Data published last week just reaffirms longer term changes in the nature of apprenticeships – particularly who does them and at what level. https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25 It’s a mistake to see apprenticeships as an alternative pathway for 16- and 17-year-olds not continuing on the academic track, the original intention for their reintroduction at the start of the […]
Many people, it seems, even some practitioners and activists, don’t seem to be aware that the law requires all young people in England to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. Enforcing this legislation (part of the 2008 Education Act) has been difficult – the most recent ONS statistics show 75,000 16–17-year-olds categorised as […]
The government’s post-16 education and skills White Paper has finally been published, but it was a pre-released announcement about the introduction of another new vocational qualification that made headlines. The announcement that the government will be consulting over new V (Vocational Level) awards has sent alarm bells through the post-16 sector, not least because it’s […]
An article in the FT last week puts recent concerns about increased graduate unemployment in a wider context, https://on.ft.com/3VYJ3sk (though you might find this paywall protected) According to the FT, in the US, unemployment among recent college graduates is up 1.3 percentage points from its mid-2022 low. Concerns about the current economic climate and the […]
We don’t have much in the way of detail for Rachel Reeves Labour conference commitment of “nothing less than the abolition of long- term youth unemployment”. But based on what was announced it’s going to be nothing like that. According to Reeves, every young person who has been out of work or education for 18 […]
books and articles by Martin Allen 