Young people 'let down' by training

Pupils are ill-informed about work-based training, the report says

Young people are not getting the right training for the world of work because of a lack of co-ordination between schools, further education colleges and training providers, inspectors warned.

The problem meant an "ever-renewing" core of 150,000 youngsters dropped out of courses and became jobless at 16, the final report from the Training Standards Council said.

The whole range of school, further education and work-based provision is almost never co-ordinated so that it matches the needs of those who want to learn

David Sherlock

Following inspections in 2000/01, 60% of training providers were awarded at least one unsatisfactory grade - a 10% increase on the previous year.

And the proportion of providers awarded unsatisfactory grades for at least 80% of their work has also risen, the report revealed.

Too much training was delivered by staff who were unqualified to teach and had little current industrial experience, said David Sherlock, chief inspector of the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI), which replaces the Training Standards Council.

'Go with the flow'

"Young people at school are generally ill-informed about work based training, tending to 'go with the flow' into a school sixth form or college, whether it is right for them or not," Mr Sherlock said.

"The whole range of school, further education and work-based provision is almost never co-ordinated so that it matches the needs of those who want to learn."

This lack of planning placed the country among those with the lowest staying-on rates for 17-year-olds in learning in the industrialised world, he said.

The irony was that there was money available, but that it did not reach those who needed it most, he added.

Key Skills

The report also criticised the Key Skills qualifications in numeracy, communication and information and communication technology, brought in by the Labour government to try and make school leavers more employable.

Inspectors found that Key Skills were treated as a "tiresome distraction" by trainers, trainees and employers.

The finding came after head teachers criticised the qualifications as largely unworkable - a concern acknowledged by ministers in a recent review.

Lifelong Learning and Higher Education Minister, Margaret Hodge, said: "We must not tolerate poor quality training, and ensure standards are driven up so that all learners get the training they deserve".

It was disappointing, she said, to see a 10% increase in the number of training organisations which were not reaching good enough standards.

"However, this report also shows how important external inspection is in driving up standards - when training organisations were re-inspected having fallen short the first time, almost nine out of 10 grades improved."

Adult Learning Inspectorate

The ALI was established in April 2001 under the Learning and Skills Act 2000.

ALI inspectors are responsible for inspecting all publicly funded work-based training for people over 16 and learning for post-19 year olds.

The ALI is also responsible for inspecting learning in prisons, all adult and community education and e-learning via "learndirect" provided on-line by the University for Industry.