A practical space for the future workforce

Education debate in England has continued to be characterised by the differences between those who focus on learning as a good in itself and those who see schooling as a means to employment.

The so-called ‘vocational/academic’ divide presupposes that education can’t be both a route to gain skills, knowledge and learning and offer to support the development of aptitudes, talents and understand that is directly relevant to the world of work. Yet some of our oldest vocations – doctors, lawyers, teachers – have always had a foothold in academic rigour and in some of the oldest universities in the country.

Behind this debate is an increasing concern about the rise in 16-24 who are not in education, training or employment. This group of young people is on the increase and represent a pool of lost talent and skills. As at the last quarter of 2010 the number of young people in this category measured just under 1 million with a worrying increase particularly in the 18-24 age group. Moreover, our research at Learning Plus UK has shown the impact that not continuing in education has on this group’s longer term life chances and their capacity to earn higher wages.

A targeted approach
The new government has entered into this debate with enthusiasm proposing a series of structural and curricular initiatives designed to tackle the underlying causes of this group of young people. They have continued the previous government’s commitment to raise the participation age to 18 by 2015 and expanded the opportunities offered to young people through the apprenticeship programme.

Central to the new approach is the notion that this group of young people are turned off by traditional academic education with a focus on pathways into higher education and that these young people need to be energised by a different approach to education which sees the world of work at its core. Indeed the Prime Minister David Cameron and Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education both see this new approach as a key means of narrowing the achievement gap and giving young people access to a curriculum that leads directly to employment opportunities.

A different route
In this context, the government is proposing a range of solutions which emphasise employability, skills, technical knowledge and aptitudes. Sitting alongside studio schools and suggestions given by the review into vocational education led by Professor Wolf, a new type of school is being mooted, the University Technical Colleges.

University Technical Colleges are the brainchild of the Baker/Dearing Trust and they have at their core a commitment to linking the world of work with the world of schools and colleges. UTCs would offer a curriculum based in the ‘real world’ and focusing on technical and manual skills suitable for the local and national employment market. Businesses are central in this approach, combining with education to bring sharpness that values vocations and trades rather than academic study per se.

This will be achieved through increasing integration of further education into the 14-19 sector with some UTCs perhaps serving the 11-19 age group. Already there are discussions about how staff from further education colleges could be more actively involved in schools and an ongoing debate about how performance at post-16 could be measured using some of the criteria and success methods currently used by FE.

Alongside FE, Universities will have role partly to give parity with more academic routes and partly to give a route to higher education for vocational courses that had not previously had access to HE. Students will have access to further learning either in the workplace or at University at 19.

Changing the design approach
The emphasis on vocational learning will require different approaches to classrooms and learning spaces. Practical lessons require practical experience, so the ability to create beauty saloons, carpentry studios and engineering labs will be critical in giving young people access to the type of workplaces that may need their skills. The Futures Community College in Southend on Sea represents the kind of design and build that embodies this particular meshing of vocational approach. 

Designed by architects FraserBrownMcKenna, the building has both vocational and academic spaces reflecting the needs of the local young people. Purpose built the college has state of the art beauty therapy, construction and engineering facilities mirroring the world of work. 

Built under the previous government, Futures Community College has been commended as an exemplar of the type of approach that UTCs could bring – joining together curricular approaches with bespoke design and construction, to create vocational learning spaces that support entry into the world of work or onto further and higher education.

A growing trend
So given this backdrop, the recent budget announcement to increase the number of potential University Technical Colleges from 12 to 24 did not come as a surprise. In September 2011, the first JCB UTC will open in Staffordshire. The JCB Academy will be a 14-18 provision with purpose built facilities and supported by industry heavyweights such as Rolls Royce, JCB, Toyota and Bombardier. 

The remaining UTCs are likely to grow up over the next couple of years, with a number in London and the south and perhaps some further north. What is not yet known is the level of capital investment that such UTCs would attract. As a trailblazer, the JCB Academy will no doubt have significantly higher levels of capital investment than those further down the pipeline. It may be that rather than significant new build, we see more refurbishment and refreshment – perhaps as part of the estate of a university or a further education college – rather than new build.

Moreover a key aspect will be how we ensure that these new forms of structural solution have an impact and do lead to better outcomes for the young people they are set up to serve. Central to this will be the need to understand what works and why and to share excellent practice from schools, colleges, further and higher education. 

24 UTCs out of a school sector of over 25,000 schools will only make a difference if we know what quality looks like and can share it – both amongst UTCs and with other schools and colleges. Building on the best that already exists in the education sector will be crucial if UTCs and other initiatives to tackle the disengagement of young people at 16 and beyond, is to work.