ENGAGING BUSINESS WITH EDUCATION

The pressures coming from government in its strive to modernise and redefine the way our young people are taught may be exciting and vital routes to improving achievement, but has the process really been thought through as regards the demands these new Diplomas put on business? 

Diplomas in my opinion offer a very interesting route to learning. For the first time there is a definite link between the academic and the vocational teaching elements, apart from the Apprenticeship route. Business has been crying out for better literacy, better numeracy and better soft skills – attitude, timekeeping and communications skills. With the Diplomas we have a process that sets out to link business with school and college as an integral part of the process. Where it also leads to is direct work experience for students which have been proven to be a vital element in the learning process, providing a “glue” to knowledge retention and as an inspiration to future career choice. 

In attending the third annual conference on Diplomas in September, I was sadly and inevitably struck by the lack of businesses in attendance. Hardly surprising, business does not yet know what is going to hit it in terms of demands from the teaching establishments. 

The Diplomas set out to provide upwards of 100 guided learning hours per student, some as much or more than 160 hours. Each student will be asked to focus on the business sector that the Diploma is set in, for example Creative and Media, together with the functional skills – English, Maths and ICT. Whereas development has been started with the Sector Skills Councils, in my experience little is known of them or seen of them in the day to day life. 

As small business people, we are working closely with schools building up a business engagement process appropriate to the needs of both educators and employers, but driven by employers. As most of the economy is made up of Micro or small businesses, this army of entrepreneurs could offer young people a dynamic insight into enterprise and commerce. It is important that we engage with them effectively and this requires much improved communication from not just the Education Authority but the schools and education practitioners within them. The key challenge of the work placement elements of the Diploma lie in making the interaction between business and young people rich in content for students and easily managed and absorbed into the working day for business. 

These are interesting times, but the introduction of Diplomas won’t automatically change perceptions or alter employers’ approach to recruitment.  We need to work together to communicate at every opportunity the value of Diplomas, Apprenticeship schemes and work experience placements to business.  The sign of success will be employers signing up to participate year after year. 

We are playing our part through our Community Interest Company, Education for