Putting Skills to Work: It’s not so much the What, or even the Why,

but How…1

Trisha Fettes, Karen Evans and Elnaz Kashefpakdel

Abstract: This paper focuses on how generic skills can be developed to enable them to be better utilised by young adults in making transitions from education into the early labour market. The UK’s Industrial Strategy Commission suggests that ‘ensuring better utilisation of people’s skills must be core to a new strategy’, but the focus for skills policy largely on boosting supply has meant relatively few examples exist of what best practice looks like. Drawing on the literature and a Commercial Education Trust study that explored practices which encourage employer engagement in skills development, the paper argues that “putting skills to work” is not automatic or unproblematic. It is not simply a matter of “skills transfer”, but a “continuous and transformative process” during which individuals, supported by learning partners, recontextualise skills in moving between education and work environments.

Keywords: school-to-work transition - employability skills - skills transfer - skills utilisation - employer engagement

Introduction – the problem

Young people as a group are four times more likely to be unemployed than older groups, many struggling with the transition between education and employment. Employers regularly voice concerns over lack of work-readiness and young people themselves [say] that the gaps between education and employment are daunting.

Youth Employment June 2017: 2

Kashefpakdel and Percy (2016) report that ‘many scholars and policy makers believe that changes in the education system and labour market over recent decades have created a complex world for young people’ (1). Although, collectively, they ‘have never left education more highly qualified, with more years of schooling behind them…they are facing unprecedented struggles to succeed in the early labour market’ (Mann et al. January 2017: 3).

This is a labour market that is rapidly changing in the face of new technological and data-driven demands and becoming more complex, with: ‘increased competition for entry level employment’ and employers who ‘increasingly seek new employees well-placed to be personally effective in applying knowledge and skills in changing situations’ (Mann and Huddleston 2016: 211). Furthermore, a ‘traditional 9-to-5 job with a single employer bears little resemblance to the way a substantial share of the workforce makes a living. Millions of the self-employed, freelancers, and temporary workers…are part of a significant trend’ (Manyika et al. October 2016: 1). In the Construction Industry, for example, the ‘shift from direct employment to self-employment and sub-contracting’ has had ‘an impact on training and implications for the relevance of government skills policy’ (CITB June 2015: 3), with the need to ‘increase the supply of transferable skills’ (5).

Rather than being single, linear events, transitions can involve: ‘u-turns, detours and zig-zag movements…such as returning to education or moving in and out of

1 Title adapted from Evans, Guile and Harris (October 2008) and question posed by UKCES (February 2009)

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employment’ (Schoon and Lyons-Amos 2016: 10). Many young adults need to ‘intersperse spells of inactivity with spells of work or job search; and the process of settling into the labour market is often prolonged and discontinuous…’ (Quintini, Martin and Martin January 2007: 4).

In preparing young adults for work, there has been a long history of identifying skills, qualities, attitudes and behaviours required to be successful in the workplace. For example, almost three decades since the Confederation of British Industry published Towards a Skills Revolution (CBI 1989) which emphasised the importance of developing young people’s employability skills.

Although variously labelled2 and no one definitive list, generic-type skills such as communication, problem solving and teamworking are commonly reported to be essential for both the UK’s economy and individuals (e.g. Anderson and EPI October 2017; Prince’s Trust 2016; Taylor July 2017), along with attributes such as ‘resilience, enthusiasm and creativity’ (CBI and Pearson July 2016: 31). For example, it is reported that ‘soft skills are worth over £88 billion in Gross Added Value to the UK economy each year’ and, by 2020, ‘expected to grow in real terms to £109 billion’ (Development Economics January 2015: 8). It is claimed that such skills can ‘have a big impact on the ability of a potential employee to adapt to the workplace and be an effective member of staff’ (UKCES and IFF Research May 2018: 44); and transition between jobs.

Over the same period, there has been a stream of government initiatives and various programmes in compulsory and post-compulsory education that have sought to prepare young people for work. For example, OECD (as quoted in Universities UK August 2018) reports that ‘over 90% of universities offer skills development services for the enhancement of communication, enterprise, self-awareness and team-working skills’ (14). However, many employers (e.g. in surveys by: AGR; British Chambers of Commerce; EY Foundation; UKCES3) continue to suggest that they find it difficult to recruit young adults with the essential, non-technical workplace skills, the people and personal skills, needed for entry-level jobs. The inference is that education providers are not adequately preparing young people for work, not teaching them the skills needed in the labour market. But is this necessarily the case?

Materials and Methods

The paper draws on a literature review and findings from a study supported by the Commercial Education Trust (2016-17) that aimed to explore practices in educational programmes which encourage employer engagement in skills development, with the intention of informing further, more in-depth research.

A systematic search of the literature was conducted, focusing primarily on reports and papers relating to education-to-work transitions that were published since 2015, with some revisiting of earlier literature. Case studies of practice were developed during a workshop and two sets of semi-structured telephone interviews with key personnel who volunteered to participate from 6 projects that offer elements of commercial

2 For example: common, core, key, essential, soft and transferable skills. For the history and fuller discussion see: Oates (1992); Fettes (2012) 3 British Chambers of Commerce. 2014. (2,885 responses from UK businesses); UKCES. May 2016. (over 91,000 interviews with UK employers); Ernest Young Foundation. June 2017. (survey of 500 SMEs); Association of Graduate Recruiters. 2017. (based on 174 employer responses from over 18 sectors with 18,227 graduate hires).

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education – learning about business, commerce and trade. These projects were identified by CET as potentially having effective skills development practice. Three were sited in schools; two involved undergraduates; and one concerned a programme for young adults who were not in education, training or employment.

An online survey was used to test the feasibility of following-up some programme graduates to find out the extent to which they perceived generic skills to be important in preparing for and performing well in the workplace. Three case study organisations volunteered to email the survey link to leavers who were believed to be in the labour market. Individual stories were also provided.

CET’s business advisory group was asked to provide perspectives on emerging findings. The group comprised entrepreneurs and those with experience of working in large corporations, or Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), across a range of occupational sectors, including Finance, Construction, Creative, Engineering and Information and Communications Technologies. Study findings were also presented, and feedback invited, during the 5th International Research Conference organised by the Education and Employers Charity and Edge Foundation (4-5 July 2018).

A framework developed by Evans, Guile and Harris (2008), informed by extensive fieldwork and the work of Bernstein, Barnett and van Oers’, was used in organising data for analysis, combined with features of “powerful learning environments”, a model used by de Bruijn and Leeman (2011) ‘which is ‘grounded in the idea of cognitive apprenticeship (Collins, Brown, and Newman, 1989)’ and ‘inspired by sociocultural theory’(695).

Results

Another way of looking at the problem

Some literature suggests there needs to be a new way of thinking about public policies that moves away from those that have ‘disproportionately focused on increasing the supply of skills side’ to more attention being given to ‘shaping how skills are used in the workplace’ (OECD 2017: 28), to addressing ‘improvement of skills utilisation’ (Keep August 2016: 7). The Industrial Strategy Commission (November 2017) recommends that ‘better utilisation of people’s skills must be core to a new strategy’ (23). People not only need to be ‘well-matched to jobs [but] move into jobs that use their skills’ (HM Treasury 2015: 41).

The problem may not always be lack of skills, but with skills not being fully articulated and recognised, and then used effectively in the workplace. For example, some young adults can ‘struggle to “sell” themselves to employers at application and interview’ and it can be ‘difficult to assess the suitability of young applicants who do not have significant work experience to refer to. This can lead to an inaccurate impression that they have little to offer’ (House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee March 2017: 30).

Difficulties in finding skilled workers may be due to ‘job quality, wages or hiring processes.’ For example, employers may be unrealistic, ‘putting forward unattractive job offers or display a lack of commitment to talent management’ (OECD 2017: 28). The potential of some young people may be untapped where there is ‘increased demand for skills at point of hire’, with employers using higher qualifications as a ‘signal of capability’, but the ‘demand for skills needed to do the job remain unchanged’ (Warhurst and Findley January 2012: 4) or where ‘informal recruitment methods such as word of

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mouth’ disadvantage those without the necessary social connections and networks (House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility April 2016: 6).

Furthermore, appropriate encouragement, opportunity and support may not be available to help young people adjust to the workplace. ‘Workplace environments fundamentally affect how knowledge is put to work’, but ‘they vary in the nature and quality of learning experiences they afford’ (Guile 2006 as quoted in Evans et al. 2010: 249). Once young recruits move into the workplace ‘support within business by the right people, management and business practices is needed’ (CBI and Pearson July 2016: 17).

The implications for skills development

The OECD (July 2015) suggests that it is ‘essential to ensure skills are used effectively in the labour market’, but also acknowledges that ‘further efforts are required in all G20 countries to fully equip their populations with the skills that are needed in increasingly dynamic and inter-dependent economies’ (3). For example, it is predicted that ‘skills such as creativity, logical reasoning and problem sensitivity’ (World Economic Forum January 2016: 24) and ‘strong social and collaboration skills’ will be in ‘higher demand across industries than narrow technical skills’ (3). “Character traits” will also become more important such as ‘being resilient and knowing how to persevere, how to bounce back if faced with failure’ (DfE March 2016: 94).

In navigating transitions, skills need to include those that enable ‘individuals to manage their own careers’ (Universities UK August 2018: 10), such as “career adaptability skill”: a ‘readiness to cope with the predictable tasks of preparing for and participating in the work role and with unpredictable adjustments prompted by changes in work and working conditions’ (Savickas 1997: 254). Individuals need ‘an attitude of curiosity to explore self and environment, and confidence to design [their] occupational future’ (Ebenehi, Rashid and Bakar December 2016: 214) and skills in ‘planning, decision-making, exploration and problem solving’ to ‘adapt to career-related circumstances’ (Koen, Klehe and Van Vianen 2012: 397).

In moving into the labour market, the Scottish Government suggests that better utilisation of skills requires young adults to be ‘confident, motivated and relevantly skilled’, but also ‘aware of the skills they possess and know how to use them in the workplace’ (as quoted in Keep August 2016: 9). When moving between different forms and contexts of work, they need to learn ‘how to recognise and act on opportunities’ (Bound et al. 2018: 109), ‘learn how to “read” norms and expectations quickly and put their capabilities to work according to the situation’ (126).

Success is ‘no longer mainly about reproducing content knowledge, but about extrapolating what is known and applying that knowledge creatively in novel situations’. It is about learning how to learn, ‘thinking across boundaries of disciplines’ (Schleicher 2018: 232); ‘rarely the product of individuals working in isolation but an outcome of how individuals mobilise, share and link knowledge’ (241). It is not simply a matter of transferring skills developed in education to work environments. Describing skills as “transferable” can imply a very static notion of skills, the implication being that those learnt in one context can be re-deployed in another, virtually unchanged (e.g. Oates, August 1992). It says little about the ‘understanding, metacognitive skills and flexibility’ (de Bruijn and Leeman 2011: 695), or the ‘polycontextual and connectivity skills’ (Griffiths and Guile 2003: 63), that people need to make their knowledge and skills

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applicable to different contexts and ‘understand both differences and similarities among situations and tasks’ (Sappa and Aprea 2014: 266).

Evans et al. (2010) argue that knowledge, including that manifested in skills, which is ‘generated and practised in one context to be put to work in new and different contexts, has to be recontextualised in various ways. They suggest that four forms of recontextualisation are significant: content, pedagogic, workplace and learner recontextualisation (246/7). Learners make sense of this “transformative process” through strategies they use to ‘bring together knowledge gained through the programme and gleaned from working with more experienced people in the workplace’ (249). Their ‘interpretation may involve the enactment of a well-known activity in a new setting… as existing knowledge is used to reproduce a response…’ (an adaptive form of recontextualisation) or sometimes lead the learner to ‘change the activity or its context…as new knowledge is produced’ (a productive form of recontextualisation) (Bound et al. 2018:129). Such a complex and multi-faceted process needs support from learning partners who ‘can forge chains of recontextualisation’ across programme design, teaching and facilitating and workplace environments ‘as they seek to understand and evolve practice’ (Evans et al. 2010: 246).

This thinking is reflected in vocational literature that is described by Akkemann and Bakker (2012) as moving away from a “comparative approach”, which tends to focus on “transfer” (154), towards a “relational approach” which seems to rest on a notion of “boundary crossing”. Whereas the former approach is ‘mostly about one-time and one-directional transitions’, leading to ‘questions about the correctness of the school curriculum…about whether students can recall and apply what they have learned in school’, the latter is about ‘establishing a productive relation between school and work…’ despite ‘distinct practices, with different aims… cultural and local histories’, based on ‘a shared interest in the development of future professionals’ (155). This raises questions about how learning partners negotiate and communicate across school and work environments to support the development and utilisation of skills.

Examples of practice

Putting skills to work in the programme design environment (content recontextualisation)

“Content recontextualisation” is described by Evans et al. (2010) as the process during which knowledge is selected and taken from its original context such as the workplace and put into a programme that is designed to be ‘more teachable and learnable for particular learners…’ while meeting the ‘demands of professional and vocational practice’ (247). Ideally, ‘the programme is designed so that constituent parts [subject content, underlying knowledge and training in specific skills] are related to each other to help learners to understand and perform better’ (de Bruijn and Leeman 2011: 697).

It is necessary to ‘design the building of capabilities to be and become a particular occupation across a whole program’, with a ‘cyclical developmental approach that enables building confidence and degrees of expertise [and] not to conceive of capabilities as separate sets of skills’ (Bound et al. 2018: 119).

Example:Case study programmes CS1 and CS2 are designed specifically to encourage schools to progressively develop skills over time through a common framework for assessing, monitoring and supporting skills development during each academic year. To support

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their acquisition and application in combination, eight skills selected as important to performing well in the workplace, are grouped within “four critical domains”: communication skills; interpersonal skills; problem solving skills; self-management skills. Each skill has descriptors at six levels setting out what learners are expected to demonstrate from five to18 years of age. CS1 supplements use of this framework with a bespoke work-readiness curriculum designed to complement teaching modules within a qualification syllabus by introducing students to skills and related concepts.

All case study programmes are designed to incorporate opportunities for the active involvement of business partners in recognising that the ‘quantity and quality of employer engagement matters’ in helping young people ‘feel better prepared for adult working life’ (Mann et al. January 2017: 5). For example, in CS1, industry partners work with the teachers to design curriculum projects covering areas of the qualification specification and plan ways for students, while on visits to workplaces, to engage with employees who are specialists in these areas and learn how to apply their skills.

As a complementary approach to subject learning, designers of an extra-curricular programme for undergraduates (CS6) take complex problems directly from industry to develop scenarios that introduce some realities of the working environment:

It’s really story-telling, sometimes quite amusing, with complex implications so that students have to use their judgment in situations they haven’t encountered before at university; they are required to apply several skills in combination, not only their own, but those of other team members. (Programme Manager, CS6)

Multi-disciplinary teamwork, with industry professionals judging team performance, is central to the design of this programme.

Putting skills to work in the teaching and facilitating environment (pedagogical recontextualisation)

“Pedagogic recontextualisation” is concerned with how different forms of knowledge, including skills, are ‘organised, structured and sequenced into learning activities…for the purposes of effective teaching and learning’ (Evans et al. 2010: 248).

Example:In CS4, a 4-day interactive workshop is structured to progressively build skills in specific relation to participants’ personal and career interests, together with the knowledge, confidence, resilience, personal and other qualities needed to succeed in business. A mix of teaching and learning methods is used including: ice-breakers to create an appropriate learning environment; inputs from business mentors on own experiences of work to encourage identification of “transferable skills”; skills discussions, role-plays and other practical exercises to practise the application of skills, knowledge and behaviours. National Awards are offered to recognise achievements.

Decisions about the organisation of teaching and learning are ‘inevitably influenced by…assumptions (often unarticulated) about what constitutes good learning experiences and worthwhile learning outcomes and, also, by the specifications set by professional or examination bodies’ (Evans et al. 2010: 248).

In acknowledging this, case study organisations provide training for learning facilitators to ensure they understand the nature of skills and how they may be developed. For example, CS2 provides training and resources that include the theory of developing each skill and practical ways to develop them; videos illustrate what skills

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look like in a classroom setting at different levels of competence and include teachers modelling the development of these skills.

Pedagogical recontextualisation takes place in environments that can be understood, not only in terms of the physical context, ‘settings or places’, but the social context relating, for example, to learner and teacher roles and relations, ‘schools of thought, the traditions and norms of practice…’ (Evans et al. 2010: 246). Developing strong connections with partners can ‘enrich learning environments [and] extend boundaries, resources and learning spaces’ (OECD 2013: 12).

For example, business partners can ‘enhance young people’s understanding of jobs and careers’, provide ‘authentic, relevant experiences and practical insights into how recruitment processes work, and contemporary workplaces operate’ and enable learners to ‘build complementary skills such as creative problem solving and team working’ (Mann, Rehill and Kashefpakdel January 2018: 70). Engaging students with ‘real-life problems, offering hands-on experience’ such as running a small business, ‘make learning experiences authentic and meaningful’ (OECD 2013: 91).

Examples:In CS3, alumni from various occupational sectors support subject lessons and curriculum integration by co-teaching lesson content, sharing examples of practice from their workplace and bringing in materials for “hands-on” experience. Sessions can involve “learning by doing” using role-play and group problem solving tasks.During 12 sessions in CS2, students plan, develop and implement their own businesses to develop and demonstrate “core transferable skills”. Volunteers from leading businesses support activities by giving students a chance to develop new skills while widening their understanding of the world of work.

Provision by educational institutions of ‘iterative movement between classroom learning and being in work settings and spaces’, can help to develop learners’ ‘capability to make appropriate judgements and to act appropriately in occupational practices…’ (Bound et al. 2018: 113).

In the case study programmes, most activities take place in classroom settings, with visits to workplaces commonly used to draw out the links between lesson-time learning and work, and to provide structured activities for the deliberate practising of skills; activities frequently involve collaborative learning or teamwork.

Example:In CS1, students worked in groups on lesson-time projects which included organising two events at their college. They then went on a trip to a company to enhance teamwork and presentation skills developed in the classroom: ‘learn how to apply these skills in a real-world context and bring their learning to life’ (Programme Manager 1). Expert advice was provided by four volunteers from the company.

We did our recruitment project in a UK company. This helped with our communication and improved our skills…they gave us a project on how we could market their buildings to their clients…We had to present our ideas back to a board of employees… (Student from CS1)

‘Working towards a final performance to real audiences’ demands ‘coherent presentations and a high level of understanding’ and ‘setting them up involves skills like organising group efforts and communicating effectively’ (OECD 2013: 92).

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UKCES (February 2009) found that ‘most studies say it is important for the learning environment to be like the workplace’: ‘the key is to recreate genuine aspects of the workplace. This is not just about space and equipment, but should include consequences of poor performance, uncertainty and ambiguity’ (21).

In reflecting the “complexity of reality” and developing vocational identity, many features of “powerful learning environments” (de Bruijn and Leeman 2011) are exhibited in CS6 events. Participants are put into situations of uncertainty when engaging in authentic tasks that not only involve the application of instrumental skills, but also metacognitive skills such as arranging, planning, and organisation.

Scenarios require application of several skills when, for example, students are evaluating the finances, the energy performance and the aesthetic quality of a construction balanced against the time and cost to develop it. This requires bringing in all the different skills and abilities of team members, with individuals having to communicate the value of their expertise. “Situational knowledge” is developed as they begin to see how their skill sets and what they have learnt applies to the context in which they are going to work. They also develop “tacit knowledge” of the workplace, what it means to be professional, which fits in with what is required by professional organisations. Rather than being taught new knowledge, it is more about learning how to apply knowledge and recognising the value of what they have learnt. (Programme Manager CS6)

Schleicher (2018) suggests there is a need to ‘think more about teaching and rewarding collaboration in addition to individual achievement’, to consider ‘the fact that collaborative learning is also a great way to inspire self-regulated and enquiry-based learning’, while recognising the ‘interactive, mutually-supportive relationships that help learners progress’ (241).

Teaching and learning to support learner recontextualization

At the programme design stage, skills can be mapped against activities to ensure coverage of those relevant to the subject matter and contextualise the skills for learners. However, to be able to recontextualise their skills, learners themselves need to identify and understand their relevance.

Progressive development of skills depends on learners having ‘time and freedom to engage in skills in their own terms and to consider them in relation to practice’ (Evans et al. 2010: 248). They ‘have to be stimulated to explicate their learning’ ‘through ‘reflection on their learning and work experiences (together with peers and teachers…)’ (de Bruijn and Leeman 2011: 698). Ideally, learners are guided in ‘explorative, reflective and cooperative learning’, with coaching, for example, ‘in supporting self-regulation skills’ while also helping them to ‘develop and maintain self-discipline and motivation’ (699).

Example:CS3 introduces students to the idea of “transferable skills” through sessions that involve alumni in answering questions about how they use skills at work. Alumni, acting in a coaching role, then help students draw out their own skills. During a reflection task, students are asked to put skills cards in order of importance in getting a job and then identify subjects in which they are learning these skills, and those they need to improve.

From the start, the case study organisations take time to ensure learners understand the nature of skills and their relevance to personal and career development.

Examples:

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Our teachers focus on how they can break quite large concepts into small digestible chunks and build in time each day for deliberate practice to ensure that the component parts of using this skill move into long-term memory. This is conducted both formally through the work readiness curriculum and informally through the culture of the classroom where students are required to practise skills daily such as teamwork, problem-solving and presentation skills. (CS1 Programme Manager)In CS5, undergraduates are offered an opportunity to design their own professional development programme. There is the potential to develop “career adaptability skill” in requiring individuals to look ahead to where they think their careers are going, explore own knowledge, skills and abilities, weigh up options and start planning for the acquisition of skills they will need to achieve their potential when, following graduation, they move into leadership positions within a UK industry and pursue their aspirations.

Opportunities are provided for learners to self-assess, review, discuss and reflect on skills they are developing, with feedback to inform further learning.

Example:In CS4, learners are encouraged to explore how they learn best, record and reflect on their learning, using questions to aid reflection and feedback from mentors. At the start, a self-assessment form is introduced to explain its purpose and make sure they understand it. At a mid-point stage, a member of staff facilitates skills discussions, encouraging the young person to reflect on how they think their skills are developing, and whether their initial assessment was realistic. At the end, when deciding whether, or not, to start a business, they go back to the form and rank where they are now. A panel of volunteers with experience of starting a business provides feedback on business plans.

To measure progress, students in CS2 also complete skills assessment questionnaires which are validated by teachers who observe their classes for several weeks at the beginning and end of each year to make sure learners are on track for success.

Where teachers are “adaptive”, their ‘role decreases as the learning materials become increasingly self-directed and/or self-regulated and students’ knowledge improves’ (de Bruijn and Leeman 2011: 698). “Gradual release” of responsibility for contextualisation from teacher to learner is facilitated by ‘incremental opportunities to strengthen their skills repertoires’. They ‘learn from making mistakes in a controlled, closely supervised and sheltered environment’ and through ‘moving from predictable to more unpredictable tasks where some of the complexities of real-life work are built into the learning experience’ (Evans, Guile and Harris 2008: 2). Constructive learning is stimulated when programmes are ‘authentic, i.e., consist of sequences of real and complex practical assignments, calling for problem solving’ (de Bruijn and Leeman 2011: 698).

Examples:In CS2, students engage in a combination of lesson-time projects, challenge days and workplace visits. Each assignment is designed to progressively build on students’ skills, with challenges involving working in teams to tackle problems such as setting up and running a production line or turning around a failing firm.

In CS3 learners work with alumni on practical assignments that involve them in addressing workplace problems drawn, for example, from HR, marketing or finance departments. They work in groups role-playing a range of stakeholders.

Providing learners with opportunities to go on to apply their skills for themselves serves to reinforce how skills can be recontextualised to suit tasks and problems in different situations, some of which are unfamiliar. As one applicant for an award to support

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business start-up put it: ‘I had learnt before how to put together a budget and a proposal, so it wasn’t a new experience for me. It was more about having to prove you could do it in a real situation that was new. It was self-led’.

There was evidence from responses to the pilot online survey4 to suggest that the programmes in which respondents had participated were successful in raising their awareness of “soft skills”, with communication, teamworking and problem-solving skills being thought most important to being well-prepared for work. The majority (87.5%) said they had developed this type of skill and, in doing so, most highly rated ‘learning from others’ (80.4%), followed by ‘direct experience of the workplace’ and ‘opportunities to engage in real work tasks and problems’ (62.5% for each).

Putting skills to work in the workplace environment (workplace recontextualization)

“Workplace recontextualisation” takes place through the ‘workplace practices and activities that support knowledge development, and through the mentorship, coaching and other arrangements through which learners/employees can engage with and learn through workplace environments’ (Evans et al. 2010: 249). Mentoring, for example, can have ‘a significant and observable impact on young people’ (e.g. Hooley, 2016) and several case study programmes offer this form of support.

Example:CS4 programme graduates starting up their own business are supported by an experienced business mentor (volunteer) for two to three years. Their role is to help the young adults to achieve their goals: listen, support, highlight (the finer details), focus (help maintain an overview of business goals, measure (support with budgeting, sales conversion rates, website statistics). As the programme sponsor observes: ‘it’s proven formula balances intensive business training with long-term mentoring to ensure young people have the strongest foundations on which to build and sustain their business ideas’.

Survey respondents who were in work were able to articulate and provide examples of how they used the generic-type skills they had developed during the respective programmes whilst in education. They were aware of the relevance of these skills and the importance placed on them in the workplace. To succeed at work, teamwork, communication and problem-solving were again the most commonly mentioned skills.

Examples provided by survey respondents: I am part of a small team delivering approximately £20million worth of work – teamwork and leadership are very important.Liaising with teams is crucial, even more so in consultancy work. Many will know the technicality of projects, some maybe even better than you, but if you can explain it, make them calm and guide them you will be more trusted, respected and useful.I have to apply my problem-solving skills which I acquired during my academic training and work experience, to provide a safer environment to the everyday users, while bringing acknowledgement and profit to my company.

Resilience and creativity were also noted as important. For example: I needed to be resilient when we’ve had a client come back to us multiple times with requests that have resulted in changes of direction with that project.

4 573 leavers from 3 case study programmes were invited to respond to the pilot survey. The response rate was c. 10% (with 56 useable responses)

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[Creativity] is essential because we are designing new devices… we need to resolve the challenges we come up against, we have to think creatively to come up with new concepts, ideas…and make them a reality.

Most responses to an open-question on things found difficult when starting work concerned adjustment to the working environment, rather than lack of skills. For example: ‘adjusting to the social dynamics of the workplace’; ‘understanding the commercial practices, business models which underpin the industry’; ‘learning the culture and way of working in my new office’.

While it was beyond the study’s scope to visit workplaces to research the utilisation of skills, examples drawn from the case studies and Business Advisory Group pointed to the importance of supporting young adults beyond education to help them settle into the workplace and become familiar with working cultures and practices, or to start-up and grow their own business.

Examples:One technical service company runs a programme in which modern workplaces that look like offices are set up, staffed by a recruiter, HR manager, IT support technician and business support staff. Programme participants attend one day a week to build their confidence along the journey to employment, test their behaviour in a work environment and develop technical and employability skills before working remotely in teams in different places and engaging in projects.

Another company spells out at the beginning of their selection events the realities of the job, employer requirements and expected behaviours. As soon as new recruits have been selected and commenced their pre-employment (employability) training, bespoke pastoral care, including career guidance, is offered to help them to sustain employment. As the manager said: ‘by finding the right individuals and giving them industry training specific to their particular job role, the company creates skilled workers, But, our commitment doesn’t stop there. We continue to work with our employees, offering emotional and practical support to ensure they are ready to start and sustain a career’.

However, while ‘some employers are already changing their recruitment practices’ to better recognise young applicants’ skills and match with jobs, ‘these changes are not widespread, are limited to the largest employers and will not go far enough on their own to achieve real progress’ (House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility April 2016: 32).

Discussion

While there has been much debate on the “what”, producing lists of generic-type skills commonly said to be essential to effective performance at work, and “why” these skills are important to individuals and the UK economy, less attention has been given to “how” skills can be best recognised and utilised in workplaces. A shift in thinking is required from a primary focus on skills supply to serious consideration of the inter-relationships required for a co-ordinated and partnership approach to supporting young adults in preparing for and making transitions between education and work, with better skills utilisation in mind. Best provision is ‘collaborative in nature, calling for a two-way street between [education and training] providers and employers, and has a clear line of sight to work. It is about relationships not structures, joint responsibility…’ (CAVTL 2013: 4).

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“Putting skills to work” is ‘not automatic, mechanical or unproblematic’ (Sappa and Aprea 2014: 266), not simply a matter of “transfer”, but a ‘continuous and transformative process that needs to be supported by multi-faceted partnerships’ (Evans, Guile and Harris 2008). Work requires integrated capabilities: the ability of individuals to “put it all together” using an appropriate combination of knowledge and skills, including personal, people, creative and problem-solving skills, facilitated by attributes such as confidence, resilience, initiative and self-motivation.

To be able to recontextualise skills for themselves in moving between different contexts, individuals need to become self-regulating learners, knowing when and why to use particular approaches. They need “career adaptability skill” to manage transitions and meta-cognitive strategies, self-knowledge and understanding of the physical and social environments of the workplace (culture, norms and practices) in which they are to utilise their skills.

However, developing such capabilities ‘creates multiple challenges to educators’ (OECD as quoted in Universities UK August 2018: 10). Training for teachers and organisational support are therefore vital. But, it is not only down to what happens in education. For skills to be utilised effectively at work, the OECD (July 2015) suggests there is a need for: ‘promoting participation of underrepresented groups, improving the recognition and matching of skills and increasing the value employers and workers place in skills’ (3). Opportunity and support are needed for lifelong, skills-orientated learning that emphasises adaptability and preparedness for change.

The case studies illustrate that effective practice does exist in education for developing skills in ways that can facilitate their utilisation. Key features of such practice include: a culture and leadership that values skills; a learning environment (both physical and social) that reflects the realities of the workplace; making skills and their relevance to work explicit to learners through, for example, skills discussions; “learning by doing”, problem-solving and collaborative work; co-teaching, coaching and mentoring by business partners; carefully-structured opportunities to practise the application of skills in a variety of activities and situations; the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to learner for contextualising skills; opportunities for self-assessment, review and reflection, with feedback to inform further development.

However, these programmes, which are run within subject lessons, as additional activities to supplement the curriculum, as extra-curricular events and/or as self-standing programmes, have been reliant on expertise and support external to the school or university. Not all young people have access to such provision. Programmes that prepare young people for work can ‘sometimes be left on the margins of the curriculum’ rather than being embedded ‘throughout school curricula and FE/HE courses’ (RSA and RBS 2013: 22) so that all young people can gain the skills needed to succeed at work.

This paper has focused specifically on how generic skills can be developed in education to facilitate their effective utilisation in the workplace. It is acknowledged that the limited scale of the research, with visits to educational institutions and workplaces to observe practice beyond its scope, has precluded detailed examination of all the social, educational and economic factors likely to influence education-to-work transitions. Nevertheless, it does offer some pointers for taking forward the work.

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To build on the findings presented in this paper, it is suggested that the inter-relationships between skills supply, demand and utilisation in a local network of educational institutions and businesses should be researched, drawing, for example, on the case study approaches described by Anderson and Warhurst (2012), Green et al. (2017) and Keep (August 2016).

This research could include: visits to educational establishments, to conduct baseline surveys of practice and identify the learning outcomes in relation to skills and being prepared for work; detailed research in workplaces that have taken on leavers from these institutions, to look at recruitment and HR practices; tracking young adults in this network in moving from education along their different career pathways, to collect specific data on what and how skills are being utilised in the workplace and the factors and conditions that support this; share findings and feed into policy development work to encourage wider application of lessons learned.

With the launch by the UK Government of its industrial strategy, with skills plans and support for innovation at a local level, there is a fresh opportunity to stimulate the interest and joint action of stakeholders in tackling some of the issues raised, including a stronger contribution from employers in recognising and nurturing the potential of young people.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Commercial Education Trust (CET) for sponsoring the study and the CET projects that volunteered to contribute. Also, Education & Employers and the Edge Foundation for providing an opportunity to present findings at the 5th International Conference on Employer Engagement, 5 and 6 July 2018 in London.

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