REMEMBERING AT CHRISTMAS, THE FORGOTTEN HALF!

“Our interest is in the provision of an education that gives young people the experience and skills to continually build their careers once they enter the labour market. We urge 
that the education system be less focused on pushing young people through the hoops of assessment that lead on to higher education, and more focused on equipping them with the capabilities to progress through the labour market.

I was reading the ‘The Forgotten Half’again over the weekend. It was produced for The Private Equity Foundation, and in it Demos outlines a series of recommendations to help young people thrive and succeed... focusing on developing the employability skills, character, literacy and numeracy they need to succeed in work and life and giving them the support they need to stay on track and the experience of the world of work alongside mentoring. This lies at the heart of the Cutlers' 'Better Learners, Better Workers' programme we are delivering in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. Our programme provides targeted young people with opportunities to:

1. Develop core skills... literacy, numeracy, communication, creativity and digital skills
2. Learn and develop academic skills learned through vocational contexts; 
3. Engage in creative activities that build ‘soft skills’ and ‘character capabilities’ through practical learning, enterprise and entrepreneurship, and community-based learning; 
4. Experience high quality experience of the world of work including: 

• opportunities for high-quality practical and vocational learning;
• the teaching of specific ‘employability skills’ like CV writing and interview techniques;
• meaningful work experience;
• school coaching and business mentoring;
• business engagement in education;
• high quality information, advice and guidance on work 
and careers.

These programmes, as recommended by this critically important report, change lives!