CHALLENGING LANDSCAPE

The vocational and education training system is changing, but some all-too-familiar obstacles remain. Researchers at Young Lives, Young Futures sought to identify just what these are. Dr Charlotte McPherson outlines the early findings

This article summarises early findings from a major five-year national study, Young Lives, Young Futures, investigating how the English vocational and education training (VET) system can better support the education-to-work transitions of the approximately 50 per cent of young people who don’t go to university.

The study is being conducted by a team of researchers at King’s College London and The Edge Foundation against the background of policy reforms intended to enhance the quality and visibility of VET.

In the first wave of fieldwork, the team interviewed over 150 young people, policymakers and practitioners. The interviews drawn from in this article were primarily with young people in Year 11 and preparing to leave school; a minority were with older young people currently in VET.

References

The full Young Lives, Young Futures report can be accessed at bit.ly/YLYF-interim-report

Lupton R, Thomson S, Velthuis S and Unwin L. (2021) Moving on from initial GCSE ‘failure’. Available at: bit.ly/Nuffield-post-GCSE

1 Young People Often Lack Information And Support About Vet

Many of the young people we interviewed described the careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) they received in schools as heavily weighted towards promoting traditional academic routes through sixth form and university.

“They didn’t say anything about anything else… They did just push you on that academic route” Miriam, 16

The young people felt they were not provided with information about the full range of post16 options available to them. Almost none

2 Parents And Carers Are Strong Influencers

Parents/carers can compensate for insufficient CIAG by providing advice and support. But some parents lack understanding of the VET system.

“For a lot of our parents… apprenticeships were for people who weren’t clever enough to go to university… It’s about trying to explain that it’s a viable option” Employer engagement co-ordinator, UK college

Some young people were navigating VET access largely by themselves, often facing considerable pressure to take a different path.