College’s vocational programme wins national FE award
A PIONEERING programme to provide vocational career routes for 14 to 16-year-olds led by Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC) has won a national award for sector leading Further Education initiatives.
CAVC’s Junior Apprenticeship programme beat off competition from the rest of the UK’s Further Education (FE) institutions to win the Association of College’s Beacon Award for Transition into Post-16 Education and Training, sponsored by the Skills and Education Group.
The college has already won the Beacon Pearson Award for Promotion and Delivery of Apprenticeships in 2016.
Now in their 24th year, the Beacon Awards represent the best colleges across the country that adapt to meet the needs of local employers and the career needs of their students.
Jointly funded by Welsh Government Creative Solutions, CAVC, Cardiff Council and Cardiff schools, the Junior Apprenticeship programme was launched in September 2016 to increase the number of young people in education, employment and training.
Offering Year 10 and 11 pupils the opportunity to study full-time in a college setting from the age of 14 for a future career, the programme was the first of its kind in Wales.
This summer saw the first cohort of Year 11s all successfully graduate and secure a place on a higher level course at the college or an apprenticeship.
At the end of the first year, Junior Apprentices who hadn’t attended school for a whole year were achieving 90% attendance.
Of the Cardiff learners who were identified as the most vulnerable when they started, 75% are no longer considered to be in that category based on their attendance, engagement and progress.
The Welsh Government is now encouraging other colleges to roll out similar Junior Apprenticeship programmes across Wales.
Beacon Award judges said they were impressed by the way Junior Apprentices allows young people full time access to vocational courses alongside English and maths GCSEs.
They saw the initiative as providing a more meaningful, vocational route at a younger age that motivates and accelerates learners to progress into post-16 provision and eventually a fulfilling career.