Why are 12% of 16-24 year olds NEET?| FE Soundbite Edition 760

Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 760, August 24th, 2024. We explore #ResultsDay for GCSE and VTQ Level 1 and 2, ONS release the latest NEET data and we explore why an all age Careers Service is key for Skills England to succeed.

This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles, from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News

Gavin’s Reflective Perspective

Lots of important announcements and data released this week. In Soundbite this week, we explore #ResultsDay for GCSE and VTQ Level 1 and 2, more on the latest ONS NEET data and explore why an all age Careers Advice Service for the new Skills England has to be key.

So on Thursday, two massive sets of data were released. We had GCSE and VTQ level 1 and 2 #ResultsDay. Stand out data for me was: Students aged 17 and over:

GCSE English language entries up 25.8% and Maths entries up 20.0%. eg more People beyond School age had to take GCSE English and Maths.

On the very same day, ONS released the latest NEET (not in employment, education or training) data. 12.2% of all 16-24 year olds are NEET! The number of NEETs increased from April to June 2024 to 872,000. An estimated 13.5% of young men and 10.8% of young women were NEET in this period.

Wow… that is pretty alarming! There are so many new policies in the wings for employability and skills. The above data shows a real need, as we are educating young people at school for 11 years and a massive chunk are not passing English and Maths GCSE. Then 12% of all 16-24 year olds are not in work, education or training. That is pretty alarming. More support is obviously needed.

Deirdre Hughes wrote a brilliant piece stating why an all age careers advice service is essential with the new Skills England. Looking at the stats, it would appear so!

Another super helpful article was from Helen Cuthbert from AELP Growth and Skills Levy. There were so many cool articles this week, I also loved Nathan Rogan, from ETF’s article: Truth against hate: helping learners tackle misinformation.

FE + Skills Collective:

Some major announcements this week on the Collective. We confirmed that Ben Rowland, CEO of AELP and Dr Vikki Smith from ETF will be the Collective report co-authors. We also announced the schedule and that the Edge Foundation are the media sponsor. Exciting! Hoping to see you on the 10th October.

Exclusive Thought Leadership

Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week (according to views)

Skills England: A Precious Moment in Time By Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE is an Associate Professor, at Warwick University, Institute for Employment Research (IER) and Director of dmh associates and CareerChat (UK).

How Universities Can Prepare for the Skills-Based Hiring Revolution By Arina Berezovsky, Senior Business Developer at Workforce Integration Solutions (WIS), London Co-Lead at Future of Higher Ed (FOHE), and Venture Scout at Ada Ventures

Navigating the Future of Apprenticeships: Insights from the DfE Growth and Skills Levy Webinar By Helen Cuthbert is AELP’s Policy and Stakeholder Manager

This Week, We Have Also Had Some Other Epic Exclusives!

Why So Few Employer Providers? By Kerry Boffey, CEO – Fellowship of Inspection Nominees

Truth against hate: helping learners tackle misinformation By Nathan Rogan is Senior Education Advisor at the Education and Training Foundation (ETF).

Why Venture Capital should be on the FE and Skills Curriculum By Eleanor Kaye, Executive Director of the Newton Venture Program

The Importance of AI in HE By Rob Telfer, Director of Higher Education at D2L

What’s New in the World of FE?

GCSE and VTQ Level 1 and 2 Results Day. Significant Rise in English and Maths GCSE entries for Older Students.

FE + Skills Collective

Katerina and Gavin discuss how you can make a difference at the FE and Skills Collective By Dr Katerina Kolyva, CEO of Education and Training Foundation and Gavin O’Meara, CEO of FE News

Big Announcements

ONS NEET data: 12.2% of all 16-24 year olds are NEET, April to June 2024 increase to 872,000.

Voices

Your Guide to Thriving in AI-Powered Contact Centres By Sandra Haworth, Marketing Director, Cirrus Connects

Culinary School vs. On-The-Job Training: Which Path to Culinary Mastery? By Martin Green, Editorial Content Manager, Sommet Education

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We hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week. Stay curious, keep innovating, and let’s shake up the world of FE together – catch you next week!

By Danny O’Meara, Digital Project Manager, FE News

By Gavin O’Meara, CEO and Founder, FE News and FE Careers