THE DIPLOMAS, MORE ON EDUCATION AND BUSINESS

Diplomas go to work 

One of the most exciting elements of the Diploma curriculum is the access it will provide for young people to high-quality work experience.  However, this new approach poses a number of significant challenges for all those involved in Diplomas.

To help provide guidance and inspiration for all those now delivering Diplomas – and those who are planning to start offering them in 2009 – Education Watch has spoken to Education for Enterprise in Kent, which is working closely with Consortia in Kent and other areas in the South East to co-ordinate structured work placements for Diploma students in the area.  Focusing initially on the Creative & Media Diploma, Education for Enterprise will soon also be supporting Consortia offering several other Diploma lines.

Relieving the pressure

A valuable resource for Consortia grappling with the challenges of delivering Diplomas for the first time, organisations like Education for Enterprise can provide comprehensive support and useful links between Consortia and business.  Thanks to its direct access to local businesses, it can free up teachers’ time to focus on delivering the breadth of the new curriculum in the classroom, while Education for Enterprise looks after the potentially time-consuming task of finding relevant businesses to work with. 

Roger House, Managing Director of Education for Enterprise CIC, has more than 30 years’ business experience.  Roger says, “The prospect of approaching employers about work experience can be intimidating for some teachers, and co-ordinating the approach can be very time-consuming – just as they are familiarising themselves with the broad content of the new Diploma curriculum.  Many teachers are looking for help to recognise which businesses have the right qualities to work with Consortia.  They also want advice about how to use the business’ time effectively to make sure the partnerships are sustainable.”

But help is on hand.  As Regional Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Kent and Policy Chairman for South East England, Roger has a deep understanding of employers’ needs and what’s needed to encourage them to engage with Consortia in their area.

Adding value for all

With around 90% of UK businesses comprising Micro or Small Enterprises (MSEs), this army of entrepreneurs can offer young people a vital insight into commerce.  

“The vast majority of UK enterprise is made up of small businesses rather than large multinational organisations, and it’s important that we engage effectively with the small business community. This requires improved communication from schools and an understanding of the costs involved for the businesses that engage with Diplomas,” says Roger. 

“We hope that the Diploma curriculum will give young people with a clearer understanding of a typical workplace in action,” he continues.  “Well-structured work placements will help young people start building a strong work ethic that prepares them for their future careers – and that is good news for business.”

Roger believes the key challenges of the work placement elements of the Diploma curriculum lie in making the interaction between business and young people a valuable and worthwhile experience for all parties.  He comments:

“Those young people with a positive attitude to their work placements, who are keen to make a difference in the workplaces they visit, will clearly benefit the most from this element of the Diploma.  But many young people who haven’t visited businesses previously will feel unsure about how they can add value during their work placements.”

To help prepare young people for work experience, organisations like Education for Enterprise host workshops in schools.  “We aim to help young people start thinking about how to make the most of work experience placements before they arrive on their first day,” comments Roger.  “They really appreciate being given practical tips on how they can add value to the organisations they visit, so they can make the most of their experience.”

The measure of success

Roger believes that Diplomas have the potential to change the way employers recruit in future, and create parity on the perception of the value of academic and vocational qualifications.  However, he adds:

“These are exciting times, but the introduction of Diplomas won’t automatically change perceptions or alter employers’ approach to recruitment.  To make this happen, we need to work together to communicate at every opportunity the value of Diplomas and work experience placements to business.  The sign of success will be employers signing up to participate year after year – this will show their clear recognition of the opportunities that the work placements offer, both for young people, and for UK plc. We hope to see other benefits too, such as employers taking on more Apprentices.”

For more information visit www.smallbusinessambassadors.co.uk or email info@smallbusinessambassadors.co.uk

This entry was posted on 14/12/2008 at 12:46 am and is filed under Uncategorised. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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