Equality and diversity good practice fund: Inclusive Apprenticeships

16 October 2015

Chris Brill, Senior Policy Adviser

http://www.ecu.ac.uk/goodpracticefund/

The challenge

In 2012/13 what was the percentage of…

…BAME apprentices?

The challenge

In 2012/13 what was the percentage of…

…BAME apprentices? 10%

The challenge

In 2012/13 what was the percentage of…

…women apprentices?

The challenge

In 2012/13 what was the percentage of…

…women apprentices? 52%

The challenge 7% 35% 56% 63% 79%

Business, Administration and

Law

Health, Public Services and Care

Retail and Commercial Enterprise

Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies

Leisure, Travel and Tourism

The challenge 7% 35% 56% 63% 79%

Business, Administration and

Law XHealth, Public

Services and Care XRetail and

Commercial Enterprise X

Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies X

Leisure, Travel and Tourism X

The challenge

In 2012/13 what was the success rate of …

…disabled apprentices?

The challenge

In 2012/13 what was the success rate of …

…disabled apprentices? 68%

Equality and diversity good practice fund = 29 projects

= ‘Addressing underrepresentation and stereotyping by disability, race and gender in apprenticeships and traineeships’

= Rural urban, spread across England

= All resources can be found on: http://www.ecu.ac.uk/goodpracticefund/funded-projects/

Meeting the challenge

1. Raising the aspirations of potential learners

2. Removing barriers within the programme

3. Providing tailored opportunities

Raising aspirations

“My message to everyone I meet is: no matter who you are, or where you are from, or what career you want to undertake, an apprenticeship can help you achieve what you want in your career and in your life.”

Sue Husband – Executive Director of the National Apprenticeship Service at SFA

1) Raising aspirations

What can be done to raise the aspirations of learners from under-represented groups?

1) Raising aspirations

What can be done to raise the aspirations of learners from under-represented groups?

‒ Role models‒ Events/Workshops‒ Videos‒ Information, advice and guidance

Myerscough – Supporting female apprentices

1) Raising aspirations

= Bournemouth and Poole College of Further Education - Go For It!: Challenging stereotypical career choices through apprenticeships

‒ “Go For It!” video

2) Removing barriers

= Careers South West - Overcoming barriers faced by young people with LDD on entry to FE sectors

2) Removing barriers

= Careers South West - Overcoming barriers faced by young people with LDD on entry to FE sectors‒ 1-1‒ Asked about support needs on application‒ Initial assessment‒ Learner provided with booklet (funding from

ALN/ASN pot)‒ Regular 1-1’s‒ Confidential discussion

2) Removing barriers

=North Lindsey College - Building bridges: changing gender perceptions‒ Curriculum development

2) Removing barriers

=Petroc - Pathways to apprenticeships

2) Removing barriers

=Petroc - Pathways to apprenticeships‒ Feedback‒ Work related qualifications‒ Develop progression pathways‒ Introduce basic skills‒ Training around travel

What is your top tip to increase the number of under-represented groups ….

‒ Accessing an opportunity?‒ Succeeding at an opportunity?

3) Tailored opportunities

=Abingdon and Whitney College - Identifying and disseminating best practice for apprentices with special educational needs (SEN)

3) Tailored opportunities

=Abingdon and Whitney College - Identifying and disseminating best practice for apprentices with special educational needs (SEN)‒ Initial Assessment ‒ Develop Individual Learning Plan‒ Plan Assessment‒ Plan resources‒ Feedback

3) Tailored opportunities

Any final recommendations on providing tailored opportunities….

Developing a successful initiative

Top tip 1

=Work collaboratively with:

‒ Learners

‒ Internal partners

‒ External partners

“Collaboration across departments was key here, identifying and sharing good practice. Similarly in developing a protocol to identify and monitor support for remote learners, a number of departments, including IT, were brought together to identify the best systems and processes that would best fit our needs.”

Myerscough College – Supporting female apprentices

Top tip 2

= Respond to or develop an evidence base

“It has been important to be able to speak to key people in the lives of our cohort who have provided support to enable learners to succeed. These may be placement staff, family, parents/carers and other support workers from external agencies. This is because the majority of young people we spoke to are able to provide excellent advice and encouragement to other young people and can identify the benefits of their learning but are often less able to identify barriers or are aware of the support taking place in the background. It is therefore important to factor this into any research.”

Careers South West – Overcoming barriers faced by young people (18–24) with LDD on entry to FE sectors

Top tip 3

= Clearly designed project plan

‒ Be systematic ‒ Know up front what you hope to achieve‒ Be flexible ‒ Alternative strategies and methods ‒ Establish a timeline of activities with dates ‒ Consider staff time management and availability.’ ‒ Frontload the delivery plan ‒ Keep open channels of communication ‒ Plan how you are going to review outcomes

Questions and answers

Future events

=Developing staff awareness of equality and diversity issues

= Raising aspirations of underrepresented groups

= Engaging employers to advance equality in workplace learning

= http://www.ecu.ac.uk/events/equality-and-diversity-knowledge-exchange-webinars/