Science and TechnologyWritten evidence submitted The JCB Academy
1. As an educational institution we will leave it to others to comment on the needs of employers.
2. Recent Changes
2.1 The removal of the key 14–16 engineering qualification (Higher Diploma in Engineering) from the league tables in any meaningful way has led to a drastic reduction in the number of young people following a technical route pre-16. This by definition will mean a lower take up for this age group.
2.2 The move towards a more “classical curriculum” as envisaged with the English Baccalaureate has led to a warping of the courses followed by young people in England. This has seen a move towards English Baccalaureate subjects and a move away from those subjects which have a technical bias.
2.3 It could be argued that the above would not matter if post-16 qualification choices were made as part of a well informed careers and education and guidance process with a full knowledge and understanding on technical careers. However, advice for those wishing to follow technical careers is often limited and ill informed due to the background of those providing the advice. Therefore in this scenario it is very likely that those who are able will make post-16 decisions based upon those areas in which they have achieved success pre-16. In the 14–16 curriculum, making a curriculum choice in a technical field gives a student the option of changing direction at 16 if they find the technical field does not interest them. However, this becomes more difficult for those making a choice 16–18 where such courses tend to lead directly to a vocational career. Given students will have had little experience pre-16 of technical education few will choose this route post-16. Technical education is for able students who will go on to provide the bedrock of a technologically orientated economy of the future. The government changes have made it significantly less likely that these young people will choose technical educational routes into employment
2.4 In addition to the above, the requirements to offer work experience have also been removed. As such, many schools in our local area will not be offering work experience to students from next year. This was often an opportunity for young people to gain an insight into the world of work and see the range of opportunities available. It is our fear that with the significant reduction in work experience placements this will once again reduce the number of young people following technical careers.
2.5 Unfortunately we have a tendency within the English education system to give value to what is measurable and therefore although in theory the change to measure every pre-16 qualification with a value of one makes no difference to the value of the qualification, this is clearly not the case in the eyes of young people or parents. We are continually being asked about the downgrading of the Diploma. The government have chosen to send the clearest and loudest message possible that technical qualifications have little value. Indeed our experience is that parents of students entering the sixth form are also concerned about the value of advanced level qualifications which fall under this heading.
3. Unable to comment as unaware of the policies being followed in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
4. In our opinion the government could make a significant difference to how technical qualifications are valued by taking positive actions. Given some of the statements above, current actions (intended or otherwise) have led to a situation where technical education has even less status than in the past. This could be addressed by:
4.1
4.2
4.3
Declaration of Interest
The JCB Academy is the first UTC and as such has an interest in both promoting and delivering technical education.
June 2012