Half of graduates could have their student loans written off, admits Government

Half of graduates could have their student loans written off because they will not earn enough to repay them, the Government admitted today.

Students who borrow money to complete their courses will not begin to pay back money until they earn £21,000.

Unpaid loans are written off after 30 years under the coalition's shake-up of university funding.

Universities Minister David Willetts said today: "We estimate that around half of all borrowers will have some part of their loan written off, as payments are contingent on their future income."

An Institute for Fiscal Studies report four months ago said half of graduates would still be repaying loans into their 50s.

But speaking at business, innovation and skills questions in the Commons, Mr Willetts added: "Our reforms are more progressive than the previous system because you only start to repay once you are earning over £21,000.

"The new system helps reduce the deficit, is affordable and sustainable for the Government, while offering protection for those who may not go on to high-paid employment."

Source: 8 November 2012, The Independent by Ben Glaze

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/half-of-graduates-could-have-their-student-loans-written-off-admits-government-8297216.html

Big thinkers unite to defend 'one of UK's greatest assets'

Britain’s leading thinkers are launching a new campaigning body to protect the independence of universities as they face growing pressures from government attempts to move towards a more free market higher education system.

An array of academics and celebrated personalities have joined up to form the Council for the Defence of British Universities including Sir David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins, former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion, Lord Bragg and Alan Bennett.

They are anxious to protect the independence of research, arguing that academics should be free to work in fields regardless of whether they brings their institution economic benefits.

They also argue that the Government’s higher education reforms have ushered in “excessive inefficient and hugely wasteful “new accountability measures”, adding: “The very purpose of the university is grossly distorted by the attempt to create a market in higher education”.

In its mission statement, the new body, which will be officially launched on Tuesday argues that - while there are many different groups representing universities “no organisation exists to defend academic values and the institutional arrangements best suited to fostering them”.

It adds that the tuition fee and competition reforms to foster a freer market have been introduced “although opposed by student protests, devastated by academic criticism and unsupported by even the most elementary analysis of the empirical evidence”.

They argue that universities have become more dependent on student fee income and contributions from donors as a result of the new fees regime slashing government grants paid directly to universities.

They say they are fearful for the future of “one of the UK’s greatest assets - its universities”, adding that “a long series of heavy-handed reforms - driven by economic pressures and political objectives rather than the needs of universities and students - have traduced its (the university system’s) values”

The new council has 66 members - including eight members of the Order of Merit, 17 peers. 

Nobel prize winners, former vice-chancellors and former Cabinet ministers.  Historian Sir Keith Thomas and eminent scientist Lord Martin Rees - presidents of the British Association and Royal Society respectively have also signed up.

The launching of the new body coincides with a plea from former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy for ministers to “take seriously” the claims in a report which said there was an £1billion “black hole” in the budgeting for the higher education reforms. It argued it had over-estimated the income from repayments of student loans as well as under-estimated the level of loans students would need to cover the cost of their courses.

Source: 8 November 2012, The Independent by Richard Garner

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/big-thinkers-unite-to-defend-one-of-uks-greatest-assets-8298188.html

Graduate wage 'premium' cut by a fifth in just 10 years

The earnings advantage gained by university leavers has been cut by more than a fifth overall since 2003 as a result of the economic crisis, it was claimed.

Researchers warned that the value of a degree had steadily declined each year, with students taking arts and humanities courses being hardest hit.

Ministers have repeatedly claimed that an undergraduate degree can add more than £200,000 to graduates’ average earnings over their lifetime compared with adults who shunned university altogether.

But the report – commissioned by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit – warned that the “relative earnings advantage associated with a degree appears to have been declining slowly over the past decade, possibly by as much as two per cent per annum relative to average earnings in the economy”.

It is feared that wage premiums will decline further still in coming years after a sharp rise in tuition fees.

Students starting courses this autumn will be expected to pay up to £9,000 a year – almost three times the previous maximum.

The study warned that the employment market for existing graduates was in “sharp contrast” to that witnessed a decade ago, with university leavers more likely to face unemployment or jobs in low-skilled industries.

“Unemployment is no longer insignificant, affecting more than one-in-10 of graduates with many experiencing difficulty in findings jobs.

“For those that do find jobs, there is a much greater likelihood that the job will not be a graduate job. The relative earnings of graduates continue to decline, although compared to suitably qualified non-graduates, a degree still confers an earnings premium.

“Student debt, incurred through tuition fees and maintenance expenses, has been rising, an ominous sign given that [current] graduates do not form part of the high fee regime introduced in England in 2012.”

The “Futuretrack” report analysed students who started university in autumn 2006, the year “top-up” fees of up to £3,000 were introduced by Labour.

The study, based on surveys of more than 17,000 students conducted between November and February, examined how they had fared in the labour market after graduating in 2009 or 2010.

The findings show that four-in-10 were in “non-graduate jobs” – roles which fail to utilise their degree – 18- to 30 months after graduation. A fifth of students with a first-class degree failed to gain skilled employment, rising to half of students with thirds.

By comparison, just 26 per cent of students were in non-skilled jobs after leaving university when a similar study was last carried out a decade ago.

It also found that students who graduated in 2009 faced higher debts, with average university leavers being required to repay £16,000. By comparison, students who left university in 1999 had average debts of £7,960 – equivalent to £10,300 when adjusted for inflation.

In a further disclosure, one-in-10 new graduates had experienced "significant" periods of unemployment and those from black or Asian backgrounds or with a lower degree classification were more likely to be affected.

These factors combined to bring down the average wage “premium” for graduates relative to average earnings, the study found.

Overall, the premium had dropped by 21.7 per cent between May 2003 and November 2011. But graduates with an arts degree saw their relative earnings fall by 33 per cent, while humanities students witnessed a slump of almost a quarter.

By comparison, the wages of law graduates were down by just nine per cent.

Men were also more likely to be hit than women, seeing earnings slump by 23.8 per cent, compared with 20.7 per cent among women.

Source: 7 November 2012, The Telegraph by Graeme Paton – Education Editor

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9661737/Graduate-wage-premium-cut-by-a-fifth-in-just-10-years.html

Student employability: don't forget to harness the power of your alumni

The debate over higher tuition fees has naturally focused on the impact of rising costs on application rates and student expectations, but where are alumni relations in the post-tuition-rise mix?

No one in academia wants to see university education turned into a commodity but the reality of higher fees is that students are all too often working out how they can extract as much value as they can from an investment in their education. Pole position in league tables, new buildings, accreditations and the promise of an enhanced student experience will always attract new students – such factors are critical when it comes to universities seeking to be different.

So, too – as David Willetts and others have emphasised – will be more transparent data regarding employability of graduates from university to university. However, students are coming to expect much more than just information, they are seeking direct involvement from alumni. Prospective students are increasingly seeking to understand and see the quality of those who have graduated before and what they have since achieved. Incoming cohorts want reassurance that alumni will play an active role in their career development, mainly through opening up their networks of influence and sharing their own real experiences – all of which can help students improve their job prospects. In essence, they want to leverage alumni to support their own employability.

The game is changing. Alumni were once seen, first and foremost, in terms of their potential as benefactors, rewarding institutions with endowments in return for some kind of personal gratification or institutional recognition, whether the naming of a building, funding of an academic post and so forth. Indeed, alumni are still a critical element to any university's development strategy, but they have an increasingly important role to play in how institutions are responding to and meeting the changing expectations of their students now.

At Brunel Business School, for example, we are enhancing the traditional view of alumni as a benefactor-driven activity through embracing the needs of existing students that want to connect with past graduates as part of their own development. This is being achieved through the launch of an online mentoring platform for our Masters in Management students.

This approach embraces the principles of social networking and creates a course-specific community. It's an environment where alumni offer themselves as a learning resource that extends students' experience into professional practice. By bringing these communities together, students are able to explore industry sectors and discuss different career paths, whilst allowing alumni to provide advice, perspectives, and play a role in student life.

While getting alumni involved in student recruitment and mentoring is in itself not new, where Brunel is different is in the creation of a social networking environment where alumni provide more than just 'information' in a traditional push format. Rather, they offer direct involvement through their own case history that supports both peer relationship and community building. In doing so, we are responding to the game-change being prompted by our incoming student body to enable a seamless link between those joining university and those who have already graduated.

This kind of engagement and interaction needs to be the backdrop against which existing students see themselves develop, whether through mentoring each other during study or mentoring successive generations of future students. It is important for universities to influence the way students see themselves whilst studying – that is, as having something worthwhile to give – as this will influence the way they see themselves once they graduate and become alumni themselves. This investment in building and, crucially, maintaining these long-term relationships needs to be made now.

Source: 7 November 2012, The Guardian by Professor Zahir Irani (Head of Brunel Business School at Brunel University).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/nov/07/student-employability-alumni-network-support

Recession-hit graduates doubt the value of their degrees

Recent graduates have become rapidly disillusioned with the value of their degrees in the job market, according to a major new study.

The study by the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) found students' perceptions of the value of their degrees for finding a job dropped sharply immediately after graduating.

Two-in-three students (67 per cent) felt their choice of university provided an advantage in finding employment when asked during the final years of their courses.

But when the same students were asked an identical question 18 months after graduating, only half (50 per cent) felt the university they'd attended had helped them to secure a job.

The study – which followed a cohort of students who started university in 2006 over the course of their degrees – also showed that the percentage of students who felt their choice of degree subject was an advantage in finding work fell from 77 per cent before graduation to 60 per cent soon after.

Jane Artess, who led the research at HECSU, said: “The students graduated into one of the worst recessions in history and this has greatly impacted their transition into the labour market.

"Aspects such as reputation of institution and skills developed on courses, which would under normal economic circumstances offer great advantage to job seeking graduates, had less of a positive influence."

The lack of available graduate jobs during the recession meant 40 per cent of graduates leaving university in 2009 were in non-graduate jobs 18 months after finishing their degrees, according to the study.

A comparable study following students who began university in 1999 saw just 26 per cent in non-graduate jobs after the same amount of time.

The sharp drop in students' perceptions about the value of their degree after graduating was seen equally across high- and low-ranked universities, although students at top-ranked universities were generally more likely to consider their degrees advantageous.

Source: 7 November 2012, The Telegraph by Andrew Marszal, Education Digital Editor

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/9658977/Recession-hit-graduates-doubt-the-value-of-their-degrees.html

Graduate job hunters met with stony silence

"It's the lack of replies that's most unnerving," says Luke Hatfield, a journalism graduate from Staffordshire University. Since graduating he's been working full-time in Nandos while applying to graduate-level positions. "I've been looking for work for four or five months now and have sent off tons of applications – I've received two replies. Neither of them led to anything."

"At first, I started double-checking my CV to see if I'd written my phone number and email down right. But there just aren't any jobs out there."

While the news that around 40% of university-leavers fail to get a graduate job more than two years after leaving education will come as a shock to many, recent graduates aren't so surprised.

It took Emma, who finished her sociology degree in 2011, more than a year to secure a graduate-level paid internship. She spent the time working behind the counter in Boots and sleeping on a futon in her parents' house.

"Working in a shop was depressing. It felt so unfair. I'd spent three years at university – picking up thousands of pounds worth of debt in the meantime – but was working the same job as people who had left school at 16."

As the first person from her family to go to university, Emma was – statistically speaking – even less likely to find work than those with university-educated parents. She hopes her internship will help her get a foot on the career ladder: "I want to be a teacher, so doing an internship in education will be really valuable, and it's a lot more enjoyable than working in a shop."

For many, it's the Catch 22 – that you can't get hired without experience – which proves the greatest barrier to a graduate job. "It's frustrating. How do you get experience if none will give you a break?" asks Natalie Clarkson, a Staffordshire University graduate.

"I've done unpaid work placements, I did several during my course, but I can't afford to do them in the long term. A lot of internships are also based in London, so commuting from Essex, where I live, would cost around £100 a week."

The uneven distribution of jobs across the country is a barrier for graduates pursuing careers in a range of industries, says Jodie Norman, who recently finished a postgraduate degree in criminology. "I am in a non-grad job that I have been working in though my time at uni. 

Unfortunately it looks like I will need to uproot from North Yorkshire to London as it seems it's the only place with jobs."

Others are considering going further afield. Nathan Ouriach, who finished a postgraduate degree in English and American literature at the University of Kent this summer says he plans to teach abroad in South Korea: "I have the choice between sleeping on my brother's sofa in London and trying in vain to find internships, or I can go abroad and get some cultural as well as vocational experience."

"When you're in sixth form, they paint this picture where everything will be fine if you go to university – there's no question that you'll get a job. Actually there are lots of very qualified people out there, and they're all going for the same few positions."

Knowing that a barrage of rejection letters is a reflection of the current economic climate rather than an unimpressive application provides little comfort, says Hatfield. "I feel like it's getting to the point that I'm almost embarrassed to say I haven't found a job or even had an interview yet, especially after applying for so many vacancies. I'm starting to loose confidence."

Source: 7 November 2012, The Guardian by Rebecca Ratcliffe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/07/recent-graduates-talk-about-the-struggle-to-get-work

Graduate view: 'we are not customers'

As two recent university graduates we are concerned about the labelling of students as customers who need to be kept satisfied. We believe that positioning students in this way in relation to their learning is deeply damaging to all our futures. Entering the next stage in our lives, at a time of uncertainty and rapid change, we need to be able to be proactive, think for ourselves, take a critical approach to problem solving, communicate effectively with a range of people and use our knowledge creatively.

If we are seen, and come to see ourselves, as customers who respond and react to what is given to us, who are asked if we like our courses (not what we gain from them), then we are unlikely to emerge from higher education as effective lifelong learners.

When you start in higher education, universities are keen to tell you what they can do for you. In the area of learning and teaching, you know how many lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials you will receive. You are told how you will be assessed and how you will get feedback. But coming from school, there will be less staff contact time and ongoing support than you have been used to.

It is easy to see how as customers, coming with particular expectations based on prior experience, we may be less than satisfied. As a new university student, you will know that you need to be more independent in your learning but it's not always clear what this means. If teaching is about transmission and testing, how is learning different at this level? Studying in higher education is – surely – about developing and growing, not just an extension of A- levels.

As students at the University of Hertfordshire, we found one approach that enabled us to take responsibility for our own learning. This was when we were engaged in research-like activity with other students and with staff. Working within our subjects in this way we came to understand how knowledge was created in our disciplines. Through guided enquiry we began to think and act in disciplinary ways. We understood the process of learning and could therefore learn more effectively. When staff coached us and facilitated our enquiries into a broad range of topics (rather than just telling us information), we understood more about what academics do – something that is hard to understand if you only see members of staff giving a lecture.

We also took part in projects, jointly funded by the university and by the Higher Education Academy, where we worked collaboratively with staff researching different aspects of course learning. We collected and analysed data and shared our findings with a variety of audiences. 

This type of work helped us to reflect on our study and become confident in taking responsibility not only for our own learning but that of others. This involved working with new students to help them to understand about effective learning. We saw ourselves as project partners with staff and learnt that a university community thrives when all its members contribute.

Working in this way can be very challenging. If students are not used to guided enquiry, but instead expect regular transmission learning, they may become anxious. They may not understand why they should be learning in this way and may worry that they won't be successful. They may even express themselves as customers who are dissatisfied. This is particularly likely to be the case if only one of their modules uses this form of learning and it is perceived as more difficult than the more traditional modules.

It would be easy for staff to give up on this approach if they get poor student feedback. To avoid this outcome, we believe that universities need to focus much more on learning – on challenging us to be collaborative learners rather than conformist students who reproduce what we have been told. Whatever the rhetoric surrounding independent learning, universities are currently pushing students into dependency through a focus on consumerism and a transmission and testing regime. Only by becoming learning partners will today's students really be satisfied.

Source: 7 November 2012, The Guardian by Florence Afolabi and Lewis Stockwell (Recent graduates of the University of Hertfordshire).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/nov/07/students-not-customers-graduate-view

Graduate scheme insider: lessons from the first year

It has already been a year since I started at Sky. Time has absolutely flown by and with the recent arrival of this year's intake of graduates, I can no longer claim to be new. My first year has seen me complete two different marketing roles, meet and work with hundreds of colleagues, plan media campaigns, test new apps and get half way through my Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) qualification.

I have learnt a huge amount and have greatly enjoyed it. I feel increasingly confident as an employee and a marketer, and am making progress on decisions about my career. For anyone considering a similar route, here are the three main things I've learnt on the scheme so far:

1. It is much easier to motivate yourself at work if you are genuinely interested in what you are doing. It is really important to consider what aspects of work motivate you (eg working with others, being creative) rather than focusing solely on what area you'd like to specialise in.

2. Personality is key. Everyone I've met in work is highly knowledgeable, hard-working and good at what they do. The senior staff, however, all seem to have one thing in common beyond this – loads of personality. Whether they're incredibly driven, creative, funny or team players, they all have great personalities. It's essential that you do not attempt to hide or change your personality at work, just be yourself.

3. Challenge yourself. Starting out in a new company is difficult, and it's natural to try and make your job as easy as possible. But you learn the most when you actively challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone. It can sometimes feel like a case of sink or swim, but you'll be surprised at how often you end up swimming.

The one thing I would do differently would be to be more assertive. In a large company, it's important to ensure your voice is heard and looking back, there were perhaps times when I didn't speak up when I should have because I was lacking in confidence. I could have had more impact on my previous teams if I had been more assertive with my opinions, but it's easy to worry about saying the wrong thing when you're relatively new. That said, being assertive requires confidence in your ability and in what you are doing, which can take time.

On the scheme we're given formal support to help us decide what area we want to specialise in. Each graduate meets regularly with HR to discuss their rotations and future career development. We're given advice on options and, when we approach the end of the scheme, we are able to apply for permanent roles. We are not guaranteed a role at the end of the scheme and have to seek out and apply for permanent opportunities, proving our ability much like any other candidate would.

All of my fellow marketing graduates are in a similar position to me with regards to their career development. We all still have 12 months left on the scheme, and most of them would agree that we still have the opportunity to learn a lot more from our final two rotations before we move into a permanent position. But we have all made significant progress and have a good chance at succeeding in permanent roles.

Source: 6 November 2012, The Guardian by Alan Firmin (Marketing graduate and candidate on Sky's marketing graduate scheme).

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/graduate-scheme-lessons-from-the-first-year

How to future-proof your career

Future proofing your career and being ahead of the curve are two sides of the same coin. If you're doing one correctly, you should also be doing the other. But they're not quite the same thing.

Future-proofing your career means ensuring you are as employable in the future as you are now. You need to stand back and think about your job strategically, rather than just letting it happen to you. Look at the bigger picture: what's happening in your sector; where's the growth; which jobs are vulnerable; how do you measure up?

Think about what you know

As the world speeds up, your technical skills will have an ever shorter lifespan and you need to learn constantly. Don't just confine yourself to your field, either. Read up on fields adjacent to yours, the idea being that if your role disappears, you have other options. You don't want to be the workplace equivalent of an animal that can live only in one species of tree. Rewrite your CV every year; if you can't think of something new to put on it, you need to think about where you're going.

Look at your sector and organisation

You should be working in an organisation that's facing the future head on rather than one whose best years are behind it. The same is true of your sector. You want an industry which is driving change, rather than one that is being pummelled by it.

Work on your relationships

People often view building working relationships as a luxury when times are tough. But being liked and trusted can be more of a differentiator than being competent. Keep in touch with your network and ensure you're visible and easy to find. A network that extends beyond your workplace and includes clients, headhunters and competitors is a good insurance policy if things go bad.

Aim to be agile and adaptable

Rather than having the mindset of someone who is happy to serve out their time, be psychologically ready to move and the kind of person who lands on their feet; a realistic idea of your abilities and what they're worth will help. Focus on the positives be optimistic; when companies look at making redundancies, those who have an upbeat, can-do attitude are very rarely first in line.

If future proofing your career is dealing with bigger picture and long term, staying ahead of the curve is more immediate. It's the kind of thing you can work on when you have 15 minutes to spare.

Broadly speaking there are two aspects to being ahead of the curve. One is informational. At its most basic, this is simply keeping up with the news that affects your industry. But those who truly want to be ahead will also keep abreast of areas that are either general or tangentially affect their industry. Being up to speed on general current affairs and areas beyond your immediate role is a good thing in itself, but is also likely to give you greater insights and vision.

The internet has made this far easier to do this. Look up TED talks that interest you, set up Google alerts for yourself and customers and follow influential people on Twitter. You do need to be selective, though.

The personal side involves identifying who and what can help you move forward in your career and working on these relationships; an example might be knowing what is important to not just your boss, but also your boss's boss. Don't forget office gossip either: it is often a better guide to what will be happening in three months time than the official channels.

Of course, there's no point in being ahead of the curve, if you're the only one who knows it. Demonstrate what you know, for example by emailing your boss interesting articles you've come cross across. Make yourself the go-to person in the office for your area and speak up in meetings. Put yourself forward, rather than hanging back. And spend some time around the watercooler immersing yourself in the organisation's less formal sources of news.

Although all this might seem a lot, the trick is to make many of these actions habitual – and this is really where staying ahead of the curve segues seamlessly into future-proofing. On one hand, you read The Economist every week on the train and on the other, you do a gap-analysis on your career every six months. It's about covering yourself in both the long and the short term and ensuring you're the kind of person who looks forward to change, rather than fearing it.

Source: 6 November 2012, The Guardian by Rhymer Rigby - Author of a new book, The Careerist

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/how-to-future-proof-your-career

Action urged as universities 'fail to produce enough graduates to become specialist teachers’

A lack of science experiments and specialist teachers is affecting state school teenagers' chances of winning places at top universities, a leading head has warned.

Universities are not producing enough graduates to become specialist teachers in areas such as science and languages, according to David Levin, headmaster of City of London School.

And children are not being exposed to enough practical science lessons to gain the knowledge they need to study it at a higher level, he said.

Speaking at a conference organised by the ARK academy chain in central London this morning, Mr Levin said: "Until the maintained system has a sufficient number of teachers in specialist subjects, in physics, chemistry, mathematics and modern foreign languages, the social mobility debate is not going to be advanced."

Mr Levin said that his school, a private school for boys aged 10 to 18, runs a number of master classes with state school students as well as a gifted and talented programme.

"For able students, teachers are very willing but they simply aren't qualified in the specific three separate sciences and modern foreign languages, so we have children coming into our master classes who have virtually done no practical science at all, it's all taught practicals if it's done at all.

"It seems to me, if we might really make a breakthrough, we need to train lots of specialist teachers, and perhaps get university dons to come in and help with that specialist science teaching, and modern foreign language teaching in secondaries, particularly in inner city schools."

Speaking after the event, Mr Levin said he did not think universities were producing enough graduates in science and languages, and those that do graduate in these areas are snapped up by top city and accountancy firms.

He said that independent schools have the resources to pay teachers more, and they still find it difficult to recruit top graduates.

Mr Levin said that part of the problem is that students do not do enough science experiments and instead have "taught practicals" which means the teacher does the experiment in front of the class, or they look at it in a textbook.

"They have taught practicals which is a contradiction in terms," he said. "In physics, in chemistry, in some cases children have never really switched on a Bunsen burner."

This means that students are less inclined to study science, he said, adding that because they are not taught by specialist teachers they become "handicapped in terms of competing for Russell Group places".

Russell Group universities, which include Oxford and Cambridge, are considered among the best in the UK.

Source: 5 November 2012, The Independent by Alison Kershaw

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/action-urged-as-universities-fail-to-produce-enough-graduates-to-become-specialist-teachers-8282349.html

If business owners want to employ bright, motivated young people, they too must take ownership of the problem, says CEO

Business owners need to work more closely with education if they want to employ bright, motivated young people, according to small business owner Jason Holt, who earlier this year conducted a government review into apprenticeships in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Holt, who is CEO of jewellery company Holts Group and founder of not-for-profit social enterprise Holt's Academy of Jewellery, was responding to a call from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) for schools in England to increase their engagement with small businesses. Research from the FSB finds only 9% of small firms have taken on an apprentice in the past 12 months and that 42% believe an apprenticeship is not relevant for their business.

"I would like to see schools preparing young people for the world of work – and not just for university, as they do now. That means regular visits from employers, more opportunities to undertake work experience, in a broad range of sectors, and independent advice and guidance delivered by people with hands-on experience of the workplace," said Holt.

"But it's not just down to schools. If business owners want to employ bright, motivated young people, they too must take ownership of the problem, working closely with schools, colleges and other education providers to help young people develop the skills employers need," he added.

The FSB's report, The Apprenticeship Journey, released last week, says 69% of small firms want a greater emphasis on employability skills in schools. By working with local businesses, schools can gain a better understanding of what small businesses need from young people, the FSB believes.

It adds that the more contact young people have with business the better prepared they are for an apprenticeship and the workplace. With 77% of the firms surveyed that employ school leavers saying they have poor business knowledge, this would be a major step forward, said the FSB.

Two-thirds of small firms have never had any contact with local schools or colleges. Many businesses are unsure about how to get in touch and don't have the time to 'cold call', so it should be up to the school to reach out to small businesses in the local area and build sustainable partnerships with small businesses to provide this valuable knowledge, the report says.

John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, said: "This is a missed opportunity. The status of apprenticeships needs to vastly increase in the eyes of young people, schools, parents and employers. Apprenticeships need to be seen as of equal value to academic routes into the workplace.

"By encouraging business engagement earlier in the schools system through careers guidance, work experience and mentoring, not only would it improve people's opinion, but it would also mean that youngsters can make an informed choice about their choice of career."

Holt said there was a strong case for pre-apprenticeship programmes that bridge the gap between school and the workplace.

"This could take the form of a traineeship that helps young people develop the necessary functional skills, like numeracy and literacy, alongside employability skills," he said.

"Being an exemplary school is not just about getting good A level results and education leaders shouldn't lose sight of their responsibilities for developing young peoples' employability skills. But changes to the way schools are measured and assessed will not happen overnight," he added.

Source: 5 November 2012, HR Magazine by Sian Harrington

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1075214/improving-nation-s-skills-practical-steps-help-employers-address-basic-skills-deficit-today-s-workplace

Recruitment firms: Saviours or exploiters?

When Joseph D'Souza left Portsmouth University last year with a 2:1 in Business Economics, he struggled to find a job. After several months of applying with no luck, his father suggested he try interning. Mr D'Souza signed up to job sites including Reed and TotalJobs and was soon contacted by an agency called Inspiring Interns.

A visit to their offices to record a video CV and take various tests soon led to three interviews. Before long, Mr D'Souza, 24, was on a three-month placement at Fetch Media, a mobile marketing agency based in London, which ended with him being taken on full time.

"I'm so thankful to Inspiring Interns," said Mr D'Souza. "I'd probably still be looking for a job if it weren't for them." Mr D'Souza is not alone. A few years ago, internships, once known as plain old work-experience placements, were undertaken by students during summer holidays to gain a taster of potential careers. Now, with youth unemployment rife, for many graduates they have become an essential first rung on the ladder.

It's a shift that has not gone unnoticed among a new wave of recruitment firms. But some have stoked controversy by charging companies for finding the best workies, or even charging the keen-as-mustard graduate for the privilege of slotting them into an unpaid place.

Inspiring Interns, based in central London and founded in 2009, is a leading player in the new "internship industry". Rivals include Instant Impact and Intern Avenue, which launched this summer and recently secured £100,000 of Dragons' Den funding from Peter Jones. All focus on creating internships at small and medium-sized businesses that otherwise wouldn't offer these opportunities.

"Recruitment businesses are evolving", says Ben Rosen, Inspiring's founder. "In essence, we're a graduate recruitment company, but the three-month internships we offer enable the graduate to experience the role within the company and work out whether they like it or not, and on the other side of the coin, whether it's right for the employer."

Companies like Inspiring Interns and Instant Impact, founded in 2011 by two Cambridge graduates, focus on recruiting high-calibre graduates making them attractive to SMEs who otherwise wouldn't have the resources to reach them. Both firms say they invest significant time and effort screening candidates to make sure companies get not only the best but also the right people. Inspiring, which places 20 people a week, makes applicants take personality and metric tests.

"One of the biggest drains on time is finding good employees and it's no different for interns," says John Auckland, director of Thread Marketing Group, who took an intern from Instant Impact. "The fact that something like Instant Impact exists fills a massive hole."

The job prospects of graduates who go through the "intern industry" are good, perhaps unsurprising given that recruiters focus on sourcing top talent. Inspiring boasts that 66 per cent of the 2,000 interns they've placed have been offered a full-time job at the company they worked in, with a starting salary that's on average £1,500 higher than those who have gone straight into a graduate role. But while the majority benefit from the system, some in this new industry have been accused of exploitation. One firm set up last year, Etsio, tried to get potential interns to pay up to £150 a day to gain the appropriate experience and insight.

"If you or your parents aren't interested in paying a couple of hundred quid actually getting some real world experience then I don't think you're very serious," said Kit Sadgrove, Etsio's founder. 

The company closed two months ago after failing to attract "enough people prepared to invest in their future", he added. Inspiring Interns has also drawn criticism. Campaign group Intern Aware, founded in 2010 by graduate Gus Baker, believe Inspiring takes advantage of interns by charging the company who they're placed with while the intern is unpaid.

"To give [Inspiring Interns] credit, they are good at making money," says Mr Baker. "They make a killing." Instant Impact and Intern Avenue insist businesses pay their interns but Inspiring Interns, the biggest recruiter in the field, only requires that interns are paid travel and food expenses, while they charge companies a £500-a-month finder's fee.

"Our fee comes from finding the right person for the company," says Andrew Scherer, Inspiring's marketing director. "What we're doing is creating learning opportunities."

Inspiring says it is giving graduates the chance to gain valuable skills and experience and the chance of an entry-level job that otherwise wouldn't exist. Mr Scherer says they work closely with companies to ensure that they don't violate minimum-wage law. However, in practice it seems little is done to enforce it.

"Looking back at what I was doing, I wish I was paid," said Meera Badal, a recent graduate who did an internship through Inspiring. "I won business for the company. That was a sore point for me. I was never reimbursed. If it were just a learning experience I would have been there for one or two weeks, just observing. I was getting involved, adding value to the bottom line. In my terms, I was an employee." From an employer's perspective, it makes sense to give work to interns. Mr Auckland added: "Our agency isn't huge, we expect [interns] to be able to come in and pick up quite a high level of responsibility from day one."

Mr Scherer admits that in some cases employers take advantage of interns, but he insists Inspiring does all it can to avoid this.

"We're an intermediary, we do our best to make companies understand their responsibilities but ultimately it's between them and the intern."

Intern Aware disagrees. Mr Baker says: "They're clearly not doing enough. If you look at their website, it looks like they're actively encouraging people to not pay their interns and therefore break minimum-wage law."

Part of the problem is the term "intern". Unlike work experience, "intern" has no legal status in the UK.

Mr Baker's group helps former interns take action against employers who didn't pay. IPC Media, a south London auction house and an international media conglomerate, together paid out more than £2,250 last month to two interns who challenged their employers in the courts with the help of Intern Aware.

"More and more employers are starting to pay interns," says Mr Baker.

However, despite its critics, in the current economic climate and with young graduates desperate not to be left on the shelf, growth in the intern industry shows few signs of abating.

Source: 3 November 2012, The Independent by Oscar Williams-Grut

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/recruitment-firms-saviours-or-exploiters-8278032.html

Vacation schemes: not the really clever stuff, but not all photocopying

The approach of the end of autumn term for hundreds of students hoping to become lawyers brings with it the mad scramble to apply for law firm vacation schemes – paid work experience that many hope will help to secure that elusive training contract.

City and commercial law firms run schemes during the summer, Easter and Christmas holidays, varying in length from two to four weeks. They are open to second year law students and non-law students in their final year.

Students are paid at least £250 a week during placements and many firms provide help with finding accommodation.

During placements you will be given a taste of life as a trainee. While all law firms may look alike to the outsider, there are wide variations, and placements allow you to get a feel for the particular culture and people, helping you decide the right place for you.

Remember though, it's a two way process and during placements firms will also be sussing you to see if you are right for them.

All firms do the schemes slightly differently, but generally students are assigned to a trainee or qualified lawyer and work with them on whatever they are doing.

You obviously won't get to do the really clever stuff, but it won't all be photocopying either. As well as doing research and taking notes in client meetings, vac students will often be given assessed exercises. Students doing a placement with Allen & Overy, for example, will take part in a client-pitch exercise. "Many initially find this nerve-wracking, but for most it's the event they value the most," says graduate recruitment partner Richard Hough.

Students will get opportunities to meet and learn about the different teams within a firm and will also be invited to attend a number of social events. "We're looking for people with client-winning potential," says Hough, "so it's important to see how they interact socially".

The deadlines for application vary, but some are approaching for the next year's summer placements at the end of October and early November. A useful guide to the timetables can be found on the LawCareers.Net site.

The importance placed by firms on vacation schemes varies. For some, like recently-merged Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), they are an important tool in recruiting some of their trainees.

While others, such as Slaughter and May, see them as simply providing useful work experience and insight into the reality of the work of a lawyer, rather than as a two-week interview.

A&O's Hough observes: "They were designed for work experience, but have morphed into something different in the eyes of students, who view them as a means to an end – they hope they will end up with a training contract."

All firms however, approach vac schemes seriously, and for most, the process of application and selection is as rigorous as it is for training contracts.

Application is generally done online. Some firms expect candidates to complete online verbal and critical reasoning tests, as well as a face to face interview and practical assessment. Slaughters, on the other hand, which does not recruit trainees via its vac scheme, simply requires students to submit a CV and covering letter.

Those applying to HSF go though exactly the same demanding process as they would to apply for a training contract, culminating in a six-hour assessment day.

"We like to recruit as many trainees as possible from those who have done the vacation placement. It's a stepping stone on the way to a training contract," says graduate recruitment partner Matthew White.

Of the 85 trainees that HSF has recruited this year, half, he says, have done a vacation placement with the firm.

"I'd like it to be higher because it's a better way of recruiting — giving students a good look at us and us a good look at them," he says. However, he stresses that not having done a placement with the firm is not a barrier to applying or being selected for a training contract.

Competition for vacation placements is even more fierce than it is for training contracts, because some students accept places on several, whereas you can only accept one training contract.

For example A&O gets around 3,000 applications for vacation placements, according to Hough, compared to 2,000 for training contracts. The firm takes on around 60 vac students per year.

The firm's graduate recruitment advisor Sarah Cockburn suggests that "media hysteria" over the level of competition means that many good students are "deselecting" themselves before they have even had a go. "It is really disheartening to see," she says.

But, she says students should not be put off by the numbers, because the quality of applications can often be a really mixed bag. "Many are littered with spelling errors and mistakes that are easy to avoid, and this varying quality, combined with an increasing number of good candidates wrongly deselecting themselves, can at times make it harder to fill placement schemes."

She encourages candidates to focus on making their own application as good as possible, by doing their research properly and spending time tailoring it the individual firm.

One reason for the low standard, suggests Hough, is the high number of applications that some students are making – on average between eight and 12.

"I question whether it is possible to do so many applications on an individual bespoke basis. It would be better if everyone was a bit more focused," he says.

All firms are keen to stress that they are looking to recruit the best talent wherever that might be found, and to allay fears that any groups or individuals might be treated more favourably than others.

Twenty of thirty years ago, says White, things may have been different, with the children of clients or partners given preferential treatment, but he insists, those days are long gone.

Like others, White says he does not want to see candidates put off by perceptions that they need to have gone to a particular school or university in order to apply, or that they will be disadvantaged to their ethnicity, sex or socio-economic background.

When applications are initially considered, partners cannot see the name or sex of an applicant, or their school or university, he reassures, stressing that the application process is objective, judging candidates only on merit.

"Some people assume that we are looking for a particular type of person, but we aren't," says White.

"I went to a comprehensive school and was the first person in my family to go to university, but I came here and felt like I fitted in," he adds.

One misconception that firms particularly want to scotch, is the notion that they are only interested in Oxford and Cambridge graduates, and therefore it is not worth others applying.

Hough says he finds the Oxbridge "fixation" frustrating. "The perception is that in a downturn recruiters narrow their focus and look at a few select places." He says that is not the case. 

A&O, he counters, goes to 18 universities in the milk round, works actively with 47 and has 50 represented among its current London trainee population.

"Quality is everywhere," he insists.

But what if you don't get a placement? The firm message not to despair – they are not the be all and end all. Hough points out that half of the training contracts at A&O are held back for those applying through the external recruitment scheme. He stresses: "It's wrong for vacation placements to become the focal point — they are not the only way of getting a training contract."

What matters, he says, is that students have shown a "hunger" to learn about the law and get some work experience. "If they haven't done a vacation placement it doesn't mean they are under par."

"I'd be equally, if not more impressed, with someone who has trawled the phone directory and found themselves a couple of weeks work experience in a high street firm. That shows commitment," he says.

Source: 2 November 2012, The Guardian, by Catherine Baksi

http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/nov/02/vacation-schemes-applications-law-firms

Seasons Greetings!

Merry Christmas!

From the Jobsbody Team

Careers advice at every stage of life is crucial to social mobility

On a straight word count 'careers' gets 82 mentions in Alan Milburn's recent report, University Challenge: how Higher Education can advance social mobility. The majority of these mentions appear in two contexts.

The first looks at the role of university careers services in helping students 'get on' after graduation. Suggestions include: that university careers services should be embedded within academic departments, more universities should provide sandwich courses, careers services should work to establish a 'skills supply chain' between higher education and local businesses, and that careers services and businesses should develop co-curricular activities to enhance student employability.

The second considers the negative impact of changes to careers provision in schools. Recommendations include: further statutory guidance for schools focusing on the importance of face-to-face guidance delivered by accredited professionals, the inclusion of the effectiveness of careers advice in the Ofsted school inspection framework, and the creation of structured programmes for schools including "inspiring talks, university visits and work experience".

So should we to be encouraged that a report into universities' role in social mobility gives so much space to careers?

Careers information, advice and guidance (IAG), at every stage of life, is utterly crucial to social mobility. People will not 'get on' if they don't understand where they could be going and how to get there. While the problem does not, of course, lie with universities alone, careers advice in higher education is one of the areas that suffered most under the auspices of the Connexions service, with its focus on helping those at risk of failing; a deficit now compounded by the demise of Aimhigher.

Milburn's 82 references to careers contain all the elements of the right response, but they are scattered with too few concrete recommendations. There is, as he points out, a vacuum in careers provision, and this is an opportunity missed to shout it from the rooftops and push for a coherent and forceful response. In this, more than possibly many other areas of education, the responsibility for provision is surely a collective one and best delivered collectively.

It cannot – it must not – be impossible to provide a careers IAG service which covers all bases, where schools, careers guidance professionals, colleges, universities, charities and employers work together. They need to help students of every age choose the right subjects and pathways for their interests and aptitudes, and get the right exposure to experiences which will demonstrate the range of career opportunities available and provide the skills and contacts necessary to grasp them.

All of the necessary work is already being done somewhere, by someone, but coverage is patchy and often follows funding streams not greatest need. A combination of the financial crisis and the creation of quasi-markets throughout the education system work against the sort of cooperation required. It will require a Herculean effort of collaboration, realistically on a regional basis.. However, once established, with clear indications of who has responsibility for delivery, students will receive a holistic range of provision. The different partners involved will play to their strengths, and it might just provide a mechanism to make a reality of sharing good practice, which we tend only to pay lip service to currently. Only then will we see social mobility start to shift in the right direction.

Source: 31 October 2012, The Guardian, Dr Tessa Stone (Chief Executive of Education Charity, Brightside)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/oct/31/careers-advice-social-mobility-milburn

Who is responsible for student employability?

If you could bottle an 'employability potion' for graduates, you'd probably stand a good chance on Dragons' Den. But what is it and how can young people acquire it? And whose responsibility is it to develop it?

It's true that universities need to play a stronger role as nurturers of employable, self-aware 'can-doers', not just of subject-specific learners. Employability stats will become harder to ignore as they compete for graduate attention. Meanwhile, over in camp business, employers are slowly inching towards offering more internships and apprenticeships to take some responsibility for preparing the future leaders for the world of work. But it's still not enough; the gap between the two worlds is alarmingly wide.

The longer-term problem is the under-employment of talented, capable young adults who are treading water in very limited roles. Graduates are typically heading for a working life of 10,000 days and who'd want to spend them in the wrong job, wondering what the right job is? There is a real danger that they will stay in those roles for too long hoping for (but not knowing how to reach) that light-bulb career direction moment.

To escape this trap, it's crucial that graduates find practical ways to help themselves transfer from student to employee. We cannot ignore the importance of translating education into meaningful skills and capabilities for the workplace. So where do you start?

We need to turn the idea of soft and hard skills on its head. Young adults' people skills are essential. Decision-making, excellent writing skills, team working, presentation and articulation, empathy, reflection, curiosity and listening are some of the skills being demanded by all organisations, not just corporations. Many graduates have these skills; they just don't know it. As a largely digital generation, their inter-personal skills are dramatically variable, from listening brilliantly and taking on board feedback, to dialogue and empathy.

Secondly, far more graduates need to realise the importance of preparation and genuine self-awareness. Both over-used words, both severely under-practised in reality by most candidates. Actors delivering electrifying performances night after night on stage and athletes competing for their life's dreams on the track don't get there without digging deep into themselves and understanding what drives them. Employers regularly say they need candidates who are more self-aware, who understand exactly what they have to offer their chosen industry and how to offer it.

Graduates preparing for make or break interviews must first go through the process of identifying what really matters to them, what drives them in life. We encourage graduates to be honest about what they really believe in, what their values are. This is far more important than pretending to be what you think an employer wants and it comes even before all the other vital work that the more conscientious candidates will put into physical aspects of their behaviour like posture, expression and presence.

Explore your own 'currencies' and identify what makes you come alive. Apply the same discipline you may have in a sporting or cultural passion to your career aims. Analyse this properly before being interviewed for a dream job in your target industry and you're far more likely to convince an employer that you are right for the role.

Young people need a place to bring these issues to the surface in a safe environment, allowing themselves to admit vulnerabilities and express what makes them uncomfortable as well as what drives them. Understanding what gets in the way of progressing is absolutely key to this.

It's not obvious where to look for this help but there are solutions out there. Many private coaching providers will focus on individual aspects – presentation, interviews, CV, assertiveness, appropriate grooming for the job. But being in a place that brings all this together – where young adults can learn how all these exercises blend and how to tell their story in a more compelling way – is much more effective.

Pockets of excellent advice and guidance are offered by some universities, but most often we hear stories of careers services that aren't connecting with the majority of students. While online learning is affordable and scalable, is it genuinely effective?

A back-to-basics, intensive coaching experience involving leaders from all walks of life would seem like a sensible place to start. After all, coaching is no longer the preserve of the boardroom or of elite sports men and women. We're about to take on this challenge and help graduates from across the UK tackle all the issues above with the launch of Eyes Wide Opened, the first ever five-day coaching course for under-employed graduates.

But there shouldn't just be one place to turn. This concept is worth developing by everyone, so that employability is attainable by the majority and the danger of spending those 10,000 days wishing you were somewhere else is dramatically reduced for everyone's sake.

Source: 31 October 2012, The Guardian by Alastair Creamer and Paul Preston (Co-founders of Eyes Wide Opened).

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/responsible-student-employability