PROGRAMME OUTLINE: Pathways Plus. (16+ participation learning and support programme)

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1 ROUTES TO SUCCESS PROGRAMME OUTLINE: Pathways Plus (16+ participation learning and support programme) Part of the Bradford Pathways Education and Careers for the 21st Century CONFERENCE HANDOUT For further information:

2 Table of contents 3 Background 4 Key Components of Pathways Plus 5 Pathway Essentials - Core Skills for Life and Work Pathways Plus Target Group 6 Programme Duration Phase 1: Innovative engagement and recruitment strategies Phase 2: Start-on-programme Phase 3: Qualification Career Development Delivery 6 Phase 4: Work experience Phase 5: Progression and Transition Support 7 Crucial Support for those that need it 8 Benefits of the Bradford Pathways Plus model APPENDICES 9 Appendix A Ready for Work 2

3 Background Whilst many young people are working towards level 2, many do not complete by the time they reach 16 and find progression very difficult without the support and personalised programmes of learning they have experienced pre-16. As a result a high proportion of the group either fail to meet their duty to participate in learning or only remains in education or training for a short period of time. Cluster and pathway approaches are important in an increasingly complex and fragmented labour market where employees no longer move in a straight line within one company, but rather move vertically and horizontally around a set of jobs. By exploring the Bradford career clusters and pathways through the Bradford Pathways model helps young people to connect them to the local economy and will ensure that they get equipped with appropriate skills for jobs in the region. Young people s journey into the workplace has become more fragmented and challenging, with young people experiencing demonstrably higher levels of unemployment than other groups. NOMIS data from Oct 2014 shows 25.4% of all JSA claims are currently made by year-olds across Leeds City Region, with 25% of these young people expressing a desire to work. The UKCES Employer Perspectives survey (2014) states, reversing the trend of youth unemployment is a social imperative and says opportunities to gain experience of work are the key. Understanding the labour market and which jobs require which skills is more important than ever. Pathways and cluster approaches that allow the most flexibility for current and potential workers in moving from job to job as the economy changes is why the Bradford Pathways approach is being proposed and why Pathways Plus is crucial to supporting those aged 16+ who have not achieved and have been disengaged in the current education curriculum. What is it? The Bradford Pathways model is aimed at being embedded in the education, skills and employment infrastructure in Bradford District and is intended to more effectively prepare individuals for the changing business and economic needs. It will support young people and adults into a wide range of high-wage, high-skills and high demand careers in sectors that are important in Bradford and the surrounding economies. It combines academic, employability, leadership and technical skills and allows participants to explore different career pathways designed around high-demand sectors and occupations, and gain real-world experience needed to compete and achieve success in education and life. The model works by facilitating collaboration between education, businesses and industry partners to align resources, build shared capacity and combine services to provide a range of interventions aimed at meeting the various needs of employers and job-seekers. Ultimately it helps to fill positions that are available today, whilst closing skills gaps and preparing a flexible and skilled workforce for the changing needs of the 21st Century, including jobs that do not yet exist. Why do we want to adopt it? It originates in the USA as Career and Technical Education (CTE) and has been adopted across the country, with extensive evidence of the following outcomes: High school students involved in CTE are more engaged, perform better and graduate at higher rates. Post-secondary CTE fosters post-secondary completion and prepares students and adults for in-demand careers. Investing in CTE yields big returns for state economies - In Washington for every dollar invested in secondary CTE programmes, the state earns $9 in revenues and benefits. CTE addresses the needs of high-growth industries and helps close the skills gaps. 3

4 What do we aim to do? We will work with all relevant stakeholders to develop and embed a CTE model customised to meet the needs of the Bradford District, its residents and its employers. The development of the model across the whole of the education, skills, enterprise and employment infrastructure will be a long-term programme and be undertaken in a phased approach. Ultimately it will involve the following: Career Clusters (Commonly 16) Career Pathways (Commonly 84) Programs of Study Individual Learning Plans Personalised Learning Essential Skills and Knowledge The first phase will focus on secondary schools and year 6 of primary schools specifically for the core skills development whilst the Pathways Plus model focuses on those aged 16+ who are not meeting their duty to participate. Key Components of Pathways Plus Bradford s Pathways Plus model aims to bridge the gap between initial skills of individuals and what they need to enter and succeed in post-secondary education and career path employment. The Pathways Plus approach will assist young people in obtaining the necessary academic, employability, and technical skills through three required components core qualifications, career development, and transition services; 1. Core Qualifications; Integrates English and Maths (up to level 2) and a vocational qualification in an industry/occupational area of interest. This element includes: Teaching basic skills (Maths and English) Exploring the careers clusters using workplace materials and situations (e.g. technical manual, actual equipment, scenarios and IT applications) Using interactive teaching and learning (project based learning, team work and problem solving in a real world context) Models and teaches behavioural skills that will be helpful in the workplace Developed collaboratively (from the wider Bradford Pathways approach). 2. Career Development; includes careers exploration, career planning within a career area, and understanding the world of work. It helps young people understand career choices and employment opportunities and build personal skills for pursuing chosen careers. It also improves academic achievement, educational motivation and self-esteem. This element includes: Increasing self-image and confidence so that young people can advance in the workplace over time Exploring career options open to them and the educational/employment steps within those options Giving information and skills to help them make choices, identify and pursue educational and employment opportunities, and to assess their positions and needs over the life of their careers. 3. Transition Services; provides young people with the information and assistance they need to successfully navigate the process of moving from education to employment or further learning. Services may include; dealing with learning styles and difficulties, building self-confidence and esteem, navigating the college process, how to balance work and household/caring responsibilities, adjusting to the next level of employment/education and referrals to individual support services (as necessary). 4

5 Pathways Essentials - Core Skills for Life and Work The core skills for life and work underpin the Bradford Pathways Plus approach and are integral to the framework of careers and technical education. Preparing young people to fill the many roles they will hold; as workers, parents, citizens and consumers, with the ability to apply their knowledge and skills effectively to rapidly changing situations. These core skills will need to be developed through appropriate teaching methods, throughout the duration of the Pathways Plus programme, drawing upon the idea of deeper learning, the roots of which emanate from the Gestalt psychologists who termed it meaningful learning. Deeper learning enables the young person to learn the competencies they will need to navigate a changing world, creating understanding of the deeper structure of problems and the methods used to solve them, enabling them to transfer their knowledge and skills to new problems. The integration process needs support with programs, policies and resources, to focus on: Instruction Curriculum development Assessment Teacher preparation Teacher professional development Deeper learning is the process through which a person becomes capable of taking what was learned in one situation and applying it to new situations, in other words learning to transfer, they also understand when, how and why to apply what they know. They recognise when new problems or situations are related to what they have previously learned, and they can apply their knowledge and skills to solve them. The core skills can be organised into three domains: The cognitive domain - includes thinking, reasoning and related skills; The intrapersonal domain - involves self-management, including the ability to regulate one s behaviour and emotions to reach goals: and The interpersonal domain - involves expressing information to others, as well as interpreting others messages and responding appropriately. Pathways Plus Target Group Young people aged 16 + who are: (a) Age 16+ and (b) NEET or not fulfilling the RPA obligation and (c) Functioning/achieving below the equivalent of NVQ Level 2 Within the limitations set out above, priority of access to Pathways Plus will be given to young people falling into one or more of the following groups: left school with few or no qualifications have behavioural or mental health issues had high levels of absence from school are in a gang are teenage parents have a history of offending, or who have not offended but are receiving support from the Youth Offending Team have no fixed abode/ are homeless are substance abusers are refugees are in care or are care leavers have a learning difficulty or disability 5

6 Programme Duration There will be neither minimum nor maximum length-of-stay on programme, though it is anticipated that the target outcomes could be delivered to the middle quartile of learners in approximately weeks at the rate of about 21 GLA hours per week. However, this is only a guide figure. The intention will be that delivery and duration should be flexible to suit the needs of the learner who will, in effect, be permitted to self-pace with appropriate encouragement and support from the provider(s). The over-arching philosophy will be of learning and support providers entering into a commitment with each young person that s/he will continue to be supported until all the aims of the programme are achieved. The Council would like to ensure that the Pathways Plus programme is effective in developing and supporting young people to retain positive destinations and therefore seeks the cooperation of providers in tracking and data gathering which will enable an analysis and feedback opportunity for all those involved in delivery. Phase 1: Innovative engagement and recruitment strategies: using successful and proven assertive outreach approaches. Engagement activity includes; link worker contact pre transition & development of a transition plan, activity based challenges, workshop tasters, one to one support sessions, liaison with carers/parents. Liaison with agencies significantly involved in these young people s lives i.e. YOT, Leaving care. Phase 2: Start-on-programme: initial assessment, identification of learning needs: planning the young person s development. All young people will undertake a detailed initial assessment. This will be a combination of light touch informal assessments based on key Worker observations, with more formal basic skills assessments. This phase will also include an IAG interview, which with the assessments will inform an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) with a focus on a positive EET destination. Support to access ALS, Care to Learn or Bursary Every young person will receive: Identification of functional level in literacy and separately in numeracy, by means of a recognised externally-standardised assessment vehicle Exploration of aptitudes, interests and existing prior knowledge and skills by a combination of an externally-standardised assessment vehicle Ready to work assessment, measuring the six vital capabilities for work readiness (see appendix A) Support to identify non-learning barriers to engagement and progression, such as attitude, behaviour, life circumstances etc. Leading to: Preparation of a comprehensive, learner-centred individual support and learning plan support to identify career clusters and groups of occupations which, based on the results of the above, are likely to be fruitful target employment and career aspirations, including support from a qualified careers adviser Phase 3: Qualification Career Development Delivery: learning and development to support the learner to achieve the taught objectives of the programme and to address other barriers to progression and achievement Every young person will receive: Planned taught and experiential learning and development so as to lead to the award of accredited qualifications. The taught component of this learning will integrate guided progress towards the 3 target qualifications: taught learning which teaches the three subjects discretely will not be regarded as fulfilling the requirements of this element of the young persons planned learning and development; 6

7 Planned taught and experiential learning and development to increase employability, for example: workplace behaviour expectations, self-presentation and interview skills, the preparation of a CV etc., so as to make the young person a credible candidate for employment in her/his target occupation or group of occupations. As far as is reasonably practicable, the taught component of this learning will integrate progress in this curricular area with that towards the young person s target accredited qualifications; Support to address non-learning barriers to participation, learning, employment and progression, for example: behavioural or health issues; the consequences of alcohol or substance abuse or involvement with the youth justice system; homelessness or potential homelessness; attitude, engagement and motivation. Phase 4: Work Experience: reinforcement and contextualisation of the qualification and career development component. Every young person will receive a period of work experience, of minimum duration 2 weeks, in a position directly relevant to their target occupation or group of occupations. The presence of work experience will promote achievement and progression by contextualising the learning which the young person has received and presenting them with a picture of a future life built around employed status. There is no intention to be prescriptive about the timing of the work experience element of the programme, which will allow providers to make decisions as to the placement of this element within the learner journey which are driven exclusively by the learning and development needs of the individual young person; Phase 5: Progression and Transition Support: moving young people on in their career journey. Practitioners will carry out a risk assessment of the young people likelihood of drop out and level of support required. IIAG will continue. Young people will progress to one of three destinations, depending on their guided choice of career, aptitudes and achievements: (i) Progression to further learning: young people who achieve the aims of the programme will be strongly placed to engage with further learning, leading to achievement at NVQ Level 3 or equivalent; (ii) Progression to employment-with-learning: young people who achieve the aims of the programme will be strongly placed to engage with Apprenticeships or other forms of employment with learning (iii) Progression to volunteering: young people are encouraged to support their peers to engage with the programme, to remain on it to achievement and to progress to one of the identified destinations. Extra support to develop peer support skills will be offered as well as encouragement to other volunteering opportunities within industry or the local community (iv) Progression into self-employment-with-learning: young people who achieve the aims of the programme and show a guided interest in, and aptitude for, self-employment, will receive a further support in the practicalities of self-employment and starting a small business, with a view to encouraging entrepreneurship in individuals in this group. Crucial Support for those that need it Based on local evidence from the Devolved Youth Contract (DYC) and national DfE evaluation (September 2013), there are a range of common characteristics displayed by our target group including mistrust of working with adults/ professionals, reluctance to look for or accept help, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness. The support role is central to the Bradford Pathways Plus model, in order to help young people overcome these challenges, engage voluntarily with the programme and other services, and make themselves ready for progression into learning, training and the job market. Building on the DYC evaluation findings, a mentor/keyworker will act as the lead professional co-ordinating interventions and support around young people to address common barriers: no fixed abode, substance abuse and negative peer influences. 7

8 Benefits of the Bradford Pathways Plus Model Pathways Plus is part of the overall Bradford Pathways offer. This particular programme exposes the young person to career information about the skills and knowledge required by a broad range of occupational options within a career cluster. Features Aligns formal qualifications with young person s interests. Helps young people becomes more self-directed and focused on their future. Relates learning with young people s goals and interests. Organises careers opportunities into 16 careers clusters. Benefits When young people are interested in what they are learning, they stay involved. Young people who set goals achieve greater success. Young people are motivated to work harder and make better employment choices. Young people and staff understand future careers possibilities, thus supporting career and work decision making. For young people completing Pathway Plus, by the time they leave the programme they will be able to: Confidently choose a career that meets their individual needs Feel confident for pursuing and achieving their own educational goals Conceptualise a plan for their next steps and know how to achieve them Demonstrate the skills and credentials necessary to enter realistic careers opportunities Demonstrate marketable experience in the workplace through work placements Prepare a CV, interview, and look for jobs that suit them Access college or employment through support with applications and work readiness tests 8

9 APPENDIX A The UK job market has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Many young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds find it difficult to make a successful transition from education to employment. At the same time employers, express concern about the level of training and support they need to give to young recruits. Impetus Private Equity Foundation in partnership with the Young Foundation and the Social Research Unit at Dartington have worked directly with UK based employers and have identified six essential capabilities that young people are expected to demonstrate in order to get and keep a job. As a young person builds these capabilities, they advance through stages of development emerging, developing and established further increasing their employability. The report points out that sustained employment for young people will only be achieved through the cultivation of the capabilities employers want. They believe that young people need all six capabilities to be work ready: 1. Self-aware Takes responsibility for themselves and others, exhibits self-control, accountability for one s actions, does not shift blame and recognises their own strengths and weaknesses 2. Receptive Willing to address weaknesses, takes feedback and advice, open to new ideas and working in different ways, open minded, patient and flexible 3. Driven Displays a positive attitude, applies oneself consistently, reliable, motivated, punctual, well organised, hard-working and goes the extra mile 4. Self-assured Has good levels of self-esteem, willing to ask questions and seek more information, can work alone without clear direction, displaying physical signs of self-esteem, such as a firm handshake 5. Resilient Copes with rejection and set-backs, learns from mistakes, open to constructive criticisms, determined to over come obstacles, perseveres and does not panic under pressure 6. Informed Has an understanding of the job market, able to search for job vacancies, does background research, under stands office etiquette, well presented, can effectively described their achievements verbally and has a representative CV. 9