14-19 Reform Group Interim Report - consultation response

Key Points of EEF/SEMTA response

1. Equal status between vocational/work-based learning and general academic qualifications is the priority for employers, so recognition of the Modern Apprenticeship framework in the 14-19 structure should be the first task of the reforms.
2. Engineering employers do not want “integration” of the Modern Apprenticeship (inferring modification and change) into the diploma but “recognition”, whereby the achievements of young people on work-based/vocational programmes “count” towards a final diploma, but retain their unique non-academic basis.
3. Although careers information, advice and guidance is specifically outside the remit of the Reform group, we welcome the recognition given to its importance in the interim report. Employers believe the current careers service available to the majority of young people is a significant inhibitor on their ability to recruit.
4. Employers need reforms to the 14-19 stage of education to result in a system which is easier to understand without reducing the flexibility which is necessary to provide the cohort with the range of skills necessary to sustain the economy.
5. Young people are still entering the workforce at 16 and 18 with low levels of employability skills, including basic skills, motivation, and understanding of employer requirements. The reforms must address this.
   

14 May 2004