Business bosses back new diplomas
Business bosses from Nuneaton, Bedworth and across north Warwickshire are next week to attend an event to show their support for new diplomas being introduced in schools and colleges from September.
The event at North Warwickshire and Hinckley College in Nuneaton on Wednesday, January 27, will see around 40 local employers in attendance.
This is the second of three Diploma Employer Engagement Breakfasts run by the Warwickshire Education Business Partnership, a part of Warwickshire County Council, to bring together educationalists and employers from 12 different sectors to begin planning the curriculum for the new Diplomas being delivered from September 2010.
The Diplomas are new qualifications for 14-19 year olds and are unique in the fact that they combine theoretical study with work based learning.
The qualification has been developed and verified by employers and the intention is that it provides the essential knowledge and skills for young people to operate confidently, efficiently and independently in life and work.
As Diplomas are sector related and designed to provide the skills that employers seek, employer input into the planning and delivery of these qualifications is essential.
Seven different subject areas or “lines” are already being taught in Warwickshire, having started in September 2009. Further subject areas will be added gradually until 17 different lines are in offer in the county from 2013.
Julie O’Toole, Employer Engagement Manager for the Diplomas at the WEBP said, “We are running these events as part of a process we have developed to integrate employers into the planning and delivery of these exciting new qualifications.
“Finally employers can have a say in what is being taught in educational establishments and can have an influence on the skills that young people will be endowed with upon leaving school.”
Employer input need not take up a lot of an employer’s time and can consist of anything from consulting with teachers on the content of a unit, to setting a challenge for students or giving a talk a few times a year.
Julie said that the important thing is that students will receive input into their learning from a wide variety of quality employers.
For more information please contact Julie O’Toole on 01926 736420 or julieo’toole@warwickshire .gov.uk