No suitable replacement for E2E

The choices available to unemployed 16- and 17-year-olds with few or no qualifications have never been plentiful. But, according to professionals, things could be about to get worse.

As the government heads towards raising the participation age, the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) is warning that a small but significant group of young people could miss out. That's because Entry to Employment (E2E) courses, which prepare young people for the world of work or further learning, are set to be scrapped by 2013.

From September, the government is phasing out E2E and replacing it with Foundation Learning, which is intended to offer learners a flexible route to Entry Level and Level 1 qualifications.

Changes to financial support for this group are also causing concern. Young E2E participants receive non-means tested Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments of £30 every week. But young people on Foundation Learning will not be automatically eligible for this cash.

Proper training

Paul Warner, director of employment and skills at ALP, wants the government to rethink the plans. He explains: "The government would like to see all 16- and 17-year-olds in education and training, but fails to recognise that, for some of them, the education system has been a complete disaster."

Warner believes young people who are turned off by formal education need the chance to train and get into work. "I don't understand why the government doesn't feel E2E is proper training," he says. "It is for the young people who would otherwise be doing nothing."

He rejects the assertion that apprenticeships are the answer for would-be young workers, since 16- and 17-year-olds with no qualifications are rarely ready for that route.

On top of this, the provision of training such as programme-led apprenticeships, which are suitable for less qualified young people, is diminishing as government funds focus on expanding the uptake of traditional apprenticeships.

Warner believes stopping EMA payments for this cohort could make it impossible for young people to attend any course: "If it is right to offer non-means tested EMAs to this group at the moment then it doesn't follow that this should be discontinued under Foundation Learning."

Judith Miller, director for curriculum and young people's learning at youth charity Rathbone, which currently offers E2E training, thinks the most disengaged young people will shun Foundation Learning.

"For some of our young people, we need to get them back into a structured routine before they can re-engage. They won't all be ready for learning," she explains. "The government lacks a full understanding of the issues some of these young people face, for example, major problems with housing."

The key benefit of E2E, Miller claims, is that it raises young people's self-esteem and gives them a sense of direction, allowing them to progress and achieve further qualifications or employment. "Many of these young people have been failed by school," she says. "We will be failing them again if we put them on a course that is unsuitable and repeats that negative experience."

Miller warns that the lack of financial support available on Foundation Learning will exacerbate the problems facing the most disadvantaged young people. "Non-means tested EMAs should be available to young people on Foundation Learning in the same way they were available to learners on E2E," she says.

Disenchanted group

Steve Stewart, chief executive of Connexions Coventry and Warwickshire, argues that the government must relax the rules to allow local authorities to commission innovative provision for this group of young people. "There is a real risk, if we don't come up with something creative and flexible for this disenchanted group, that we'll never engage them," he warns. "We need to get them doing things they enjoy first."

He also claims removing non-means tested EMAs for this group is a shortsighted move. Long term, he says, unemployed and disengaged young people cost the government far more: "For those young people who have nothing, £30 a week makes a real difference."

Despite these concerns, the government insists E2E will effectively be incorporated into Foundation Learning through comparable accredited courses.

"Foundation Learning does not just concentrate on qualifications," claims a Department for Children, Schools and Families spokeswoman. "It provides a model which emphasises the importance of developing the necessary skills for further learning and work."

16 TO 17 provision E2e and Foundation Learning

• Currently, 16- and 17-year-olds who are not in education or training are eligible to take part in Entry to Employment (E2E) programmes, which teach life skills and prepare young people for the world of work or further learning

• But from September 2010 the government will be phasing out E2E and replacing it with Foundation Learning, which will completely replace all E2E programmes by 2013

• Foundation Learning is one of four qualification options that will be available to 14- to 19-year-old learners alongside GCSEs, diplomas and apprenticeships. Foundation Learning is intended to allow learners to progress to Level 2 qualifications and beyond - It will provide flexible Entry Level and Level 1 learning programmes for young people

• All local authorities are required to provide some Foundation Learning to 14- to 19-year-olds by September 2010

• Learners on Foundation Learning will work towards up to five accredited qualifications, such as awards for functional skills in English and maths or personal and social development

• By 2013 all young people in England will be required to stay on in education or training until they are 17. By 2015 they must do so until they are 18