Employers hold the key
THE FUTURES of thousands of 11-year-olds who headed off for their first day at secondary school today will be in the hands of Teesside employers attending a unique conference on improving skills.
November 6 is the date set for the Employer Engagement Conference, organised jointly by the Evening Gazette, Middlesbrough College, Hall Garth Community Arts College, Teesside University and training organisation A4E. It follows widespread concern about the introduction of 14-19 diplomas from September, five of which are being piloted across the UK, including engineering at eight colleges locally.
The diplomas have at their core work-based learning, which requires the support of employers. Amanda Ovenhill from A4E, who helps organise work experience for schools on Teesside, said: "There is a huge amount of excellent employer engagement going on and it is important to see how we can progress across the whole of Teesside."
Meanwhile, Construction Skills, the sector skills council for the construction industry, is urging employers to take on apprentices even during a downturn.
It said it had received 2,000 applications from young people for apprenticeships so far this year, but only had 300 employer vacancies.
For more information on the conference, go to www.nebusiness.co.uk/educationsurvey
