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Opportunities for young people

Courses and jobs

Job information sheets for March are available to download from the CLC website. Vacancies this month include Electro-technical electrician; Youth workers; IT support; Trainee Plumber plus many more.

E2E Places for January Guarantee NEETs - City of Westminster College have plenty of spaces left for NEET young people, with roll-on roll-off flexible start dates. For more information, please contact Sara Gilani.

Spring Board Islington Open day - Young people and personal advisers are invited to visit the event to find out more about the e2e opportunities that are available. It takes place on Friday 26 March, for more information call 020 7561 7400.

Get into Sports Coaching – FREE training programme run by The Prince’s Trust for unemployed young people aged 16-25, interested in sports coaching. For further information, please e-mail James Mudd or call 0207 543 1457. The course is accredited and after completion young people will receive six months of support in finding a job.

Get Started with Music – FREE 5 day training programme run by The Prince’s Trust for young people aged 16-19, interested in a career in the music industry. For further information, please e-mail James Mudd or call 0207 543 1457. The course will allow young people to Develop music production skills including song writing, sound recording, music technology, band work and vocals.

BT Apprenticeships - BT are looking for applicants who have either achieved or been predicted the equivalent of 5 A-C GCSE grades including Maths and English. Click here to apply before the end of March.

Apprenticeship Grants for Employers: age 16 and 17 have proved popular. There are 5000 grants and apprentices must be in place by the 31st March. The National Apprenticeship Service are encouraging 16 and 17 year olds to come forward and sign up. Find out more.

NCB to launch Skills Development Programme – NCB are looking for voluntary organisations who can offer a young person between 18-24 a work placement for five months within their organisation. Please contact Jo Denoris or call 020 7843 1904 for more info.

The BBC 2012 London Apprenticeships scheme – Working at the BBC for a year whilst studying for a Creative and Digital Media Apprenticeship Level 3. Young people should be passionate about media, 18 or over, without a degree and not in full time education. The salary is £9000 per year.

Personal Development Opportunities

Free training for a job in IT - The Go4IT programme will give young people skills and practical experience, improving employability. They give full training plus practical experience. They also help with CV writing and interview skills. Call 0203 008 4809 or email jonc@skillsteam.com.

Step Up to Social Work – A new employment-based pathway will be delivered nationally from September 2010, providing a more flexible route for high achieving graduates to complete their Masters degree and qualify as a social worker. Please email stepuptosocialwork@cwdcouncil.org.uk or call 0113 386 2264.

UKSP is a website with lots of information about careers in the hospitality, travel and tourism, and leisure industry. It has job vacancies, career tools, advice, and information about qualifications.

Other Opportunities

I Have A Choice is a project that gives young adults aged 16-25 the opportunity to get involved in a range of volunteering activities from radio, sports and events management.

Low Carb: the low carbon skills event – FREE two-day low-carbon construction skills event. Londoners who are currently unemployed, subject to redundancy or actively seeking skills, training and guidance for a growing sector ahead are welcome to register to attend.

Print Futures Awards - The award was set up to help young people fund their training for a career in the UK printing and graphic arts industries. Click here, for further information or to complete the application or contact Terry Ulrick.  

The Worlds Strictest Parents - BBC Three are producing the third series and are looking for young people aged 16 – 18 year olds from all over the UK who could benefit from 8 days living with a strict family in another part of the world where they will experience a completely different culture, outlook on life, through the eyes of other people who have different responsibilities and priorities. For more information, please email strictestparents@twentytwenty.tv,, call 020 7284 2020 or text 07593 965 221.

Consultations

Employability Survey - The Edge Learner Forum is investigating ‘Employability’ and they would like to hear from young people aged 15-25 on this issue.

 

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Information for staff working in IYSS

Achieving Excellence IAG Conference for PAs and IYSS staff working in central London, will take place on Monday 22nd March 2010. The event will be looking at the new national IAG strategy 'Quality, Choice and Aspiration' and its potential impact on young people's lives and give you the opportunities to share best practice, hear about the Achieving Excellence project and to plan how we move forward with this strategy. If you are interested please contact your Manager.

Year 12 information booklet, will be in Schools and Colleges and Connexions centres in the next couple of weeks.

Education Maintenace Allowance (EMA) - All FE learners in year 11 should have obtained a 2009/10 Application Pack from their school before completing their compulsory education. Download the Application Form Resource Pack.

The Activity Agreement Pilot (AAP) has been extended for another year until 31st March 2011. Due to its significant success with working with hard to reach NEET young people and its links with the national DCSF Raising Participation Age agenda where it will be a statutory requirement for young people to remain in learning up to the age of 17 in 2011 and 18 in 2013. For further information on the AAP please contact Bally Sappal, AAP Pilot Manager or call 0207 938 8089.

New plans for the Connexions Direct service for April 2010. One of the new initiatives is mid-call transfers from Connexions Direct to local Connexions centres. Please see the briefing document for more information.

CEIAG is being reviewed to identify the impact of policy and practice on young people’s post 16 destinations and career choices across the equality strands. If you would like to be involved please email j.hutchinson@derby.ac.uk or call 01332 591267.

Public Consultation on the Introduction of the Pupil and Parent Guarantees - This consultation sets out the full text of the Guarantees and seeks views on whether the requirements are clear and understandable, and the responsibilities and entitlements for schools, pupils and parents are correctly balanced.

Apprenticeship literature for Employers - Watch out for the Apprenticeship employer focussed literature that is beening produced in the form of a leaflet and a factsheet and will be available soon. This is to inform employers of the Apprenticeship and Connexions services available to them.

The types of childcare eligible for Care to Learn have changed. From September 2010, Care to Learn will also be accessible to young parents using childcare providers on the voluntary part of the Ofsted General Childcare Register.

Functional Skills Factsheet for young people - The factsheet will enable you to see how functional skills fit into their lives. Hard copies can also be ordered by calling 0845 6022260 and quoting reference number 00171-2010FLY-EN.

The QCG bursary is now closed all new applicants and students enrolling for the academic year 2010-2011 will not be able to access this source of funding due to ministers taking the decision to end the funding. Read the full article.

All together, a better way of working – CWDC is promoting a range of tools to help everyone involved with children and young people to work better together.

Apprenticeship Resource Pack – Included within the FREE Resource Pack is a Delivery Plan and PowerPoint presentation. They have both been developed to be used to support delivery of Information Advice and Guidance (IAG).

Unison calls on government to properly fund Connexions – The head of public sector union, Unison has called on the government to properly fund the Connexions service and provide more apprenticeships for the under-25s.

Information for Parents

Parental Opinion Survey 2009 – Report detailing the opinions of parents on a range of issues, focusing on their role as parents, their confidence as parents and their views about the services that they or their children use.

Campaign launched to promote extended services to parents - Parents are being targeted in a government campaign to increase the uptake of extended services in schools.

Extended schools and services - Extended schools provide a range of services outside of school hours for primary and secondary school age children, their families and the local community. Find out more.

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Policy for Managers & Staff

An Agenda for Youth Engagement: Government response to the recommendations of the Youth Citizenship Commission – This report is a response to Making the connection, Building youth citizenship in the UK.

Doing things differently: Step changes in skills & inclusion - The report proposes recommendations to policymakers and employers on ways to increase skills and employment opportunities for socially excluded groups.

Opening the Door to Apprenticeships: Reaching young people who are disadvantaged and disengaged from apprenticeships - The paper forms part of the ongoing work of the Apprenticeship Pathfinder Project as it seeks to capture the impact of policies, projects and programmes in ‘opening doors to Apprenticeships’ for young people who are disadvantaged or disengaged.

Report of Impact Measures: Students’ Perceptions of Work Experience – Report by the National Support Group for Work Experience is used to show the impact of work experience for students.

Extended services evaluation - reaching disadvantaged groups and individuals: thematic review - The purpose of this thematic review was to increase understanding of how schools in a range of circumstances were defining and responding to ‘disadvantage’ in their development of extended services.

Exploring the impact of formal work experience and term-time paid employment using longitudinal data from England (2003–2007) – This research compares work experience with paid part time work undertaken by young people.

What is to be gained through partnership? – Amongst the findings of this report are that young people enjoy and value work experience and opportunities to understand the relevance of their learning to the wider world. For a copy of 'What is to be gained through partnership', please email Carol Glover.

Every Professional Matters: Sustaining Professionalism within Integrated Children’s Services – Report from The Children's Services Professional Network, advocating the retention and support of specialist professional expertise.

Outcomes of Interagency Training to Safeguard Children – Report of a study by DCSF which sought to develop an evidence base for interagency training to safeguard children.

Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the Family Pathfinders – This DCSF paper responds to concerns raised about the policy links between the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and the Family Pathfinders.

Britain’s Lost Talent – With this report, the Prince’s Trust have sought to look behind the headlines and discover exactly what could be “lost” if Britain fails to help NEET young people into work.
Disengagement from Education among 14-16 year olds - This research report by the DCSF sought to identify types of engaged and disengaged young people using information on behaviours, attitudes and motivations using data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England.
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Staff training, events & conferences

Motivational Strategies to support young people who are NEET - This course will take place on 10 & 11 March 2010.

Working with groups - This 4 days course will take place on 24 & 25 March and 29 & 30 April 2010.

Young people's rights - This course will take place on 18 March 2010.

Helping young people make the most of their money - This course will take place on 23 March 2010.

For full course outlines or to book onto any of the above courses, please log in to the CLC online training system with your log in details. If you do not have a username or password, do not have access to the internet or have forgotten your details, please contact CLCTraining@rbkc.gov.uk .

Achieving Excellence in CEIAG for London (17, 18 or 22 March) –  FREE Events to inform practitioners involved in advising and supporting young people on the new national IAG strategy 'Quality, Choice and Aspiration'. Staff working in the central London 7 boroughs are encouraged to attend the event on 22 March. If you would like to attend, please speak to your manager.

Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) for Senior Leaders (8 March) – This conference will provide a summary of current policy and strategic direction around IAG at national and regional levels.

Regulatory Criteria (12 March) - Ofqual has recently published the functional skills qualifications criteria and the specific criteria for the individual functional skills in English, mathematics and ICT. Awarding organisations offering functional skills qualifications from September 2010 must demonstrate that they comply with these criteria. Click here to book.

Changing Careers Education: Information, Advice and Guidance that Motivates All Young People (17 March) - Delegates will discuss the careers education strategy, and how policy is likely to change to deal with the raised participation age. They will also investigate case studies and share good practice examples in improving IAG. £175 - £225, click here for more info and to register.

Recession: How will your services for young people survive and thrive? (18 March) – PYL’s next event will explore creative ways in which services for young people can survive and flourish in these difficult financial times. It will feature the launch of a report 'Recognising the Value of Services for Young People in London', and will provide opportunities for managers and senior managers from the statutory, voluntary and private sectors to engage in lively debate and create new ideas to promote the survival and success of their services. 1st place FREE to PYL members. Click here for booking form.

How Can We Most Effectively Tackle Child Poverty, Health and Wellbeing? (22 March) – Seminar including 11 speakers and several discussions. £345.

Information, Advice and Guidance for Young People (23 March) - This conference will bring together policy and decision makers and practitioners to examine the new funding arrangements and obligations, the challenges in local communities and to hear how information, advice and guidance has a central role in building skills, informing parents and tackling the effects of the economic downturn.

Working Effectively with and Supporting Young People with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities (30 March) – This event will equip new LDD workers, and those requiring a refresher session, with knowledge and information needed when working with young people with LDD. £79 - £109. Click here for the booking form. 

Monitoring the Outcomes of Advice Work with Young People (31 March) – This half day interactive seminar from Youth Access aims to assist participants in identifying the most appropriate methods and tools for monitoring youth advice outcomes. £40-£50. 

The New Vetting & Barring Scheme: The Independent Safeguarding Authority requirements and your organisation (13 April) – This course will review the latest developments from Independent Safeguarding Authority, their requirements and timescales for implementation and will asses the impact to your organisation. £49.

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Apprenticeship expansion but wage contraction

Apprenticeship numbers are expanding and employers seem to be more flexible about qualifications, but wages and allowances appear to be falling.

As mentioned in last month’s update, the Apprenticeship expansion seems to be having a marked affect in central London.

Last month we reported that Apprenticeship numbers across London were generally about 300% up on last year. Looking back over the last five months Apprenticeship vacancies in central London were nearly 400% up on the previous year (89 compared to 23).

Central London Connexions Apprenticeship Vacancy Notifications
1st December to 28/29th February

While apprenticeship numbers are increasing, the proportion of employers insisting on good GCSE grades (or equivalent) from applicants seems to be decreasing. Nearly half (49%) of Apprenticeship notifications either asked for no formal qualifications or only low grade (D-G) GCSEs or a Level 1 qualification. Compared to last year the proportion asking for good GCSEs is down, but those asking for no qualifications up.

Central London Connexions Apprenticeships
Qualifications Required (%)
1st December to 28/29th February


The £2,500 sweetener recently offered to small and medium sized employers to take previously unemployed 16-17 year olds into an apprenticeship is likely to have had an effect here. Many employers will have realised that their chances of finding a suitable candidate will be reduced if they are not flexible regarding qualifications. All of this funding has now been taken up in London but February saw many Apprenticeship vacancies from SMEs and most are still looking to fill their vacancies (which they must do by the end of March to claim the subsidy).

While the expansion of Apprenticeships with SMEs has increased the supply of vacancies may also have resulted in a decrease in the average apprenticeship wage. Money is still tight for many and while the large and national employers seem to be maintaining their Apprenticeship rates (eg £230 per week with The Royal Parks, £315 London General Transport) the average has dropped from £205 per week (in December to February 2008/09) to £130 in the last five months. The vast majority of apprenticeship vacancies notified to central London Connexions boroughs in February were paying between the minimum £95 and £120.

Many Training Providers and the National Apprenticeship Service have been advising employers that they may struggle to fill places on the minimum £95 per week, whether this results in some increasing their rates as we head into March is yet to be seen.

Trevor Bottomley
Employment & Labour Market Adviser
Central London Connexions
March 2010

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