News: Diplomas aiming to fill the skills gap

The Star highlights the new concept in qualifications set to be piloted in South Yorkshire next year. The new Diploma system is designed to bridge the gap between vocational qualifications and A levels, providing courses which combine practical skills and classroom learning with extensive work placements for 14- to 19-year-olds. Five Diploma courses come on stream from September, and Sheffield has been chosen to pilot four of them, more than any other authority in Yorkshire. And from the autumn of 2009, schools in Sheffield and Rotherham will also offer a further six subjects, with as many as 17 due to be available by 2013. The courses coming on stream are information and communication technology; creative and media; engineering; construction and the built environment; business, administration and finance; hair and beauty studies; hospitality; environmental and land-based studies; manufacturing and product design and society, health and development. Diplomas have been created with the support and expertise of a wide variety of leading employers who are willing to provide the hands-on work experience which is key to the whole concept. In Rotherham, six schools are working with Dearne Valley College and RCAT along side Morthyng Training and the Academy of Construction Trades to develop the construction and the built environment diploma. Large employers in the area including Henry Boot Construction, ROK, Connaught and Keepmoat are signed up to similar projects such as Construction JOBMatch.
The Star article

Rotherham