New law to end ‘outdated snobbery’ towards apprenticeships

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said schools must give equal airtime to the non-academic routes pupils can take post-16, under government plans to end the ‘second class’ perception of technical and professional education.

A new law would see apprenticeship providers visit schools as part of careers advice from early secondary school, to talk to pupils about the opportunities open to them. It will also mean schools will be required by law to collaborate with training providers to ensure that young people are aware of all the routes to higher skills and the workplace, including higher and degree apprenticeships. The move follows concerns from ministers about careers advice, with some schools currently unwilling to recommend apprenticeships or other technical and professional routes to any but the lowest-achieving pupils – effectively creating a two-tiered system of careers advice.

At ThinkForward we work with the most disengaged young people across east London to ensure they transition from school to further education or employment. However, we’ve found that although such new laws are much needed, they must be met by demand. Young people need to first be willing to take these opportunities and make the most of careers advice. Which is why our early intervention one-on-one Coaching model engages disadvantaged young people over five years from the age of 13. We ensure young people are offered business mentoring, work placements, work insight days and skills workshops, including CV writing and interview practice to make the most of opportunities offered post-16.

To put this in perspective, 44% of people who began apprenticeships last year were aged 25 or over where as figures now show a fall in the number of 16 to 18-year-olds signing up – a 1.4% drop to 129,90. Which is why in 2015 we came up with eight Ready for Work capabilities, based on recommendations from research into the behaviours, mind-sets and skills employers across all sectors looks for in their workforce, particularly for entry level positions.

ThinkForward Managing Director, Kevin Munday said: “We welcome the changes outlined as we’ve identified through our Progression Coaching model how critical good careers advice and ongoing support can be in supporting a young person into a sustained career path. However we would like to see more guidance for schools to supported disengaged students with such opportunities.”

 

 

Impetus-PEF: Making the best of mentoring

Our founders at Impetus-PEF have published an insightful article highlighting the value of mentoring in light of the Prime Minister’s new national campaign, led by the Careers and Enterprise Company to recruit more mentors to work with young people. ThinkForward’s Managing Director, Kevin Munday attended the Prime Minister’s speech on life chances last week and amongst other things the PM emphasised the importance of character education and work experience for young people. Please find an edited version of the article below.

At Impetus-PEF we know, from our work supporting charities working with disadvantaged young people to improve their educational and employment outcomes, that mentoring can be a valuable tool. Acting as a trusted and reliable adult in the life of a young person who does not have this support can help break damaging behaviours and encourage positive new ones.

There is also hard evidence that mentoring can be impactful. Meta-analyses of published programme evaluations show improvements across many areas including behavioural and social-emotional outcomes, such as involvement in crime and anti-social behaviour.

However the links to academic attainment are not as strong. The Educational Endowment Foundation/Sutton Trust Toolkit which evaluates the most effective methods for boosting attainment rates mentoring as low impact. Using their benchmarks, they judge that mentoring leads to, on average, only one or two months’ additional academic progress for children, compared to their peers who do not receive mentoring. Disadvantaged children appear to make the most progress.

For a target population at risk of failing their GCSEs, it is our experience that mentoring needs to be part of a larger support package. In addition, they are likely to need targeted support on their academic attainment, as well as careers advice and work experience. Mentors are then very well-placed to reinforce this by offering motivation and inspiration which keep young people focussed. Some of our partner charities, including ThinkForward, use mentoring as one element of their programmes in this way.

When we are looking at potential partner charities at Impetus-PEF we ask ourselves ‘Is it credible that *this* programme will get *these* young people to *those* outcomes?’ – is it fit to meet the need? Using the evidence base can help make the programme as credible as it can be, by revealing the things you should and should not do to increase your chances of having a positive impact.

When it comes to mentoring the evidence base shows that a clear, codified structure for the intervention, and expectations of both the mentors and mentees is important, as is initial training and ongoing supervision and support for mentors. Screening of mentors to assess their commitment and reliability over the long-term will not be a wasted effort, as mentoring relationships that end sooner are less likely to have an impact. Equally, effective mentoring programmes invest time in getting the match right between mentor and mentee – where they share interests, the impacts are greater.

There is also some evidence that mentors from a ‘professional background’ improve outcomes, and that community-based mentoring programmes are more effective than school-based programmes. As the EEF/Sutton Trust Toolkit makes clear, there have been mentoring programmes that have had a detrimental effect on young people. The impact, or lack of it, is in the detail of how the programmes are designed, implemented, and managed.

Mentoring is a less expensive intervention compared to some others – but any intervention is expensive which does not achieve its aims. It will be crucial that the ‘credibility test’ is applied as this mentoring programme is designed and rolled out, that the evidence base is used, and that the young mentees’ academic progress is tracked, and used to manage the programme. After all, the stakes are highest for them.

This article first appeared on the Impetus-PEF website on 26th Jan 2015

The special relationship: Young people and their ThinkForward coach

Coaching photo sized for blog post

These days everyone has a coach, I have one, my colleagues have one, my friends have one, even Richard Branson has one, and now young people can have one too.  Like wheels on suitcases, it’s amazing how long it has taken to realise that this is a good idea, that young people can benefit from having a go-to person, a constant, a confidante and a single point of contact who will help open doors and opportunities.  For young people this is potentially transformative.

ThinkForward is leading the way in early intervention coaching. Beginning the coaching relationship with 13 and 14 year olds, and based full-time in a school, coaches are able to support young people who are at a high risk of dropping out of education, employment and training, to develop the attitudes, mind-sets, and the self-efficacy they need to succeed in the often difficult transition to post-16 education and employment.

A ThinkForward coach is not quite the same as those in the corporate world or life coaching, although they do have many things in common. ThinkForward coaches ask the young people challenging questions, ensuring that the responsibility for their choices and the subsequent consequences remains with the young person. Coaches provide support with unpacking complex and sticky issues, helping young people set goals and realise their best course of action, but they are so much more as well.

Not a teacher, parent or social worker, a ThinkForward coach is an older person in a young person’s life. A caring adult with high standards with whom they can have an enduring relationship.

The coach works closely with each young person to identify their needs, work out how best to meet them, and stands side-by-side with them while they navigate over the many hurdles, intrinsic and extrinsic, towards a stable and successful future. Some will need their metaphorical hand held the whole way, while others may just need to be pointed in the right direction.

The coaching relationship lasts for five years during which time the young person forges and traverses their individual path to further education and eventual employment. Coaches deliver a potent and bespoke combination of one-to-one support and targeted workshops, as well as creating opportunities for work experience and facilitating business mentoring relationships – all designed to better connect young people with the world of work. In addition to signposting, referring to and liaising with other service providers that can also support the young person to overcome barriers to their success.

Five years is a long time to develop a meaningful relationship, from the initial rapport building, through to reluctant cooperation and eventually enthusiastic alliance, this unique relationship is at its strongest when there is a mutual respect, understanding and perhaps most importantly – trust. The coach is willing to challenge the young person about their behaviour and their decisions whilst not excepting anything less than the young person taking full personal responsibility for their life, their choices and their own future.

Only with trust does this openness and frankness between the coach and the young person become accepted and flourish. It is these essential ingredients that support a young person on their journey; from dis-engagement and low aspirations, through to self-awareness, finding motivation, deciding upon direction, developing skills, securing qualifications and eventually moving into sustainable employment and personal success.