of the learning iscommon to all age groups, including "OutwardBound" activities, where mixed age groups workparticularly well.

There was some discussion of whether theToyota approach could work in other sectors.The general view was that the model istransferable, provided schools are able andwilling to develop long-term relationships.Involving small and micro-businesses in thecurriculum can be time-consuming, given theneed to juggle voluntary work with businessdeadlines. On the other hand, it helps raise theirprofile with young people and parents (eg atcareers fairs), showcasing what they do and thecareers they offer. In larger organisations, thechallenge is to embed education links across thewhole of the organisation - the risk is that it is

seen as a "bolt-on" activity, left to two or threecommitted individuals. John agreed with this,adding that senior staff have to realise that ittakes time to build solid and effectiverelationships with schools and colleges: after fiveyears, Toyota is only now starting to recruitstudents directly from the JCB Academy.

Looking in the opposite direction, it was felt thattoo many schools see engagement withemployers as an extra-curricular activity, takingthe view that core curriculum time has to beentirely devoted to meeting the qualificationaims. They need to be persuaded that workingwith employers to deliver the curriculum willhelp meet those aims, not distract from them.Schools also need a better appreciation ofcareer paths, including apprenticeships and

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other vocational alternatives to direct entry touniversity.

Apprenticeship reforms: whatdo you think of the show so far?Setting the scene, David Way listed some of thereforms and wider issues affecting apprenticeshipdesign and delivery, including -

● 3 million apprenticeship starts in the currentParliament

● The apprenticeship levy

● Changes in fundingmechanisms

● Trailblazer standards

● Quality

● Employer ownership

● Simplicity versus complexity

The first topic was the possibleimpact of the apprenticeshiplevy. Some thought it would driveup standards …

… volumes:

… and employer ownership:

Others agreed that employers could determinethe quality of apprenticeship training, but that itmight not all be in one direction:

There was a concern that employers faced with alarge levy bill might cut other forms of training thatare currently funded in-house:

Of course, only a small minority of employers willpay the levy. Many people felt the challengesfacing small firms had been under-estimated:

That led to a wider discussion of Trailblazers.

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More positively:

What about the 3 million target? Will there be anincrease in apprenticeships for 16-19 year olds?

Would pre-apprenticeship programmes help?

An issue about raising the participation age cameup twice:

That said …

One potential obstacle to meeting the target wasthe low rate of pay for apprentices:

Opinion was divided about a single, centralapprentice vacancy system:

Finally, there was a fear that the new, employer-led system wouldn't meet the needs of learnerswith additional support needs:

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How do we get journalistsinterested in skills?Shane Mann said he had been covering skillsstories for many years. It was immenselydisappointing that when London hosted World Skillsin 2011, there was virtually no coverage in thenational media. Here was the largest skills event inthe world, taking place on the eve of the LondonOlympics, yet journalists preferred to report on a103-year-old tortoise instead!

Fast forward to 2015, and the chair of Find a Future- organisers of the Skills Show - was interviewed bythe BBC Breakfast business correspondent, StephMcGovern, live from the NEC. The same morning,twenty journalists were queuing to register for theSkills Show press centre. Later in the day, TheoPaphitis would be hosting lunch for a whole groupof journalists. The Telegraph - official mediapartners for the Skills Show - had sent a wholeteam of people.

In short, the skills sector is buildinga better narrative and attractingsignificantly more interest fromjournalists.

The key is offering interestingstories. It's not enough to talk aboutyoung people attending a hugecareers event: there has to be anangle that captures journalists'attention. For example, the skillsgap is a big issue for employers:encouraging young people tochoose vocational routes is part ofthe answer.

Just as important is the humaninterest dimension: for example,Matt Beasley left school with weak GCSE results,went to college to improve them, discovered atalent for landscape gardening went on to win asilver medal at World Skills in Sao Paulo. He has hisown business, counts the Chief Executive of Tescoas a client, and drives a Range Rover. That's acompelling story.

The combination of a strong business angle andmultiple human interest stories led StephMcGovern to travel to Brazil for the 2015 WorldSkills finals, despite a lack of interest from theBreakfast Show production team. However, whenthey saw the footage Steph sent back, there was asea change: finally, they "got it", because herreports had a real wow factor.

Shane Mann’s tips on pitchingto journalistsDon't be intimidated: journalists are human!

Aim to develop a lasting relationship: journalists willcome to rely on you for good stories.

Identify the right reporter at your local paper. Itcould be the education or business correspondent,or even someone who writes on lifestyle issues.Pick up the phone, briefly introduce yourself andextend an invitation to meet. It could be just a cupof coffee or (if you're from a college) a VIP tour andlunch in the training restaurant.

When you have a story, pitch it at the right time. Fordailies, the best time is usually first thing in themorning or last thing in the afternoon. Forweeklies, it's the day after the paper has come out.Journalists will be much more receptive then thanwhen they are putting the finishing touches to the

next edition.

Journalists get dozens of pressreleases every day. Give your pressrelease or email a short, clearheading and get straight to thepoint in the first couple ofparagraphs. Keep it short: longstories risk being ignored. If it's agood story and journalists wantmore, they will contact you.

Feel free to nudge journalists abouta great story if they don't get backto you quickly. It might have got lostin their inbox.

As a general rule, don't telljournalists about events after

they've happened: they won't beinterested.

If you think one of your students has a good chanceof winning a medal at next year's Skills Show, tip offjournalists in advance and update them as soon asyou hear good news - even if it's a Sunday.

Good pictures help. Use a good quality camera orbetter still, employ a professional photographer.Happy faces work best - photos of the Queen'sback definitely won’t be used!

Tweet a lot. Journalists may pick up on storiesyou've tweeted about, especially on a quiet newsday. They won't be interested in boring statistics,but will appreciate stories about people. To quoteone recent example, a former college studentgetting a part in Star Wars is a big story!

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Should we reinventpolytechnics?Setting the scene, Marion Plant pointed out that57% of young people do not enrol on any form ofhigher education before the age of 30. Of thosewho do, most embark on full-time, three-yeardegrees programmes. There has been a sharp fallin part-time higher education and in programmesleading to HNCs, HNDs and Foundation Degrees,accentuating the gap between Level 2/3 technicaland vocational qualifications and full degrees.

These trends have contributed to a mismatch in thelabour market. According to the Office for NationalStatistics, 44% of working graduateswho completed their studies withinthe last five years are in non-graduate jobs.

Turning briefly to current reforms,Marion acknowledged that theTech Bacc, Higher and DegreeApprenticeships, National Collegesand Institutes of Technology couldall provide partial solutions to theskills mismatch. More broadly,further education colleges are wellplaced to fill the "polytechnic gap"by providing fully-articulatedprogrammes from Level 3upwards, linking theory withpractical and hands-on learning.Many colleges still offer HNC/HND(and equivalent) programmes,which have credibility in the eyes ofemployers. Some also have degree-awarding powers and more are set to follow.

In discussion, there was clear agreement about theneed for high-quality applied and practical routesto high level skills. However, we're not starting froma blank sheet of paper. As Marion had pointed outin her introduction, colleges have a long trackrecord in this field. So do a lot of universities - asmuch as 50% of current HE courses could beregarded as technical or vocational in content, andsome retain the "sandwich year" in industry.

It's therefore a matter of strengthening what we'vealready got. This could include -

● More and/or better links between the classroomand the workplace, including more opportunitiesfor work placements for both students andteachers/lecturers

● Better simulation or replication of workingconditions within colleges and universities,including a greater emphasis on teamwork andproblem-solving

● Ensuring that learners can access higher levelskills within an easy distance of home - manycan't up sticks to go to a university or college farfrom home

● Developing new qualifications equivalent toHNCs and HNDs, bearing in mind that thosebrand names are owned by a single awardingorganisation

● Streamlining degree-awarding arrangements -for example, by reinventing the Council forNational Academic Awards, which accrediteddegrees awarded by polytechnics

It's not enough to improve and extend the offer:people have to be persuade to take it up once it's

available. A Levels are still seen byparents and employers as the goldstandard at 18, and full-time, three-year degrees are seen as theconventional route to success. Thealternatives appear morefragmented, are less well knownand are mistakenly seen as inferiorin content and prospects whencompared with mainstream HE.

The university route appearssimpler than it really is: there's asingle access point (UCAS) andeveryone gets a degree. It goeslargely unnoticed that degrees withsimilar names can vary greatly incontent and delivery acrossdifferent HEIs. Conversely, furthereducation and vocationalqualifications are repeatedly

described as incoherent and"bewildering".

Learning from HE, FE needs to become simpler toexplain and understand. As one person put it, "Startwith the question, 'who do you want to be?' andshow how FE helps you get there. Don't get boggeddown in qualification titles, levels and all the rest."The marketing messages need to be in a languagewhich young people, parents, employers andpoliticians find reassuring rather than complicated.Indeed, the government seems to agree - hencethe appointment of a panel, chaired by LordSainsbury, to create up to 20 specific newprofessional and technical routes, leading up toemployment or degree-level study, which thegovernment says "will be as easy to understand asacademic routes".

Not surprisingly, there was a call for improvedcareers information, advice and guidance. Schoolsdon't necessarily understand FE or apprenticeships- certainly not as well as they understanduniversities and degrees - which reinforces the

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importance of providing impartial IAG for youngpeople and parents.

Finally, what about reintroducing the name"polytechnic" to denote institutions providingpathways to high-level technical and professionalqualifications?

Opinions varied. Some in the room had attendedpolytechnics themselves and saw the advantages ofblending FE, HE and applied learning in a singleinstitution, especially where there were strong linksto local and national employers. A lot of these

connections were lost or diminished afterpolytechnics became universities. Others feltpolytechnics had always been seen as second-best- the place to go if you didn't get the grades youneeded for university. Reinventing them wouldreintroduce the idea of two-tier higher education,with universities inevitably seen as superior topolys. That said, the same is likely to be said aboutthe government's new generation of Institutes ofTechnology - is that name any better than"polytechnic"?

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