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Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that young people, parents and carers are supported to develop the knowledge and understanding of all available routes at key transition points. Promoting all pathways enables young people to make informed and more confident decisions. The video below sparks a discussion as we ask ourselves:

Provider access legislation

The updated provider access legislation (PAL) has now been enacted. It specifies schools must provide at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all their students:

Two encounters for pupils during the 'first key phase' (year 8 or 9) that are mandatory for all pupils to attend

Two encounters for pupils during the 'second key phase' (year 10 or 11) that are mandatory for all pupils to attend

Two encounters for pupils during the 'third key phase' (year 12 or 13) that are mandatory for the school to put on but optional for pupils to attend

This new legislation will become a key mechanism to further help learners understand and take-up, not just apprenticeships, but wider technical education options such as T-Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications.

At The Careers & Enterprise Company, we are keen to support schools and providers to meet and evidence this updated requirement meaningfully as part of wider progressive careers programmes.

I am an Education Leader...

If you are an Education Leader, you should arrange to meet with your Careers Leader to ensure they have all the support they need. You can also meet with your Enterprise Coordinator if required and your institution is in a Careers Hub. Read more about the statutory guidance related to careers.

I am a Careers Leader...

If you are a Careers Leader, you will see that we have added specific PAL questions to the Compass evaluation in the Educational Encounters Gatsby Benchmark 7 section. The answers to these questions do not contribute towards your score for Gatsby Benchmark 7, but they have been included in the evaluation to ensure progress with PAL is regularly monitored and support needs are managed effectively.

We are here to support you with key resources to understand why the legislation is important and how you can build on the great work already being done in your school, special school or college. You'll find information about how to deliver a meaningful provider encounter, and also how to upskill all staff to understand the different pathways.
Example provider access policy statement
Don't miss out on any communications regarding PAL by registering for the Careers Leader newsletter.

If your school is in a Hub, your Enterprise Coordinator will also be able to help signpost you to the most relevant information.

I am a Provider...

If you are a provider, you'll want to understand how you can continue to deliver meaningful encounters with students. We have a provider guide for planning meaningful encounters as well as a technical pathways guide created with AELP for you to access.
View resources
Careers Hubs are also able to support you with guidance on how best to access their schools through new and existing networks. In addition, a clear process will be available to help you identify and raise concerns about access.

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The updated provider access legislation (PAL) specifies schools must provide at least six encounters for all their students

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Webinars | Grofar - Careers Service, Work Placement, and Work Experience Software

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Webinars | Grofar - Careers Service, Work Placement, and Work Experience Software

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Grofar produce award winning Careers, Work Placement and Work Experience software for schools, colleges, & learning providers

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City & Guilds' research finds that despite key workers seeing the nation through the pandemic, the UK's most vital industries are being threatened by growing skills shortages, as poor reputations and concerns about low pay turn off potential new recruits.

02 February 2022

Critical industries at risk of collapse as Brits shun key worker jobs

Sectors critical to putting food on the table and looking after the health of our people are on a cliff edge as working age adults shun many of the essential jobs that keep the UK running - from food production and logistics to health and social care.

Just a quarter of working age adults would work in social care (25%) and healthcare (26%) and 22% would work in food production, agriculture or animal care

3.1 million key worker job openings expected in next five years - making up 50% of openings in UK job market. But only around a quarter of Brits would consider working in many of those roles.

Poor reputation and low pay expectations fuel unattractiveness, as cost-of-living skyrockets

Industries such as construction, which only 9% of women said they would consider working in, will need to attract more diverse workforces to help fill vacant roles

That's according to new research from leading skills development organisation, City & Guilds. The research finds that despite key workers seeing the nation through the pandemic, the UK's most vital industries are being threatened by growing skills shortages, as poor reputations and concerns about low pay turn off potential new recruits.

The new research on the jobs that keep the country running - based on an Opinium survey of 10,000 working age people in the UK and economic analysis from labour market economists Emsi Burning Glass UK - found that, on average, only a quarter (25%) of the UK's talent pool are interested in key worker jobs in any one of the essential industries that power our nation. This is despite essential roles accounting for half of all UK employment opportunities, demonstrating the yawning gap between the jobs we need people to do, and their desire to do them.

With more than three million essential job openings expected in the next five years, including 340,000 brand new jobs, many employers, who are already reporting dire skills shortages, are set to struggle even further in the years ahead. Particularly, with additional constraints placed on the labour market by Coronavirus and Brexit.

Some sectors are more likely to be at risk than others. Construction could be most badly impacted with less than a fifth (17%) stating that they would consider working in the sector. Just over a fifth (22%) would consider working in food production, agriculture and animal care jobs or transport and logistics (23%), And a quarter say they would work in health (26%) and social care (25%).

Kirstie Donnelly, CEO City & Guilds, comments: "While the pandemic may have shone a light on the many jobs that are critical to the running of our country, our research demonstrates the undeniable fact that low salaries, unattractive or inflexible working conditions and a general lack of respect for these critical jobs is having a catastrophic impact on the ability of employers to fill these roles.

"In the face of a growing labour crisis that is impacting these vital industries and wider society, we need to collectively take a long, hard look at how we can make these jobs more attractive. In the future, we need to do more than simply clap for carers, we desperately need to re-evaluate the way we recognise these roles as a nation. To do this, we must improve careers advice to make people aware of the range of roles available within their own skillsets, and the training available, as well as the opportunities to progress in these sectors.

Low pay and a lack of relevant skills, experience or qualifications are two key reasons putting people off working in these jobs. Unsociable hours are also considered a major turn-off for healthcare (17%) and social care (18%) roles.

Although the research found that, on average, essential workers only earn around £500 less per year than those working in non-essential roles, some are more badly affected than others. Compared to the average annual earnings for a UK worker (£28,100), salaries drop particularly amongst those working in retail (-£12,730) and social care (£9,508), where 31% and 23% of people respectively cited pay as a reason not to work in the sector.

On the flipside, essential jobs in other sectors, such as construction and energy and utilities, offer higher than average earnings but suffer in the popularity stakes overall, with far fewer women open to working in these industries: nearly three times the number of men (25%) would consider working in construction compared to women (9%). Addressing the underlying issues impacting the attractiveness of these roles to different groups could open up a wider, more diverse talent pool.

While many essential workers say they are proud of their roles (73%), the vast majority (87%) call for improvements to the overall reputation of their role, and over half (53%) say better pay would improve that reputation- rising to 74% of those working in social care.

Kirstie Donnelly continues: "We need to address the poor image that is discouraging people from considering these roles by giving jobs the respect and remuneration they deserve in the future. With such fierce competition for talent, private companies are often offering much larger starting salaries, meaning that these essential industries, often in the public sector, just cannot compete. To fight back in the war on talent, government and employers need to work together to consider other ways to make essential jobs more attractive, including offering opportunities for skills development and more flexible working patterns."

The full report Great Jobs: Recognising the essential jobs that keep the UK working which includes further findings, recommendations and commitments from City & Guilds can be found below.
Download the full report
Methodology

City & Guilds and Emsi Burning Glass created the Essential Worker list based on the Governments list of 'Essential Worker' roles for Covid-19 testing, published 25 February 2021. Construction roles were added to this list in recognition of the current housing crisis and major infrastructure projects currently in the works.

Emsi Burning Glass translated these roles into the closest matching 4-digit SOC codes. This resulted in 181 SOC codes being classified as an Essential Worker - taking the total to 49% of all SOC codes.

For the consumer research, City & Guilds commissioned Opinium to survey 10,001 working age adults across the UK (aged 18-67 and not retired). Fieldwork took place from 25th November to 6th December 2021.
Visit our campaign website

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Recognising the Essential Jobs that Keep the UK Working - News | City & Guilds

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02 February 2022 Sectors critical to putting food on the table and looking after the health of our people are on a cliff edge as working age adults shun many of the essential jobs that keep the UK running - from food production and logistics to health and social care.

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Using FE Analyst in your Curriculum Alignment

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Student Work Experience Guide Online Version

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V2 Employability Hour Core Activities Guide

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The government's Careers Strategy means that all schools and colleges should have a named Careers Leader in place by September 2018. This guide for colleges explains what careers leadership in colleges looks like and how it could be led and managed within your college.

Every college is different, and it is up to the college leadership to agree how careers should be led and managed. This guide provides advice on how colleges can organise careers leadership. It includes guidance related to the advice set out in government guidance and practical case studies of existing practice in colleges.
Download the guide [PDF]
In the guide you will find:

The Gatsby Benchmarks
The framework for colleges to deliver 'good career guidance'.

What do Careers Leaders do?
Describes activities and key principles for the role.

Responsibilities of a Careers Leader
The leadership, management, coordination and networking requirements.

How should colleges organise careers leadership?
Different possible models of seniority and reporting lines.

Key milestones and useful resources
Key steps for implementing careers leadership and resources to help.

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Understanding the role of the Careers Leader: A guide for colleges

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The government's Careers Strategy means that all schools and colleges should have a named Careers Leader in place by September 2018. This guide for colleges explains what careers leadership in colleges looks like and how it could be led and managed within your college.

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We have created Compass and Tracker, free online tools for schools and colleges in England.

Compass helps you to evaluate your institution's careers activity against the eight benchmarks of best practice - known as the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Find out more about Compass

Tracker is our careers planning tool. You can use this to record and manage your careers plan for the year.

Find out more about Tracker

Please see our Digital tools guidance PDF for an overview about Compass and Tracker.

Digital Tools Guidance

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Evaluate your careers activity | Schools Hub | The Careers and Enterprise Company

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We have created Compass and Tracker, free online tools for schools and colleges in England. Compass helps you to evaluate your institution's careers activity against the eight benchmarks of best practice - known as the Gatsby Benchmarks. Find out more about Compass Tracker is our careers planning tool.

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Review of local destinations data

For schools and colleges, timely access to data about where their students have moved to is important for evaluating their careers education programmes, the effectiveness of careers support, and planning their future delivery.

This report reviews the current ways in which schools, colleges and local authorities are collecting destinations data, looks at good practice, and explores how the quality of destination tracking could be changed to improve support for students.
Next steps from the Careers & Enterprise Company

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Review of local destinations data For schools and colleges, timely access to data about where their students have moved to is important for evaluating their careers education programmes, the effectiveness of careers support, and planning their future delivery.

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Statutory guidance for schools and colleges on providing careers guidance.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This statutory guidance is for:

governing bodies

school and college leaders

career leaders and staff in maintained schools

academies

free schools (including alternative provision academies and free schools)

colleges (that provide secondary education and post-16 education)

local authorities that maintain pupil referral units

It applies to:

all students in school from year 7 to year 13

all students in college up to and including the age of 18

students aged up to 25 with a current education, health and care plan in place

Statutory guidance is issued by law. You must follow it unless there is a good reason not to.

This guidance is part of the Skills for Jobs White Paper that sets out our vision to transform skills and training.

The Careers and Enterprise Company will provide external support to schools and colleges.

Thank you for your feedback

Report a problem with this page

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Careers guidance and access for education and training providers

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Statutory guidance for schools and colleges on providing careers guidance.

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This guide is for students who are about to graduate and are at the start of their career journey.

It has been produced with 2021 graduates in mind, but current students and recent graduates may also find it helpful.

It sets out five important steps to help you, as students about to graduate, think about your choices and what you'd like to do next:

At each step we signpost resources and opportunities to help you develop skills, gain experience and build networks in preparation for a graduate career.

You do not have to take the steps in order. You can focus on any one or more of the steps you find most helpful.

The guide has been developed by the Department for Education and the Office for Students, working with the higher education sector and graduate employers.

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This guide is for students who are about to graduate and are at the start of their career journey. It has been produced with 2021 graduates in mind, but current students and recent graduates may also find it helpful.

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Strategic Employer Engagement - Ideas for Inclusion

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Strategic Employer Engagement - Ideas for Inclusion

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Strategic Employer Engagement - Ideas for Inclusion

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Strategic Employer Engagement - Ideas for Inclusion

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Traineeships presentation by Toni Moore ESFA 16 March 2021

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Log in AC2021

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2_7 Delivering the College of the Future

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Careers education and guidance Supporting every learner to progress

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Careers education and guidance Supporting every learner to progress

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2_6 Careers education and guidance Supporting every learner to progress

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Giving your learners the productive skills to develop NOCN

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Giving your learners the productive skills to develop NOCN

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Log in AC2021

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1_6 Giving your learners the productive skills to develop

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These statistics show labour market conditions for the following groups living in England:

This release also sets out a breakdown of graduate outcomes by different subcategories, such as by age group, gender, ethnicity and disability status.

Headline facts and figures - 2022

Median Nominal Salary for Graduates

£38,500

Increase of £2,500 from 2021

Who is included?

Graduates aged 16-64 (working age), domiciled in England. Postgraduates are excluded from this analysis.

This is the nominal salary and has not been adjusted for inflation.

Median Nominal Salary Premium for Graduates over Non-Grads

£11,500

Increase of £1,000 from 2021

How was this calculated?

(to the nearest £500)

Graduates aged 16-64 (working age), domiciled in England. Postgraduates are excluded from this analysis.

This is the nominal salary premium for graduates and has not been adjusted for inflation.

Median Real Terms Salary for Graduates

£26,500

No change from 2021 (2007 terms)

How was this calculated?

Graduates aged 16-64 (working age), domiciled in England. Postgraduates are excluded from this analysis.

Real-term salaries are calculated using quarterly deflators of the May 2023 edition of ONS Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH). Base 100 is set at calendar year 2007 where working-age graduates median salary was £30,000.

Median Real-Terms Salary Premium for Grads over Non-Grads

£8,000

Increase of £500 from 2021 (2007 terms)

How was this calculated?

(to the nearest £500)

Graduates aged 16-64 (working age), domiciled in England. Postgraduates are excluded from this analysis.

Real-term salaries are calculated using quarterly deflators of the May 2023 edition of ONS Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH). Base 100 is set at calendar year 2007.

Working-age graduates and postgraduates continue to have higher employment rates than non-graduates. The employment rates for both graduates and postgraduates increased in 2022 compared to 2021, with postgraduates having the largest increase. There was a small decrease in employment rates for working-age non-graduates.
Note: due to methodology changes in the 2022 publication, employment rates across the time series may differ from the 2021 publication. Further details are set out in the methodology note.

In 2022, the employment rate for working-age graduates (those aged 16 - 64) was 87.3%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points on 2021 (86.6%). For working-age postgraduates, the employment rate was 89.3%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points on 2021 (88.2%). For working-age non-graduates, the employment rate was 69.6%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from 2021 (69.8%).

In 2022, 66.3% of working-age graduates were in high-skilled employment, compared to 78.3% of postgraduates and 23.6% of non-graduates. In 2022, the percentage of working-age graduates and postgraduates in high-skilled employment was 1.1 percentage points higher than in 2021. The percentage of working-age non-graduates in high-skilled employment increased by 0.2 percentage points compared to 2021.

In 2022, the median nominal salary for working-age graduates was £38,500. This was £11,500 more than working-age non-graduates (£27,000), but £6,500 less than working-age postgraduates (£45,000). In nominal terms, salaries increased for all groups. However, in real terms (2007 prices, using CPI-H), salaries for graduates and non-graduates remained the same from 2021 to 2022, whilst postgraduates saw a decrease of £1,000. The gap between the median salaries of graduates and non-graduates has increased by £1,000 since 2021 in nominal terms and by £500 in real terms. Please note, salaries are calculated using earnings from individuals' full-time main jobs only.

Explore data and files used in this release

View tables that we have built for you, or create your own tables from open data using our table tool

Browse and download open data files from this release in our data catalogue

Learn more about the data files used in this release using our online guidance

Download all data available in this release as a compressed ZIP file

For working-age graduates, employment rates continued to rise, increasing by 0.7 percentage points compared to 2021 to 87.3% in 2022.This follows a period of sustained increases between 2009 and 2018, when the rate peaked at 87.7%, but was followed by decreases in 2019 and 2020. The working-age graduate employment rate has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

The working-age postgraduate employment rate rose by 1.1 percentage points in 2022 compared to 2021, which was larger than the 0.7 percentage point increase for working-age graduates. The employment rate for working-age postgraduates is now above pre-pandemic-levels.

Rates for working-age non-graduates fell in 2022 by 0.2 percentage points. This follows decreases since 2019, showing that working-age non-graduates' employment rates post-pandemic are not yet recovering.

For information on the employment rates of the young population, please refer to the Headline Outcomes section.

The likelihood of being in high-skilled employment increases as the level of education increases (from non-graduate to graduate to postgraduate). Only 23.6% of non-graduates were in high-skilled employment, whereas the rate for graduates was 66.3% and for postgraduates it was 78.3%. Whilst there was a difference of only 2 percentage points between graduate and postgraduate employment rates, there was a greater difference between their respective high skilled employment rates, which was 12 percentage points higher for postgraduates than for graduates. Similarly, the gap between the high-skilled employment rate for graduates and non-graduates is higher than the overall employment rate gap.

The Graduate Labour Market Statistics (GLMS ) in this publication cover labour market conditions for English domiciled graduates and postgraduates and compare these to English domiciled non-graduates. This edition of the GLMS summarises the annual employment and earnings outcomes data for graduates, postgraduates, and non-graduates in 2022. This edition includes, for the first time, graduate earnings adjusted for inflation.

All earnings data in this publication are calculated for full-time workers only, and are rounded to the nearest £500. Difference between groups (such as the graduate premium) are calculated from unrounded data. In addition to the median earnings data, this publication also provides the employment and earnings outcomes of graduates by various characteristics, in particular age group and gender. Outcomes by age group are presented for both the working-age (16 - 64 year olds) and young (21 - 30 year olds) populations. Outcomes are also broken down by ethnicity, disability status, degree class and industry of employment.

This publication also contains information on part-time employment patterns for graduates and non-graduates. For these groups, part-time workers' employment outcomes are broken down by age group and gender.

This publication provides time series data covering the period from 2007 to 2022, which enables us to identify and understand key trends in the headline statistics over time. As the results presented in the publication are based on quarterly Labour Force survey data, they represent estimates. Any comparisons between groups and over time should be treated with caution as differences are not necessarily statistically significant.

Although not a primary focus of this 2022 publication, the employment and earnings outcomes for 2020 and 2021 should be viewed against the backdrop of the significant adverse shock to the UK macroeconomy due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which severely disrupted business activity in many sectors of the UK economy.

In this publication, graduates refer to people whose highest qualification is an undergraduate degree at Bachelor's level; postgraduates are those holding a higher degree (such as a Master's or PhD) as their highest qualification; and non-graduates are those whose highest qualification is below undergraduate level, i.e. National Qualification Framework Level 5 or below (see methodology note for more details).

Please note, there have been numerous methodological changes for the 2022 publication, including amendments to the classification of graduates, postgraduates and non-graduates, which have resulted in small changes to the back series. For the first time, the Office for National Statistics have also included 'degree apprenticeships' and 'graduate apprenticeships' in their Labour Force Survey. As such, for the first time in the GLMS publication, individuals with these qualifications have been classified as either graduates or postgraduates and included in the relevant category. Additionally, there has been a reweighting of 2020 and 2021 data, which again has resulted in changes from previous publications. Please refer to the methodology note for detail on these changes and subsequent impacts on findings.

The GLMS publication only provides simple outcome measures based on survey data and does not control for the differences in characteristics between graduates, postgraduates, and non-graduates. This means that the outcomes reported may not be wholly attributable to the fact that an individual holds a particular qualification, but instead could reflect other factors, such as their skills, experience, or geographic location.

Other publications also provide statistics on postgraduates and graduates, though they are not directly comparable with the GLMS publication. This includes the DfE 'LEO Graduate and Postgraduate Outcomes' publication, which includes estimates of outcomes and earnings (including real earnings), 1, 3, 5 and 10 years after graduation. In addition, the Institute for Financial Studies (IFS) has published some further research 'The returns to undergraduate degrees by socio-economic group and ethnicity', which also looked at real earnings of individuals that took their GCSEs between 2000 and 2007 for groups that subsequently attained at least five A*-C GCSEs, but either did or did not go into higher education. Links to these releases can be found below:
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/leo-graduate-and-postgraduate-outcomes/2019-20 https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/output_url_files/R186-The-returns-to-undergraduate-degrees.pdf

Graduates and postgraduates in the working-age population had broadly similar employment, unemployment, and inactivity rates in 2022, with postgraduates seeing slightly better outcomes across all metrics.

Employment outcomes for non-graduates were considerably worse compared to graduates and postgraduates across all three metrics. For example, the non-graduate inactivity rate (4.8%) was more than double that of postgraduates (2%), and just short of double that of graduates (2.5%). Over one in four non-graduates (26.9%) were economically inactive in 2022, compared to 10.1% of graduates and only 8.8% of postgraduates.

For graduates and postgraduates, employment rates for the young population are broadly similar to the working-age population. However, for non-graduates, the difference is larger, with the employment rate being 4.8 percentage points higher for the young population.

Inactivity rates overall are lower for the young population compared to the working-age population, with non-graduates seeing the largest difference in inactivity rates (5.8 percentage points). However, the inactivity rates for non-graduates within the young population was still far greater than those for graduates and postgraduates.

Unemployment rates are higher across all groups in the young (aged 21-30 years) population compared to the whole working-age population of 16-64 year olds, with postgraduates seeing the largest difference in unemployment rates across the two groups (2.3 percentage points differential). Although there are likely to be many reasons as to why unemployment rates for graduates and postgraduates in the young population are higher than the working-age population, one explanation could be due to the recent increase in economic inactivity among older adults of working age.

The high-skilled employment rate is higher across all groups in the working-age population compared to the young population. There was a 5.5 percentage point difference between both graduates and postgraduates in the working-age population compared to the young population. There was a smaller difference of 1.7 percentage points when comparing the high-skilled employment rates of non-graduates. This could be due to either the skills that workers accrue throughout their careers which help them to progress into higher-skilled jobs as they get older, or due to higher qualifications giving workers extra skills and opportunities to develop and move into better paid and skilled jobs.

Across both working-age and young populations in 2022, postgraduates had the highest nominal and real terms salaries, followed by graduates, and then non-graduates who had the lowest nominal and real terms salaries, on average.

Median salaries diverged across young and working-age populations. This disparity was most significant in the postgraduate group, with nominal salaries being £11,500 higher in the working-age population than the young population. In comparison, these differences for graduate and non-graduate groups were £8,500 and £3,000 (in nominal terms) respectively. This conforms to the notion that earnings growth is more pronounced later within a person's working life, but people with higher levels of education can expect to see the most growth.

Unemployment rates fell for both working-age and young graduates, postgraduates and non-graduates. The biggest difference was seen in the unemployment rate of young non-graduates, where the rate fell from 7% in 2021 to 5.7% in 2022 - a decrease of 1.3 percentage points.

For graduates and postgraduates the fall in unemployment rates is largely explained by increases in employment rates. For non-graduates the fall is largely explained by a rise in inactivity rates.

While employment rates for both graduates and postgraduates in the working-age population increased slightly in 2021 and 2022, rates for working-age non-graduates fell in 2022 by 0.2 percentage points. This follows decreases since 2019, suggesting that working-age non-graduates employment rates post-pandemic are not recovering. In the young population, employment rates rose for all groups, though the increase for non-graduates was small, and the rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.

For the first time, annual salaries across the time series have been adjusted to account for inflation and reflect real-term earnings. Time series for both nominal and real earnings are published below. For the 2022 publication of GLMS, real-term earnings have been calculated using the May 2023 edition of ONS Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPI-H). Further details are set out in the methodology note.

Salaries are higher for those with higher qualifications and are higher in the working-age population than the young population.

Median (nominal) salaries were higher in the working-age population than the young population for graduates, postgraduates, and non-graduates in 2022. The difference in nominal medians was largest for postgraduates (£11,500) and smallest for non-graduates (£3,000). This might reflect that postgraduates take longer to obtain higher wages after leaving study or might be attributable to postgraduates entering the labour force when they are older, thus having less time to increase their wages before the age of 30. The difference between the median (nominal) salaries of working-age graduates and young graduates in 2022 was £8,500.

In real terms the difference between the median salaries of working-age graduates and non-graduates has narrowed over time, decreasing from £10,000 in 2007 to £8,000 in 2022. The difference between the median salaries of working-age graduates and postgraduates has also narrowed but to a lesser extent, decreasing from £5,500 in 2007 to £3,500 in 2022.

In real terms the difference between the median salaries of young graduates and non-graduates has also narrowed over time, but to a lesser extent than in the working-age population, decreasing from £6,000 in 2007 to £4,000 in 2022.

Differences in salary may be attributable to the characteristics of individuals within each group, and not solely due to qualification level or age.

In 2022, median salaries were higher for males than females across all graduate types and across both age groups. The salary differential between males and females was greatest for working-age graduates at £9,000 in nominal terms. For postgraduates, the difference was £7,000. The difference for non-graduates was lower at £6,000.

The median nominal salary for female graduates was only £4,000 higher than the median nominal salary for male non-graduates in 2022. In contrast, the median nominal salary for male graduates was £13,000 higher than the median nominal salary for male non-graduates.

The median nominal salary for female postgraduates was £6,000 higher than female graduates, whereas the difference between male postgraduates and male graduates was £4,000.

Since median salaries are calculated for individuals employed in full-time work only, the higher proportion of females in part-time work does not contribute to the gender pay gaps in these figures. Data on the proportion of men and women in part-time work can be found in the Office for National Statistics' dataset on full-time, part-time and temporary workers. - https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/fulltimeparttimeandtemporaryworkersseasonallyadjustedemp01sa

Using median salaries mitigates against average values being skewed by extremes. It does, however, conceal other features of the data, for example, that the difference in pay between the sexes is largest among high earners. Further analysis of the gender pay gap in 2022 can be found in the Office for National Statistics' publication: The gender pay gap in the UK: 2022. - https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2022

Male graduates employed in Transport and Communication had the highest median (nominal) salaries in the working-age population (£50,000), followed by males in Banking and Finance (£48,000). In the young graduate population, males in Transport and Communication and Manufacturing both had the highest median salary of £36,000. In contrast, female graduates in the working-age population had the highest median salaries when working in the Construction industry (£43,500). Females in the young population also had the highest median salaries when working in Construction (£33,000).

Males and females employed in Distribution or Hotels, or Restaurants had the lowest median salaries across both working-age (£31,000 and £28,500 respectively) and young (£24,000 and £24,500 respectively) populations.

Across all industries and age groups, males had higher median salaries than females, with the exception of Distribution or Hotels or Restaurants, where for the young population, females had slightly higher median salaries (£24,500, compared to £24,000 for males).

Note that industry data for working-age female graduates and both young male and female graduates working in agriculture, forestry and fishing has been suppressed. Comparisons against these groups are therefore not possible.

Further analysis of the gender pay gap in 2022 can be found in the Office for National Statistics' publication: The gender pay gap in the UK: 2022. - https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2022

Disabled graduates were less likely to be employed (highly skilled or otherwise) and more likely to be inactive than their non-disabled peers. The inactivity rate for disabled graduates (19.2%) was more than double the rate for non-disabled graduates (8.8%).

White working-age graduates had the highest employment rate (87.5%) and high-skilled employment rate (66.9%) in 2022.

Other Ethnic Group graduates saw the lowest employment rate (85.3%), while Black or African or Caribbean or Black British graduates saw the lowest high-skilled employment rate (58.5%).

The variation in the high-skilled employment rate across ethnicities was much higher (a range of 8.4 percentage points) than the variation in employment rates (a range of 2.2 percentage points).

Black or African or Caribbean or Black British graduates had the lowest inactivity rate (8.6%). Graduates in the Other Ethnic Group had the highest inactivity rate (11.7%).

White graduates had the lowest unemployment rates (2.3%), compared to Black or African or Caribbean or Black British graduates who had the highest unemployment rates (4.9%).

In 2022, both working age graduate employment rates and graduate high-skilled employment rates were higher for males compared to females (88.6% and 86.1%) and (70.3% and 62.5%) respectively.

Working age graduate inactivity rates for males (8.6%) were lower than for females (12.2%), but working age unemployment rates for females (2.0%) were 1.1 percentage points lower compared to males (3.1%) in 2022. The lower employment rates for female graduates are thus explained by higher rates of inactivity.

Young graduates have consistently been less likely to be in part-time employment than the working age-graduate population. However, since 2007, the proportion of graduate young part-time employment varied slightly more compared to working age graduates. Proportions rose for both groups after 2007, but have been more stable in recent years. Both age groups saw a decline in the proportion in part-time employment between 2019 and 2021, but subsequently increased in 2022.

Females graduates and non-graduates were more likely to be employed part-time than their male counterparts. Non-graduates were more likely to be employed part-time than graduates for both genders. The proportion of workers in part-time employment rose slightly in 2022 for all groups compared to the previous year.

Help and support

Methodology

Find out how and why we collect, process and publish these statistics.

Official statistics

These are Official Statistics and have been produced in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

This can be broadly interpreted to mean that these statistics are:

managed impartially and objectively in the public interest

meet identified user needs

produced according to sound methods

well explained and readily accessible

Find out more about the standards we follow to produce these statistics through our Standards for official statistics published by DfE guidance.

If you have a specific enquiry about Graduate labour market statistics statistics and data:

HE Analysis Priority Statistics Policy Support Team

Email: PSPSTeam@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Sophie Holt and Steve White
Telephone: 07712423965

Press office

If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

Public enquiries

If you have a general enquiry about the Department for Education (DfE) or education:

Telephone: 037 0000 2288

Opening times:
Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Graduate labour market statistics, Calendar year 2022

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These statistics show labour market conditions for the following groups living in England: Graduates Postgraduates Non-graduates This release also sets out a breakdown of graduate outcomes by different subcategories, such as by age group, gender, ethnicity and disability status.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A map for supporting job transitions and informing skills policy in a changing labour market

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Purpose

The purpose of this information is to detail the arrangements for delivering industry placements through the CDF for those providers in receipt of a CDF allocation in 2020 to 2021 academic year.

This guidance replaces that published on the 17 July 2020 and responds to the continuing challenges providers are experiencing in light of COVID-19 restrictions.

Industry placements need to include genuine and meaningful on-the-job experience where the student is able to experience the full range of realities of working, such as time keeping, commuting and interacting with colleagues face to face. Industry placements must be undertaken in a physical workplace environment and therefore placements are not currently permitted to be done remotely or virtually.

We recognise however, that industry placement delivery continues to be impacted by COVID-19. In view of this continuing challenge, we will apply the same flexibility for the 2020 to 2021 academic year as we did in the 2019 to 2020 academic year. In the 2020 to 2021 academic year, funding for CDF will not be clawed back if you are unable to meet your previously agreed target for the completion of industry placements.

We anticipate that you will continue to work to secure as many industry placements as possible for the remainder of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The relaxation of the targets is on the assumption that you can demonstrate CDF has, and is continuing to support future delivery of quality industry placements. Activity to support delivery of industry placements should include:

the continued engagement with employers across different industries and develop engagement strategies for different industries

preparation for students for placements (such as through virtual training for work programmes)

alignment between curriculum planning and industry placement provision

development of matching processes for appropriate student placements

We will ask for evidence of these activities through the usual CDF monitoring process. We will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of providers to deliver placements throughout the remainder of the 2020 to 2021 academic year.

We will still look to claw back funding under the usual arrangements should providers fail to demonstrate that they have continued to support the delivery of quality industry placements and have not used the funding for the purpose intended. Providers must avoid the risk of double funding through the CDF and the furlough scheme, we will seek to claw back funding should providers furlough staff involved in these activities.

However, you can be assured that funding for the 2020 to 2021 academic year will not be clawed back if you are unable to meet your 25% delivery target for the completion of industry placements in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, so long as you can demonstrate that the CDF has and is continuing to support future delivery of quality industry placements

New delivery models for industry placements

For delivery in 2020 to 2021 academic year, we have updated some of the core principles that apply to T Level industry placements and introduced new models for the way industry placements can be delivered in the Construction and Engineering & Manufacturing routes, to reflect modern practices. These changes also apply to CDF industry placements and more information can be found in the industry placements delivery guidance on GOV.UK. Providers are expected to comply with this guidance for placements delivered in the 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards.

Delivering CDF industry placements over 2 academic years

From the 2020 to 2021 academic year, providers are able to deliver industry placements across 2 academic years where the student is on a 2-year programme. All industry placements must commence in the first year of a student's study programme (and during the CDF year funded), with the expectation that a minimum of 50% of a provider's placements being successfully completed by the end of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The remainder of industry placements would need to be successfully completed by the end of 2021 to 2022 academic year, but they still form part of the 2020 to 2021 academic year target and cannot count towards delivery targets set for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Background

CDF is now in its third year of delivery. CDF is provided to facilitate the build-up of capacity and capability to deliver substantial industry placements. The number of industry placements successfully delivered in the previous 2 academic years is encouraging. Following on from this, we do expect that the number of successful industry placements will increase year on year in readiness for T Level roll out.

Funding for CDF was included in allocation statements for 2020 to 2021 academic year, as were the number of funded students and the minimum number of placements to be delivered.

2020 to 2021 academic year monitoring requirements

During the 2020 to 2021 academic year, monitoring returns are required to be submitted as a condition of funding, these are required by the 1 December 2020 and 11 June 2021. These provide us with information on the progress being made in building capacity and capability to deliver high quality, substantial industry placements as we scale up the delivery of T Levels. They also provide assurance that the funding is being used for the purpose intended and they also support the planning of future CDF funding allocations.

Where information supplied in the December return is not sufficient, providers may need to submit a further return asking for more information on how funds have been utilised. This will be required by 1 March 2021.

We will claw back funding under the usual arrangements should providers fail to demonstrate they have continued to support the development of industry placements and used the funding for the purpose intended in their monitoring returns.

The monitoring returns are compulsory, should you fail to submit a monitoring return, you may be in breach of your funding agreement and your CDF allocation may be at risk.

DfE Sign-in account and access to the monitoring form

To access the monitoring form, you must sign into your DfE Sign-in account. We strongly advise you to check that your DfE Sign-in details are valid and that you have the appropriate permissions to access DfE Sign-in in advance of the deadline of the first monitoring form due by 1 December 2020.

If you do not currently have an account, then you will need to create a DfE Sign-in account. Once you have an account, then the service 'Online Collection Service' and role 'Industry Placements CDF Monitoring' will need to be added to your account by a DfE Sign-in Approver at your organisation. Once you have access to the monitoring form, then on the DfE Sign-in page, enter your email address and password. This will take you to the Services page where you will need to choose 'Industry Placements CDF Monitoring'.

Once you have access to the DfE Sign-in account, you will then be directed to the relevant monitoring form. Open the monitoring form and complete the relevant sections. There is a save and return function if you would like to revisit your responses before you submit. Once you have answered the questions in the monitoring form, please submit your responses. You will then be sent an email confirmation with a pdf attachment containing your monitoring form responses. You can also sign back in at any time to view your responses by logging on to your DfE Sign-in account.

Qualifying providers

Providers funded by the ESFA for 16 to 19 study programmes with qualifying students as defined below were eligible to apply for CDF. This inclusive approach allows almost all providers currently offering vocational programmes that could evolve into one of the technical education routes to receive an allocation. CDF allocations made for 2020 to 2021 academic year were based on the number of qualifying students enrolled with each provider in 2018 to 2019 academic year.

To qualify for funding providers needed to have an Ofsted overall effectiveness grading of "Requires Improvement" or better. We based the Level of funding for each provider on the number of qualifying full-time students, at a rate of £250 per student enrolled on eligible programmes.

Providers should be clear that access to the CDF in the current year does not imply future eligibility to deliver or receive funding for the development or delivery of T Levels. We will monitor delivery of industry placements in 2020 to 2021 academic year via the monitoring forms.

Qualifying students

To calculate CDF allocations for 2020 to 2021 academic year we used actual year-end 2018 to 2019 academic year data to calculate qualifying student numbers and delivery targets.

A list of qualification types used to identify qualifying students is set out below. It should be noted that general vocational qualifications were included in calculating eligible student numbers but applied general qualifications (AGQs) were not. However, some AGQs will be regarded as counting towards the minimum delivery target in 2020 to 2021 academic year, they were excluded for the purpose of allocations.

Further information on qualifications that count towards your 2020 to 2021 academic year target including the selected AGQs can be found in the section titled qualifications that count towards the CDF target for the 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards

A list of AGQs excluded for the purpose of allocations can be found below:

The above criteria in no way indicates which qualifications will be subject to defunding in the future.

We expect to calculate the 2021 to 2022 academic year eligible students using the latest general vocational qualifications list and excluding AGQs, applied to 2020 to 2021 academic year end year data, but will keep this under review. We will also continue to prioritise Level 3 industry placements and decrease the proportion of Level 2 industry placements that will count towards the target in 2021 to 2022 academic year as we move towards focusing on the development of placements for T Levels. We are likely to fund Level 2 placements at a lower rate in 2021 to 2022 academic year.

General vocational qualification types at Levels 2 and 3 included in identification of qualifying students

The qualification types included in identifying qualifying students are listed below:

Advanced Diploma

Associate Diploma

Award

Certificate

Certificate of Competence

Diploma

Diploma (14 to 19)

Edexcel First Diploma (new syllabus)

Edexcel First Extended Certificate (2012 onwards)

Edexcel National Award

Edexcel National Certificate (new syllabus)

Edexcel National Diploma (new syllabus)

First Certificate

Introductory Certificate

National Certificate

National Diploma

National Extended Diploma

National Vocational Qualifications

Principal Learning within Diploma (14 to 19)

Professional Diploma

Qualifications that count towards the CDF target for the 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards

For 2020 to 2021 academic year, the proportion of qualifying students for whom we are expecting an industry placement to be completed is 25%.

From 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards, we are keen to ensure that CDF facilitates capacity building in the right areas as we roll out T Levels. Therefore, providers will be expected to arrange industry placements for students studying relevant qualifications only (see Qualifying students' section above) to count towards the 25% delivery target.

Sector subject areas for general vocational qualifications

Qualifying students on qualifications that count towards the delivery target from the Sector Subject Areas below will count towards the minimum delivery target:

These are the applied general qualifications (AGQs) that fall within the sector subject areas which are excluded for the purposes of identifying qualifying students but can be counted towards the 25% delivery target. These are all at level 3.

How to determine if a qualification counts towards the delivery target

In order to determine if a learning aim or qualification undertaken counts towards the 25% delivery target, providers can refer to the Learning Aims Reference Service (LARS). By searching for the learning aim or qualification within LARS a provider will be able to confirm the sector subject area (SSA) the learning aim or qualification is attributed to. A provider can then reference this to the list of SSAs included within the CDF guidance to ensure the learning aim or qualification can be counted towards the CDF target.

The SSAs listed in the guidance include all the general vocational qualifications at both level 2 and level 3 and the AGQs at level 3 that count towards the CDF delivery targets.

As T Levels are confirmed as being Level 3 programmes, we are prioritising Level 3 students in 2020 to 2021 academic year. Therefore, for delivery in 2020 to 2021 academic year, providers will be required to deliver at least 20% more Level 3 placements compared to their baseline split between Level 2 and Level 3 qualifying students.

By prioritising Level 3 students, the calculation increases the number of placements that need to be delivered for students on a Level 3 programme, however the overall delivery target set for the 2020 to 2021 academic year will remain at 25%.

For example, where a provider has 1,093 qualifying students (number of Level 2 students is 616 and the number of Level 3 students is 477).

they will need to deliver placements to 25% of their qualifying students, so 274 placements*

without the 20% uplift the minimum number of placements for Level 3 students would be 477 x 25% = 120

the minimum number of placements for Level 3 students including the 20% uplift is 120 x 1.2 = 144

the overall target remains at 274, so the Level 2 students' placements maximum is (274- 144 (Level 3 students minimum) = 130

*Figures for the above example have been rounded up

Providers were sent a letter on 17 July 2020 detailing the number of industry placements that confirmed the split between Level 2 and Level 3 placements to be delivered in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. This was calculated by looking at the proportion of qualifying students that were on Level 3 study programmes in 2019 to 2020 academic year, applying the proportion to the minimum number of placements required in 2020 to 2021 academic year and increasing the Level 3 delivery by 20%.

We will continue to prioritise Level 3 placements in the 2021 to 2022 academic year as T Levels are rolled out and this is likely to include increasing the proportion of Level 3 delivery required compared to Level 2 delivery, alongside reducing the funding rate for the Level 2 placements. This will support the building of T Level-appropriate placements.

We will be monitoring delivery of industry placements in the 2020 to 2021 academic year via the ILR and school census return. Therefore, it is imperative that the recording of industry placements is accurate. Further information on how to record industry placements in the ILR and school census can be found in the recording substantial industry placements and how this data will be used section.

Opting in for an allocation in 2021 to 2022

We expect that providers that received a CDF allocation in 2020 to 2021 academic year will also take advantage of CDF funding for 2021 to 2022 academic year (confirmation of funding subject to the Autumn Spending Review). The monitoring forms will be designed to let the DfE know your intention to deliver industry placements in 2021 to 2022 academic year by choosing whether to opt in or out of CDF in 2021 to 2022 academic year.

By "opting in" for CDF in 2021 to 2022 academic year providers will be agreeing to:

utilise the funding available to build capability and capacity for delivery of high-quality industry placements

deliver high quality industry placements from the 2021 to 2022 academic year, as set out in the industry placements delivery guidance on GOV.UK

deliver and complete a set number of high-quality industry placements in 2021 to 2022 academic year. The delivery target for 2021 to 2022 academic year has yet to be confirmed, but once we are clear on the full impact of COVID-19, we will update this guidance

continue to prioritise the delivery of industry placements for Level 3 students as we move towards T Levels and increase the proportion of Level 3 delivery compared to Level 2

complete 2 monitoring returns on 1 December 2021, and 10 June 2022, with an additional financial monitoring form return on 1 March 2022 if requested to do so.

conduct student satisfaction surveys

record all high-quality substantial industry placements fully in the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) or school census at each data return point

By "opting out" through the monitoring forms, providers will be indicating to the ESFA that providers do not wish to receive funding for 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Supporting students financially

Information relating to supporting students financially can be found on GOV.UK.

Recording substantial industry placements and how this data will be used

A requirement for receiving a CDF allocation is that you record all industry placements fully in the individualised learner record (ILR) or school census at each data return point. Providers have been notified of the minimum number of industry placement they must deliver for students on either a Level 2 or a Level 3 programme for delivery in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. Only qualifications in the relevant SSAs or from the eligible AGQ list will count towards the target. We will be reviewing the data to cross refer the number of placements providers have recorded in the ILR or school census against the data provided in monitoring forms. Providers must ensure that each industry placement is recorded correctly, showing the start and end date, and the number of planned hours.

The learning aim reference number on the ILR and the school census specifically for recording CDF industry placements is ZWRKX002.

CDF industry placements must take place on top of the existing study programme hours and CDF funding is allocated in addition to mainstream funding for qualifying students. Therefore, industry placement hours must not be included in the planned hours recorded for the study programme.

It is also important to note that, where hours are currently spent on work experience that is an existing and compulsory part of the qualification hours in a study programme, these work experience hours cannot be counted towards the industry placement hours delivered through CDF because providers are already being funded for these through mainstream funding. For the placement to be counted, students would need to do the required industry placement hours (minimum of 315) on top of any hours for the existing work experience that are recorded as planned 'qualification hours' on the ILR and school census.

Those students that were on an industry placement in the 2019 to 2020 academic year that are yet to be completed can continue the aims recorded in 2019 to 2020 academic year into 2020 to 2021 academic year, however providers are not able to record any new students on the old aim.

Providers that have been selected to deliver T Levels from 2020 to 2021 must undertake a substantial industry placement, but these cannot be counted in the CDF target.

T Level industry placements must be recorded using the learning aim reference number ZWRKX003.

This learning aim reference is specifically for T Level industry placement activity and that code must not be used for CDF industry placements. The guidance for how T Levels will be funded in 2020 to 2021 academic year is currently being updated and we expect to upload the revised guidance towards the end of August 2020. Further information about this guidance can be found on GOV.UK.

A recorded webinar will be available from September 2020 on how to complete the ILR or school census return. We will notify providers via the ESFA update when the webinar is available to view.

Annual funding agreements/contracts for services with providers

Clauses in our annual funding agreements/contracts for services with providers, include conditions relating to CDF funding:

where a provider does not meet the minimum number of placements, the ESFA may seek to recover funds, and/or may take this into consideration when considering future CDF allocations. [Please note that, due to the continuing COVID-19 restrictions, for the 2020 to 2021 academic year, we will not penalise providers for not meeting the delivery targets originally set]

where a provider is assessed to be financial health inadequate, or the provider / education and training provided is judged by Ofsted to be inadequate, the ESFA may withhold any remaining profiled allocations, and may take such assessments into consideration when considering future CDF allocations

where the provider does not submit the monitoring returns by the dates published, the ESFA may withdraw the 2020 to 2021 academic year CDF allocation and recover funding paid

These clauses may vary by provider type; therefore, it is advisable that providers become familiar with these new clauses in their Funding Agreements.

Please contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency for all enquiries.

Deadline for first monitoring form December 2020

1 December 2020

Feedback to providers regarding their first monitoring form for December 2020

February 2021

Deadline for the financial monitoring return in March 2021 (if applicable)

1 March 2021

Issue CDF allocation statements for 2021 to 2022 AY (as part of main 16-19 funding allocation)

March 2021

Feedback to providers regarding the financial monitoring return 2021 (if applicable)

April 2021

Deadline for monitoring form for June 2021 submitted

11 June 2021

Feedback to providers on their June 2020 monitoring form

July 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for providers delivering in 2020 to 2021 academic year

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The purpose of this information is to detail the arrangements for delivering industry placements through the CDF for those providers in receipt of a CDF allocation in 2020 to 2021 academic year. This guidance replaces that published on the 17 July 2020 and responds to the continuing challenges providers are experiencing in light of COVID-19 restrictions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Information for post-16 providers on the next steps towards delivery of T Levels.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Purpose

The purpose of this information is to detail the arrangements for delivering industry placements through the CDF for those providers in receipt of a CDF allocation in 2020 to 2021 academic year.

This guidance replaces that published on the 17 July 2020 and responds to the continuing challenges providers are experiencing in light of COVID-19 restrictions.

Industry placements need to include genuine and meaningful on-the-job experience where the student is able to experience the full range of realities of working, such as time keeping, commuting and interacting with colleagues face to face. Industry placements must be undertaken in a physical workplace environment and therefore placements are not currently permitted to be done remotely or virtually.

We recognise however, that industry placement delivery continues to be impacted by COVID-19. In view of this continuing challenge, we will apply the same flexibility for the 2020 to 2021 academic year as we did in the 2019 to 2020 academic year. In the 2020 to 2021 academic year, funding for CDF will not be clawed back if you are unable to meet your previously agreed target for the completion of industry placements.

We anticipate that you will continue to work to secure as many industry placements as possible for the remainder of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The relaxation of the targets is on the assumption that you can demonstrate CDF has, and is continuing to support future delivery of quality industry placements. Activity to support delivery of industry placements should include:

the continued engagement with employers across different industries and develop engagement strategies for different industries

preparation for students for placements (such as through virtual training for work programmes)

alignment between curriculum planning and industry placement provision

development of matching processes for appropriate student placements

We will ask for evidence of these activities through the usual CDF monitoring process. We will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of providers to deliver placements throughout the remainder of the 2020 to 2021 academic year.

We will still look to claw back funding under the usual arrangements should providers fail to demonstrate that they have continued to support the delivery of quality industry placements and have not used the funding for the purpose intended. Providers must avoid the risk of double funding through the CDF and the furlough scheme, we will seek to claw back funding should providers furlough staff involved in these activities.

However, you can be assured that funding for the 2020 to 2021 academic year will not be clawed back if you are unable to meet your 25% delivery target for the completion of industry placements in the 2020 to 2021 academic year, so long as you can demonstrate that the CDF has and is continuing to support future delivery of quality industry placements

New delivery models for industry placements

For delivery in 2020 to 2021 academic year, we have updated some of the core principles that apply to T Level industry placements and introduced new models for the way industry placements can be delivered in the Construction and Engineering & Manufacturing routes, to reflect modern practices. These changes also apply to CDF industry placements and more information can be found in the industry placements delivery guidance on GOV.UK. Providers are expected to comply with this guidance for placements delivered in the 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards.

Delivering CDF industry placements over 2 academic years

From the 2020 to 2021 academic year, providers are able to deliver industry placements across 2 academic years where the student is on a 2-year programme. All industry placements must commence in the first year of a student's study programme (and during the CDF year funded), with the expectation that a minimum of 50% of a provider's placements being successfully completed by the end of the 2020 to 2021 academic year. The remainder of industry placements would need to be successfully completed by the end of 2021 to 2022 academic year, but they still form part of the 2020 to 2021 academic year target and cannot count towards delivery targets set for the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Background

CDF is now in its third year of delivery. CDF is provided to facilitate the build-up of capacity and capability to deliver substantial industry placements. The number of industry placements successfully delivered in the previous 2 academic years is encouraging. Following on from this, we do expect that the number of successful industry placements will increase year on year in readiness for T Level roll out.

Funding for CDF was included in allocation statements for 2020 to 2021 academic year, as were the number of funded students and the minimum number of placements to be delivered.

2020 to 2021 academic year monitoring requirements

During the 2020 to 2021 academic year, monitoring returns are required to be submitted as a condition of funding, these are required by the 1 December 2020 and 11 June 2021. These provide us with information on the progress being made in building capacity and capability to deliver high quality, substantial industry placements as we scale up the delivery of T Levels. They also provide assurance that the funding is being used for the purpose intended and they also support the planning of future CDF funding allocations.

Where information supplied in the December return is not sufficient, providers may need to submit a further return asking for more information on how funds have been utilised. This will be required by 1 March 2021.

We will claw back funding under the usual arrangements should providers fail to demonstrate they have continued to support the development of industry placements and used the funding for the purpose intended in their monitoring returns.

The monitoring returns are compulsory, should you fail to submit a monitoring return, you may be in breach of your funding agreement and your CDF allocation may be at risk.

DfE Sign-in account and access to the monitoring form

To access the monitoring form, you must sign into your DfE Sign-in account. We strongly advise you to check that your DfE Sign-in details are valid and that you have the appropriate permissions to access DfE Sign-in in advance of the deadline of the first monitoring form due by 1 December 2020.

If you do not currently have an account, then you will need to create a DfE Sign-in account. Once you have an account, then the service 'Online Collection Service' and role 'Industry Placements CDF Monitoring' will need to be added to your account by a DfE Sign-in Approver at your organisation. Once you have access to the monitoring form, then on the DfE Sign-in page, enter your email address and password. This will take you to the Services page where you will need to choose 'Industry Placements CDF Monitoring'.

Once you have access to the DfE Sign-in account, you will then be directed to the relevant monitoring form. Open the monitoring form and complete the relevant sections. There is a save and return function if you would like to revisit your responses before you submit. Once you have answered the questions in the monitoring form, please submit your responses. You will then be sent an email confirmation with a pdf attachment containing your monitoring form responses. You can also sign back in at any time to view your responses by logging on to your DfE Sign-in account.

Qualifying providers

Providers funded by the ESFA for 16 to 19 study programmes with qualifying students as defined below were eligible to apply for CDF. This inclusive approach allows almost all providers currently offering vocational programmes that could evolve into one of the technical education routes to receive an allocation. CDF allocations made for 2020 to 2021 academic year were based on the number of qualifying students enrolled with each provider in 2018 to 2019 academic year.

To qualify for funding providers needed to have an Ofsted overall effectiveness grading of "Requires Improvement" or better. We based the Level of funding for each provider on the number of qualifying full-time students, at a rate of £250 per student enrolled on eligible programmes.

Providers should be clear that access to the CDF in the current year does not imply future eligibility to deliver or receive funding for the development or delivery of T Levels. We will monitor delivery of industry placements in 2020 to 2021 academic year via the monitoring forms.

Qualifying students

To calculate CDF allocations for 2020 to 2021 academic year we used actual year-end 2018 to 2019 academic year data to calculate qualifying student numbers and delivery targets.

A list of qualification types used to identify qualifying students is set out below. It should be noted that general vocational qualifications were included in calculating eligible student numbers but applied general qualifications (AGQs) were not. However, some AGQs will be regarded as counting towards the minimum delivery target in 2020 to 2021 academic year, they were excluded for the purpose of allocations.

Further information on qualifications that count towards your 2020 to 2021 academic year target including the selected AGQs can be found in the section titled qualifications that count towards the CDF target for the 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards

A list of AGQs excluded for the purpose of allocations can be found below:

The above criteria in no way indicates which qualifications will be subject to defunding in the future.

We expect to calculate the 2021 to 2022 academic year eligible students using the latest general vocational qualifications list and excluding AGQs, applied to 2020 to 2021 academic year end year data, but will keep this under review. We will also continue to prioritise Level 3 industry placements and decrease the proportion of Level 2 industry placements that will count towards the target in 2021 to 2022 academic year as we move towards focusing on the development of placements for T Levels. We are likely to fund Level 2 placements at a lower rate in 2021 to 2022 academic year.

General vocational qualification types at Levels 2 and 3 included in identification of qualifying students

The qualification types included in identifying qualifying students are listed below:

Advanced Diploma

Associate Diploma

Award

Certificate

Certificate of Competence

Diploma

Diploma (14 to 19)

Edexcel First Diploma (new syllabus)

Edexcel First Extended Certificate (2012 onwards)

Edexcel National Award

Edexcel National Certificate (new syllabus)

Edexcel National Diploma (new syllabus)

First Certificate

Introductory Certificate

National Certificate

National Diploma

National Extended Diploma

National Vocational Qualifications

Principal Learning within Diploma (14 to 19)

Professional Diploma

Qualifications that count towards the CDF target for the 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards

For 2020 to 2021 academic year, the proportion of qualifying students for whom we are expecting an industry placement to be completed is 25%.

From 2020 to 2021 academic year onwards, we are keen to ensure that CDF facilitates capacity building in the right areas as we roll out T Levels. Therefore, providers will be expected to arrange industry placements for students studying relevant qualifications only (see Qualifying students' section above) to count towards the 25% delivery target.

Sector subject areas for general vocational qualifications

Qualifying students on qualifications that count towards the delivery target from the Sector Subject Areas below will count towards the minimum delivery target:

These are the applied general qualifications (AGQs) that fall within the sector subject areas which are excluded for the purposes of identifying qualifying students but can be counted towards the 25% delivery target. These are all at level 3.

How to determine if a qualification counts towards the delivery target

In order to determine if a learning aim or qualification undertaken counts towards the 25% delivery target, providers can refer to the Learning Aims Reference Service (LARS). By searching for the learning aim or qualification within LARS a provider will be able to confirm the sector subject area (SSA) the learning aim or qualification is attributed to. A provider can then reference this to the list of SSAs included within the CDF guidance to ensure the learning aim or qualification can be counted towards the CDF target.

The SSAs listed in the guidance include all the general vocational qualifications at both level 2 and level 3 and the AGQs at level 3 that count towards the CDF delivery targets.

As T Levels are confirmed as being Level 3 programmes, we are prioritising Level 3 students in 2020 to 2021 academic year. Therefore, for delivery in 2020 to 2021 academic year, providers will be required to deliver at least 20% more Level 3 placements compared to their baseline split between Level 2 and Level 3 qualifying students.

By prioritising Level 3 students, the calculation increases the number of placements that need to be delivered for students on a Level 3 programme, however the overall delivery target set for the 2020 to 2021 academic year will remain at 25%.

For example, where a provider has 1,093 qualifying students (number of Level 2 students is 616 and the number of Level 3 students is 477).

they will need to deliver placements to 25% of their qualifying students, so 274 placements*

without the 20% uplift the minimum number of placements for Level 3 students would be 477 x 25% = 120

the minimum number of placements for Level 3 students including the 20% uplift is 120 x 1.2 = 144

the overall target remains at 274, so the Level 2 students' placements maximum is (274- 144 (Level 3 students minimum) = 130

*Figures for the above example have been rounded up

Providers were sent a letter on 17 July 2020 detailing the number of industry placements that confirmed the split between Level 2 and Level 3 placements to be delivered in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. This was calculated by looking at the proportion of qualifying students that were on Level 3 study programmes in 2019 to 2020 academic year, applying the proportion to the minimum number of placements required in 2020 to 2021 academic year and increasing the Level 3 delivery by 20%.

We will continue to prioritise Level 3 placements in the 2021 to 2022 academic year as T Levels are rolled out and this is likely to include increasing the proportion of Level 3 delivery required compared to Level 2 delivery, alongside reducing the funding rate for the Level 2 placements. This will support the building of T Level-appropriate placements.

We will be monitoring delivery of industry placements in the 2020 to 2021 academic year via the ILR and school census return. Therefore, it is imperative that the recording of industry placements is accurate. Further information on how to record industry placements in the ILR and school census can be found in the recording substantial industry placements and how this data will be used section.

Opting in for an allocation in 2021 to 2022

We expect that providers that received a CDF allocation in 2020 to 2021 academic year will also take advantage of CDF funding for 2021 to 2022 academic year (confirmation of funding subject to the Autumn Spending Review). The monitoring forms will be designed to let the DfE know your intention to deliver industry placements in 2021 to 2022 academic year by choosing whether to opt in or out of CDF in 2021 to 2022 academic year.

By "opting in" for CDF in 2021 to 2022 academic year providers will be agreeing to:

utilise the funding available to build capability and capacity for delivery of high-quality industry placements

deliver high quality industry placements from the 2021 to 2022 academic year, as set out in the industry placements delivery guidance on GOV.UK

deliver and complete a set number of high-quality industry placements in 2021 to 2022 academic year. The delivery target for 2021 to 2022 academic year has yet to be confirmed, but once we are clear on the full impact of COVID-19, we will update this guidance

continue to prioritise the delivery of industry placements for Level 3 students as we move towards T Levels and increase the proportion of Level 3 delivery compared to Level 2

complete 2 monitoring returns on 1 December 2021, and 10 June 2022, with an additional financial monitoring form return on 1 March 2022 if requested to do so.

conduct student satisfaction surveys

record all high-quality substantial industry placements fully in the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) or school census at each data return point

By "opting out" through the monitoring forms, providers will be indicating to the ESFA that providers do not wish to receive funding for 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Supporting students financially

Information relating to supporting students financially can be found on GOV.UK.

Recording substantial industry placements and how this data will be used

A requirement for receiving a CDF allocation is that you record all industry placements fully in the individualised learner record (ILR) or school census at each data return point. Providers have been notified of the minimum number of industry placement they must deliver for students on either a Level 2 or a Level 3 programme for delivery in the 2020 to 2021 academic year. Only qualifications in the relevant SSAs or from the eligible AGQ list will count towards the target. We will be reviewing the data to cross refer the number of placements providers have recorded in the ILR or school census against the data provided in monitoring forms. Providers must ensure that each industry placement is recorded correctly, showing the start and end date, and the number of planned hours.

The learning aim reference number on the ILR and the school census specifically for recording CDF industry placements is ZWRKX002.

CDF industry placements must take place on top of the existing study programme hours and CDF funding is allocated in addition to mainstream funding for qualifying students. Therefore, industry placement hours must not be included in the planned hours recorded for the study programme.

It is also important to note that, where hours are currently spent on work experience that is an existing and compulsory part of the qualification hours in a study programme, these work experience hours cannot be counted towards the industry placement hours delivered through CDF because providers are already being funded for these through mainstream funding. For the placement to be counted, students would need to do the required industry placement hours (minimum of 315) on top of any hours for the existing work experience that are recorded as planned 'qualification hours' on the ILR and school census.

Those students that were on an industry placement in the 2019 to 2020 academic year that are yet to be completed can continue the aims recorded in 2019 to 2020 academic year into 2020 to 2021 academic year, however providers are not able to record any new students on the old aim.

Providers that have been selected to deliver T Levels from 2020 to 2021 must undertake a substantial industry placement, but these cannot be counted in the CDF target.

T Level industry placements must be recorded using the learning aim reference number ZWRKX003.

This learning aim reference is specifically for T Level industry placement activity and that code must not be used for CDF industry placements. The guidance for how T Levels will be funded in 2020 to 2021 academic year is currently being updated and we expect to upload the revised guidance towards the end of August 2020. Further information about this guidance can be found on GOV.UK.

A recorded webinar will be available from September 2020 on how to complete the ILR or school census return. We will notify providers via the ESFA update when the webinar is available to view.

Annual funding agreements/contracts for services with providers

Clauses in our annual funding agreements/contracts for services with providers, include conditions relating to CDF funding:

where a provider does not meet the minimum number of placements, the ESFA may seek to recover funds, and/or may take this into consideration when considering future CDF allocations. [Please note that, due to the continuing COVID-19 restrictions, for the 2020 to 2021 academic year, we will not penalise providers for not meeting the delivery targets originally set]

where a provider is assessed to be financial health inadequate, or the provider / education and training provided is judged by Ofsted to be inadequate, the ESFA may withhold any remaining profiled allocations, and may take such assessments into consideration when considering future CDF allocations

where the provider does not submit the monitoring returns by the dates published, the ESFA may withdraw the 2020 to 2021 academic year CDF allocation and recover funding paid

These clauses may vary by provider type; therefore, it is advisable that providers become familiar with these new clauses in their Funding Agreements.

Please contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency for all enquiries.

Deadline for first monitoring form December 2020

1 December 2020

Feedback to providers regarding their first monitoring form for December 2020

February 2021

Deadline for the financial monitoring return in March 2021 (if applicable)

1 March 2021

Issue CDF allocation statements for 2021 to 2022 AY (as part of main 16-19 funding allocation)

March 2021

Feedback to providers regarding the financial monitoring return 2021 (if applicable)

April 2021

Deadline for monitoring form for June 2021 submitted

11 June 2021

Feedback to providers on their June 2020 monitoring form

July 2021

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Industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for providers delivering in 2020 to 2021 academic year

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The purpose of this information is to detail the arrangements for delivering industry placements through the CDF for those providers in receipt of a CDF allocation in 2020 to 2021 academic year. This guidance replaces that published on the 17 July 2020 and responds to the continuing challenges providers are experiencing in light of COVID-19 restrictions.

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Information: Capacity and Delivery Fund data returns

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Information: Capacity and Delivery Fund data returns

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Ofsted’s evidence that colleges are being dishonest over job prospects

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Ofsted’s evidence that colleges are being dishonest over job prospects

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Ofsted's chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, used yesterday's annual report speech to repeat her criticism first aired in 2018 that a minority of colleges simply try to "fill their rolls and attract funding", whether or not the programmes they offer "open doors for the students that take them". She added that some colleges were "flooding" local job markets "with young people with say low-level arts and media qualifications". David Hughes tackles the criticism and whether, as suggested by the chief inspector, the government should step in

Unsurprisingly, the launch of Ofsted's annual report has sparked many conversations; it always does because everyone becomes engrossed in debating whether Ofsted is getting it 'right' or 'wrong'. For colleges this year discussion has centred on whether courses offered to young people help them into jobs.

The relationship between course subject and employment outcomes is a complex one at all levels and in all types of education. It is broadly accepted that a degree in any subject is good preparation for the world of work. So singling out courses at lower levels is wrong and unfair. When employers recruit a graduate they expect a suite of skills, abilities and behaviours that allow someone to flourish in their organisation. The job-specific skills are achieved on the job; but are learned best by people with transferable skills. You don't need a degree to have those skills; colleges students achieve them on courses at every level, and in every subject.

Colleges strive to make the best decisions for their students and the wider economy

We also know that for many students, they learn as much or perhaps even more from enrichment and extra-curricular activities. I cannot remember the last time I asked a candidate at interview about their qualifications, but I often ask about other activities which show the breadth of skills we are looking for.

It would also be short-sighted to suggest that every course can be matched directly to a job, not least because the labour market changes rapidly. When the best employers recruit, they are not looking to recruit people who are 100 per cent ready to do a specific job, but rather those with the potential to grow and develop, to learn and adapt. College courses develop student potential; they also build the confidence which unleashes it.

One of the accusations thrown at colleges is that they are not honest with potential students about the destinations and outcomes of a course. I've not seen evidence of that, but if it exists then I am confident that Ofsted will unearth it and report back through inspection reports. My experience, backed up by Ofsted in its inspections under the new framework, is that colleges strive to make the best decisions for their students and the wider economy. They do set out progression pathways and offer good IAG. Results are pretty good with the vast majority progressing onto study at higher levels or using their transferable skills in a whole range of sectors and roles.

Ofsted's new inspection framework speaks to this with deeper dives into the intent and impact of courses. It's right to take a more developmental approach so that colleges can really focus on outcomes and positive destinations of students. But we need to understand those outcomes better and understand that most people do not have linear routes into work and through their careers. Careers are often messy, with initial qualifications counting for little and experience and broader skills and abilities mattering far more.

Over four years ago we found that the average college worked with over 600 employers. When I meet these employers, they enthusiastically talk about how their success depends on colleges supporting the development of their workforce for immediate and long-term skills needs. Investing in colleges to provide more advice to SMEs would result in more relationships like this - good for productivity as well as for student prospects.

I'm sceptical about anyone who believes they can determine what courses are needed to make the labour market more efficient. There are simply too many variables to make those sorts of direct links, particularly given that most of the 2030 workforce is already in work. That's not to say that colleges should not look at labour market information, they do. Along with working with their local economic development team, the Local Enterprise Partnership, employer bodies and large and small employers.

Ultimately, colleges are expert at offering people the chance to succeed, no matter their circumstance or background. They do this by helping people find their passion and gain the transferable skills employers are crying out for. Employers working with colleges have high satisfaction levels, as do students and outcomes are very good too. Any intervention must not come at the expense of this.

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Where is Ofsted's evidence that colleges are dishonest over job prospects?

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Ofsted's chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, used yesterday's annual report speech to repeat her criticism first aired in 2018 that a minority of colleges simply try to "fill their rolls and attract funding", whether or not the programmes they offer "open doors for the students that take them".

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Disconnected: Career aspirations and jobs in the UK

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Disconnected: Career aspirations and jobs in the UK

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Authors: Nick Chambers, Chris Percy and Martin Rogers
22nd January 2020

A major new report reveals a disconnect between young people's career aspirations and jobs in the UK, whether current vacancies or projected demand. This report is based on an international survey of over 8,500 people aged 14-18. There were over 7,000 responses from young people in the UK and this report focuses on their responses.
Read the full report here Key findings:

The sectors that young people aspire to work in differ greatly from the jobs available. There is a disconnect between aspiration and opportunity;

The majority of young people are certain about their job choices - but there is a three-fold disconnect or worse between aspirations and demand in almost half of the UK economy;

For instance, five times as many young people want to work in art, culture, entertainment and sport as there are jobs available. Over half of those respondents do not report an interest in any other sector;

Young people are confident in their choices and the disconnect is strikingly similar at age 17/18 as at age 14/15, with similar patterns to the jobs to which children aspire at age 7/8. Such certainty and consistency of young peoples' career choices throughout their teenage years suggests that this disconnect from available jobs, and the frustrations and wasted energy it produces, will require significant effort to resolve;

Many young people report only limited careers support from their schools and colleges, but those who are benefitting from careers activities and multiple career influences in secondary education have aspirations that are - in aggregate - better connected to the labour market;

Effective careers support reduces the disconnection between aspirations and jobs. Extending best practice could change the lives of 100,000 school leavers per year.

Extending and improving careers activities in secondary schools and colleges alone could reduce the disconnect by up to a fifth (equivalent to around 100,000-125,000 young people leaving school each year). Schools and colleges cannot solve this disconnect alone; employers must also play an engaged role, both by bringing their insights into schools and by ensuring the opportunities they offer future workers are attractive and inspiring.

Improved career support in secondary school and the expansion of career-related learning in primary schools has the potential to drive considerable benefits to the economy via reduced skills shortages and better alignment, along with the many other benefits of enhanced provision. Research has established a positive relationship between young people's engagement with the world of work and their GCSE attainment.1 Young people with links to employers are likely to earn more and are less likely to be NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).2 And careers related learning in primary schools plays a key role in getting children excited about learning as well as tackling ingrained stereotypes and narrow aspirations they often have. This report is timed to be launched alongside new analysis of PISA data by the OECD, also published on the 22nd January 2020 in partnership with Education and Employers. The launch of " Dream Jobs? Teenagers' Career Aspirations and the Future of Work", will take place at the secondary school in Davos during the World Economic Forum (WEF). The students at the school have all been asked to write about their views on the future of the world, the issues that matter to them and their own career aspirations. A number of WEF delegates will visit the school and talk to the students about views and aspirations - the first time the WEF event has been used as a direct catalyst for supporting career events at local schools.

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Disconnected: Career aspirations and jobs in the UK - Education and Employers

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Authors: Nick Chambers, Chris Percy and Martin Rogers 22nd January 2020 A major new report reveals a disconnect between young people's career aspirations and jobs in the UK, whether current vacancies or projected demand. This report is based on an international survey of over 8,500 people aged 14-18.

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T Level Placements Should Be More Flexible

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T Level Placements Should Be More Flexible

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NFER Report

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10.12.19 T-Level Placements Should Be More Flexible, NFER Report Says

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EDGE BULLETIN

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Industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for 2020 to 2021 for providers in receipt of CDF in academic year 2019 to 2020

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Industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for 2020 to 2021 for providers in receipt of CDF in academic year 2019 to 2020

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Industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for 2020 to 2021 for providers in receipt of CDF in academic year 2019 to 2020

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The purpose of this information is to detail the arrangements for delivering industry placements through the CDF in 2020 to 2021 academic year for those providers in receipt of an allocation from the CDF in 2019 to 2020 academic year. CDF is now in its third year of delivery.

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If there are not enough willing employers capable of designing and delivering good-quality work placements, T-levels may prove to be an expensive, very public flop, warns Ewart Keep

Everyone knew from the outset that T-level work placements would be a major challenge for the new courses that kick in this September, and delivering them will be a central test of the initial pilots.

It's why the design of the placements has been evolving since the new qualifications were first announced in 2017. Tweaks already made at the drawing board are reflections of hard reality dawning: the decision to allow a student's placement to be broken down into chunks rather than delivered as one single continuous block, for example; similarly, the switch to allowing a placement to be spread across different employers rather than hosted by just one.

Despite this, it is far from clear at present that enough places can be provided beyond the pilot phase. If a sufficient volume of employers willing to offer the placements cannot be found, and if there are not enough willing employers capable of designing, supervising and delivering high-quality work placements, then T-levels may prove to be an expensive and very visible failure.

A central problem is the capacity of firms large and small to design high-quality work placements that complement and enhance the learning students do in the classroom. To achieve this would require the firm to have a manager capable of liaising with the college to ensure that the integration of curriculum and learning outcomes is carefully orchestrated across these two learning environments.

They should be supported by skilled in-company trainers who could design work processes and tasks that can support structured learning and reflection and monitor and oversee that learning process.

These requirements would not be too onerous in countries like Germany, where well-established apprenticeship systems are in place that require firms to have significant expertise in melding together on- and off-the-job learning, and appropriately qualified in-company trainers. In England, by contrast, this may be a rather big ask.

When even large employers, such as Jaguar Land Rover, contract out their apprenticeship provision, then the chances that small and medium-sized employers (SMEs) will be able to cope with on-the-job training may be slender.

A pilot project run in 2017-2018 by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development for the JP Morgan Foundation to provide SMEs with free human resource management advice to get them ready to take on young apprentices demonstrated the problems. Most of the resources were spent on getting them to become legally compliant because it turned out that many companies were operating in breach of basic employment legislation.

It is far from clear at present that enough places can be provided

A separate pilot project undertaken in 2017-2018 by the Institute of Education's Centre for Post-14 Education and Work (again funded by JP Morgan) reinforced the scale of the problem: the East London Vocational Education and Training (ELVET) project found that many employers in sectors such as digital and creative struggled to cope with offering work placements. Many workers were self-employed and coalesced around one-off projects, firms lacked expertise on learning design, and there were practical problems with safeguarding and insurance. The further education colleges involved in ELVET had to expend considerable time and effort building employer capacity to manage work placements.

Some in government believe that colleges can do the employers' job for them and in effect supervise the placement - an unlikely prospect. Those external to the workplace will struggle to deliver good on-the-job learning if there is no on-site expertise.

What is to be done? Building employer workplace training capacity will be key. Getting groups of firms, particularly SMEs, to work together and to build shared capacity is one potential route to success. Another is reviving a national, publicly-funded training of trainers programme which was around in the 1970s and early 1980s and was highly regarded. It would also help with apprenticeship quality.

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Good quality work placements must be in place for T-levels

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If there are not enough willing employers capable of designing and delivering good-quality work placements, T-levels may prove to be an expensive, very public flop, warns Ewart Keep Everyone knew from the outset that T-level work placements would be a major challenge for the new courses that kick in this September, and delivering them will be a central test of the initial pilots.

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Youth Jobs Gap: How early disadvantage impacts youth employment outcomes

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Youth Jobs Gap: How early disadvantage impacts youth employment outcomes

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This new NIESR and Impetus report on young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) reveals that: Young people with a disadvantaged family background[1] are 50% more likely to be NEET than better-off peers irrespective of their education outcome.

[1] Based on Free School Meals eligibility in the final year of secondary school.

This finding holds for all age groups and also has not changed over time. For the first time, our data allows us to create reliable NEET statistics for the 18-24 year-olds in local areas, which show that local employment gaps between disadvantaged young people and others differ greatly and are unrelated to overall NEET rates.

As with previous studies, our findings confirm much lower NEET rates for 18-24-year old people with good GCSEs, A-Levels or Level 3 vocational qualifications.

Local differences in this "employment gap" indicate that some local areas are more successfully tackling the negative effects of disadvantage, which are unrelated to education success, on young people's school-to-work transitions.

Our study demonstrates the great potential of administrative data to learn more about the school-to-work transition of young people, which local areas are successful and where we can learn from good practice.

Findings in detail

We analyse linked education and labour market data for 3,486,000 young people, i.e. the full biographies of practically everybody leaving state secondary schools between 2007 and 2012 in England. People having a NEET experience are all people not observed in the data with education and employment activity for a period of three months at any point in time.

For the most recent point in time (March 2017), our results show that young people with low qualifications are twice as likely to be NEET than those with 5 GCSEs (29% compared to 15%). People with A-Levels of Level 3 vocational qualifications qualified experiencing the lowest NEET rates (8%).

Young people with a disadvantaged family background are 50% more likely to be NEET than better-off peers. This is true at all levels of qualification (see Figure 1) and regardless of age. Also, it has not changed since 2010.

Figure 1: NEET rates in March 2017, by education level* at age 18

* Low: Fewer than 5 GCSEs (A*-C) or equivalent, middle 5 GCSEs (A*-C), high A-Levels or vocational education at Level 3. Source: Linked DfE education records and Longitudinal Education Outcomes data.

London has a much smaller gap between NEET rates of children from disadvantaged families and others (seven percentage points). A much wider gap is found for the North East: almost one third of all disadvantaged 18-24 year olds are NEETs in this region, compared to 14% of their better-off peers.

Figure 2: NEET rates in March 2017, by disadvantage* and region

*Disadvantage refers to free school meal eligibility in final year of secondary school. Source: Linked DfE education records and Longitudinal Education Outcomes data.
Local area differences
Two maps of England's Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties with NEET rates and the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged young people show the complexity in local patterns of the youth employment gap (Figure 3).

The first one, showing NEETs as % of the population of young people in March 2017, shows the local areas by how large NEET rates are, in deciles, with the darkest ones showing where NEET rates are highest. The highest NEET rates are usually found in the metropolitan centres like the Inner London Boroughs, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. There are also relatively high rates in coastal areas like Blackpool, Brighton and East Sussex.

The second map shows the gap between NEET rates of young people from disadvantaged families and others, with the darker shades indicating larger gaps, i.e. more inequality. In combination, they show no consistent pattern. There are urban areas with larger NEET rates and smaller employment gaps, but also small gaps in some areas having comparatively low NEET rates like Leicestershire and York.
Figure 3: Maps of NEET rate and employment gap in small areas, March 2017
How to improve the situation
Source: Linked DfE education records and Longitudinal Education Outcomes data.

The main conclusion from this analysis is that improving education outcomes is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to lower the disproportionately higher NEET rates of disadvantaged young people. Better local support for them and investment in e.g. youth employability services and careers advice are also very relevant.
Authors: Dr Stefan Speckesser, Dr Matthew Bursnall and Jamie Moore. Tweet us @ImpetusPEF ‏ #YouthJobsGap
By showing regional and local differences in the employment gap, we find evidence that some local areas are more successfully tackling the negative effects of disadvantage, which are unrelated to education success, on young people's school-to-work transitions. From this point of view, the analysis of large data offers a great potential to see where local actors can achieve better outcomes and to learn from good practice.

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Impetus | Youth Jobs Gap: How early disadvantage impacts youth employment...

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This new NIESR and Impetus report on young people not in education, employment and training (NEET) reveals that: Young people with a disadvantaged family background[1] are 50% more likely to be NEET than better-off peers irrespective of their education outcome. [1] Based on Free School Meals eligibility in the final year of secondary school.

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Updates relating to:

Alternate delivery models and approaches framework

Throughout the 2018 to 2019 academic year we have carried out extensive engagement and have listened to suggestions, innovations and concerns raised by those providers and employers engaged in early delivery of industry placements. In response to this feedback, we have identified a series of additional models and approaches which can be used to ensure placements are high quality, meaningful and deliverable across different industries as well as being accessible for all students. The framework comprises models which are applicable to all routes as well as a number of industry-specific models, as listed below. Therefore, we have adapted the principles that providers work to for 2019 to 2020 academic year.

A summary of the new models of delivery are listed here, full details are included in the relevant sections below:

Applicable to all placements

Industry Placement across 2 employers: A single industry placement (average 350 hours, minimum 315 hours) can be split across 2 employers if needed

work taster activities: Students can undertake short work taster activities, of up to 35 hours in total, to help them decide on an area in which to specialise. These can be counted towards a student's total number of placement hours of average 350 hours, and minimum of 315 hours

SEND: A provider's on-site facilities can now be used for students with Special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) for up to 105 hours where they are occupationally relevant to the student's field of study. This must be in the best interests of the student and carefully aligned to their learning and development objectives

Young Offenders: On site facilities can be used for the full duration of placements for young offenders

minimum duration: The minimum duration of 45 days will not be a requirement for 2019 to 2020 academic year delivery. Industry placements should be on average 350 hours with a minimum of 315 hours. Whilst a typical working day on a placement is between 7 - 7.5 hours, the total 315 hours can be delivered at the discretion of the provider in accordance with the needs of the employer and the student (for example, if shorter days are required for those with SEND, part time work or other commitments, or to accommodate different industries working patterns)

Industry specific placements only

Construction: Students can now complete a Commercial, Charitable or Community Project for a maximum of 105 hours of their placement, working closely with an external employer to develop appropriate technical skills. The rest of the hours should be spent individually with an external employer to ensure the student gains experience of the workplace working independently from peers

Construction and Engineering & Manufacturing: Students can now spend a maximum of 105 hours of their total hours within an already established Skills Hub or Training Centre: in such a case, students will then need to complete the remainder of their placement with this same employer

Digital: Students studying a Digital course can now undertake a placement that develops their general Digital knowledge and skills as opposed to those only relevant to their specific specialism

Employer support fund

CDF providers within the South West and West Midlands have been invited to take part in this pilot. We have selected providers in these regions to ensure that there is a good mix of types of areas (for example rural, urban and opportunity areas) plus a mix of employer and provider types. Selecting providers in these regions also allows us to maximise the number of industry placements that are in the pilot to give us the most robust findings. This will allow us to look at the difference the funding makes to provision of industry placements depending on industry, employer and area types.

The pilot's findings will enable us to better support all providers delivering T Levels and industry placements through identifying the impact of additional funding on employers' willingness to offer placements, gathering evidence on employer costs associated with placements and informing our thinking on how to best deploy future funding. Findings from this pilot will be shared with all providers receiving CDF throughout the academic year 2019 to 2020 and a full evaluation is expected to be published in late 2020.

Employer support package

An employer support package will be developed to support employers throughout the 2019 to 2020 academic year. This will be designed to equip employers with the information and understanding needed to build their confidence and effectively plan and implement high quality placements. We will procure an organisation to develop and implement this package of support alongside industry professionals. The package will include both general and industry-specific guidance, face-to-face workshops, webinars and "on-demand" hands-on support. More information will be available at the beginning of the 2019 to 2020 academic year.

Further information about the updated policy and additional support package being developed is set out in more detail is available GOV.UK.

Purpose

The purpose of this information is to detail the arrangements for delivering industry placements through the CDF in 2019 to 2020 academic year for those providers in receipt of an allocation from the CDF in 2018 to 2019 academic year.

Background

During October 2017, we wrote to providers to advise them about CDF and industry placements (formally known as work placements). Providers were required to complete an implementation plan to access this funding and the Department assessed these plans to ensure they were complete. Funding for the CDF has been included in allocation statements for 2018 to 2019 academic year, as has the number of funded students and the minimum number of placements to be delivered by the end of the year.

CDF is to facilitate the build-up of capacity and capability to deliver substantial industry placements and deliver such placements from the 2018 to 2019 academic year. The placements being delivered are for students on vocational and technical study programmes at level 2 and level 3. It is recognised that the delivery of significant numbers of industry placements as part of T Levels is a significant step change for the sector. This is why this funding has been provided now to help build capacity ahead of the roll out of T Levels, from 2020, which industry placements will be a compulsory part of.

Changes from 2018 to 2019 academic year to 2019 to 2020 academic year

There are changes to the principles and criteria of the CDF for 2019 to 2020 academic year as mentioned above. The new models for industry placements gives stability in funding for providers so they can build on their capacity building in 2018 to 2019 academic year and increase the number of students accessing and completing industry placements.

From 2019 to 2020 academic year if providers arrange industry placements for students studying AGQs that have not been used to calculate the CDF allocation, to help build their capacity in other curriculum areas/industries, this will count towards the 20% delivery target.

For 2019 to 2020 academic year we are increasing the proportion of qualifying students for whom we are requiring an industry placement to be provided. For 2018 to 2019 academic year, this was based on 10% of qualifying students. For 2019 to 2020, this is to increase to 20% of qualifying students.

Now T Levels are confirmed as level 3 programmes we are also increasing our emphasis on level 3 students. Therefore for delivery in 2019 to 2020 academic year we are introducing a requirement to prioritise level 3 placements. Providers will be required to deliver at least 10 percent more level 3 placements compared to their baseline split between level 2 and level 3 qualifying students.

For example - a provider with 1,000 qualifying students, split equally between L2 to L3 (500 students at L2 and 500 at L3):

they will need to deliver a placement for 20% of their qualifying students, so 200 placements

this is a baseline of 100 level 3 students in a placement

the minimum number of placements for level 3 students would be to increase the 100 by 10%

therefore a minimum of 100 x 1.1 = 110 level 3 placements during 2019 to 2020

To calculate this we will look at the proportion of qualifying students that were on level 3 study programmes in 2017 to 2018 academic year, apply that proportion to the minimum number of placements required in 2019 to 2020 academic year, increase the level 3 delivery by 10% and then calculate the minimum number of level 3 students we expect to be on a placement in the year.

Qualifications that count towards the 20% CDF target for the 2019 to 2020 academic year

In 2018 to 2019 academic year, students on Applied General Qualifications ( AGQ) courses that undertook 'T Level style' Industry placements funded through the capacity delivery fund, were not counted towards the 10% Industry Placement target as they did not fall within the published definition of a 'qualifying student' for the 2018 to 2019 cohort.

We have had lots of feedback on this issue and we have reviewed the position for 2019 to 2020 academic year. Based on this feedback, students undertaking an AGQ that undertake an industry placement can be counted towards the target from 2019 to 2020 academic year.

From 2019 to 2020 academic year if providers arrange industry placements for students studying AGQs that have not been used to calculate the CDF allocation, to help build their capacity in other curriculum areas/industries, this will count towards the 20% delivery target.

This change does not affect the 2019 to 2020 CDF allocation where AGQs have not been used to determine the allocation.

Monitoring form and guidance documents

For 2019 to 2020 we will continue with our principle of funding capacity building activity. To avoid asking providers for separate monitoring forms and year 2 implementation plans we have combined these 2 functions into a single monitoring form.

Therefore, to receive CDF funding for 2019 to 2020 academic year all providers, that received CDF for 2018 to 2019, will be required to submit a monitoring form to ESFA via a survey mechanism. The monitoring form is a compulsory return and without a completed monitoring form, ESFA will not make an allocation for CDF in 2019 to 2020 academic year.

Questions and information required and the guidance provided to assist with completing the monitoring form.

Monitoring forms will fulfil a number of functions. Firstly, they will demonstrate a commitment from the provider to building capacity and capability within their organisation to deliver high quality, substantial industry placements. Secondly, they will allow the provider to describe the progress made in delivering industry placements for 2018 to 2019. Thirdly, they will provide information on how delivery will be scaled up to deliver the 20% requirement for 2019 to 2020 and how an provider plans to utilise the allocation to do so, and finally they will allow the Department to assess if sufficient progress has been made to qualify for an allocation for 2019 to 2020 academic year.

This monitoring form, and provider's response to feedback based on this form, will be used to assess whether or not that provider will receive a further CDF allocation for 2019 to 2020 academic year.

The monitoring form will ask for a description of progress on actions that the provider will take to deliver placements and for an outline of how this additional funding will be used to lead to high quality industry placements for qualifying students.

A monitoring form must be completed by providers receiving CDF in 2018 to 2019 academic year. Providers with an Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement must answer additional questions so ESFA can be assured that quality improvement activity, which might affect the quality of delivery, is being addressed.

ESFA will write to all eligible providers before the end of July identifying their number of qualifying students, the number of placements required in 2019 to 2020 academic year and providing a direct link to the monitoring form they need to complete.

ESFA will review all monitoring forms. The Department is looking for you to demonstrate how you have used your CDF allocation to progress the activities you included in your Implementation Plan. We are asking for your assessment of progress in implementing these actions and the number of placements you have arranged, and for your estimate of the number of placements you will deliver by the end of the year. We are also looking to understand the initial barriers you are experiencing and how you are overcoming these.

Should the ESFA not be satisfied with the progress demonstrated then we will provide detailed feedback and may ask for additional information. We will then expect that these issues have been addressed by the time your next monitoring form is submitted on 1st February 2019.

Should the ESFA still not be satisfied with progress your 2019 to 2020 allocation will be at risk.

When completing your monitoring reports, we advise you to take advantage of the supporting documentation we have produced on principles for delivering high quality placements and the materials from the Industry Placement pilot that was run by the Challenge.

The deadline for submitting your monitoring form is midnight 7 June 2019.

Principles of a substantial industry placement in 2019 to 2020 academic year

Industry placements delivered with this funding must be:

delivered to the published standards and principles

a minimum of 315 hours in length, with an expected average within each provider of 350 hours (this excludes 1 hour per day for lunch). Whilst a typical working day on a placement is between 7 - 7.5 hours, the total 315 hours can be delivered at the discretion of the provider in accordance with the needs of the employer and the student (for example, if shorter days are required, or to accommodate different industries' working patterns)

occupationally specific and focused on developing the practical and technical skills required for the profession or trade that the student is studying for (Digital placements may be industry-specific where students develop general Digital knowledge and skills, as opposed to being occupationally specific)

taking place normally with a single employer but in all cases with a maximum of 2 external employers that is; on a site external to the student's learning environment independent of their fellow students and teaching staff.

SEND students may spend a maximum of 105 hours of placement within a providers' on-site facilities, and those in Young Offenders Institutes may spend the full duration of placement within on-site facilities

set learning objectives that are agreed between the employer, student and provider (note: the same objectives is to be worked towards even if a placement is conducted with more than one employer)

adequately supervised by a named member of the employers staff

monitored by actual site visits from the provider, with review meetings at the start, middle and end at a minimum to review the student's progress, and supplemented by more informal engagement and communication throughout

And should also:

be delivered within the academic timetable as far as possible but we recognise in some occupations, peak times will either be seasonal or fall outside the providers' normal working hours, such as catering, hospitality or events management

deliver a real life job role

have learning aims agreed at the start of the industry placement between the provider/employer/student and monitor progress throughout

Providers should ensure that students with Special Educational Needs will (as far as possible) be able to access the same quality of industry placement provision as their peers.

Qualifying students

For 2018 to 2019 academic year allocations we identified a proxy for students that were in scope for a substantial industry placement. We used 2015 to 2016 academic year end-year data from the Individualised Learner Record ( ILR) and the school census and HESA.

For 2019 to 2020 we have initially used 2016 to 2017 student data to calculate provisional qualifying student numbers. For the allocation for 2019 to 2020 we will use actual year end 2017 to 2018 student data.

Students that meet all the following criteria will be treated as qualifying students for CDF in 2019 to 2020:

students that are full time, that is those with total planned hours recorded as above 540 if aged 16 or 17 and 450 hours for an 18 year old. This includes High Needs Students (HNS) that have met the qualifying start period for their study programme

students aged 16, 17 and 18

students aged 19 to 25 with an educational health care plan (EHCP) are included. (students who are 19 to 25 years old at the beginning of their 2-year programme are not included)

students who are enrolled on a level 2 or level 3 programme, with a vocational core aim, which might be included in the technical education routes planned for introduction from 2020 to 2021 academic year. A list of qualification types included is set out below. It should be noted that General Vocational Qualifications are included but Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) are not. A list of excluded AGQs is available below

This list of AGQs excluded from the allocation calculation has been updated in February 2019 to include some older AGQs that were not previously included, to ensure consistency with previous years data. The updated list has been used to calculate CDF allocations for 2019 to 2020. An earlier list was used to calculate the CDF figures in the allocation calculation toolkit ( ACT) for this year, so the figures in your allocation may be different from those in ACT as a result.

The above criteria in no way indicates which qualifications will be subject to defunding in the future.

The qualification types included in identifying qualifying students are listed below:

Advanced Diploma

Associate Diploma

Award

Certificate

Certificate of Competence

Diploma

Diploma (14 to 19)

Edexcel First Diploma (new syllabus)

Edexcel First Extended Certificate (2012 onwards)

Edexcel National Award

Edexcel National Certificate (new syllabus)

Edexcel National Diploma (new syllabus)

First Certificate

Introductory Certificate

National Certificate

National Diploma

National Extended Diploma

National Vocational Qualifications

Principal Learning within Diploma (14 to 19)

Professional Diploma

Qualifying provider

Allocations are offered to all providers funded by the ESFA for 16 to 19 study programmes with qualifying students as defined above. This inclusive approach allows almost all providers currently offering vocational programmes that could evolve into one of the Technical Education Routes to receive an allocation. Allocations will be based on the number of qualifying students enrolled with each provider in 2017 to 2018 academic year.

Allocation of funding

The funding methodology reflects current delivery and made the funds widely available to all providers that met the criteria and deliver full time Technical Education at levels 2 and 3. Allocations were made to those providers that met the criteria, opted in and submitted a completed Implementation plan.

We base the level of funding for each provider on the number of qualifying full time students, at a rate of £250 per student enrolled on eligible programmes.

We avoid small payments, which providers may find to be of little use by making:

a minimum payment of £2,500 for providers with 1 to 10 qualifying students

a minimum payment of £5,000 for providers with 11 to 20 qualifying students

To qualify for funding providers will need to have an Ofsted overall effectiveness grading of "Requires Improvement" or better. In addition, the Department for Education reserves the right not to make an allocation where a Notice to Improve is in place, where a provider is at risk of financial difficulty or where there are any other known issues that could prevent or affect quality delivery.

Providers should be clear that access to the CDF does not imply future eligibility to deliver or receive funding for the development or delivery of T Levels. We will monitor delivery of industry placements in 2019 to 2020 academic year.

Opting in or out of an allocation in 2019 to 2020

We expect that providers that received a CDF allocation in 2018 to 2019 will also take advantage of the funding in 2019 to 2020. The monitoring report has been designed to let the Department know your intention to deliver industry placements in 2019 to 2020 by choosing whether to opt in or out of CDF in 2019 to 2020.

By "opting in" for CDF in 2019 to 2020 and completing the monitoring report, providers will be agreeing to:

utilise the funding to build capability and capacity for delivery of high quality substantial industry placements

the delivery and completion of high quality substantial industry placements from the 2019 to 2020 academic year following the published principles set out on GOV.UK.

deliver and complete a set number of high quality substantial industry placements in 2019 to 2020 academic year, based on no fewer than 20% of the number of qualifying students

where possible, prioritise the delivery of placements for level 3 students

provide a completed monitoring form template to the ESFA by midnight on 1st October 2018 for review, that clearly outlines what the short and medium term actions are that will be taken to prepare for delivery from 2019 academic year

provide monitoring/progress reports termly by 1 October 2019, 1 February and 1 June 2020

conduct student satisfaction surveys

to record all high quality substantial industry placements fully in the ILR, school census or HESA at each data return point

By "opting out" providers will be indicating to ESFA they do not wish to receive this funding for 2019 to 2020.

To opt out providers are asked to notify ESFA by selecting the appropriate answers on the monitoring form and completing a brief explanation, to inform future planning.

Supporting students financially

Information relating to supporting students financially can be found on GOV.UK.

Recording substantial industry placements

The Department will be issuing new guidance on how to record CDF industry placements soon; and this will be included in the updated version of the ILR user manual for 2018 to 2019, and the guidance for the school census.

CDF industry placements are to take place on top of the existing study programme hours and providers have been allocated CDF funding in addition to mainstream funding for qualifying students. Therefore, industry placement hours must not be included in the planned hours recorded for the study programme, as stated in our 2018 to 2019 information on GOV.UK on GOV.UK.

We have introduced a new learning aim on the ILR and the school census specifically for recording industry placements, for monitoring and funding purposes and this will help to differentiate between CDF industry placements and external work experience that forms part of the students' Employability, Enrichment and Pastoral ( EEP) study programme hours.

It is also important to note that, as things stand, where hours are currently spent on work experience that is an existing and compulsory part of a study programme, these cannot be counted towards the industry placement hours delivered through CDF because providers are already being government funded for these through mainstream funding. This is unless students are able to do the required industry placement hours (minimum of 315) on top of those hours for the existing work experience that are recorded as planned 'qualification hours' on the ILR and school census. As we set out in the consultation response, we will be working with the sector over the coming months to consider whether any flexibilities should be applied.

We have updated some clauses in our annual funding agreements / contracts for services with providers, to provide for the following:

where a provider does not meet the minimum number of placements, the ESFA may seek to recover funds, and/or may take this into consideration when considering future CDF allocations

where a provider is assessed to be financial health inadequate, or the provider / education and training provided is judged by Ofsted to be inadequate, the ESFA may withhold any remaining profiled allocations, and may take such assessments into consideration when considering future CDF allocations

These clauses may vary by provider type therefore it is advisable that providers become familiar with the new clauses in their funding agreement.

As T Levels are rolled out, we will investigate making future funding conditional on placements being completed. Over time, the delivery of industry placements will become a requirement of the T Level programme completion and at that point will be monitored via accountability measures through ILR/school census and HESA data. Additional funding will be available to support delivery of T Level programmes in future. We will consult on wider T Level funding arrangements in autumn 2019 in advance of the introduction of T Levels.

ESFA enquiries

Timeline for 2020 to 2021 allocations for providers receiving a CDF allocation for 2018 to 2019

Allocation statements issued for 2019 to 2020

March 2019

Deadline for third monitoring form submitted back for 2018 to 2019.

7 June 2019

Confirm 2019 to 2020 CDF allocations to providers

July 2019

Deadline for Autumn monitoring form submitted back for 2019 to 2020 CDF

Autumn 2019

Deadline for second monitoring form submitted back for 2019 to 2020 CDF to be determined

TBC

Deadline for third monitoring form submitted back for 2019 to 2020 to be determined

TBC

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Industry placements: capacity and delivery fund (CDF) for 2019 to 2020 for providers in receipt of CDF in academic year 2018 to 2019

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Updates relating to: Throughout the 2018 to 2019 academic year we have carried out extensive engagement and have listened to suggestions, innovations and concerns raised by those providers and employers engaged in early delivery of industry placements.

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Destinations of Learners in Greater Manchester

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Destinations of Learners in Greater Manchester

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Destinations of Learners in Greater Manchester

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Shaping journeys towards employment for young people.

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End of programme timeline | Greater Manchester Talent Match

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This video charts the unique approach that Greater Manchester Talent Match took to tackling youth unemployment between 2013 and 2018.

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Petition: Remove compulsory GCSE English and maths resits for 16-18 year old students

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Petition: Remove compulsory GCSE English and maths resits for 16-18 year old students

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We need the DfE to have a rethink over compulsory GCSE resits for our FE students! Teachers know what to do! Trust us to make the right decision for our students! Please sign and share

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Petitions - UK Government and Parliament

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Compulsory GCSE resits do not apply to Apprentices or T Level students who may be enrolled on Functional Skills. Teachers should be allowed to select the most appropriate type of English and maths qualification for a students' onward progression, rather than being mandated by a Condition of Funding

More details

Government must change this failed and costly policy which shows that three-quarters of young people who failed to achieve a GCSE in English and maths at age 16, have still not achieved them by age 19 despite multiple attempts. FE professionals should be allowed to choose the most appropriate qualification linked to a student's intended destination. The AoC, AELP, and ASCL have called for the policy to be scrapped, with Ofsted stating that there are "serious questions" about it. Let's change it!

This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months

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Petition: Remove compulsory GCSE English and maths resits for 16-18 year olds students

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Compulsory GCSE resits do not apply to Apprentices or T Level students who may be enrolled on Functional Skills. Teachers should be allowed to select the most appropriate type of English and maths qualification for a students' onward progression, rather than being mandated by a Condition of Funding

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Barclays Life Skills Gatsby Mapping Guide

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Barclays Life Skills Gatsby Mapping Guide

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Protected Work Experience: A way into work or education for disadvantaged young people?

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Protected Work Experience: A way into work or education for disadvantaged young people?

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> > Protected Work Experience: A way into work or education for disadvantaged young people?

unsplash-logo Green Chameleon

Brian Creese recently conducted an evaluation of The Protected Work scheme, an initiative offering longer and more structured work experience to disadvantaged young people. Drawing on a small sample of data, Creese suggests there is merit in using similar approaches in other organisations and local authorities delivering similar schemes.
This article presents the findings of an evaluation of The Protected Work Experience scheme delivered by Elmbridge Youth Support Services (now Elmbridge Family Services) and supported by Walton Charity between 2014 and the end of 2017. The project's aim was to support the most vulnerable young people back into work, education or training by providing work experiences which was longer, more structured and better rewarded than the traditional route.

Background

The provision of work experience for upper secondary school pupils and college students has been a popular intervention for over 40 years. It is largely seen as a way of preparing young people for moving into the world of work. In 1973, the "Education (Work Experience) Act" clarified the law to allow pupils to undertake placements on employers' premises during the last year of compulsory education. By the end of the 1980s there was an assumption that all pupils should have work experience before the age of 16. National guidelines for work experience were first published in 1998 and in 2004 work-related learning became a statutory requirement in Key Stage 4 (Mann, 2012).

Despite the ubiquity of work experience programmes, there is little research on their effectiveness in actually delivering on these varied expectations. There is also little rigorous research on what constitutes effective work experience. Most of the available research tends to be limited in nature and often focused on specific interventions. An example is the Department for Education research report "Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges" (DoE, 2017) which identified a range of approaches that were felt to support the delivery of effective work-related activities. These included availability of schemes, identification of work experience, preparatory activities and monitoring, evaluation and review. The Higher Education Careers Services report "The impact of work experience on student outcomes: implications for policy and practice" (McCulloch et al, 2014) similarly recognises the necessity of work experience being 'high quality'.

It is interesting to note the types of impact on young people which are most often cited and considered to have the most important impact. Many of these could be considered interchangeable with the 'soft skills' required for employment such as communication and interpersonal skills, increased confidence, team working and time management skills.

An element of the Protected Work Experience project is mentoring. While defining mentoring, especially in the context of disadvantaged young people remains problematic, there is general agreement that it is, in essence, a trusting and caring relationship which underpins its effectiveness (Roberts, 2000; Pawson, 2004). Once again, however, there is little convincing research demonstrating the effectiveness of mentoring or defining effective mentoring practice. Research is too often restricted to illustrating the success or otherwise of the desired outcomes from specific mentoring programmes. These usually rely on reporting by mentors or programme staff, and sometimes on self-reporting by young people, both of which tend to overestimate positive results (Colley, 2006).

Perhaps a scheme which is most similar to Protected Work Experience is Supported Internships. From August 2013, all young people in full or part-time education aged 16 to 19 have been expected to follow a study programme - a coherent, personalised learning programme that offers breadth, depth and progression. A supported internship is a study programme aimed at young people aged 16 to 24 who have a statement of special educational needs or an educational, health and social care (EHC) plan, who want to move into employment and need extra support to do so (DoE, 2014, revised 2017). However, supported internships do not include payments, either to employers or trainees, and must include education or training including maths and English (Creese et al, 2016).

Lisa Russell (2014) alludes to a possible solution by arguing that support for young people seeking employment could be improved by adopting holistic approaches matched more specifically to the needs of the young person and the employer. Young people not in employment, education or training often have complex pathways into work, and those deemed 'hard to reach' often have few qualifications and lack relevant work experience and the social capital necessary to find creative or relevant work contacts (Russell, 2014).

Protected Work Experience

The Protected work experience project was founded on seven key concepts established through feedback from young people:

There was a gap in the local market between traditional work experience placements and current traineeships, apprenticeships or starting positions.

Work related activity was the preferred developmental opportunity for some young people (rather than formal education).

Local opportunities enable young people to reside in the local community.

The employer could receive up to £1000 spread incrementally over the three month period. This incentive was in recognition of the level of support each young person was likely to need within the placement.

Trainees receive a fixed level of expenses that recognise their positive contribution to the workplace.

The capacity for permanent employment would be raised for the employer and young person during the three month placement.

The placement was flexible in the number of hours and where appropriate, kept under the threshold for any reduction in claimed benefits. This reflects the precarious nature of some family incomes and the capacity of individual young people.

The young people who took part in the project had a range of severe needs, ranging from major mental health difficulties, including suicidal tendencies and self-harming, through to criminal behaviour and being victims of sexual abuse. Almost all reported a severe lack of self-confidence and self-esteem, communication issues, being very withdrawn and suspicious of their peers and paranoia around public transport.

The main part of the scheme involved setting up work placements for 12 weeks, with trainees expected to work between 12 hours and 25 hours a week, and payments made to both employers (up to £1000 for a full 12 weeks) and the trainees themselves. Employers and trainees met beforehand for an informal interview process to further legitimise the experience as work. This represents a significantly different and innovative approach from other work experience schemes.

In total just 14 young people went through the scheme. One reason for this seems to have been the restructuring and constant change to the Surrey Youth Services and a national change of focus away from NEETs following the raising of the participation age in 2016.

Costs

The total expenditure was £10,816, with just under £5,000 of that being paid to the trainees and just over £6,000 to the employers. The total employers' payments were relatively low because not all employers wished to claim all their expenses, or in one case, could not do so because of their relationship with Surrey County Council. These figures provided an average cost of just over £770 per young person for the project as a whole. However, the funding criteria for trainees changed during the project, so perhaps a more realistically average expenditure was £920 per placement when looking at the later trainees in isolation.

Outcomes

A full case study was produced for every trainee on the scheme. Initially these case studies consisted of intermediate as well as final reports from the social worker and the employer, but they became purely a final report in the later studies. In conducting the evaluation, we analysed these case studies, conducted follow up interviews with three employers and with Surrey Youth Services and were able to view a video produced by one trainee about their experience on the project.

Analysis of these case studies showed that 10 of the trainees completed their placements and in 10 cases employers were satisfied with their work and conduct. In 11 cases there was clear evidence of progression with 4 young people moving into education or training and 8 (possibly 9) entering paid employment. It was not possible to gain follow-up notes in all cases and, given the difficult nature of this cohort, it is not certain that the progress shown above was maintained.

The case studies produced evidence that all trainees gained in self-confidence, self-esteem and communications skills, a sense of responsibility and ability to get to work on time. Many of these young people also reported moving on and being able to leave all support services which undoubtedly represents a significant success.

Conclusions

The Protected Work Experience project has shown that a pioneering, innovative approach to getting disadvantaged young people to engage with work or further education and training can be successful, even with those suffering from multiple and severe disadvantages. There is clear evidence not only of young people acquiring the 'soft' work related skills often cited by employers as necessary, but of improving mental health conditions, and even radically changed lives. The employers spoken to were also enthusiastic about the experience, even when they found themselves working with young people exhibiting very challenging behaviours.

An important factor in the scheme was the willingness to accept initial failure. Not every trainee thrived in their first placement, but those running the scheme were prepared to try again. Others had 'successful' placements, gaining skills and building up a good rapport with the employer, but did not subsequently move on to employment or further education. As noted above, those with such challenging needs tend to not make regular, linear progress; but have ups and downs and diversions before being able to cope with the adult world. Recognising and supporting these failures is an important element of the scheme.

Lisa Russell (2014) noted the importance of supporting the whole person rather than focus exclusively on a specific outcome, in this case the young person gaining employment or entering education or training. Although none of the employers interviewed saw their role as mentors, we can confidently say that they exhibited a "trusting and caring relationship" with their trainees, the basis of a mentoring relationship. Their support for their trainees was not confined to work related issues, but embraced their whole being, travel issues, educational needs, coping with home life and differing types of relationships. In almost all of the case studies trainees were in a better place as people after their placements and more ready to succeed in the future.

There are a number of elements which appear to be key to the success of the scheme:

The project coordinator needed to be able to make a good match between the employer and trainee. An interview process was seen as important as it gave both sides a chance to see the other and also validated the placement as being a 'job'.

Employers were genuinely concerned about providing real work experience, not simply administration, cleaning or filing. In the café, trainees were encouraged to bake, find and even create new recipes. In the retirement village, trainees were either actively involved in caring for residents or working alongside other employees doing maintenance projects. In the video company, trainees were able to build creative portfolios of art work.

For this reason, the 12 week timescale was seen as an important factor. It makes the experience for both sides about real work and contributing to the company rather than simply a short visit.

The payments were seen as an important element, both for employers and trainees. For employers, the payments recognised that they were expected to put in the extra time and effort to work with the young people. Payment to the trainees was essential to enable them to take up places and it made the experience different from school or other training. Receiving a 'wage' also proved beneficial to trainees' self-esteem.

Despite the disappointingly small number of trainees who participated, it seems clear that there is great potential in others exploring the methodology of this approach with similar cohorts of disadvantaged young people. It would be good to see further schemes attempted for groups who might benefit from a similar more structured approach to work experience. The nature of the cohort ensures that such schemes will be small, but it should be possible to collate results from a number of pilots to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.

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Last Updated: 20 December 2018
References:
Colley, H. (2006) Mentoring for young people not in education, employment or training: a NEET solution, but to whose problems? Paper commissioned by the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training. https://leadershiphub.etfoundation.co.uk/sites/default/files/inline-files/ioe_etf_strategicguide_final.pdf

Creese, B., Litster, J. and Mallows, D. (2016). A Strategic Guide for the delivery of GCSE English and Maths to the 16-19 cohort. Education and Training Foundation.

Department for Education (2014, revised 2017). Supported Internships. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/620920/Supported_Internship_Guidance_updated_with_EFA_funding_advice_May_2017_2.pdf

Department for Education (2017), Work experience and related activities in schools and colleges Research report, Nat Cen Social Research.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/601373/Work_experience_and_related_activities_in_schools_and_colleges.pdf
Mann, A. (2012). Work Experience: impact and delivery - Insights from the evidence. Education and Employers Taskforce. https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/work_experience_report__april_2012_.pdf

McCulloch, A., Artess, J. and Herrmann, K. (2014) Higher Education Careers Services Unit https://www.educationandemployers.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/artess_et_al_-impact_of_work_experience_on_he_student_outcomes.pdf

Pawson, R. (2004) Mentoring relationships: an explanatory review, London: ESRC

UK Centre for Evidence Based Policy and Practice.

Roberts, A. (2000) Mentoring revisited: a phenomenological reading of the literature, Mentoring and Tutoring 8 (2) 145-170.

Russell, L. (2014). Formerly NEET Young People's Pathways to Work: A Case-Study Approach. Power and Education, 6(2), 182-196. ( http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2304/power.2014.6.2.182)
Biography:
Brian Creese is project manager at Walton Charity, having previously worked at UCL Institute of Education for 10 years where he specialised in adult literacy and numeracy. He is also co-director of the Centre for Education in the Criminal Justice System.

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Protected Work Experience: A way into work or education for disadvantaged young people?

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Protected Work Experience: A way into work or education for disadvantaged young people? Brian Creese recently conducted an evaluation of The Protected Work scheme, an initiative offering longer and more structured work experience to disadvantaged young people.

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Greater Manchester's business community is committed to supporting the aspirations of our residents and truly meeting the needs of the labour market for generations to come. As a first step, many employers want to support GM's young people but are often unsure where best to place their efforts.

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Career Tools | Greater Manchester Talent Match

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Career Tools | Greater Manchester Talent Match

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Career Tools | Greater Manchester Talent Match

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This site is dedicated to providing information and signposting for those interested in careers in the NHS and contains resources, events listings and information about opportunities to get involved in the NHS. The site is divided into three areas aimed at different types of users.

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Careers and Employability Advisory Group

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Careers and Employability Advisory Group

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Work placements – capacity and delivery fund from April 2018 to July 2019

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Work placements – capacity and delivery fund from April 2018 to July 2019

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Context

Two thirds of employers rate work experience as being of significant or critical value for young entrants to the labour market and half of employers believe a top priority for schools and colleges should be developing awareness of working life with support from businesses. That is why the Department for Education (DfE) is investing in building the capacity of post 16 institutions and training providers for full time 16 to 18 year olds, (this funding is not available for students aged 19+) to complete a substantive work placement for vocational and technical study programmes. We are expecting providers and employers to start developing the capacity and capability to deliver work placements now in advance of the introduction of T Levels from 2020. To this end DfE has introduced the Work Placement Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF).

Purpose

The CDF will be available from April 2018 to facilitate the build-up of capacity and capability to deliver substantive work placements and deliver placements in the 2018 to 2019 academic year. The placements are for students on vocational and technical study programmes at level 2 and level 3. It is recognised that the delivery of significant work placements as part of T Levels will be a significant step change for the sector. This is why this funding is being provided now to help build capacity ahead of the roll out of T Levels, from 2020, which work placements will be an essential part of.

The CDF funding is additional to the mainstream allocation, which is based on planned hours for qualifications and employability, enrichment and pastoral (EEP) hours. The work placement must be delivered on top of the usual planned hours, which must be recorded in the usual way.

Guidance documents

This guidance provides an overview of the requirements for funding, recording and delivering work placements. It will be updated as more information becomes available. In addition links are provided to the following supporting documentation:
Work Placement Capacity and Delivery Fund: principles for high quality work placements
Guidance for 16 to 19 institutions completing the work placement capacity and delivery fund (CDF) implementation plan (MS Word Document, 81.6KB) and progress reports

Summary

Institutions receiving the funding need to ensure the substantive work placements being delivered meet the published principles so the sector is ready for large scale delivery, when T Levels are rolled out. This includes ensuring a work placement is:

on average 50 working days in length within a range of 45 to 60 days, covering a minimum of 315 hours, (this applies to 2018 to 2019 academic year delivery only)

occupationally specific and focussed on developing practical and technical skills

taking place with an external employer on a site external to the student's learning environment, (but not on another training provider's site) so that the student experiences a real life job role

delivered to a structured work plan

adequately supervised, and

monitored by actual site visits

For the period up to July 2019 we will allocate the CDF based on the number of qualifying students in the 2015 to 2016 academic year at a funding rate of £250 per qualifying student. Institutions with low qualifying students numbers will be allocated a flat rate - those with 1 to 10 qualifying students will be allocated £2,500, those with 11 to 20 qualifying students will be allocated £5,000. Payments will start in September 2018 for academies and in August 2018 for all other institutions/providers. However, we will expect capacity building activity to start from April 2018 so that institutions can deliver work placements from September 2018.

In order to receive this funding institutions are required to opt in and agree to:

utilise the funding to build capability and capacity for delivery of high quality substantive work placements

the delivery of high quality substantive work placements during the 2018 to 2019 academic year in line with the principles set out

deliver at least a set number of high quality substantive work placements in 2018 to 2019 academic year - no fewer than 10% of the number of qualifying students on full time level 2 and/or level 3 vocational and technical programmes in 2015 to 2016 academic year

provide a completed implementation plan template to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) by 24 November 2017, that clearly outlines what the short and medium term actions will be to ensure delivery of placements in the 2018 to 2019 academic year, and how this will help support delivery in future once T Levels have been introduced

provide termly monitoring/progress reports to the ESFA on 1 October 2018, 1 February 2019 and 1 June 2019

conduct student and employer satisfaction surveys

record all high quality substantive work placements fully in the ILR or school census at each data return point

Additional funding through the CDF will be available in future years to support providers to deliver work placements for T Levels. The number of placements that will need to be delivered with future funding will increase. We will specify the number of required placements before each year's allocation. Providers that do not meet the expectations each year should expect to receive a reduced allocation the following year. When T Levels are rolled out from 2020, all students doing a T Level will be required to successfully complete a work placement. This will be in addition to those students on other vocational courses that will not at that point have transitioned to T Levels, and who we will also expect to do work placements. We will therefore expect institutions to keep pace with this increase in delivery.

Institutions should be clear that access to the CDF in 2018 to 2019 academic year does not imply future eligibility to deliver or receive funding for the development or delivery of T Levels. We will review our approach to funding work placements before each year's funding is allocated.

Background

On 6 July Education Secretary Justine Greening confirmed a £50 million investment from April 2018 to fund high quality substantive work placements, to help prepare young people for skilled work. This followed the commitment made last summer through the Post-16 skills plan that all 16 to 19 students following a new technical education route will be entitled to a quality work placement to arm them with the technical skills they need to give them the best possible chance for entering skilled employment.

Further Education needs to prepare young people better to start work and the Government agrees with the recommendation of the independent panel on technical education that substantive work placements are a key way to achieve this. Therefore, DfE is introducing a requirement for all full time 16 to 18 year olds to undertake a substantive work placement as part of new T Levels, which will be rolled out from 2020. However, we are asking providers and employers to start delivering substantive work placements now so that they are fully prepared for when this does become a mandatory requirement under T Levels. DfE has introduced the CDF to support post 16 institutions and training providers to deliver this.

DfE has contracted with "The Challenge" to pilot the delivery of substantive work placements in this academic year. However, we recognise the scale of the challenge of moving from what is typically a 10-day general placement to a 45 to 60 day occupational placement. Hence, the importance of starting to build capacity now.

Principles of a substantive work placement

The work placements delivered with this funding must be:

delivered to the published standards and principles

on average 50 working days in length within an acceptable range of 45 to 60 days, covering a minimum of 315 hours. This applies to 2018 to 2019 academic year delivery only. The exact duration for the T Level work placement is to be determined and this hourly total is subject to change

occupationally specific and focussed on developing the practical and technical skills required for the profession or trade that the student is studying for

taking place with an external employer that is; on a site external to the student's learning environment (not another training provider's site), independent of their fellow students and teaching staff

delivered to a structured work plan and objectives agreed with the employer

adequately supervised by a named member of the employers staff

monitored by actual site visits from the institutions at least once every 4 weeks

It should also:

be delivered within the academic timetable as far as possible but we recognise in some occupations, peak times will either be seasonal or fall outside the institutions' normal working hours, such as catering, hospitality or events management

deliver a real life job role and work experience

have learning aims agreed at the start of the work placement between the institution/employer/student and monitor progress throughout

It is expected that students with Special Educational Needs will be able to access the same quality of provision as their peers.

Qualifying student

To identify a proxy for students that might be in scope for a substantive work placement we have used 2015 to 2016 academic year end-year data from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and the school census. Students that meet all the following criteria are treated as qualifying students:

full time, that is those with total planned hours recorded as above 540 if aged 16 or 17 and 450 hours for an 18 year old

students that have met the qualifying start period for their study programme

students aged 16, 17 and 18. Students who are 19 years old at the beginning of their 2 year programme are not included

students who are enrolled on a level 2 or level 3 programme, with a vocational core aim, which might be included in the technical education routes planned for introduction from 2020 to 2021 academic year

a list of qualification types included is set out below. It should be noted that General Vocational Qualifications are included but Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) are not.

Qualification types at levels 2 and 3 included in identification of qualifying students

Advanced Diploma

Associate Diploma

Award

Certificate

Certificate of Competence

Diploma

Diploma (14 to 19)

Edexcel First Diploma (new syllabus)

Edexcel First Extended Certificate (2012 onwards)

Edexcel National Award

Edexcel National Certificate (new syllabus)

Edexcel National Diploma (new syllabus)

First Certificate

Introductory Certificate

National Certificate

National Diploma

National Extended Diploma

National Vocational Qualifications

Principal Learning within Diploma (14 to 19)

Professional Diploma

Qualifying institution/provider

We will offer an allocation of funds to all institutions funded by the ESFA for 16 to 19 education with qualifying students as defined above. This inclusive approach allows almost all institutions currently offering vocational programmes that could evolve into one of the Technical Education Routes to receive an allocation. Allocations will be based on the number of qualifying students enrolled with each provider in the 2015 to 2016 academic year.

To qualify for funding institutions will need to have an Ofsted overall effectiveness grading of "Requires Improvement" or better. In addition, the ESFA reserves the right not to make an allocation where a Notice to Improve is in place, where a provider is at risk of financial difficulty or where there are any other known issues that could prevent or affect quality delivery.

Implementation plans

To receive CDF funding all institutions will be required to submit an implementation plan to the ESFA via a survey mechanism. The questions covered by the plan and guidance for completing the implementation plan (MS Word Document, 81.6KB) can be found on GOV.UK. Institutions should note that without a completed implementation plan, the ESFA would not make an allocation.

Implementation plans will fulfil a number of functions. Firstly, they will demonstrate a commitment from the provider to building capacity and capability within their organisations to deliver high quality, substantive work placements. Secondly, to outline how that commitment will be implemented and finally to provide information on how an institution plans to utilise the allocation.

The implementation plan will ask for a description of the short and medium term actions that the provider will take to deliver placements and for a description of how this additional funding will be used to lead to high quality work placements for qualifying students. It will ask how you will collaborate locally with other institutions, providers and colleges. Institutions with an allocation of fewer than 100 qualifying students are strongly encouraged to enter into collaborative arrangements to create economies of scale for delivery of their substantive work placements.

Institutions will want to take a wide, whole organisation approach to planning the introduction of work placements, ensuring integration with other developments.

It is recognised that planning is related to volumes and is proportionate to the overall size of the organisation. Therefore, there will be 2 different implementation plan formats covering the same areas of content.

1. Full plan - where allocation is for 100 qualifying students or more. Institutions who will receive funding for 100 qualifying students or more will be required to complete a full implementation plan to ensure accountability for the larger sums they will receive.

2. Lighter touch plan - where the allocation is for fewer than 100 qualifying students. Institutions funded for fewer than 100 qualifying students will be required to complete a lighter touch plan. This will involve responding to fewer questions but cover the same content. It will ask specifically how the placements will be delivered through collaborating with other institutions or other defined methods.

Institutions with an Ofsted grade of "Requires Improvement" will be required to complete the full plan irrespective of the number of qualifying students they are funded for, this is so that the ESFA can be assured that quality improvement activity, that might affect the quality of delivery is being addressed.

The ESFA will write to all eligible institutions before the end of October identifying their number of qualifying students, the number of placements required in 2018 to 2019 academic year and providing a direct link to the survey they need to complete.

The ESFA will review all implementation plans. If the level of detail is not considered sufficient, feedback will be provided, the institution will be asked to submit a revised plan by a specific deadline. The ESFA will not provide an allocation where the implementation plan is considered incomplete.

Allocation of funding (April 2018 to July 2019)

The proposed funding methodology is designed to reflect current delivery and to distribute the funds widely to all providers that currently meet the criteria and deliver full time Technical Education at levels 2 and 3.

We have used end year data from the 2015 to 2016 academic year to identify all qualifying students and institutions that are delivering vocational programmes as described above.

We will base the level of funding for each institution on the number of qualifying full time students, at a rate of £250 per student enrolled on eligible programmes.

To avoid small payments, which institutions may find to be of little use, we will make:

a minimum payment of £2,500 for institutions with 1 to 10 qualifying students

a minimum payment of £5,000 for institutions with 11 to 20 qualifying students

We reserve the right not to make an allocation where a Notice to Improve is in place or where a provider is at risk of financial difficulty, or where there is a known issue that could prevent quality delivery.

Institutions should be clear that access to the CDF does not imply future eligibility to deliver or receive funding for the development or delivery of T-levels. We will monitor delivery of work placements in 2018 to 2019 academic year and also use the emerging findings from the pilot project being run by The Challenge to inform allocations for work placements in future years. We will announce our plans in autumn 2018.

Opting in or out of an allocation

Following the issue of this guidance all eligible institutions will be notified of the number of qualifying students we intend to base their allocation on. From this they will be able to estimate their first year's allocation, to enable them to plan.

It is expected that most eligible institutions will want to take full advantage of this opportunity, to provide their students with high quality work placements. Especially those that deliver significant volumes of vocational education. Therefore, we have used wide and inclusive definitions to identify qualifying students and eligible providers.

However, we recognise that not all institutions will be in a position to adapt their provision appropriately and take on this challenge at this time. Each institution will therefore be required to "opt in" to receive an allocation. They will do this by submitting an implementation plan to the ESFA via a survey mechanism.

By "opting in" institutions will be agreeing to:

utilise the funding to build capability and capacity for delivery of high quality substantive work placements

the delivery of high quality substantive work placements from the 2018 to 2019 academic year following the published principles set out on the intranet

to deliver a set number of high quality substantive work placements in 2018 to 2019 academic year, no fewer than 10% of the number of qualifying students

provide a completed implementation plan template to the ESFA by the 24 November 2017 for review, that clearly outlines what the short and medium term actions that will be taken to prepare for delivery from 2018

provide monitoring/progress reports termly by 1 October 2018, 1 February and 1 June 2019

conduct student and employer satisfaction surveys

to record all high quality substantive work placements fully in the ILR or school census at each data return point

By "opting out" institutions will be indicating to the ESFA they do not wish to receive this initial funding. This does not mean that institutions cannot receive funding in future years, although it will not be possible to opt back in until future funding is announced.

To opt out institutions are asked to notify the ESFA by selecting the appropriate answers on the survey and completing a brief explanation, to inform future planning.

Future increases in delivery

The main purpose of this funding is to build capacity at an individual institution level in order to deliver high quality substantive work placements for vocational and technical students. An institution's CDF allocation for 2018 to 2019 will be based on the number of students on eligible programmes in 2015 to 2016 academic year. For the 2018 to 2019 academic year we expect institutions to deliver work placements for at least 10% of the student number used in the CDF allocation. We will set each institution a numerical target based on this percentage. We then expect the figure to be delivered to increase year on year.

Payments

Profile payments will be made from September 2018 for academies and August 2018 for all other institutions/providers.

The first payment will include funding for the period April to August/September and the remainder will be paid on profile. However we will expect capacity building activity to start from April 2018 so that institutions can deliver work placements from September 2018.

Use of the funding

The number of qualifying students in 2015 to 2016 academic year forms the basis for the allocation for the CDF allocation. The majority of funding is for capacity building activity to improve the infrastructure to deliver high quality substantive work placements, in 2018 to 2019 and in future when T Levels are rolled out. However, in the first year we will expect the minimum 10% delivery requirment for work placements to be achieved.

We will not be prescriptive on how the funding is used, as long as it supports the intention of building capacity to deliver more substantive work placements and represents good value for money (for example does not constitute double funding or displacement of other funding).

Supporting students financially

Whilst the majority of the funding should be used for capacity building, we expect the minimum number of work placements to be delivered and funding can be used to directly support this delivery. For students as well as providers the new work placements will be a significant step change. For some students, particularly in rural areas where the placement may require additional travel, using some of the funds to support student travel and subsistence would be acceptable. In addition, institutions may want to use some of their bursary allocation to support those students that meet the bursary criteria. Employers could consider providing trainees with support to meet their expenses such as travel costs, but this is not a requirement.

Employers are not required to pay students during their work placement unless there is a formal employment contract in place. It is not a requirement that the work placement needs to be provided on the basis of a contract between the employer and the student, as the students are primarily on a full time course of study. Employers can choose whether they want to pay students or not. Any sums which the employer pays to the student would however be subject to tax and National Insurance. We will be consulting on this issue in more detail when we consult on T Levels more widely.

Recording substantive work placements

For the 2018 to 2019 academic year changes are being requested to the ILR and the school census in order to allow for institutions to record students who undertake a substantive work placement and to differentiate them from those students who continue to have work experience as part of their study programme. Precise details for how work placements will be recorded will be included in the guidance documents for both the ILR and school census and in an updated version of this guidance.

The CDF funding is additional to the mainstream allocation, which is based on planned hours for qualifications and employability, enrichment and pastoral (EEP) hours. As such, the work placement hours must not be included in the planned hours recorded for the study programme.

Monitoring and progress reports

We will require institutions to provide us with an update on the progress they are making on their implementation plan termly from autumn 2018. We will expect an update on progress for all areas described in the Implementation Plan. For evaluation purposes we will be particularly interested in the details of the method of delivery chosen. From spring 2019 we will require further progress reports, setting out the level of work placement provision that has occurred in 2018 to 2019 academic year. The proposed content for the progress report is included within the template for the implementation plan (MS Word Document, 81.6KB) guidance.

We are still developing the most effective way of monitoring work placement delivery. In this first year, we will seek to identify good practice to inform future development. We will provide further advice on this next spring.

Initially we will monitor work placements in this first year by reviewing:

number of placements started

number of placements completed (where agreed objectives were met)

student satisfaction rating (including reviews of student log books)

employer satisfaction rating

In this first year, CDF is not linked directly to T Levels, and funding will allow for the development of students on a vocational programme to undertake a substantive work placement. In future years as T Level development progresses the allocation of funding may be more closely aligned to programmes with a more direct link to T Levels. One of the key principles of a work placement is it should be occupation specific to the industry and focussed on developing the practical and technical skills required for the profession or trade the student is studying for.

Future allocations and conditions

We will re-visit our approach before subsequent years funding is allocated when we will know more about future delivery of vocational programmes. This will ensure we are targeting future years funding appropriately and will maximise value for money.

We will use data to monitor progress against the target set, as this will inform future allocations. Where delivery is below the target this will result in a reduction in the future allocation.

When T Levels are fully rolled out, we will investigate making future funding conditional on placements being completed. Over time, the delivery of work placements will become a requirement of the T Level programme completion and at that point will be monitored via accountability measures through ILR/school census data. Additional funding will be available to support delivery of T Level programmes in future. We will consult on wider T Level funding arrangements well in advance of the introduction of T Levels.

Work placement capacity and delivery fund webinar

A webinar about the work placement capacity and delivery fund took place on 1 November 2017.

You can view a recording of this webinar on our YouTube channel. A copy of the are also available to view.

Any queries regarding funding of work placements should be made to

Timescales for funding work placement capacity and delivery fund

September 2017

Guidance published

October 2017

All eligible institutions to receive notification of indicative student numbers and survey link

24 November 2017

Proposed implementation plans submitted by institutions

24 November - mid December 2017

The implementation plans are reviewed

December 2017

Notify institutions with incomplete plans to resubmit by a new deadline

End of January 2018

Final deadline for resubmitted implementation plans back to the ESFA

February 2018

Notify successful institutions of outcome

End of February 2018

Re-submitted plans reviewed

End February 2018

Finalise allocation amounts for each provider calculated

End February 2018

Write to institutions confirming allocations

Early March 2018

Institutions build the work placement funding offer into their funding strategies

April-July 2018

Capacity building activity in progress

August/September 2018

Payments start

Autumn 2018

First placements delivered

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Work placements - capacity and delivery fund from April 2018 to July 2019

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Two thirds of employers rate work experience as being of significant or critical value for young entrants to the labour market and half of employers believe a top priority for schools and colleges should be developing awareness of working life with support from businesses.

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Free online tool aims to create a generation of technology leaders in the UK

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Free online tool aims to create a generation of technology leaders in the UK

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A new online tool to help students and teachers be the best in the world at using technology has been launched.

Microsoft has teamed up with some of the leading education organisations in the UK to create a guide that lets people spot the gaps in their digital skills, and then points them to relevant courses.

The free tool is designed to create a generation of digital leaders who will thrive in workplaces that are increasingly relying on technology.

Clare Riley, Further Education and Higher Education Engagement Manager at Microsoft, said it will help people from every background to achieve more in education and life.

"Today's world is digital and mobile, app-based and personal. To thrive in it, greater confidence around how best to harness technology and new digital skills are vital; but not everyone has them," she said.

"Our easy-to-use online tool is designed to help you assess your digital literacy and capabilities and identify the necessary courses and resources to accelerate your learning, research capabilities or impact as a teacher. It will guide you through a three-level curriculum with plenty of free online resources to raise your digital readiness to new heights and help you become future leaders in business and academia."

The service has been launched in conjunction with Leicester University, Milton Keynes College and - a not-for-profit company that offers digital solutions for education and research in the UK.

Students, academics, researchers and administrators can take courses at gold, silver and bronze levels, depending on their skill level. Bronze courses offer information on how to work confidently, collaboratively and effectively in a digital world, and include help with Office 365 Education, OneNote, Sway, GDPR, the cloud, Microsoft Teams and using in the classroom, among other topics.

Silver courses focus on creativity and collaboration, and look at accessibility, inclusion, Power BI, amplifying student voices and problem-based learning.

Gold courses are for anyone who wants to use technology to inspire and innovate others. These courses offer help with growing a professional network, searching for jobs and becoming a Skype Master Teacher to learn from other education professionals across the world.

Penny Langford, Head of eLearning at Milton Keynes College, added: "We've worked in conjunction with Jisc and Microsoft to categorise key skills into three levels - bronze, silver and gold - depending on whether they will help drive productivity, creativity or innovation. For each level we've also developed three core learning paths, so you can take charge of our own development and navigate the necessary online courses and learning resources you need to succeed."

It is believed that 65% of today's students will end up working in jobs that don't exist yet, and more than 500,000 highly-skilled workers will be needed to fill digital roles by 2022 - three times the number of UK computer science students who graduated in the past 10 years. Just 5% of computer scientists are female, while people returning to work and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are also vastly underrepresented within the sector.

Last year, the Government used the Budget to announce more money for AI and triple the number of trained computer science teachers in a bid to make Britain one of the leaders in technology and innovation.

Microsoft has also launched a digital skills programme that aims to ensure the country remains one of the global leaders in next-generation technologies.

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Free online tool aims to create a generation of tech leaders in the UK

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A new online tool to help students and teachers be the best in the world at using technology has been launched. Microsoft has teamed up with some of the leading education organisations in the UK to create a guide that lets people spot the gaps in their digital skills, and then points them to relevant courses.

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We were established in 2015 to help link schools and colleges to employers, we are delighted to update you with our current progress:

We have built a national network which now links 2000 schools and colleges to employers.

We have funded 150 programmes to provide high quality employer engagement activities to young people where they are needed most.

Employer engagement has increased by 50% among schools and colleges in the network and 540,000 young people have received support from funded programmes.

A new vision

Our remit has been extended significantly with the publication of the government's Career's Strategy. Whilst we continue to link schools and colleges to employers across England through the Enterprise Adviser Network, we are also now working to help schools and colleges deliver high quality careers support more broadly.

We are doing this by:
Linking schools and colleges to employers and other external careers providers by extending the Enterprise Adviser Network across the country and establishing 20 Careers Hubs.
In July, we announced the locations of 20 new Careers Hubs that are being established across the country. The announcement was the culmination of a rigorous bidding and selection process and represents a significant development in the mission to consistently implement a best practice standard for careers support in schools and colleges.

The Careers Hubs started operating in September 2018, each consisting of up to 40 local schools and colleges, working together with universities, training providers, employers and career professionals. It means that 710 schools and colleges will be in a Hub - approximately one in five schools and colleges in England.

We are delighted that from next year, we will be expanding the Careers Hubs beyond these 20 areas. To find out more, read about the latest announcement from the Secretary of State for Education here.
Providing training and support to Careers Leaders in schools and colleges.
We have identified a number of training providers who will deliver face-to-face training for Careers Leaders. We are already providing more than 500 schools and colleges with these bursaries. Our online training for Careers Leaders will also be available from late 2018.

Following an announcement of further funding, we are delighted to be able to increase this to around 1,300 bursaries to meet the high demand from schools and colleges. Read more about this here.
Supporting the implementation of a best practice standard for careers education, the Gatsby Benchmarks, with tools and targeted funding.
To help evaluate progress in achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks our Compass tool is now available for colleges as well as schools. This tool allows schools and colleges to see where they are doing well and areas for improvement, helping them to focus to efforts on where is counts. We are delighted that 3000 schools and colleges are already using it to support their careers programmes.

Whilst there is still lots of work to be done, we think there is much to be optimistic about. We want all young people to have the best start to their working lives.
DOWNLOAD REPORT (PDF)

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We were established in 2015 to help link schools and colleges to employers, we are delighted to update you with our current progress: We have built a national network which now links 2000 schools and colleges to employers. We have funded 150 programmes to provide high quality employer engagement activities to young people where they are needed most.

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Our mission is to inspire the next generation and create a pipeline of talent to drive the UK's most ambitious growth companies. We believe work experience is at the heart of this - regular contact between business and students is crucial.

We need the UK's ambitious, growing companies to join us and help us to deliver powerful opportunities to students across the country.

SEE WHO IS ALREADY ON BOARD

Sign up for free Find out more (prospectus download)

"We welcome the Workfinder initiative. Our experience from running the Barclays Lifeskills program shows that young people need a practical insight into the world of work. The more work experience a young person has, the more likely they will succeed in their careers."

Experience
works

We understand the importance of quality work experience and we can see that the current system isn't working. Young people need pathways into the working world and businesses need access to talent. Workfinder is a tech-enabled solution supported by some of the biggest names in business.
Download Experience Works

Learn more about Workfinder

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Our mission is to inspire the next generation and create a pipeline of talent to drive the UK's most ambitious growth companies. We believe work experience is at the heart of this - regular contact between business and students is crucial.

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Playing to our strengths:Unlocking social mobilityfor economic good

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Playing to our strengths:Unlocking social mobilityfor economic good

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Banding Students' Employer Engagements (Work Experience)

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Banding Students' Employer Engagements (Work Experience)

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Industry Placement: substantial placement (40 days) as for T Level / CDF - can be paid

Work Placement: placement supervised by an employer - unpaid, recorded under ZWRKX001

Work Related Activity: other work experience activity, that may be guided by an employer, but supervised by college employees. Recorded as EEP on the ILR.

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Understanding and applying learning

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Employer Engagement and the Industry Placements Pilot

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Employer Engagement and the Industry Placements Pilot

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Work Placement Capacity and Delivery Fund: principles for high quality work placements

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Work Placement Capacity and Delivery Fund: principles for high quality work placements

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Introduction

High quality, structured and outcome-focused industry placements will be an integral part of the new T Level package. A student will not be able to complete their T Level unless they have undertaken an industry placement. However, industry placements will be important in their own right to help young people gain the skills needed to move into employment. That is why we are making funding available now to ensure high quality industry placements can be delivered before T Levels are introduced. We expect providers to use the investment available through the Industry Placement Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF) from April 2018, to effectively build capacity and establish links with employers. This funding has been provided to drive forward industry placement delivery, in readiness for T Level roll out from 2020. Allocation of these funds is not determinative of which providers will deliver T levels or which of the current qualifications being delivered are likely to be defunded.

Purpose

This note sets out the principles we expect providers to use when developing their plans for implementing a high quality industry placement offer. It also provides good practice that providers may want to adopt to establish or enhance their industry placement provision. The department is keen that this funding makes an impact as early as possible and to ensure that students undertaking industry placements in academic year 2018 to 2019 are offered a high quality experience that maximises their chances of stepping into skilled employment following their education.

Industry placement principles

This note builds on the high level principles being tested in the Industry Placement Pilot that ran throughout academic year 2017 to 2018 with The Challenge. The 8 principles outlined below were developed in consultation with over 150 employers and providers as part of the pilot design. These are 'emerging' principles that will continue to be refined through consulting more widely with the sector and employers, and therefore it is possible that these will change before T Levels are rolled out. However, for 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 CDF, these principles provide the minimum requirements for industry placement delivery and we expect providers to adopt them.

Timing and duration

1) Our expectation is that industry placements are on average 50 working days in length within an acceptable range of 45 to 60 days (plus) covering a minimum of 315 hours. (The normal full time working pattern of the employer, which would typically consist of 7 to 7.5 hours a day). This applies to 2018 to 2019 delivery only after which it will be reviewed. It is important to note that the minimum length of 45 days is non-negotiable. The exact duration for the T Level industry placement from 2020 is to be determined and this hourly total is subject to change.

2) Industry placements should be organised in line with the normal requirements of the industry, which may, in some circumstances, be outside normal provider working hours or outside the academic timetable. The requirement for the provider to maintain appropriate review/supervision remains. Examples of this might include the hospitality and catering industry and some agricultural activity.

3) Providers must ensure that student GCSE Maths/English exam preparation (where this applies) is not compromised.

Occupation specific

4) The industry placement must be occupationally specific and focused on developing the practical and technical skills required for the profession or trade that the student is studying for.

5) It will be expected that students will already have a number of occupationally relevant skills to apply and practice in the workplace. The provider must agree a structured work plan with the employer for the duration of the placement and meet with the student and employer at regular intervals.

Student readiness

6) The student must be considered work-ready (have an appropriate work ethic and etiquette) to undertake an industry placement, to manage both student and employer expectations of the appropriate behaviours in the workplace.

Externality

7) The industry placement must take place with an external employer (such as, it is on a site external to the student's learning environment and not on another site operated by the provider). It is critical that the student experiences a real life job role and work life pressures (including travel to work, independence from their peers, working with new people and dealing with the public). This requirement applies even where the institution has extensive facilities mirroring the workplace.

Special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) provision

8) Students with SEND must be able to access high quality external industry placements so they can benefit from that real life experience as much as their non-SEND peers. Providers should consider what preparation and support students with SEND would need in order to access industry placements, and complete them successfully. Providers should use available industry placement capacity and delivery funding, alongside other available funding where appropriate (for example, High Needs or Disadvantage Funding) to provide additional support in the workplace and assist with reasonable workplace adjustments. This could include the services of an independent workplace mentor or, where students have more complex needs, a job coach.

Clear and pre-determined outcomes

The principles above outline the key differences between 'work experience' commonly offered as part of 16 to 19 study programmes and more substantial 'industry placements' that will form an integral part of T Levels, namely, the strong emphasis on pre-defined and sector specific learning aims. The industry placement should provide the real life learning environment to develop and hone the technical skills and behaviours required for the relevant industry. We have specified a longer duration to ensure that students are given sufficient time to master essential skills and develop their strengths; and the employer has the opportunity to develop the students' technical abilities so they can add value to the business. The time in the workplace must have a clear structure and learning objectives to ensure students get the best from their industry placement; thereby enabling them to secure skilled employment in their field as a result.

For reference please see the that can be used to complete assessments of student work readiness prior to the placement, and then subsequently their progress at mid-point and post placement, developed for pilot.

Timing and duration - illustrative examples

We have provided that were developed for the pilots for planning the allocated time into the curriculum, using the day release and block placement industry placement options. These examples have been tested through the pilots. It is anticipated that employers from different industries will have their own preferences as to when to host industry placements during the academic year. We ask that providers offer a degree of flexibility when negotiating the timing and pattern of the placement with employers.

Building internal capacity

We recommend that providers take a whole organisation approach to planning the introduction of substantial industry placements and ensure that this is fully integrated into the core business. In the process of completing the implementation plan, we asked providers to forward plan for the next 2 to 3 years and consider staffing and other capacity issues. By September 2018, we would expect to see progress against these plans. In particular, evidence of the recruitment of dedicated staff to begin sourcing placements; re-training of existing staff; and student work preparation/employability training and time out on placements integrated into the curriculum for delivery from the autumn term.

Collaboration with employers

The department does not underestimate the scale of the challenge to create high quality industry placement opportunities for all technical students in future, in particular, the importance of securing willing employers to host substantial industry placements. When completing implementation plans, providers were asked to set out their overarching employer engagement strategy, including the requirement to identify appropriate employers within the local area and invest time to build networks and relationships, so that providers can successfully deliver high quality industry placements at scale.

Collaboration with other providers

We recognise providers' experience of delivering work placements of this nature varies considerably. Smaller and/or less experienced providers may encounter various challenges when building their industry placement offer from scratch. We would expect that leading providers who are actively delivering work placements will share their local knowledge and expertise (including good practice and materials/tools).

We also recommend that smaller providers collaborate with other neighbouring or similar providers for economies of scale, by being open to pooling resources, for example, hiring a cross-site work placement coordinator and/or sharing the operational responsibilities. It is important that neighbouring providers work together and in partnership with Local Enterprise Partnerships, Chambers of Commerce and/or other local employer representatives, to develop a coordinated local employer engagement strategy.

We have provided of use of funds and options for collaboration to achieve this common goal.

We hope that all eligible providers take full advantage of this opportunity and use this advice to aid the delivery of high quality work placement programmes from 2018 to 2019.

Data collection for CDF Industry Placements

New guidance on how to record CDF industry placements (MS Word Document, 57.1KB) on the ILR and School Census is now available. Please read this in conjunction with the latest versions of the ILR provider support manual and school census guidance for 2018 to 2019.

Industry Placement Pilot 2017 to 2018

A pilot scheme (run by the Challenge) ran throughout the academic year 2017 to 2018 to trial the delivery of effective industry placements. The pilot worked with 21 post-16 providers and hundreds of employers to identify best practice for delivering high quality industry placements.

The Challenge have published a set of useful resources to support providers in delivering industry placements, these are now available on the AOC website. A second set of resources will be available from July 2018.

We would encourage providers to make maximum use of these resources.

Further guidance on the delivery of industry placements

The additional guidance below is based on lessons learnt and best practice from the industry placement pilot that ran in 2017 to 2018 academic year and the questions that have been raised since the original publication of this guidance in September 2017.

Delivering high quality industry placements

As a provider it is your responsibility to ensure that your students get the best possible industry placement. The DfE will be taking a close interest in how placements are organised and delivered in 2018 to 2019 to ensure they are in line with the high quality industry placement principles. Please ensure you keep evidence to demonstrate the following:-

that the institution has taken a whole organisation approach to planning and implementing industry placements so that it is fully integrated into the core business, and that staffing levels reflect this

that agreed learning objectives have been set for each student on a placement

that an accurate and sufficient record is kept of the student's progress against the agreed learning objectives

that sufficient pre-placement preparation for the student has been put in place to ensure the student is ready to go on the placement

that each student on a placement has completed a placement log

the frequency and content of monitoring visits

that placement breakdowns have been handled effectively, that the provider has dealt with any issues with either the student or employer adequately and that alternative placements for the student have been organised where appropriate

if students have completed the placement then: student satisfaction feedback and employer review of their performance

employer satisfaction feedback

Bursary top up

You will have received an increase in your discretionary bursary funding for 2018 to 2019 to support industry placements. Please remember that this fund can be used to help all vocational students undertaking CDF industry placements to access their placements, and is not restricted to those students who would normally be entitled to receive the bursary.

Financial Support for Employers

It is important that employers are supported to deliver industry placements and DfE would like to remind you that your CDF allocation can be used to meet employer costs where these are considered necessary. This can include:-

supplementing employer costs to supervise the student on placement

to 'buy or hire' more tangible items required for the job, (for example uniforms, protective work gear and equipment), or

to cover additional insurance costs and the costs of applying for a DBS check (where this is necessary)

The only stipulation is that it supports the intention to build local capacity to increase the provision of high quality industry placements and represents good value for money. As with all government funding allocated to providers, payments are subject to audit. Please keep a running total of this type of expenditure and copies of purchase or employer receipts where applicable.

Mandatory placements that attract mainstream funding do not count towards industry placements hours

The overall aim of CDF is to build new capacity to deliver industry placements and not to double fund existing provision. Where hours are currently spent on work experience, that is an existing and compulsory requirement for a qualification and already part of a study programme, these cannot be counted towards the industry placement hours delivered through CDF. This is because providers are already being government funded for these through mainstream funding. An example of this is childcare qualifications. If you wish to include a CDF industry placement on top of the existing requirements then you would need to arrange the required industry placement hours (minimum of 315) on top of the existing work experience hours that are recorded as planned 'qualification hours' on the ILR and school census.

Withdrawing students from placements

We would expect that students spend the whole of their industry placement with one employer. However, we recognise that there will be some instances where, the placement is not meeting its objectives or the student feels at risk. Whilst on placement, you as a provider have overall responsibility for the welfare of the students. If you have a situation where a placement is considered unsuitable and a student needs to be removed from a particular workplace setting, we would expect alternative arrangements to be made with another employer to ensure the student doesn't miss out on this valuable experience. In such circumstances the 45 days can be split across the two employers and the student will not be required to repeat learning objectives covered with the first employer. We will be asking you to keep a local record of placement breakdowns and the reasons for this (which should also include a record of the split days), so we can monitor the commonly cited issues around placement breakdown. We will also be asking for information relating to the reasons why placements have broken down in future monitoring forms.

Industry placements not within the local area

It is possible for a student to undertake their industry placement with an employer anywhere in the UK. If the workplace is too far from the student's home for a reasonable daily commute and/or the student is willing to stay away from home during the week, then appropriate accommodation must be found close to the workplace. Both the provider and employer have a shared duty of care for the student in these circumstances. With respect to health and safety at work, the duty of care rests primarily with the employer. However, providers should be in regular contact with the learner and with the employer to ensure the learners' safety and wellbeing throughout the industry placement. This should include a minimum of three review points conducted in person over the course of the placement.

Industry Placements in other countries

Although, we would expect it to be the norm for placements to be delivered within the UK, we are looking at the long-term feasibility and implications of sending students abroad for their industry placements. Currently, overseas placements can only occur for a portion of the student's placement, if for example, the employer's main training centre is based in another country and it is standard practice to send employees for this particular training. In this scenario, it is critical that you discuss the logistics with the employer, ensure that appropriate monitoring, review and safeguarding processes are in place and ensure you have formal agreement from the student and their parents/guardians. In these circumstances, we would expect providers to adhere to the same monitoring rules, applied for all other students, as outlined in the paragraph above.

Occupational mapping against T Levels

The DfE are currently undertaking a mapping exercise to ensure that in future only placements for occupational areas that relate to T Levels are supported using the Industry placement Capacity & Delivery Fund. The framework for the reformed technical education system is provided by 15 occupational maps, which detail the skilled occupations that are in scope within each of the technical education routes. The standards for these occupations will form the basis of content for T Levels. Therefore, to give an early indication of which occupational areas will be in scope for T Levels. Providers are advised to prioritise occupational areas that are included on the occupational maps.

Industry placements not restricted to the first T Levels

It is important to note that industry placements delivered in 2018 to 2019 are not restricted to the first 3 T Level pathways and in fact can relate to any of the 25 T Level routes (see the Occupational Maps for reference) that will be introduced. CDF funding is to support providers to prepare for the successful delivery of high quality industry placements across all relevant subject areas and industries when all T Levels have been rolled out.

Recommended focus on second year level 3 students

Although, there are no restrictions to which students providers place on an industry placement, best practice and evidence from the pilot shows that it is more beneficial for the student to undertake their placement in the second year of their study programme. This is because the student will have had a significant period of time in the first year to build up the skills and knowledge required to make the most of the placement, adding value because they are able to get more involved in tasks, take on greater responsibility and therefore have a better opportunity to develop these skills and have a meaningful placement. Therefore, we advise that these placements take place in year 2.

Also, now T Levels are confirmed as level 3 programmes we are also increasing the emphasis on level 3 students. Therefore for delivery in 2019 to 2020 academic year we are introducing a requirement to prioritise level 3 placements (see the CDF factsheet). The combination of sending year 2 and level 3 students on placement will be more beneficial to providers, as it will increase the likelihood that employers will be satisfied with the experience of offering students placements, and therefore more willing to continue to offer placements again.

We are aware that for some courses this may be more difficult, so where this is the case then it would be acceptable for students to start their placement towards the end of the first year of their study programme as long as they have undertaken sufficient work experience and/or preparation as part of their programme, to ensure they are ready for the placement.

Minimum of 3 review points - start, middle and end of placement

Providers should visit the student on placement at the start (such as, within the first month of starting), middle and end of the placement, at a minimum. The purpose of these site visits is to:

1) Check the appropriateness of and progress towards the student's technical learning objectives that were agreed up front and ensure the student is continually being stretched, not performing menial tasks that do not support their technical skills development. Objectives should be updated to make them more stretching if necessary.

2) Check the students' wellbeing and satisfy themselves that student is not being overworked, the hours are manageable, they are happy within the workplace, have developed relationships with employees and they are content with the pace of their training. This is especially important when the student is on a block placement, when they will have limited contact with the provider for the duration of their placement.

3) Discuss any issues with the employer regarding the placement, student's behaviour or work ethic. The employer will want assurances that they've got some provider support where necessary and a point of contact within the provider - this helps build and sustain relationships.

Providers are expected to confirm that the placement has been completed to satisfaction, so providers will need to collect evidence during the placement to base this judgement on and should complement the evidence collected in the student's log book. This can be achieved most effectively through a 3-way face-to-face conversation between the employer, provider and student and supplemented with telephone calls or contact via email with the employer and informal contact with the student in the interim.

The frequency of these supplementary conversations should be at the providers' discretion. We'd expect providers to prioritise students that need additional support or where the employer or student has raised concerns. It will also depend on the timing models providers have adopted - for day release, meetings of this nature will be less frequent as we'd expect that checking in with students whilst they're back in college/school, could be more convenient.

Accounting for sickness in attendance record

In the case where students are off sick during their industry placement for 1 to 5 days over the duration of the placement, this can be absorbed into the placement hours. Where the student's sickness exceeds 5 days or the student is off long-term, we would expect that providers to make arrangements with the relevant employer to extend the placement as far as possible, to allow the student make up this time and complete their placement to satisfaction, alongside their studies.

Employer reference

On completion of the industry placement, the employer does not assess students' progress formally, however the employer will be expected to confirm that the student attended the whole time and give an appraisal of the progress the student made against their learning objectives. This should be discussed at the final review meeting with the provider, so that the provider can make the judgement as to whether the placement is completed satisfactorily. We would encourage employers to complete a student reference. Further resources to support providers with this will be published shortly.

Student satisfaction survey

We would encourage students to complete a satisfaction survey that accounts for their end-to-end experience (including work preparation, matching to employers and their time in at the workplace) and whether this met their expectations and they would recommend undertaking an industry placement to their peers. The details could be fed back to the employer with the agreement of the student. It is important that students, providers and employers can learn from the student's experience and this evidence can be used by providers to help improve their provision.

Further resources to support providers with this will be published shortly.

Safeguarding Learners from Abuse/Bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace

In arranging industry placements, we would not ordinarily expect providers to DBS check the employer or their employees, since this is unnecessarily onerous in terms of employers willing to offer industry placement and for institutions to administer this. However, we would expect to see evidence of the following:

a) That students have been prepared for the workplace in terms of specific advice on how to deal with any instances of bullying/abuse or behaviour which they consider to be inappropriate. This would be expected to include briefing/training for the young people to identify what would constitute any of these and how to deal with this in the workplace and raise concerns immediately with their education provider contact for them to intervene.

b) The monitoring visits to students should include a distinct component to discuss and confirm the safeguarding well-being of the student, particularly from abusive or inappropriate behaviour, which they may have encountered in the workplace.

c) That industry placements that are for periods of longer than one month especially in more isolated scenarios, because of geography or very low numbers of employees (or sole employers), are risk assessed and that more regular contact with the student is carried out, including by phone, specifically on the point of safeguarding their well-being and welfare.

Where a student has a need for personal or health care due to a disability, the person providing that personal or health care may be required to obtain an enhanced DBS check and such a check should be undertaken if the activity constitutes regulated activity relating to children.

At their discretion, the provider may also choose to ask a line manager or supervisor to undergo a basic DBS check if they feel this is necessary, in situations such as where the student may be vulnerable or where the placement has a residential component. This is not a legal requirement but can be requested at the discretion of the provider.

Travel time

When recording the planned hours for industry placements using the new learning aim, providers should include the time spent in the workplace, normally this would not include the travel time to and from the workplace. We understand that in some rural locations, the commute time to employer premises can be excessive and/or may be restricted by local transport. Therefore, if travel time exceeds 1 hour each way then the additional time may be included in the planned hours. This means the additional time can be taken into account in calculating the hours for inclusion when recording the industry placements on the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and the school census.

Where providers are struggling to broker suitable local transport arrangements and this is impacting heavily on industry placement provision, we encourage you to get in touch with us through the ESFA enquiry form.

Lunch breaks

The lunch hour can be included in the working hours so long as it does not exceed 1 hour.

Payment of students

Industry placements are about providing students with high quality, meaningful training, not work. Therefore, students on an industry placement should not be entitled to a salary as the placement is forming part of a course of secondary education. There is no legal requirement or expectation that students will be paid. We recognise that for some employers, any type of unpaid placement would discourage them from taking part in the programme, so they are able to pay students should they wish to. In taking this approach, our aim is to ensure as many students and businesses as possible benefit from industry placements and to prevent students facing any avoidable costs.

HSE advice

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on work experience covers provider and employer responsibilities and is relevant to Industry Placements. Providers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the HSE guidelines.

Further information

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Industry placement capacity and delivery fund: principles for high quality industry placements for 2018 to 2019

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High quality, structured and outcome-focused industry placements will be an integral part of the new T Level package. A student will not be able to complete their T Level unless they have undertaken an industry placement. However, industry placements will be important in their own right to help young people gain the skills needed to move into employment.

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Accessing Opportunities for Young People

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As exam season comes to a close and results season approaches, many households around the country will be waiting for that slip of paper or email telling them how their young person did and what opportunities are now open to them. It's an exciting couple of days and the breakfast broadcasts will be full of young people opening those envelopes live on air.

It's the culmination of a lot of work. By the young person and of course, their teachers. But many organisations and support structures have also contributed to their success and provided advice for what comes next. Parents, local employers, higher education institutions and further education colleges, the Careers and Enterprise Company, the National Careers Service and many others have all played a part in supporting these young people to, hopefully, work hard and make the right decisions for their futures. Part of Ofsted's role is to assess the effectiveness of the careers guidance offered.

How we inspect careers guidance

We don't have a preferred style of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for schools, colleges and other education providers we inspect. We do expect, as a standard, that young people will be offered CEIAG that includes guidance on their subject choices, discussion on their career aspirations and how they can achieve them and how they're progressing towards this. Work experience and guidance on a vocational or academic path and routes post-16 whether those be A levels, training or vocational education should all be available.

For young people who have special educational needs or disabilities, another very important element should be included: preparation for independence, or supported independence, to equip these young people for further study. For our inspections of special schools this is an especially important feature.

Our inspectors assess the quality of schools' and colleges' careers provision. It has always been important, but from January 2018 it is now compulsory for us to comment in our inspection reports on FE colleges' careers guidance.

The DfE's statutory guidance, published in January 2018, makes clear that 'a successful careers guidance programme will also be reflected in higher numbers of pupils progressing to positive destinations such as apprenticeships, technical routes, sixth form colleges, further education colleges, universities or employment'.

We ask our inspectors to bear in mind the government's careers strategy and the Gatsby career guidance benchmarks. We expect, over time, that these will become more and more widely used in schools and colleges.

An improving picture

The current picture is much more encouraging than has been the case in the past. We looked at a representative sample of around 120 school inspection reports from the past two years and found that careers guidance within schools is improving. We saw evidence of integrated, coherent and effective careers strategies in more schools, with more frequent opportunities for pupils to access workshops, themed events, work experience and contact with employers. The publication of the careers strategy has given schools and colleges a solid framework to build their careers offer around.

But there is always more to do.

Next steps?

From January 2018, schools must offer pupils the chance to find out about technical education and apprenticeships. This amendment, the Baker Clause, requires inspectors to explore how well this is being delivered in schools. How do pupils in year 11, for instance, find out about college open days? Have FE providers been invited to talk to pupils about different pathways?

As we plan for the new Education Inspection Framework, with changes that will take place from September 2019, we're considering how careers provision will fit in and we'll be consulting on the proposals. We're making sure our contribution to the offer that young people are made is a valuable one. It's too important for them, and for the future of our country, to do anything else.

The CEC's Compass tool will help you see if your school or college's careers offer is doing everything it can to help young people.

You can keep up-to-date with Ofsted news by signing up for email alerts. You can also follow Ofsted on Twitter.

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Sean Harford, National Director, Education

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As exam season comes to a close and results season approaches, many households around the country will be waiting for that slip of paper or email telling them how their young person did and what opportunities are now open to them.

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This page contains a set of guidance materials focusing on how to effectively implement industry placements.

Based on the experience and learning from the Industry Placements Pilot Scheme in academic year 17/18 and the Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF) in academic year 18/19, The Department for Education have created these resources for post-16 education providers and employers.

Quick overview documents

For providers - 'How to' guidance

Before placement

For students:

During placement

Tools and Templates

Employment engagement:

Before placement:

During placement:

Post-placement:

For employers

Capacity and delivery fund (CDF) year 1 evaluation

The research team have comprised a brief presentation talking through some of the common themes that are emerging, including sourcing placements; achieving high quality placements; internal resourcing and access to and experience of support.You can watch the webinar here.

For any enquiries regarding industry placements, please contact the Education & Skills Funding Agency Service using this online enquiry form, or by searching gov.uk for Industry Placements.

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This page contains a set of guidance materials focusing on how to effectively implement industry placements.Based on the experience and learning from the Industry Placements Pilot Scheme in academic year 17/18 and the Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF) in academic year 18/19, The Department for Education have created these resources for post-16 education providers and employers.

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Implementation of T Level programmes - consultation response

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Implementation of T Level programmes - consultation response

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Stay at home

Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)

If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times

Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.

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Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home) If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times Wash your hands as soon as you get home Do not meet others, even friends or family.

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Work placement: capacity and delivery fund (CDF)

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Work placement: capacity and delivery fund (CDF)

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Organisers include schools, colleges or those arranging placements for them, for example Education Business Partners (EBPs) or third-party independent organisations/businesses.

If you are advised that a particular placement is not possible due to health and safety, the person giving you that advice may well be wrong - there are very few work activities a student cannot do due to health and safety law. You can question their assertions by contacting HSE's Myth Buster Challenge Panel

How to keep a sense of proportion

Do:

remember that the placement provider (employer) has primary responsibility for the health and safety of the student and should be managing any significant risks

take reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that they are doing this. For employers who are new to taking students on work experience, talk through what the student will do and any relevant precautions. It might be helpful to make a note of your conversation

rely on past experience, or pooled experience, for example within the local authority area. You do not need to do it all again for a new student where an employer is known to you and has a good track record, and the student's needs are no different to those on past placements

work with parents to ensure employers know in advance about students who might be at greater risk, for example due to health conditions or learning difficulties, so they can take these properly into account

keep checks in proportion to the environment:

for a low-risk environment, such as an office or shop, with everyday risks that will mostly be familiar to the student, simply speaking with any new employer to confirm this should be enough. This can be part of the wider conversation on placement arrangements

for environments with less familiar risks (eg in light assembly or packing facilities), talk to the employer to find out what the student will be doing and confirm the employer has arrangements for managing risks. This will need to include induction, training, supervision, site familiarisation, and any protective equipment that might be needed

for a placement in a higher-risk environment such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing:

discuss with the employer what work the student will be doing or observing, the risks involved and how these are managed. Remember that although the placement might be in a higher-risk environment, the work the student is doing and the surroundings they are working in may not be, for example it could be in a separate office area

satisfy yourself that the instruction, training and supervisory arrangements have been properly thought through

check that the employer understands about the specific factors relevant to employing young people

check that students know how to raise any health and safety concerns

Don't

repeat the process for a new student, or visit unnecessarily, where an employer is known to you and has a good track record, and the student's needs are no different to those on past placements

seek additional paperwork for assurance purposes, or seek to second-guess the employer's risk assessment or their risk control measures:

you are unlikely to have the knowledge to evaluate the assessment

this could give the false impression that you have 'approved' it

employers with fewer than five employees are not required to have a written assessment

duplicate checks on employers. Schools and colleges using a third party to arrange placements should work with them to make sure employers are not requested to do things twice

Find out more about work experience responsibilities.

Find out more about the specific factors for young people.

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If you are advised that a particular placement is not possible due to health and safety, the person giving you that advice may well be wrong - there are very few work activities a student cannot do due to health and safety law.

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MPs have raised serious concerns about the impact and purpose of the Careers and Enterprise Company.

One member of the Commons Education Select Committee claimed that it had been described as a "woeful waste of public money", and said the performance of the organisation, which has an annual budget of almost £19 million, was questionable.

CEC's chief executive, Claudia Harris, and chair, Christine Hodgson, faced robust questioning from the committee this morning, during a hearing which discussed careers guidance and delivery of the government's careers strategy.

MPs repeatedly raised concerns about what evidence the CEC had to prove its effectiveness. In response to statistics about the number of "encounters" between students and employers that the CEC had facilitated, members of the committee called for hard data demonstrating the impact of these encounters.

Committee chair Robert Halfon said he "cannot understand" why the company did not have "proper measurements" to demonstrate its effectiveness. "You may be doing a huge amount, but no one knows," he added.

'Enormous' salaries

MP Lucy Powell criticised the "enormous" advertised salaries on offer at the CEC, citing examples of a chief marketing officer for £100,000, and a head of research receiving £60-70,000.

In response, Ms Harris said the organisation was "very careful" to control its costs.

'I don't think you can convey what your impact is and what your purpose is': @LucyMPowell says she thinks @CareerEnt has been asked to do 'too many extra things' by govt #edselcttee pic.twitter.com/RViMpSwTnt
- Tes Further Ed (@tesfenews) May 16, 2018

Ms Powell also raised concerns about the remit of the CEC, suggesting that it had been asked to do "too many extra things" by the government, adding: "People don't know what you're doing."

"I don't think you can convey what your impact is and what your purpose is," she continued.

Ms Hodgson told the committee that its national network of "enterprise coordinators" connects clusters of schools and colleges with employers and careers programmes, and that it had received "plenty of positive feedback".

But Ms Powell said one local enterprise partnership official had told the committee that the service was a "woeful waste of public money".

Ms Powell added: "It feels to me like the government has given you these extra things to deliver for it, and you're not actually in a position to do that properly because you've not got the experience and the central know-how to do that."

Ms Harris said that, among the schools it had worked with that were surveyed, 80 per cent said the network was effective, and 80 per cent of employers "want to continue working with it".

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Careers and Enterprise Company under fire from MPs

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MPs have raised serious concerns about the impact and purpose of the Careers and Enterprise Company. One member of the Commons Education Select Committee claimed that it had been described as a "woeful waste of public money", and said the performance of the organisation, which has an annual budget of almost £19 million, was questionable.

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Following a further period of consultation with key organisations and individuals we have today released our Implementation Plan in response to the government's Careers Strategy.

Our plan sets out our detailed approach to supporting the Careers Strategy.
Implementation Plan [PDF]
Questions and answers [PDF]More about the plans for Careers Hubs More about Careers Leaders
Funding: Careers Leaders training
Download prospectus [PDF]Careers Strategy support
At the same time, two prospectuses have been published, focussing on new initiatives in the Careers Strategy - Careers Hubs and the provision of Careers Leaders training.

As part of the Careers Strategy, we have been tasked to establish 20 Careers Hubs across the country, based on the successful model piloted in the North East. The bidding process for these hubs has now commenced and is detailed in the prospectus.

The hubs will be launched in September 2018 and consist of groups of between 20 and 40 schools and colleges, located in the same geographic area, working with universities, education and training providers, employers and career professionals to deliver the Gatsby Benchmarks and improve careers support.

Claudia Harris, our CEO, said:

By establishing Careers Hubs across the country, we will be able to test the North East model at a much wider scale.

Our goal is to work in collaboration with key partners to transform careers education for young people in these areas. A key aspect of this pilot will be evaluation of how the hubs help schools and colleges to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks and improve careers outcomes for young people in the local area.

Read more

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Delivering Careers Hubs at centre of Careers Strategy implementation

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Following a further period of consultation with key organisations and individuals we have today released our Implementation Plan in response to the government's Careers Strategy. Our plan sets out our detailed approach to supporting the Careers Strategy. Implementation Plan [PDF]Questions and answers [PDF]

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The CS business is responsible for all service activities within Siemens Energy Management.

We provide everything from low voltage to medium and high voltage switchgear equipment and services, as well as substation control systems. We also add value through design, engineering, project management, installation, testing and commissioning.

We provide service solutions which enhance the reliability and efficiency of customers' electrical networks, installing, commissioning and servicing many leading manufacturer's equipment at substations in the UK and internationally.

Our business covers transmission and distribution utilities, renewable and industrial sectors.

This business offers local students the opportunity to work alongside experienced engineers in a manufacturing or office environment as well as professionals in: Procurement, Tendering, Project Management, Finance, Monitoring and Diagnostics, Quality and Business Excellence.

Positions can be tailored to suit students individual needs giving them an understanding of what it is like to work within industry, working on real-life business applications alongside Siemens personnel.

Our normal working hours are:

Mon-Thurs - 8am to 4.30pm with 30 minutes for lunch at 12noon

Fri - 8am to 1pm with no lunch break

Placements normally take place over a one week period and the application window is open all year round.

We be looking for our placement candidates to:

Act professionally within the work environment and adhere to Siemens policies whilst respecting your fellow colleagues

Behave in a positive manner and make the most of the opportunities presented to you

Take reasonable care of your own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your work

Please email your work experience application and supporting CV directly to hebburnworkexperience.gb@siemens.com and we will try our very best to accommodate you.

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Work Experience | Siemens UK Education | United Kingdom

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The CS business is responsible for all service activities within Siemens Energy Management. We provide everything from low voltage to medium and high voltage switchgear equipment and services, as well as substation control systems. We also add value through design, engineering, project management, installation, testing and commissioning.

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Lancashire and the West Midlands have joined the group of local areas working with Gatsby to prepare for implementation of technical education routes and T levels.

In each area the project will be supported by a dedicated project manager and overseen by an already established governance group.

In Lancashire, the project is directed by the area's Skills and Employment Board.

"'The Lancashire Enterprise Partnership is delighted to be working with the Gatsby Foundation, to drive forward the implementation of Lancashire's Technical Education Vision. We will be working with The Lancashire College Group, Lancashire Work Based Learning Forum, and employers to be 'routes ready' - addressing labour market demands across the Lancashire area, and supporting progression for our young people."

Michele Lawty-Jones, Director of the Lancashire Skills Hub

Rachel Egan, West Midlands Combined Authority Programme Lead for Skills, Employment & Productivity, is working with the area's FE Skills and Productivity Group as they move forward workstrands supporting the introduction of routes and T levels.

Route networks in each area will bring together curriculum leads, for example, for the Digital route, to plan professional development activity for teachers ahead of the introduction of T levels from 2020. The project manager will work with providers and employers to embed technical routes into ongoing work to grow apprenticeships and work placements, and CEIAG support for young people.
Lancashire and the West Midlands join Greater Manchester and Sheffield City Region in the programme. Hear from these areas in the video below, and join events around the country to learn more.

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Lancashire and West Midlands local areas programme announcement

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Lancashire and the West Midlands have joined the group of local areas working with Gatsby to prepare for implementation of technical education routes and T levels. In each area the project will be supported by a dedicated project manager and overseen by an already established governance group.

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City and Guilds Work Placement Learner Log Book

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City and Guilds Work Placement Learner Log Book

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Detailed descriptions of the world-of-work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, developers, researchers, and more. Individuals can find, search, or browse across 900+ occupations based on their goals and needs. Comprehensive reports include occupation requirements, worker characteristics, and available training, education, and job opportunities.

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An intern's rights depend on their employment status. If an intern is classed as a worker, then they're normally due the National Minimum Wage.

Internships are sometimes called work placements or work experience. These terms have no legal status on their own. The rights they have depend on their employment status and whether they're classed as:

If an intern does regular paid work for an employer, they may qualify as an employee and be eligible for employment rights.

Rights to the National Minimum Wage

An intern is entitled to the National Minimum Wage if they count as a worker.

Employers cannot avoid paying the National Minimum Wage if it's due by:

saying or stating that it does not apply

making a written agreement saying someone is not a worker or that they're a volunteer

Promise of future work

An intern is classed as a worker and is due the National Minimum Wage if they're promised a contract of future work.

When interns are not due the National Minimum Wage

Student internships

Students required to do an internship for less than one year as part of a UK-based further or higher education course are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage.

School work experience placements

Work experience students of compulsory school age are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage.

Voluntary workers

Workers are not entitled to the minimum wage if both of the following apply:

they're working for a charity, voluntary organisation, associated fund raising body or a statutory body

they do not get paid, except for limited benefits (for example reasonable travel or lunch expenses)

Work shadowing

The employer does not have to pay the minimum wage if an internship only involves shadowing an employee, meaning no work is carried out by the intern and they are only observing.

Get advice

To get advice on pay and work rights, contact the Acas helpline.

To report problems with working hours or the minimum wage, fill in a pay and work rights complaints form.

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Rights for interns and students in the workplace; work experience; work placements; rights to the National Minimum Wage.

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Funding guidance

The requirements for funding work experience are incorporated in the 16 to 19 funding regulations for 2017 to 2018 academic year.

This note provides further information on work experience and how it is funded.

Recording work experience and work placements for 2017 to 2018 in the Individualised Learner Record (ILR)

For ILR users only: providers should complete the Learning Delivery Work Placement Entity as in previous years. For 2017 to 2018 a new field has been added to this entity to record the planned hours for each work placement. This must contain a value in the range 1 to 9999. This replaces the requirement to record work placements by using one of the 5 work experience aims (Z0007834, Z0007835, Z0007836, Z0007837, Z0007838). Please also ensure that the 'mode' is completed correctly to indicate whether the activity was internal or external (external being with an employer on a site external to the learning environment).

This applies to all types of study programme, apart from where work experience is an essential element of the study programme.

Institutions should ensure their data is accurate before the final return.

(NB: The above addition is the main change in this factsheet and it is to reflect the existing ILR recording arrangements that were set out in the ILR user manual at the beginning of the 2017/18 academic year.)

School Census users: recording of work experience remains the same as 2016 to 2017.

For work placements being funded though the Capacity Delivery Fund (CDF) from 2018 to 2019 academic year, we will be issuing new guidance for ILR and school census users on the CDF factsheet before the summer.

Purpose of work experience

Work experience is designed to bridge the gap between education and the world of work. It can help inform career choices, provide the opportunity for young people to prove themselves to an employer, and help instil the attitudes and behaviours expected at work.

Work experience can take many forms including work tasters; running a student enterprise; participation in social action, volunteering or a work placement.

Work placements will usually take place with an external employer and they are an integral part of traineeships, supported internships and some study programmes, where work experience is the core aim. Work placements can also form an essential element of some vocational qualifications.

Study programmes

All 16 to 19 year old students are funded for an individual study programme. Most study programmes have a core aim which is either a substantial qualification (academic or vocational) or work experience.

The study programme must be tailored to the prior attainment of each individual student, have clear study and/or employment goals reflecting the student's prior attainment and should include

substantial qualifications or work experience

maths and English for students who have not achieved grade A* to C, GCSE, new GCSE 9 to 4 or equivalent qualification in these subjects by age 16

planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours (EEP hours), including work experience

Further details of what is expected from quality work experience can be found on GOV.UK.

How work experience is funded within study programmes

This information outlines how work experience fits within study programmes and how it is funded.

Work experience is funded as part of the total planned hours for each student's study programme that attracts the standard 16 to 19 national funding base rate.

Qualifying for funding

To qualify for funding work experience must:

be directly relevant to the student's study programme

be planned, explicit in the student's timetable or learning plan

be within the normal pattern of attendance at the institution

be supervised and/or organised by a member of staff

Work experience is funded and recorded differently on the type of study programme for example this can be:

the core aim of a study programme, including traineeships where work experience is the core aim

where it is within a vocational qualification that has learning in the workplace as an essential element

where the work experience is an enrichment activity (forms part of EEP hours)

Funding and recording work experience as the core aim of a study programme

Where a student has work experience as the core aim of their study programme it must be with an external employer and on a site that is external to the learning environment.

This applies even where the institution has extensive facilities mirroring the workplace. Activity in a simulated work environment may well form a helpful part of work preparation training but will not count as 'external' work placements for the purpose of study programmes.

This should be recorded as non-qualification hours (EEP hours) in the individualised learner record (ILR) and school census. ILR users, please refer to the new guidance above for recording work experience and complete all the appropriate fields in the Learning Delivery Work Placement Entity.

Funding and recording work experience where it is within a vocational qualification that has work experience as an essential element

Some vocational qualifications have work experience as an essential element. Here the purpose of the work experience element is to provide the student with the opportunity to practice skills in a supervised environment. This applied learning and practical training could take place in an institution's workshop such as, or a college hairdressing salon, or on a college farm. It could also take place on employers' premises.

This activity should be recorded within qualification planned hours on the ILR/census and not duplicated as EEP hours. The qualification and not the work experience is the core aim of the study programme. The hours for the whole qualification including the work experience element are recorded in the planned qualification hours field. There is no requirement to record data against the Learning Delivery Work Placement Entity separately in the ILR or against one of the 5 work experience aims in the school census.

Funding and recording work experience as an enrichment activity

Work experience as an enrichment activity can add value to the study programme by preparing students for work. It enables them to explore the careers linked to the academic or vocational subjects they are studying and helps with their choice of further or higher education.

Where work experience that is neither the core aim of the study programme or required as part of the qualification but is undertaken as an enrichment activity, should be recorded as planned non-qualification EEP hours. In these circumstances, please complete the Learning Delivery Work Placement Entity in the ILR or one of the 5 work experience aims school census and ensure you select the appropriate 'mode' to indicate whether it is external or internal.

Traineeships and work experience

The purpose of traineeships is to prepare young people for employment so that they are able to progress successfully to an apprenticeships and other paid employment with training.

Therefore it is important that work experience in traineeships gives the young person experience of a real workplace so they can develop the skills, knowledge, confidence, attitudes and behaviours they need to succeed at work. This should be undertaken with an external employer, external to the learning environment and at an external site. However, exceptions to this will be funded. See under work experience within local authorities below.

Institutions will need to make a judgment about whether their work placements genuinely provide students with the experiences they need to develop the work-related attributes expected of a traineeship. Ultimately Ofsted make judgments about the suitability of these arrangements through inspection and grading of institutions.

Activity in a simulated work environment may well form a helpful part of work preparation training but will not count as work placements for the purpose of traineeships or other study programmes.

Work experience delivered as part of a traineeship programme must be recorded as the core aim of the study programme. If a student does multiple work experience placements, these should not be recorded as separate learning aims. Instead a single learning aim must be recorded that reflects the total hours across all the placements. ILR users must complete the Learning Delivery Work Placement entity, or if using the school census, complete one of the 5 work experience aims.

The difference between the core aim in a traineeship and the core aim of work experience in a study programme

Traineeships are for young people who are within 6 months of securing an apprenticeship or employment with training. Traineeships provide a national identity and brand which is valued by young people and employers, that has clear progression routes, which is one of the main features. Traineeship vacancies can be advertised via apprenticeships on line.

A study programme with a core aim of external work experience requires the student to have a work placement. It is possible for a student to progress from a study programme with a core aim of work experience to a traineeship, and this model is operating successfully in a number of institutions. Institutions need to be sure that the traineeship is adding value for the student and that the same activity is not being funded twice.

See the traineeships fact sheet for more details

Supported internships and work experience

Supported internships are available to students with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). A supported internship is a structured study programme where the student is based primarily with an external employer for extended work placement. Supported internships are intended to help students obtain sustainable paid employment by equipping them with the skills for work through learning in the workplace. The internship normally lasts for a year and includes an unpaid work placement of at least 6 months.

A work placement within a supported internship study programme has to be planned, organised and supervised by the institution as with any other work experience. This should be recorded as non-qualification planned employability, enrichment and pastoral hours (EEP) in the ILR/school census. ILR users must complete the Learning Delivery Work Placement entity, or if using the school census, complete one of the 5 work experience aims.

Internal work experience

Activities that reproduce aspects of the work environment, including working environments such as college restaurants, hairdressing salons or car repair centres, can take place within the educational institution and will be funded. This could be an option for a student who needs support in going from a safe school/college environment to the workplace. It can be a valuable part of work preparation training.

This can apply in hazardous occupations, such as agriculture or forestry, where skills and experience need to be developed under supervision on college farms or estates, so that students can operate safely on external work experience. It can also meet awarding body requirements for accreditation.

These activities are defined as internal work experience. If these activities are an integral part of the qualification then they should be recorded as qualification hours. If not they should be recorded as planned non-qualification employability, enrichment and pastoral hours (EEP) in the ILR/school census. It should not be counted or recorded as external work experience. When completing the Learning Delivery Work Placement Entity in the ILR, please ensure you select the appropriate 'mode' to indicate the work experience is internal.

Students who work part time and work experience

Part time paid work, such as evening or Saturday work, does not qualify for work experience funding. In no circumstances can the hours of the student's employment be included in any data returns.

Students often think their part time work does count as funded work experience but this is not the case because the main purpose is for the student to earn money, not the learning. Also the institution has not organised it in conjunction with the employer, therefore it is not based around what the student will learn by being in a work environment.

There may be exceptions, such as students in studio schools may undertake paid employment, in such cases the main objective remains work experience (rather than earning money), learning objectives are agreed and the full criteria for funding planned hours is to be met.

Work experience organised by the student

Any work experience organised by the student without the involvement of their institution should not be included as either a learning aim or within the student's planned hours. This is because it does not meet the requirements for funding planned hours. This is set out in the paragraph headed qualifying for funding.

Work experience within local authorities

A number of local authorities have a training arm, but direct provision of training is not the local authority's core business. In these circumstances work experience within local authority departments, which are separate to the training arm, is fundable and is counted as external work experience.

Local authorities offering work experience within their organisation must be able to evidence whether or not the work experience opportunities they offer are sufficient to meet the purpose of work experience. They should ensure that the evidence is sufficient to satisfy any challenge and to satisfy Ofsted.

How Ofsted will assess work experience

Ofsted will look to see how the work experience has given the student the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the learning programme, and how it has prepared them for employment. They will assess whether the work experience is both purposeful and planned, and whether it gives young people the opportunity to develop their employability skills in real working conditions.

Ofsted will look to see what the progression is for the student on their study programme. If it is progression to higher education, there would be no automatic expectation to see external work experience included in the programme. If it is to an apprenticeship or work, Ofsted will normally expect the student's study programme to include work experience with an external employer.

Institutions' working environments such as college companies provide good opportunities for students to develop initial vocational skills, knowledge and employability skills. However, students should progress to external work experience at the earliest opportunity especially if work experience is a substantial part of their study programme. When inspected, Ofsted would look for evidence that the simulated work experience has been purposeful, and look at what value the young person has gained from the experience.

Further guidance on recording work experience and traineeships

The ILR provider support manual can be found on GOV.UK.

Full details on the traineeships programme can be found on GOV.UK.

Demonstrating how the work experience core aim has been achieved

There is no precise definition for achieved in work experience (unlike qualifications which are achieved via exams or assessment through a portfolio). It is for institutions to interpret this at local level. What is important is whether the objectives of the work experience have been achieved. The student would need to have achieved what was intended through the work experience.

If the student attends for fewer than their planned hours, or leaves early, as long as they move into a positive destination which is defined as sustainable paid employment, FE/HE or an Apprenticeship then they have achieved the work experience core aim and this can be entered on the ILR as completed and achieved.

Withdrawing from part of a study programme

A student who withdraws from part of their study programme should make up the time with other meaningful activity, either qualification or non-qualification hours.

Data collection for census users

All work experience should be recorded on the school census and identified to show whether the student did internal or external work experience or both.

To record the total amount of external work experience a student has done in the academic year, the code for the work experience band in which the total hours of work experience falls should also be entered on the school census. It should be recorded as a separate aim in each academic year. A student can do more than one placement per academic year in which case the total hours through the academic year should be recorded.

Institutions should ensure their data is accurate before the final return.

For internal work experience, irrespective of the total hours delivered for the academic year, the aim code Z0007834 must be used.

Further guidance is available on completing the school census can be found on GOV.UK.

Further information on work experience and study programmes

Wolf report on vocational education

The review of vocational education found evidence that external work experience gives students a much richer experience of work and improves their readiness for work and their opportunities for paid work.

The Wolf Report containing information on the evidence for the need for external work experience can be found on GOV.UK.

DfE guidance

In October 2013 DfE published a policy document on work experience. This reinforced the importance of work experience within study programmes for 16 to 19 year olds who can benefit from it. It noted that the greatest benefits for students are where work experience is substantial and with an external employer.

Supported internships information

Further details on supported internships and work experience can be found on GOV.UK.

Making work experience work for you

Study programmes, traineeships and supported internships guide.

AoC study programme central

This website has a range of useful information including case studies on work experience.

Work experience readiness checklist

This is an AoC/DfE joint publication with details of the policy and background:

Queries on work experience

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16 to 19 funding study programmes: work experience

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The requirements for funding work experience are incorporated in the 16 to 19 funding regulations for 2017 to 2018 academic year. This note provides further information on work experience and how it is funded. For ILR users only: providers should complete the Learning Delivery Work Placement Entity as in previous years.

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Work Experience for Post 16 Study Programmes

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Work Experience for Post 16 Study Programmes

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Stay at home

Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)

If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times

Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don't have symptoms.

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16 to 19 study programmes: guide for providers

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Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home) If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times Wash your hands as soon as you get home Do not meet others, even friends or family.

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Graduate jobs: top 12 degree subjects for getting a job 

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Graduate jobs: top 12 degree subjects for getting a job 

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Graduate jobs: top 12 degree subjects for getting a job

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Graduate jobs: top 12 degree subjects for getting a job