tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/career-aspirations-9750/articlesCareer aspirations – The Conversation2022-02-17T13:59:53Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1759652022-02-17T13:59:53Z2022-02-17T13:59:53ZThe fighting spirit of young African footballers who migrate overseas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445947/original/file-20220211-27-1049tuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young players train with Cameroon star striker Vincent Aboubakar who plays for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">DANIEL BELOUMOU OLOMO/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/players/6519/Sadio-Man%C3%A9/overview">Sadio Mané</a> scored the decisive penalty to secure Senegal’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60186276">triumph</a> over Egypt at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/afcon-demands-global-respect-opens-a-new-chapter-for-african-football-176552">Africa Cup of Nations</a> in <a href="https://theconversation.com/drama-delays-and-domestic-unrest-why-hosting-afcon-is-so-important-for-cameroon-174721">Cameroon</a>, Isaak, a professional Ghanaian footballer in his late 20s, could not have been further away from the action. Watching the final online in his room in eastern Thailand, Isaak’s thoughts most likely turned to what might have been had he managed to better navigate some critical forks in the road of his football career. </p>
<p>Isaak is one of several dozen African players we interviewed for our new book <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526120298/"><em>African Football Migration</em></a>. Their experiences and trajectories reflect the reality of life for the majority of African footballers who aspire to successful careers overseas – but frequently labour far beyond the bright lights of the elite game enjoyed by icons like Mané.</p>
<h2>Football migration</h2>
<p>Migration has long been an important livelihood strategy in many African countries. Migrating through football has more recently come to be viewed by increasing numbers of young people as a viable route to significantly improving their life chances. </p>
<p>This trend is a consequence of multiple intersecting factors, ranging from economic precarity, a declining faith in education and a weak local football industry. The commercialisation of football economies in Europe and some Asian countries over the last 30 years has made them prized destinations for aspiring African migrant footballers. </p>
<p>Thousands of African talents have tried to follow in the footsteps of iconic footballers such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Essien">Michael Essien</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Etoo">Samuel Eto’o</a>, Mané and <a href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Mohamed-Salah/631518">Mohamed Salah</a>. However, for most the chance of succeeding is minimal.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526120298/">ethnographic fieldwork</a> in Africa, Europe and South-East Asia alongside numerous conversations with young footballers, parents, coaches, club owners and intermediaries reveals the precarious structures and career trajectories that characterise African football migration. How these young players navigate uncertainty and failure as they try to make it big overseas is reflected in Isaak’s story.</p>
<h2>Isaak’s story</h2>
<p>Isaak’s prospects looked hopeful at first. In 2012, he was a talented midfielder playing for Ghana’s national U-17 team, the Black Starlets. This enhanced his visibility and the chance of a contract with a club abroad. Through the Black Starlets he encountered a Ghanaian footballer and player agent based in Thailand, who promised him trials with professional clubs in the South-East Asian country.</p>
<p>Isaak believed this would be a stepping stone to a prestigious league in Europe, despite having no prior knowledge of Thailand or its football industry. He was reassured by his agent that necessary arrangements and logistics had been taken care of. All that was required was for him to reimburse the agent for his initial financial outlay and services once he signed for a Thai club.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/afcon-demands-global-respect-opens-a-new-chapter-for-african-football-176552">Afcon demands global respect, opens a new chapter for African football</a>
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<p>Isaak’s parents and elder brother were supportive, seeing an opportunity to secure the family’s livelihood. Shortly after the Thai authorities issued a three-month tourist visa, Isaak boarded a plane to Bangkok with six other Ghanaian players promised similar deals. The agent picked them up from the airport and brought them to their rented accommodation. It soon became clear the promised trials had not been organised. As Isaak <a href="https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526120298/">saw it</a>:</p>
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<p>Everything was a lie … Seven players in a small room. No windows, no air condition(ing), nothing. I was the youngest, so I had to sleep on the floor … There was nowhere to go, so we stayed in the room all day. At times, no food for me for the whole day … I was really suffering.</p>
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<h2>Precarious trajectories</h2>
<p>This <a href="https://blog.lboro.ac.uk/news/politics/10-step-guide-to-football-trafficking/">sort of experience</a> is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-search-for-footballs-next-big-thing-is-fuelling-a-modern-day-slave-trade-121350">not uncommon</a> among migrating African footballers. Many encounter fraud, disillusionment, racism and economic hardship as they pursue a professional contract in South-East Asia, Europe or elsewhere. A litany of media reports detailing instances of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/may/16/football-broken-dreams-african-teenagers-sold-premier-league-lie-nepal">trafficking and exploitation</a> attests to this. </p>
<p>However, despite their struggles, African migrant players, including Isaak, <a href="https://nai.uu.se/news-and-events/news/2019-06-04-migrant-footballers-far-from-the-glitz.html">rarely give up on their dream</a>. Rather, they retain a belief that hard work, talent, luck, persistence and for some, divine intervention, will secure their and their family’s futures.</p>
<p>Ten years after his move to Thailand, Isaak remained in the game. He had established himself in the lower reaches of the Thai game, playing for various clubs in third- and fourth-tier divisions. His career continued to be highly precarious and uncertain. Contracts were always short-term and his salary just enough to get by and occasionally send some money home. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-precarious-fate-of-african-footballers-in-europe-after-their-game-ends-153510">The precarious fate of African footballers in Europe after their game ends</a>
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<p>In 2020/21 COVID-19 resulted in the termination of his contract. Nonetheless, Isaak continued to view his career as a launching pad for Europe. A route to social mobility was restored with a new contract after the recommencement of Thailand’s third division. Like so many other African migrant footballers, Isaak will likely continue to labour and invest his physical capital in pursuit of a dream that’s unlikely to be realised.</p>
<h2>A persistent dream</h2>
<p>It is these intersecting aspirations, experiences and trajectories in the life courses of young African males that we unpack in <em>African Football Migration</em>. The book illustrates that the ability to navigate an unpredictable, highly competitive and commercialised industry is a key asset for African players. An embodied belief in their abilities to succeed and the need to make their migration project <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-fame-abroad-changes-african-footballers-way-of-life-back-home-132071">valuable</a> for themselves and others frequently mitigates the disillusionment and setbacks faced abroad. Staying in the game and keeping the hope of ‘making it’ alive gives meaning to their struggle, regardless of how precarious it may be. </p>
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<p>In the context of global inequality and restrictive migration regimes, it is likely that young African footballers will continue to see a career in the professional game overseas as a viable future path. </p>
<p>Our book reveals they are well aware of the pitfalls, barriers and imponderables that characterise this path. However, they press on regardless, exhibiting remarkable creativity and resilience as they cultivate a dream to follow in the footsteps of Sadio Mané and others who ‘made it’ against all odds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175965/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Ungruhe received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme for this research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Esson receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Darby receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. </span></em></p>Aware of the high chance of failure, young African talents show remarkable creativity and resilience as they dream of being the next Sadio Mané.Christian Ungruhe, Research fellow, University of PassauJames Esson, Reader in Human Geography, Loughborough UniversityPaul Darby, Reader in Sport & Exercise, Ulster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1563872021-03-08T19:05:24Z2021-03-08T19:05:24ZSenior maths and science are super popular with Islamic-school students, but that could limit their career options<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387674/original/file-20210304-20-e7uaav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/muslim-education-activities-classroom-school-happy-1216998334">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More Islamic-school students in years 11 to 12 are enrolled in science and maths than other students in Australia.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/663">study of Islamic-school students’ career aspirations</a>, about 28% of our sample were enrolled in science compared to the national enrolment rate of about 18%. Maths enrolment rates were at around 26% for the Islamic senior students in our sample, a little higher than the national average of about 25%.</p>
<p>But the difference was higher for Islamic-school girls, 27% of whom were enrolled in maths (compared to about 25% of male students).</p>
<p>We also found while courses in Arabic and Islamic studies are fundamental to the ethos of Islamic schools, the majority of students we surveyed didn’t take these subjects. Enrolment rates in Arabic and Islamic studies were about 2% and 6% respectively. </p>
<p>Our study drew attention to the general lack of vocational courses offered in Islamic schools, while confirming anecdotal evidence the courses on offer are heavily weighted to science and maths.</p>
<p>Islamic-school students need more course options and alternative career pathways (such as vocational education and training). The currently traditional pathways on offer may restrict their future prospects.</p>
<h2>Maths and science the most popular courses</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://isa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/20208-ISCA-2020-Snapshot-A4_v4_FINAL.pdf">around 46 Islamic schools</a> in Australia, with 38,300 students. </p>
<p>We collected data from nine schools in South Australia, Victoria and NSW as these are the states with the highest concentration of Islamic schools. A total of 146 year 11 and 12 students responded to our questionnaire about the courses they took and career aspirations — 68 girls and 78 boys.</p>
<p>While this number of students may seem low, if we exclude primary schools, this equates to a participation rate of around 20% senior school students in Islamic Schools across Australia.</p>
<p>We also collected data from <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/contact-us/acara-data-access">The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority</a> to calculate the subject participation rates among senior school students nationally.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-are-more-than-a-number-why-a-learner-profile-makes-more-sense-than-the-atar-143539">Students are more than a number: why a learner profile makes more sense than the ATAR</a>
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<p>Like other Australian schools, Islamic-school students can choose a combination of courses from <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/foundation-year-10/learning-areas-subjects">eight core learning areas</a> prescribed in the Australian curriculum: English; mathematics; science; humanities and social sciences; arts; health and physical education; technologies; and languages.</p>
<p>In our survey, more Islamic-school students were enrolled in maths and science than any other course. </p>
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<p>But only about 4% students in our sample were enrolled in information and communications technology compared to 12% nationally. </p>
<p>And fewer than 1% were enrolled in art — versus almost 10% of students nationally. More Islamic-school females were enrolled in art and Arabic (languages), which align with national trends. None of the males in our sample took an art subject.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-australians-are-taking-advanced-maths-in-year-12-we-can-learn-from-countries-doing-it-better-149148">Fewer Australians are taking advanced maths in Year 12. We can learn from countries doing it better</a>
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<p>In relation to humanities and social sciences — which includes business, accounting and legal studies — female participation (more than 26%) was almost equal to male participation (27%) in our sample. </p>
<p>More males in our sample were studying accounting (about 4% in comparison to about 1% of famales) and business management (about 6% versus 4%).</p>
<p>Enrolment rates in physical education among the Islamic-school girls (more than 6%) were more than double those of boys (3%). This finding was somewhat surprising. </p>
<h2>What they want to study at uni</h2>
<p>Most students who filled out our questionnaire wanted to study medicine, followed by business, engineering, law, teaching and other — in that order. </p>
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<p>Interest in medicine was about 35% among females compared to about 28% among males. Desire for engineering among males (more than 16%) was almost three times that of females (about 6%). </p>
<p>Most Islamic schools in Australia are located in middle- to lower-socioeconomic areas with varying levels of educational advantages and disadvantage.</p>
<p>Because courses like medicine and law are costly and competitive, only a minority of these students will get into their desired courses and many will need to plan for alternative options. This may include doing a vocational education and training (VET) course.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-young-people-who-do-vet-after-school-are-in-full-time-work-by-the-age-of-25-133060">Most young people who do VET after school are in full-time work by the age of 25</a>
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<p>Islamic schools need to offer courses that take into account the preferences of their students as well as the realities of university entry. Students need alternative pathways to courses that straddle their fields of interest — such as nursing, childhood education, electrotechnology and building design.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A higher proportion of Islamic-school students in years 11 to 12 are enrolled in science and maths than other students in Australia. But they may not all get the careers they want.Mahmood Nathie, Lecturer and researcher, University of South AustraliaMohamad Abdalla, Founding Director of the Centre for Islamic Thought and Education, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/622312016-07-19T18:37:55Z2016-07-19T18:37:55ZWhy career counselling is more valuable now than ever before<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130695/original/image-20160715-2127-13i2quc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The days of staying in one career forever are over for many people.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The world of work is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-work-8526">changing all the time</a> – and fast. Jobs have emerged that didn’t exist five or ten years ago. And the idea that you’d stick with one career for your entire working life has been left in the dust. The Conversation Africa’s education editor Natasha Joseph asked Professor Kobus Maree of the University of Pretoria’s Educational Psychology Department to explain how career counselling has changed – and why it’s so important.</em> </p>
<p><strong>When you talk about career counselling, I suspect a lot of people think back to their school days when a guidance counsellor said, “You should do this job one day.” But it’s a far broader world, isn’t it?</strong></p>
<p>Career counselling entails much more than merely choosing a job and hoping to stay in that job for the rest of one’s life. Choosing a career is seen by many as trying to find a way to integrate into society, say as a teacher or a plumber, and also about making a social contribution. </p>
<p>Today, career counsellors believe that it is essential to identify a person’s original “pain”. This provides the starting point and life plot of every person’s career and life career story.</p>
<p>Career counsellors endeavour to help people deal with their pain – and empower them to use this pain to help others. In the process, people can heal themselves and make social contributions. Some people understandably grapple with the contention that every life story starts with pain. My <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6209-272-3_1#page-1">own research</a>, and <a href="http://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/98443/_PARENT/layout_details_cc/false">others’</a>, suggests that very high career achievers understand the value of pain to any life story: the more you hurt and struggle, the more you have to strive to prove yourself. </p>
<p><strong>Why is career counselling so important?</strong></p>
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<span class="caption">Career counselling can help people to navigate crossroads in their lives.</span>
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<p>Once people know where they are headed, they mostly become motivated to work hard to realise their goals. </p>
<p>People consult career counsellors when they face a “natural” crossroads: having to choose a school, university, field of study or one from a number of employment opportunities. A second group consults career counsellors when they begin to doubt whether they have made the appropriate choice in terms of schools, subjects, universities, careers or employers. In all these cases, the future is already upon them: “the old” – what used to work – no longer does. </p>
<p>Workers are being confronted increasingly in the postmodern era with the impact of change on the workplace. They have to face and deal with repeated work-related crossroads and transitions. They hesitate because they are uncertain about the way forward. Career counsellors then enable them to recount their career life story. This allows them to listen to themselves by revisiting instances when they faced a crossroads. And by listening to themselves, they become able to deal with their current crossroads.</p>
<p><strong>Whose responsibility is it to set up career counselling mechanisms? Individual schools and universities? Does the government have a role to play?</strong></p>
<p>I should think that everything starts with the government. But a host of other stakeholders are also responsible: education and labour departments; primary, secondary and tertiary training institutions; professional bodies and qualifications authorities; and youth development agencies, private practitioners and non-profit organisations. </p>
<p>The role of parents, teachers, role models and a person’s peer group also shouldn’t be underestimated. Society has a collective responsibility to ensure that every person be granted access to career counselling. In fact, postmodern career counselling can help “invisible” and “unvoiced” people who are desperately in need of career counselling become “visible” and listened to. </p>
<p><strong>How much does your research and experience suggest that people are using career counselling services in South Africa, where you’re based? What holds people back from seeking career counselling?</strong></p>
<p>Sadly, only a small percentage of South Africans ever have access to career counselling. Career counselling in <a href="http://bit.ly/2a3v6VB">Africa at large</a> is still premised on the belief that career counsellors should “test” clients to assess their personality profiles and help them to find the “best fit” between their personality traits and the traits required to execute a certain job successfully. People hope that career counsellors will tell them which careers to choose. </p>
<p>Moreover, career counselling offered by private practitioners is too expensive to be accessed by people who are poor – and that’s the <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-02-03-south-africa-where-12-million-live-in-extreme-poverty/">vast majority</a> of South Africans. </p>
<p>Far too few teachers are trained to administer career counselling adequately. Introducing Life Orientation as a school subject has <a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-01-22-op-ed-active-citizenship-requires-active-learning-the-case-for-valuing-life-orientation/#.V4x_srh97IV">not resolved the challenge</a> either. Few of the teachers currently facilitating this subject have been <a href="http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T-Anth/Anth-14-0-000-12-Web/Anth-14-4-000-2012-Abst-PDF/Anth-14-4-305-12-785-Chireshe-R/Anth-14-4-305-12-785-Chireshe-R-Tx%5B4%5D.pdf">trained adequately</a> to administer career counselling.</p>
<p>There’s some work being done to improve career counselling in the country. The South African Qualifications Authority, for instance, has developed a career guidance <a href="http://www.southafrica.info/services/education/careeradvicehotline.htm#.V4inZbh97IV">hotline</a> that doesn’t just involve a professional telling job-seekers what to do. The government is working on <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/40115_gon795.pdf">a plan</a> to develop and implement a three-tier system of career development services in South Africa. </p>
<p><strong>The world of work is constantly changing. We have jobs today that didn’t exist ten or even five years ago. How much is career counselling as a field adapting to those changes?</strong></p>
<p>The US Department of Labour estimates that 65% of today’s schoolchildren will end up working in jobs that <a href="http://www.successperformancesolutions.com/2013/65-percent-of-todays-students-will-be-employed-in-jobs-that-dont-exist-yet/">don’t currently exist</a>. </p>
<p>Change is the new normal. For this reason, career counsellors must do their work in such a way that their clients become career adaptable and, most importantly, employable. It is vitally important that students acquire those skills that will help them not only survive but rather <em>flourish</em> in times of change. Career counsellors should become <em>au fait</em> with the basics of “employability counselling”, so to speak. </p>
<p>Career counsellors should try and use the best elements from various approaches in their work. Their allegiance should, ultimately, be to find the best ways to be useful to clients.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62231/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kobus Maree receives funding from National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>Career counselling shouldn’t be a luxury that only certain people can access. It’s actually a necessity in the rapidly changing world of work.Kobus Maree, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/616942016-07-01T04:53:27Z2016-07-01T04:53:27ZHow Michelle Obama’s visit to a London school helped boost students’ grades<p>Something extraordinary happened to the pupils of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in London in 2009. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/apr/05/michelle-obama-school-london">Michelle Obama visited</a> that April while in London with her husband for a G20 summit, then asked pupils from the school to meet her in Oxford two years later, and finally invited a dozen pupils to visit her in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/michelle-obama/9167373/The-ultimate-school-trip-visiting-the-Obamas-at-the-White-House.html">White House in 2012</a>. </p>
<p>Despite her title as first lady of the United States, the identity of her spouse is not the only remarkable thing about Michelle Obama. She grew up in a poor neighbourhood in Chicago’s South Shore, but made it to Princeton and then Harvard Law School before taking a job in a prestigious law firm. She credits education and hard work as the reasons for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/apr/05/michelle-obama-school-london">her successful career</a>. </p>
<p>Having Michelle Obama visit your school would be exciting enough even if she simply waved and gave a general speech. But she didn’t. She talked about how the pupils of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School had the capacity to do as she did, to use education to really get on in life. In general terms: “I did this; you could too”, which can be a very powerful message if delivered by the right person. You only need to watch the news videos to see that the pupils were genuinely inspired.</p>
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<p>There have been <a href="http://www.llcsjournal.org/index.php/llcs/issue/view/14">many debates</a> among researchers about how important aspirations are in influencing attainment at school. By studying what happened to the GCSE performance of the students at the school Obama visited, <a href="http://simonburgesseconomics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/EGA-paper-20160627.pdf">my research</a> shows that her inspirational visit boosted their grades. </p>
<h2>Back to the books</h2>
<p>Elizabeth Garrett Anderson <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/apr/05/michelle-obama-school-london">is a high-performing</a> inner-city, all girls school with a very high percentage of non-white British children. </p>
<p>Using data from the Department for Education, I found that average performance in GCSE exams taken by 16-year-olds at the school improved substantially following her visits. Of course, establishing a robust causal relationship is hard, and probably impossible for just these two events, but the results do provide strong suggestive evidence. </p>
<p>The first graph below shows total GCSE points achieved in the school she visited compared with the average over all other London schools. The scores are measured relative to all of London, proportional to the overall variability in test scores – in the graph below a difference of 0.1 is considered large. It is clear that the school’s 2010 result is somewhat higher than 2009, though not dramatically so, but the 2012 score is substantially above that of 2011. </p>
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<p>These results focus on the overall effect, but since Obama was encouraging very high performance and aspirations it is important to look specifically at high performance too. </p>
<p>The second graph shows the school averages of the number of A*, A or B grades its pupils achieved. The result is very striking: there was a sharp increase in the school’s performance relative to the rest of London in 2012. If this is really a result of Obama’s interventions then it is a big effect.</p>
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<p>To get some sense of the magnitude of the effect it’s useful to translate them into GCSE grades. I found that the impact on total GCSE points is huge, equivalent to moving each pupil up two grades – for example, from C to A – in each subject. When I looked at the best eight scores for each pupil, the impact was equivalent to moving each pupil up one grade in each subject. These are dramatic changes. </p>
<p>Of course, the big jumps up in performance at the school in 2012 might just be chance: an issue which I discuss <a href="http://simonburgesseconomics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/EGA-paper-20160627.pdf">in my research</a>. In fact, these results are strongly significant as I calculated that there is only about a 1% probability that they are just chance. </p>
<h2>The money’s on Michelle</h2>
<p>What about the difference in impact between the visits? Given that the 2012 impact was greater than the 2010 impact, the question arises: was it Obama or was it Oxford? Or maybe the transatlantic trip to the White House? The media attention around the visits may also have contributed. </p>
<p>Strictly speaking, these different components cannot be separated, but many schools have visits to Oxford University which would have a much less dramatic effect on its own – and the White House trip only involved a dozen pupils. So my money is on Obama being the true catalyst for inspiration.</p>
<p>These results support the idea that inspiration, aspiration and effort are potentially very important for achievement. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was by no means a low-performing school, and yet this injection of inspiration made a big difference. So if pupil effort is important, then we need a much better understanding of pupil motivations and how to inspire pupils to greater engagement. This seems to be me to be a key question, one deserving much more research. </p>
<p>We need to get more inspirational role models into schools to talk to pupils about the importance of education. Of course <a href="http://www.speakers4schools.org/">this already happens</a> – for example the Inspiring Women Campaign does precisely this on <a href="http://www.inspiringthefuture.org/inspiring-women/">a large scale</a>, including one meeting at <a href="http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/high-fliers-from-london-inspire-girls-to-dream-big-9600275.html">Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in 2014</a>. The hard bit is finding speakers with that close connection to the specific pupils, to make it believable to say: “I was like you, you can be like me”. Harder still of course is to find speakers with the inspirational power of Michelle Obama.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61694/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Burgess receives funding from the ESRC, the Education Endowment Foundation and the Department for Education. </span></em></p>The first lady effect: inspirational.Simon Burgess, Professor of Economics, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/379692015-05-01T00:37:17Z2015-05-01T00:37:17ZOpportunity the unlikely culprit holding back female participation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75301/original/image-20150319-2483-251dlu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The stereotype of male as leader goes part of the way to explaining why so few women are in leadership roles.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mikhail Noel/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Female participation in the workforce has been made a priority by both the G20 and in the government’s Intergenerational Report.</p>
<p>Australia’s G20 commitment is to reduce the gap in participation rates by 25% by 2025, and it is reportedly <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-wont-meet-female-workforce-participation-target-intergenerational-report-shows-20150310-13zbpm.html">not on track</a> to do so.</p>
<p>The problem remains enabling women to take up leadership roles and not check out at mid-levels of their career. Something is clearly blocking the way. </p>
<p>The structure of opportunity may be the culprit. There’s some <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25516345">evidence</a> that inequality is experienced differently depending on gender, so perhaps the way that opportunity is structured hampers women’s progress.</p>
<h2>Problems with promotion</h2>
<p>Focusing on a typical promotion process reveals the gendered processes and gendered norms that are inherent in the procedure. </p>
<p>Senior leadership positions are more likely to be associated with males, who perform a certain way. Only <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/2012_CENSUS%20REPORT.pdf">one in ten</a> executive management personnel in ASX 500 companies are women, less than one in ten are directors of ASX 500 companies. This is a sample statistic and there are many more to show the leadership norm. </p>
<p>When applying for a promotion, women must challenge male centric leadership models and overcome the social norm of what a leader is. Women have to “make a case” for leadership while their male counterparts have to “take” the leadership role. Opportunity to lead would be more equitable in organisations with embedded diverse leadership, since this signifies challenges to the norm.</p>
<p>The opportunity to be promoted to senior ranks is a networked and social activity. Promotion relies on others’ opinion and judgement of your skills and capacity. The more senior and more powerful sources of information regarding your capacity, the higher your leadership worth. <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-94-6209-485-7_7">Research</a> has shown women know the value of networking, but it remains a challenge for most women.</p>
<h2>Networking nasties</h2>
<p>The challenging nature of networking has to do with time constraints, and completing work/life demands, but research has also shown <a href="http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2715&context=utk_chanhonoproj&sei-redir=1&referer=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com.au%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D50%26q%3Dwomen%2Bmore%2Bauthentic%2Bnetworks%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C5%26as_ylo%3D2014#search=%22women%20more%20authentic%20networks%22">women prefer more authentic interactions</a> and find networking contrived and unnatural. So, in order to build those networks women have to overcome a number of career and familial expectations that even the more <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lean-In-Women-Work-Will/dp/0385349947">privileged female CEOs find difficult</a>. They need to ignore their behavioural and cultural preferences in how they build relationships and networks.</p>
<p>The opportunity for promotion is often structured on “individual performance” and “individual achievement” within a competitive culture. The focus on outputs overlooks the socialised nature of achievement and performance. Generally women’s strengths are to <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12073/full#gwao12073-bib-0056">lead more collaboratively</a> and be open and consultative in decision making. When a job is done, there are many that have been involved. </p>
<p>The promotion narrative for leadership is sustained through events of power and outputs. In higher education, for example, power comes in the form of research comprising funding and grants, and outputs in the form of publications. The activity of teaching and learning is not as prestigious, but more likely to be team based and consultative. It is also the main workplace practice for women academics.</p>
<p>Constructing a narrative of power and capability is more difficult to sell when the workplace activity is more socialised, involves care work and is less driven by discernible, timely outputs. However, opportunity for promotion can be restructured though an “evaluation nudge”, that is individual performance being judged in joint or team evaluations. <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2087613">Research shows</a> that joint evaluation of individual performance overcomes the gender stereotyping that happens in individual evaluations.</p>
<h2>A vicious cycle</h2>
<p>The lack of women in leadership presents a vicious cycle that impinges on opportunity. The very fact that there are less women in leadership sustains the perception that attaining leadership is hard for women. <a href="http://www.surgjournal.com/article/S0039-6060(14)00429-2/abstract">Studies</a> have shown that telling candidates something is difficult results in lesser performance. Not only do women know that getting to leadership is hard, but those on selection panels also know this. To overcome selection bias, the makeup of candidates is critical. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://womeninleadership.org.au/sites/wil/media/372.pdf">study</a> by Iris Bohnet from Harvard University showed that having an equal number of male and female candidates for promotion helped to overcome selection bias. Her research showed that selection panels have difficulty comparing dissimilar options and tend to not pick alike types when there is greater diversity. This underscores the need for more women to be encouraged to apply and go for promotion so they are equally represented in the selection pools. Equity in organisations should be more about getting more women promotion-ready.</p>
<p>Promotion represents a social norm through which power is justified and reproduced. The norm, the narrative, the networking and the numbers work against women. Without changes to how opportunity for promotion is structured, it can be said that opportunity stands in the way of getting more women into leadership.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37969/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Athena Vongalis-Macrow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The way opportunity is structured is the very thing stopping more women entering leadership roles in the workforce.Athena Vongalis-Macrow, Director Master of Educational Leadership and Management, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/395252015-03-31T13:02:15Z2015-03-31T13:02:15ZDouble U-turn on career guidance leaves coalition playing catch up on 2010<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76468/original/image-20150330-1249-9i3bkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Good advice can be life-changing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Confused teenager via racorn/www.Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the general election edges closer, the coalition has used the past few months to try and sort out problem policies and reposition the narrative of its government. One little-noticed area in which there have been last-minute repairs is career guidance, with the announcement of both new funding and new regulation.</p>
<p>The Guardian has taken glee in highlighting <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/28/coalition-u-turn-list-full">every coaltion U-turn</a> but the paper missed out career guidance from this list, where we have now seen two U-turns.</p>
<h2>The first U-turn</h2>
<p>In 2010, on the eve of the election, the country had one careers service for adults (Next Step) and another for young people (Connexions). The weight of <a href="http://derby.openrepository.com/derby/bitstream/10545/333589/1/elgpn-evidence.pdf">international evidence</a> favours the idea of a life-long career guidance system. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.conservatives.com/%7E/media/files/activist%20centre/press%20and%20policy/manifestos/manifesto2010">Conservative party’s 2010 manifesto</a> promised to establish one and: “create a new all-age careers service so that everyone can access the advice they need.” </p>
<p>The first minister given responsibility for careers was John Hayes. When he addressed the Institute for Career Guidance <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/new-all-age-careers-service">in November 2010</a>, he said that the government would develop an all-age service that would: “build on Next Step and on Connexions because we must not lose the best of either”. </p>
<p>But by this point the government had already started its U-turn. Unlike Hayes, the then secretary of state for education, Michael Gove, was highly sceptical about career guidance – which he made clear in a later <a href="http://www.careersengland.org.uk/documents/Public/Policy%20Commentary%2025.pdf">appearance before the Education Select Committee</a>. So in 2011, when local authority budgets were being cut, the Department for Education issued <a href="http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/l/la%20guidance%20april%202011.pdf">guidance</a> indicating that local authorities no longer had to provide career guidance. This resulted in the cutting of around £200m from Connexions and the subsequent <a href="http://derby.openrepository.com/derby/bitstream/10545/196706/1/careers_transition_paper.pdf">collapse of the service</a>.</p>
<p>Alongside cuts in funding, the government also reduced the regulation of the area by removing the statutory duties on schools to provide career education and work-related learning. It transferred the responsibility for career guidance from local authorities to schools in the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/21/contents/enacted">Education Act 2011</a>. But no funding followed, <a href="http://www.careersengland.org.uk/documents/Public/Policy%20Commentary%2016%20for%20publication%2026.3.12.pdf">nor was there any clear guidance</a> as to how this new duty should best be discharged.</p>
<h2>Challenging the policy</h2>
<p>In response to the policy changes, numerous reports and critiques were written, including by schools inspectorate <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-in-schools-going-in-the-right-direction">Ofsted</a>, the education company <a href="https://research.pearson.com/articles/looking-to-the-future.html">Pearson</a>, and <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/cbjg/2013/00000041/00000004/art00007">academics in the field</a>. Unison, the relevant trade union, organised marches and rallies and efforts were made to engage MPs and the press. But career guidance is not a major vote winner and so struggled to get much attention.</p>
<p>A key turning point came with an inquiry by the Education Select Committee into the changes. In January 2013 its <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/careers-guidance-for-young-people1/">report</a> concluded that the government’s policy was “regrettable” and recommended new funding and the tightening of the regulation. My own subsequent <a href="http://derby.openrepository.com/derby/bitstream/10545/333866/1/Advancing%20Ambitions%20-%206.11.14.pdf">research</a> concluded that the impact of the changes had been a reduction in the quantity and quality of career guidance.</p>
<h2>A second U-turn</h2>
<p>In July 2014, Gove was reshuffled from education to the whips’ office and succeeded by Nicky Morgan in what was widely seen as <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-gove-looking-on-nicky-morgan-promises-to-continue-his-education-revolution-32342">a conciliatory move</a>. But Morgan’s room for manoeuvre was limited, as many of Gove’s central education reforms around academies, free schools and the curriculum had strong support from the rest of the Conservative party. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76466/original/image-20150330-1253-h8bs3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Make your mind up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">U turn via vectorara/www.shutterstock.omc</span></span>
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<p>Career guidance offered an opportunity to make some friends by shifting gear on a policy that had only ever been of peripheral interest to Gove. Morgan quickly negotiated £20m funding from the Treasury and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nicky-morgan-speaks-about-young-people-and-work">announced</a> the launch of a new careers company in December 2014. </p>
<p>The purpose of the new company, which will be chaired by Christine Hodgson, chair of Capgemini UK, is rather loosely defined. It is anticipated that its focus and purpose will emerge over the next six months.</p>
<p>In March 2015, the government revised the existing <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools">statutory guidance</a> for schools. The new version of the guidance is far more positive about career guidance and includes a section on the quality assurance of provision that will warm the hearts of many in the careers sector.</p>
<p>This second U-turn was completed just in time for the general election campaign. This means that the Conservatives go into the election as the party that both destroyed and then rebuilt (albeit on a much smaller scale) career guidance.</p>
<h2>Electoral implications</h2>
<p>Elections are not won or lost on the basis of issues like career guidance. But the recent policy shift by the government does at least show that elections do enhance the capacity of civil society to be heard.</p>
<p>Whether career guidance will feature in the manifestos of the political parties remains to be seen. While the Labour Party has sought to make <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jun/17/tristram-hunt-interview-education">political capital</a> out of the coalition’s failures, it has been slow to announce any alternative plans. The Liberal Democrats have been unclear as to how their plans would differ from those currently pursued by government.</p>
<p>Career guidance is worse in 2015 than it was in 2010. The fact that the government has begun to address this at the eleventh hour is welcome, but does not absolve it of blame. Perhaps this last U-turn will help to re-situate any debate that happens on this issue during the election and its immediate aftermath and result in policy starting to finally go forwards rather than round in circles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39525/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tristram Hooley conducts research on career guidance and has been funded by a wide range of organisations with interests in the area. He is a member of the Career Development Institute. </span></em></p>New guidance for schools on careers has brought Conservative policy round full circle.Tristram Hooley, Professor Tristram Hooley, Professor of Career Education and Head of International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of DerbyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/307402014-08-21T05:22:16Z2014-08-21T05:22:16ZFunding cuts reduce options for teenagers forced to stay in education after GCSEs<p>Students collecting their GCSE results this summer <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/increasing-opportunities-for-young-people-and-helping-them-to-achieve-their-potential/supporting-pages/raising-the-participation-age">will now be obliged</a> to participate in education and training until at least the end of the academic year in which they turn 17. From the summer of 2015, this will be extended until their 18th birthday. The reforms, brought in under the Labour government’s 2008 <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/25/contents">Education and Skills Act</a>, are the first time since the early 1970s that the leaving age has been increased. </p>
<p>Ed Balls, then secretary of state for education, <a href="http://www.smf.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/Publication-Staying-the-Course-Changes-to-Participation-Age-and-Qualifications.pdf">wrote at the time</a> that in “no area of the education system has comprehensive and systematic reform been as long-awaited, and nowhere is it more important.” But as the reforms kick in, it’s far from clear whether they will be effective in reality, as institutions responsible for both the implementation and provision face significant cuts to resources. </p>
<p>The arguments for raising the participation age were varied. First, the UK continues to lag behind many other nations in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the education participation rates of 15-19 year olds. In 2011, <a href="http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/9613041ec005.pdf?expires=1408525637&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=6DB2550E57049DBDFBD1DF8B621A2EB7">the UK’s rates stood at 78%</a>, compared to an OECD average of 84% and an EU average of 87%. In an increasingly knowledge-based labour market, this figure is viewed as an important indicator of future economic competitiveness. </p>
<p>Second, after declining in the mid-1990s, the proportion of 16-18 year olds not in employment, education or training (NEET) has remained fairly constant at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-in-education-training-and-employment-age-16-to-18">around 9-10% of the cohort</a>, despite various attempts to reduce the figure. </p>
<p>Spending periods as NEET at a young age <a href="http://impetus-pef.org.uk//wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Make-NEETs-History-Report_ImpetusPEF_January-2014.pdf">has been associated</a> with future wage and employment penalties, so reducing this rate is vital to improving young people’s prospects. It would also lead to savings for the treasury, both in terms of additional tax revenues and foregone benefit payments.</p>
<h2>Legislative teeth removed</h2>
<p>Back in 2008, the government’s intention was to pass legislation that raised the participation age. Young people and employers not complying with the new rules would be subject to some form of sanction. But this has changed under the Coalition administration. In a bid to avoid the imposition of sanctions on young people, reduce costs and reassure employers, in 2012 <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201213/ldhansrd/text/120702-wms0001.htm">government announced</a> the suspension of duties to comply and their associated penalties, for both young people and employers.</p>
<p>The switch to a largely voluntary system for teenagers to participate in education and training appears to be a significant departure from the previous provisions. Yet this may not necessarily be a step backwards. The outcomes of learning are dependent on interest and engagement, rather than compulsion.</p>
<p>But it is also important to recognise that without such legal “sticks”, realising this potential will be crucially dependent on “carrots”, such as the attractiveness of the options available and the support offered to help young people access them. </p>
<p>While participation rates for 16 and 17-year-olds are relatively high, the non-participating 10% of the cohort will include some of the most disaffected and disadvantaged young people. Reaching them will be challenging. Not least because recent years have also <a href="https://theconversation.com/small-drop-in-neets-but-who-counts-the-cost-of-the-missing-23746">seen the removal</a> of a number of financial and advisory support systems designed to encourage young people to remain in education. </p>
<h2>Funding cuts hinder roll-out</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.theworkfoundation.com/Reports/368/Staying-Power-Making-the-raising-of-the-participation-age-a-policy">most recent report</a> from the Work Foundation at Lancaster University argues that it is far from clear whether the reforms will be effective in reality, either in their practical implementation or wider intention. Aside from the decision not to enact some of the legal duties, the current government has made other changes which may have a significant impact on effectiveness. </p>
<p>Many of <a href="http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/gb2012/12chap6.pdf">these changes are linked</a> to the funding cuts being applied both to local authorities – who hold responsibility for implementing the new participation age – and to further education budgets. With the schools budget ring-fenced, spending cuts within the department for education have disproportionately fallen on provision for 16 to 18-year-olds. Total government spending on this group fell from £7.7bn in 2010-11 to £7bn in 2012-13.</p>
<p>This has affected both funding for training providers and the financial support available to young people: the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/education-maintenance-allowance-ema">Educational Maintenance Allowance</a>, previously offered to learners from low-income families remaining in education post-16, has been replaced by a Bursary Fund with only a third of its former budget. </p>
<p>Local authorities have also been facing real terms spending cuts of <a href="http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2013/06/osbornes-spending-review-slashes-council-budgets-by-10/">around 10% per year</a> since 2009. This has led to the removal of certain statutory services, such as an end to the duty to offer universal careers advice to young people. Yet the new duties, set out in the legislation, still exist for local authorities to both promote the effective participation of young people in education or training and secure suitable provision. </p>
<p>Our report recommends greater political acknowledgement of the attention and investment required to do this. It means improved post-16 options, financial support and guidance for young people and more funding for the bodies taking on new duties in this area.</p>
<p>If the ultimate aim of participation is to secure better long-term outcomes for young people, it is the current uncertainty around these factors that poses the greatest obstacle to effectively raising the participation age. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you want to read more about the history of the school-leaving age, read: <a href="https://theconversation.com/70-years-after-the-education-act-debate-still-rages-on-the-school-leaving-age-29441">70 years after the education act debate still rages on the school leaving age</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beth Foley's research on youth unemployment and young people’s experiences in the labour market has been supported by the Trust for London, Impetus – the Private Equity Foundation and Barclays</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geraint Johnes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Students collecting their GCSE results this summer will now be obliged to participate in education and training until at least the end of the academic year in which they turn 17. From the summer of 2015…Geraint Johnes, Professor of Economics, Lancaster University, and Director of the Work Foundation, Lancaster UniversityBeth Foley, Researcher at The Work FoundationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/288272014-07-14T13:41:51Z2014-07-14T13:41:51ZApprenticeships are attractive to young people but employer demand is less clear cut<p>Many young people are open to the idea of undertaking an apprenticeship rather than going to university, according to a new <a href="http://www.suttontrust.com/our-work/research/item/higher-ambitions-background-report/">study</a> published by the Sutton Trust charity and education company Pearson. But it reports that a big problem remains: there are not enough high-level apprenticeships available to meet this level of interest. </p>
<p>At the same time, there is an ongoing major programme of reform of the apprenticeship system, including changes to funding arrangements. This is important because employers’ training decisions are influenced by costs. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284944/bis-14-504-employer-routed-funding-employer-responses-to-funding-reform.pdf">Our research</a> on employers has indicated that their reactions to changes in apprenticeship funding depend on their degree of attachment to this form of training. Employers’ willingness to take on apprentices in the future also depends on how much they will be required to invest in apprenticeships, alongside government funding. </p>
<p>In one of the new surveys, carried out by Ipsos MORI for the Sutton Trust and Pearson, one third of 16 to 75-year-olds said that a degree-level apprenticeship would be a better career choice than a university degree. Another third thought the two were of equal value. In a further survey of 11 to 16-year-olds, 55% expressed interest in an apprenticeship as an alternative to university.</p>
<p>While young people may have significant interest in apprenticeships, the problem – which has been a longstanding one – is that of persuading a sufficiently large number of employers to offer them.</p>
<h2>Lack of employer demand</h2>
<p>Historically, a small portion of the school leaving cohort in England entered apprenticeships. Even though the employer and the apprentice were seen to benefit from investing in an apprenticeship, levels of engagement were relatively low. From the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1503161?seq=1&uid=3738032&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104439312513">only about 110,000 young people</a> (mostly boys) became apprentices out of a cohort of around 750,000 school leavers. </p>
<p>The establishment of publicly funded apprenticeships in 1994 sought to tackle this issue. By meeting a substantial share of the overall cost of training an apprentice, the state removed one of the barriers to more employers providing places. </p>
<p>The number of apprenticeship starts of learners of all ages and at all levels increased from 167,700 in 2002-3 to 457,000 in 2010-11, as the graph below shows. The substantial increase between 2008-9 and 2010-11 coincided with the launch of the National Apprenticeship Service in 2009 and a keen focus on promoting apprenticeships and increasing participation of learners and employers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/53788/original/2g8pjq5w-1405344196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Apprenticeship starts (all levels, all ages).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: Skills Funding Agency, BIS, FE data library. Note: Figures for 2011-12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years because of a new data collection system.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/apprenticeships-training">programme of research</a> on employer investment in apprenticeships and other training demonstrates that the costs of apprenticeships to employers are significant. Even with substantial financial support from the government, a <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/apprenticewbl">series of studies</a> undertaken with our colleagues at the Institute for Employment Research at Warwick has demonstrated that many employers were concerned about the cost of delivering an apprenticeship. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/32306/12-814-employer-investment-in-apprenticeships-fifth-net-benefits-study.pdf">latest study in the series</a> in 2012 found that employers who produce relatively low-cost products or services in sectors with relatively high labour turnover, such as retail or hospitality, tend to be reluctant to invest in apprenticeships. They are concerned that they may derive relatively little benefit from the investment because the apprentice is likely to leave after completing their training. </p>
<p>This barrier was effectively overcome through the employer ensuring that they recouped the cost of delivering the apprenticeship by the end of the training period, or soon after. In sectors such as retailing, for instance, much training is undertaken on-the-job and the apprentice is productive while training – resulting in a lower net cost to the employer. This model should not be dismissed out of hand as it potentially provided employer and apprentice with positive outcomes. </p>
<p>In industries such as engineering, where employers are confident they will retain their apprentices beyond the end of the training period, our research has found that employers are much more willing to make substantial investments in their apprenticeship programmes. This can then generate relatively high returns to the employer and the former apprentice.</p>
<p>But the cost of providing apprenticeships in sectors such as engineering or construction is relatively large. Employers therefore tend to be risk averse in making that investment. They need to be sure that the apprentices they train will be required by the business in three to four years’ time. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/297650/Research_into_the_need_for_and_capacity_to_deliver_STEM_related_Apprenticeship_Provision_in_England_-_Final_-_March_2014.pdf">recent study</a> commissioned by the government in which we were involved, looked at employer demand for these relatively high-cost, high-skill apprenticeships. Employers were unwilling to invest in training apprentices in excess of their own projected demand. But we noted that if demand for their products or services were to suddenly increase, then employers could quickly face skill shortages.</p>
<h2>Changes to who pays</h2>
<p>Policies on employer ownership of skills and apprenticeships are focused on ensuring that apprenticeship training meets employers’ needs. Building upon previous reviews, the recommendations in the 2012 <a href="http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/richard-review/richard-review-full.pdf">Richard Review</a> of apprenticeships have resulted in the development of a number of reforms that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223919/bis-13-1071-funding-reform-for-apprenticeships-in-england.pdf">intend to provide employers</a> with: “stronger incentives to demand relevant, high-quality training of good value”. </p>
<p>Richard’s recommendations, the principles of which have been accepted by government, include giving employers purchasing power for apprenticeship training by routing government funding through the employer. Employers are also to be required to further co-invest in apprenticeships by making a direct financial contribution to meet some of their training providers’ fees. The full details of the reforms to funding are still under development.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284944/bis-14-504-employer-routed-funding-employer-responses-to-funding-reform.pdf">research</a> into the response of employers to upcoming funding reforms found that their willingness to co-invest depended upon their attachment to apprenticeships. </p>
<p>Recurrent recruiters of apprentices who use the programme to meet core skills needs were less sensitive to potential funding reforms. But for those employers looking to quickly recover the costs of apprenticeship, co-investment along the lines envisaged by government could have a more negative impact on their participation levels. It is worth pointing out that these findings are based on a relatively small number of observations (interviews with 39 employers) and so should be regarded as indicative. </p>
<p>Clearly there is a need to ensure that public investment in apprenticeships maximises the return to the tax-payer. But as the evidence demonstrates, increasing employer demand for those types of apprenticeships which deliver relatively high returns is a formidable challenge.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynn Gambin receives funding from a wide range of organisations which commission research. These include Government Departments and agencies in the UK, the European Commission and others. Funding is provided in order to carry out specific research projects. The views expressed are the author’s own. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terence Hogarth receives research funding from a wide range of organisations which commission research - including UK Government Departments and agencies, European Commission, etc. - in order to carry out specific research projects.</span></em></p>Many young people are open to the idea of undertaking an apprenticeship rather than going to university, according to a new study published by the Sutton Trust charity and education company Pearson. But…Lynn Gambin, Research Fellow, Institute for Employment Research, University of WarwickTerence Hogarth, Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Employment Research, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.