Sustainable Employment through Skills

Yesterday, I attended the Sustainable Employment through Skills conference organised by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and the Centre for Economic & Social Inclusion.

The event aimed to bring together providers from the Work Programme and skills providers from the private sector and colleges, to explore the role of skills in helping unemployed people find work and keep them there.

The Future of Careers Education and Guidance – 14th Annual National Conference for CEG Advisers and Consultants

Update from Jason Owen, CASCAiD’s UK Sales Manager

I attended day one of the Annual National Conference for CEG Advisers and Consultants or the ‘David Andrews Conference’ as it is also known, which took place on the 17^th November in York.

David had put together an excellent, topical programme, which included key notes from Jennifer Coupland (DfE) and Brian Lightman (ASCL),  plus a selection of workshops and ample time for networking.

Welfare to Work 2011

Last week, I attended the Welfare to Work 2011 conference to get the latest updates on progress with welfare reform and, particularly, the Work Programme.

Representatives of organisations from across the private, public and voluntary sectors provided useful insight into recent and forthcoming developments.

Inspiring the development of maths skills

The recently published “maths task force” report, A world-class mathematics education for all our young people, made headlines when the chair of the task force, TV presenter Carol Vorderman, recommended that students should study maths up to the age of 18.

The report focused on the need to improve young people’s mathematical skills in order to increase their employability. It also explored how many young people who don’t achieve expected standards in maths at a relatively early age have little chance to engage with the subject later on.

Exhibiting at a Futures Nottinghamshire event

Yesterday, I went with Deb Colfer, one of CASCAiD’s sales executives, to a careers guidance event in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire.  Hosted by Futures Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, the event brought together a range of careers professionals from across the region.

 While exhibiting and assisting delegates with CASCAiD product information and demonstrations was my main task for the day, I was also able to attend a few of the workshops.

My Work Experience

Hi. My name is Priyanka and I came to Cascaid for 1 week for work experience.

What did you hope to learn from work experience?

I came here to learn how it feels like to work in a company. And also getting to know new people and use different softwares and getting the chance to actually use them.

What were you looking forward to experiencing?

I was looking forward to working in the graphics department because that’s what I want to do in the future.

What did you enjoy?

What I enjoyed the most was being able to work in each department and experience what they do in their everyday life. The most enjoyment I had was getting to know new people and it boosts up your confidence for later on in life.

Was anything about the company very different from what you expected?

Yes, because everyone knows what they are doing and everyone works within their task. But the big difference is that they all work as a team, which I think is a really good skill to have.

Have you now got a clearer idea about your future career?  What might your next step be?  

Within the departments that I have worked in at Cascaid, I think the ideal career would be the graphics side as that is what I want to do later on: become a web designer.

Overall, I’ve had the best work experience here at Cascaid , and it’s given me a pretty good idea of what I want and what is best for me in the future. I’m keeping my work experience a memory for the future.

Universities White Paper: graduate destinations

While there are mixed reactions to the universities White Paper, the higher education sector has broadly welcomed the aim of putting students ‘at the heart of the system’.

Higher fees, and the increasing influence of market forces thanks to the White Paper, mean that students will be recognised as ‘valued customers’ rather than fee payers. 

Connexions Northumberland Event

Yesterday, I exhibited for CASCAID at a careers guidance event hosted by Connexions Northumberland.  Held at Dissington Hall, the event attracted around 40 delegates.  While my main job was to help delegates by providing product demonstrations and answering questions at the CASCAiD stand, I was also able to attend a number of the seminars. 

 Delivering the keynote speech was Steve Higginbotham, President of the Institute of Careers Guidance (ICG).  Steve delivered an update on the all-age careers service, discussing some of the challenges the Government is facing and how the service will look when it is fully operational.

The future of careers guidance at the iCeGS Annual Lecture 2011

We recently exhibited at and attended the iCeGS (International Centre for Guidance Studies) Annual Lecture which took place at the University of Derby on 16^th June 2011. This was the 13^th iCeGS Annual Lecture and for those with a superstitious nature, the original date for the event had been postponed due to snow. Unfortunately, John Hayes (Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning) was unable to attend at the 11th hour, due to ‘Parliamentary duties’.

The real benefits of vocational qualifications

Following the release of the Government’s response to the Wolf Review, vocational qualifications are again in the spotlight.

And in light of the changes happening in higher education, the press have been exploring the value of vocational qualifications and whether they are an alternative to a university degree (Guardian , Telegraph  and BBC).

As someone who has vocational qualifications, I find attitudes towards them interesting. Some people still believe that vocational qualifications are easy and not as valuable as other qualifications. That’s a view that I would challenge.