"I feel like I’ve lost a year of, like, good learning…
It’s a lot harder online to like pick up because, basically, they’re just going through a PowerPoint and you’re just writing it down…
So, it’s not really education, it’s just like copying."
Jordan, 16, Spindale
The Young Lives, Young Futures study is investigating team how England’s post-16 vocational education and training system can better support the education-to-work transitions of young people who do not go to university. The team have just released their first interim report presenting key themes from the initial stages of the project's research.
The report, which is also available as an executive summary, draws on interviews with policy makers, education practitioners and young people in four contrasting areas of England.
Some of the key findings are as follows:
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted young people’s lives and post-16 transitions.
Young people’s post-16 transitions through VET are often non-linear and disjointed.
Young people taking non-university routes into employment face a range of distinctive barriers and challenges in their post-16 transitions.
A core challenge continues to be the low status of vocational pathways into employment compared to more traditional routes.
There is widespread concern about current provision of careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) in England.