Memorandum submitted by the Federation
of Small Business
1. Introduction
1.1 The Federation of Small
Businesses (FSB) welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to
the Education and Skills Select Committee on behalf of its members.
The FSB is the UK's leading non-party political lobbying group
for small businesses existing to promote and protect the interests
of all who own and/or manage their own businesses. With over
185,000 members the FSB is the largest organisation representing
small and medium sized businesses in the UK.
1.2 The FSB broadly welcomes
the Government's Skills Strategy, with its emphasis on ensuring
employers have the right skills to support the success of their
business. Essential to developing 'employability for life', as
discussed in the white paper, is equipping all young people with
the key attributes essential for employment or further training.
1.3 The FSB supports the
promotion of 14 to 19 as a continuous phase of learning, but feels
that adequate provision and support must be incorporated into
the educational system for those who choose to leave full time
education at 16. The ongoing development of vocational qualifications
is welcomed; the education system must provide opportunities and
success for all young people, not just those that who choose the
academic route.
2. Employability
2.1 Employers consistently
complain that young people are leaving school ill equipped with
the appropriate lifelong skills essential for employment or further
learning. The FSB's 'Lifting the Barriers to Growth in UK Small
Businesses 2002' survey revealed that, of all the criteria used
in employee selection, attitude and character were selected as
very important by a majority of respondents.
2.2 Businesses want young
people who can adapt to working life quickly and who are willing
to learn. Small firms feel that independent learning and self-management
is vital, yet it is often missing within the current system.
All too often, pupils are 'spoon fed' and unable to teach themselves
- for example firms complain that some young people are unable
to complete basic tasks without help, such as following an instruction
manual.
2.3 Small firms do not always
expect to recruit young people who need no further training and
are prepared to invest time and money developing employees to
meet the businesses' needs. A period of adjustment for all new
employees is expected regardless of their ages, but smaller firms
do not have the luxury of several months relatively low output
that larger companies can tolerate. Small businesses want young
people to be economically productive in as short a time as possible.
Developing a breadth of skills will help ensure this for businesses,
while at the same time providing a strong foundation for employability
later in life for the individual.
3. Skills
3.1 The development of general
learning, skills and attributes is of paramount importance to
small firms. As stated above, firms place more importance on
character and attitude than qualifications. Small firms are aware
that qualifications do not necessarily equate to a competent workforce
and place far higher importance on the development of the skills,
knowledge and understanding necessary for employment.
3.2 It is essential that young people develop
key generic skills such as literacy, numeracy and communication.
In addition, attitude and 'soft skills' such as team working,
self-management and decision-making are of particular importance
to small firms when employing staff. Generic skills are a high
priority not only for small firms, but also for pupils, as they
provide the underlying basic skills and education needed for more
specialised learning.
3.3 The FSB strongly advocates the development
of these generic skills in the 14 -19 agenda, but argues that
they should be embedded in all learning. This would help to ensure
the relevance of key skills to all subject areas and prevent it
being avoided if established as a stand along programme. The
success of any generic skills development is heavily dependant
on the credibility the programme has within individual schools
and institutions. It has been reported that currently key skills
programmes are given very little consideration in schools due
to league table pressures, time restraints and inexperience of
teachers in developing these skills.
3.4 Young people are often not aware of the skills
they have developed and how these relate to, and can be transferred
to, the jobs / courses they apply for when leaving education.
In larger firms with a more formalised recruitment process, there
will be various opportunities for young people to demonstrate
the key skills they have developed (psychometric testing, team
exercises etc). Whereas, the recruitment process in small firms
is generally much less formal, often simply an interview with
the owner-manager. This places more emphasis on the self-promotional
skills of the individual. The more the young person is aware
of his or her own skills and abilities the easier this will be.
4. Vocational Qualifications
4.1 The FSB welcomes the greater choice of vocational
courses available for 14-19 year olds. Recognition that academic
learning is not suitable for all young people should be a step
towards reducing the break point at 16, when too many young people
still leave education with no qualifications.
4.2 Criticism of vocational courses has ranged
from inappropriate assessment, a shortage of suitably qualified
teachers and being too classroom based. The FSB believes that
although there are problems with vocational qualifications (many
are relatively new having only been introduced in the last few
years) improvement is possible and ongoing. Continuing developments
of structure and content should improve the programmes and their
corresponding take up. Consultation with employers to discover
what skills and attributes businesses actually need will be an
important part of this process.
4.3 The FSB welcomes moves to improve the parity
vocational qualifications have with more academic learning. The
perception that vocational qualifications are worth less than
academic qualifications has prevailed in the UK for too long.
This is often contrary to the situation in other European countries,
where the distinct vocational or technical routes through 14-19
education are held in as high regard as the academic route. It
is essential that, rather than pushing young people into academic
learning, more account is taken of where their skills and talents
could be best developed. Too frequently, students only take vocational
courses when they are deemed to have failed the academic route.
The FSB believes that to ensure the UK has the skill levels it
needs, more must be done to promote vocational qualifications
as an equal alternative to academic qualifications, so that they
are not simply seen a last resort for pupils who are seen to be
'un-academic'.
5. Work Related Learning
5.1 The FSB supports the findings of the Howard Davies
review in 2002, 'Enterprise and Economy in the Classroom'. The
report recommends that every student should spend five days gaining
experience of enterprise, and have the opportunity to set up and
run their own mini company. The report also recommends that the
two-week work experience which fifteen and sixteen year olds currently
undertake, should provide more enterprise and business experience.
5.2 Small firms are concerned that young people
often lack awareness not only of the business environment, but
also of the job market and their own capabilities. Some students
have little understanding of company culture and are not aware
of the social and practical requirements of business, such as
interacting with colleagues and clients.
5.3 The FSB believes it is essential that all
students receive an insight into the world of work while in full
time education. Young people should be aware of all the options
available to them when they decide to leave education, and not
think that employment is the only avenue. More support and training
must be provided to teachers to ensure that effective work based
programmes are delivered.
5.4 The FSB is concerned, however, that work
experience schemes are under threat from the compensation culture,
which has driven up insurance premiums for business. Small and
medium sized businesses are often the main providers of work experience
and may be forced to withdraw the placements they offer if they
are not able to afford the insurance cover. An FSB member running
a motor repair workshop has been unable to offer students any
practical experience due to the increased cost this places on
his Employer's Liability Insurance premium. Work experience at
the garage is now confined to merely observation and is clearly
of little benefit to that individual. It is not only businesses
that have been affected in this way - the charity Trident Trust,
which places half a million young people a year on work placements,
has also seen its premium double.
6. Modern Apprenticeships
6.1 The FSB welcomes the commitment in the Government's
Skills Strategy to remove the age limit for Modern Apprenticeships,
and to develop courses more suited to adult trainees. With some
sectors, such as construction, facing a demographic time bomb,
the FSB feels it would be even more prudent to remove the age
limit completely. Any individual that wants to learn new skills
should be encouraged regardless of their age.
6.2 Modern Apprenticeships are central to improving
skill shortages at level three, particularly at craft and technician
level. To encourage uptake of the Apprentice scheme, the Government
needs to tackle the key issues that are a barrier to increased
small business engagement.
6.3 The level of paperwork associated with Modern
Apprenticeships needs to be addressed, as does poor completion
rates, inconsistent delivery, a 'one size fits all' framework,
and poor understanding of the scheme. The FSB is disappointed
that the skills strategy did not announce the abandonment of testing,
which can be a disincentive to many young people who have the
potential to be good apprentices.
6.4 Addressing the barriers to the take up of
Modern Apprenticeships will help not only promote employer engagement
in the scheme, but also encourage young people to see the value
of achieving the qualification. As the Modern Apprenticeship
route is one of the quickest ways to achieving a level three qualification,
it has the potential to meet employer's needs in the labour market,
empower the individual and plug skills gaps.
7. Assessment
7.1 Although changes have been made in recent
years the FSB believes too much time is devoted to preparing for,
and passing exams, under the existing system. Pupils seem to
be taught simply how to pass exams, often at the expense of developing
key skills and attributes essential for later life.
7.2 The FSB argues that assessment should not
drive the learning experience and should be appropriate for the
style of learning. The current assessment system for vocational
courses, for example, is often inappropriate. Formal written
exams will not accurately assess the knowledge or skills developed
through courses and may even be off putting for potential students.
A new assessment structure must be developed that moves away
from the written testing of theoretical knowledge in vocational
courses, and to a practical evaluation of the level of understanding
and skill demonstrated by the pupil.
7.3 The duplication of assessment should also
be avoided. Pupils undertaking written coursework in every subject
are often only developing, and being assessed on, one set of skills.
Additional skills could be developed through assessment of other
activities such as presentations, which at the same time could
help to ease teaching burdens.
8. Information, Advice and Guidance
8.1 The FSB strongly advocates independent course
or career advice for 14-19 year olds. Pupils need to be guided
to courses appropriate for their learning needs and career aspirations.
Too frequently advice from teachers will direct pupils to courses
within the school, which are not necessarily the most appropriate
for the individual.
8.2 The FSB supports the principle of Connexions,
but has concerns that some advisers are not sufficiently trained
and are providing young people with misleading advice on future
jobs or courses. Although the FSB acknowledges the Office for
Standards in Education reports that the service has generally
maintained or improved careers guidance in schools, research from
the Institute of Careers Guidance has raised serious questions
about the quality of the government service. To instil confidence
in a vital service for young people, the Government must ensure
that all Connexions advisors are fully trained, with the ability
to refer individuals where necessary to staff with appropriate
specialisms.
9. The Tomlinson Review
/ 14-19 Reform
9.1 The FSB sits on the employers sub group of
the Tomlinson working group looking at reform of the entire 14-19
agenda and has submitted its response to the first consultation
of the 14-19 Working Group.
9.2 The FSB welcomes the development of more
coherent vocational programmes and the proposal to move away from
narrow areas of study. The breadth of study under the proposals
is critical to ensure all pupils gain key skills, especially those
who leave education at 16.The FSB strongly advocates the development
of generic skills within the proposed reform framework and argues
that the 'core' should also include work related education to
enhance the understanding of the world of work.
9.3 Offering learners an extended range of styles
and types of learning is also to be commended - the current system,
despite recent reforms, still entails narrow subject study, with
too much focused placed on passing exams. Widening the styles
and types of learning will help to foster new skills and may broaden
the appeal of certain subjects.
9.4 Although the FSB supports the aim of the
Working Group on 14-19 Reform we are unsure about the proposals
recommending one single diploma, at various levels, replacing
GCSE's and A-levels. FSB members are concerned that a single
qualification will not provide them with sufficient detail into
the different courses completed by individuals and the level of
attainment. There is also the concern that if employers are using
the background transcripts (detailing the specific courses followed
and individual grades) as a basis to recruit individuals, rather
than on the overall diploma, it may render any changes to the
system worthless.
9.5 Small firms are also hesitant in supporting
the replacement of GCSE's and A-levels. Although these exams
have been devalued in recent years, due to grade fixing scandals,
employers are at least familiar with the current system and understand
how they correlate to job specifications. It is imperative that
any new system is properly marketed so that employers are educated
and aware about changes to the qualifications system.
February 2004
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