The new way to jobs
I DON'T come from the kind of background where it was the norm to go to university, in fact, if anything, the few who did were considered out of the ordinary and almost looked on with suspicion.
I left school at 15 and never really looked back and it didn't
cross my mind until I was in my late 20s that I should or even
could have stayed on in higher education.
For far too long in this country, access to higher education had
both affected and been effected by social and class inequality and
so it goes round in a vicious circle, with the most disadvantaged
in society kept firmly in their place.
I know there is still a lot more to do but we have come a long way from talk of 'poverty of aspiration' and the idea that people can't go on to better themselves through education because of where they come from.
Last week was 'Aimhigher Week', a scheme set up to widen participation in further and higher education for people who come from backgrounds, which are traditionally under-represented here. Support has been particularly targeted in the Wakefield district, with more than 8,100 young people currently participating in Aimhigher activities.
More than 200 year 10 students from Hemsworth and Minsthorpe colleges visited Northern College in Barnsley for an Aimhigher experience day last week. Academics visited from six different universities to give the young people an idea of courses that aren't always offered at school.
The scheme has been running very successfully in the Wakefield area for the past four years now and is well established in both colleges. Ten per cent of students are identified in year 9 who have the potential to go on to higher education but don't come from the traditional backgrounds for university. The students are then tracked throughout school, going on trips and residentials to universities and getting involved in workshops and mentoring schemes to raise their aspiration and awareness of life beyond 18 in education.
Angela Jarrett, who runs the programme at Minsthorpe Community College, has also been invited to represent West Yorkshire at Westminster this week to demonstrate the tremendous impact that the Aimhigher scheme has had.
More young people from the Wakefield district are now going to university than ever before, and recent figures showed a 25 per cent increase in the past 10 years. We've worked hard to raise aspirations, increasing investment in higher education by 23 per cent and helping them get the qualifications they need; and all the hard work is now starting to show.
Apprenticeships have also been heavily invested in, a fantastic
way to get on in life for young people and adults who want on-the-job
training. In 2008, 240 people in the local area completed their
apprenticeship, allowing them to become qualified in their chosen
profession and massively increase their earning potential.
I'm so proud of the achievements of our local young people and wish
everyone who is currently sitting their exams the best of luck.
In difficult economic times, education is so vital to help people
reach their potential and get the economy back on its feet. Last
year, almost 30 per cent of people aged 18-24 with no qualifications
were unemployed, while the corresponding figure for people
with apprenticeships was 6.2 per cent.
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Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
