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Chapter Thirteen Links between part-time employment and other vocational experiences; and the certification of 'out of school' experiences

13.1 In this chapter we have drawn together the evidence on the links between part-time employment and vocational experiences, such as work experience, self-employment, vocational pathways and enterprise in education inputs. The sources for this are the focus studies, the Scottish Councils Education Industry Network ( SCEIN) data, and the pupil survey. We have also included information from the SCEIN study on current approaches to certificating 'out of school' experiences: this section provides a link into the following two chapters on the policy and practice of recognising pupils' part-time employment in their schooling.

13.2 Brief details of the scope and approach of each of these elements of the research can be found in chapter 2, and the full text of the individual reports on the focus studies and the SCEIN survey can be accessed in Appendices 6 and 10.

Work experience

13.3 Work experience is typically a week's unpaid experience in a work place, organised by the school, either using its own contacts or a local authority or Careers Scotland database of employers, or through the school and authority for placements identified by pupils themselves or by their family, friends or neighbours. Work experience normally takes place in the last weeks of S3 or in S4, and some pupils may subsequently have one or more further placement. The work experience opportunity is likely to be linked into a job title, such as janitorial assistant or child care assistant, and health and safety risk assessments are conducted prior to placement. Work experience has been developing over a number of years, and is likely to have a structured briefing and debriefing: large numbers of pupils have also been presented for accreditation for work experience. Further developments on producing guidelines on work experience were part of Determined to Succeed recommendations (Scottish Executive, 2002a) and guidelines on work experience from Learning and Teaching Scotland have been recently made available (Learning and Teaching Scotland, 2006).

13.4 Work experience, therefore, may provide a model for how a vocational experience may be recognised and supported, and the next section relates some of the evidence about its scope and nature, and its relationship with part-time employment. In the following two chapters we discuss work experience in more detail in the context of accreditation of vocational experiences.

13.5 It is relevant to consider the position of work experience as this demonstrates how schools handle and use an employer-based educational experience. As will become clear, it appears that there is a developing relationship between part-time employment and school work experience, with the latter very much in a state of flux. Here we draw on data firstly from the study of SCEIN members - one from each Scottish local authority - and from the pupil survey.

The extent of work experience in Scotland

13.6 Thirteen of the SCEIN respondents indicated that their local authority was aiming for 100% of pupils having one work experience placement (two qualified this by saying that 100% of pupils would have this over a period of S3 to S5 with all others expecting this to be done at the end of S3 or during S4, ie during compulsory education). Another seventeen of the SCEIN respondents recognised that their local authority was not reaching 100% but that the vast majority of pupils (around 80%) took part in work experience. Where an authority was not achieving its target of 100% this was because: parents would not agree to the placement; the placements available did not match the vocational aspirations of pupils; or pupils were excluded from school. A very small minority had moved from aiming for 100% coverage to targeting pupils who might find it useful. In these cases it was available to those who were thought to be most disadvantaged, were aiming for direct entry to the labour market, or needed the experience for entry to HE courses or to professions.

13.7 From the survey of pupils, we can see that just under three quarters of S4 pupils had had work experience, with just over a quarter not (although it was possible, since the survey took place during S4, that this was still to happen for some). S3 pupils were not asked about work experience since it was too early in their school experience for this to have been provided.

Table 13.1: Frequency of work experience by school stage

13.8 By S6 the percentage of pupils not having work experience had dropped to 15%, with more than one placement being provided for another 15%.

13.9 Males were more likely than females to have never had work experience (males 25%; females 19% - Table 13.2).

Table 13.2: Frequency of work experience by gender

Challenges and changes in work experience

13.10 The statements made by SCEIN members implied that work experience was still thought of as a universal ideal for school pupils in compulsory schooling, and the figures from the pupils' survey confirm that work experience was accessed by the great majority of pupils. But it seemed that a radical examination of the value of work experience was taking place. According to SCEIN respondents, a number of factors and perceptions were driving this re-examination of work experience:

• The place of work experience in schooling was thought to have been strengthened in many areas by its ability to contribute, through the certification of the experience, to attainment targets. However, difficulties with certification had been increasing, thus undermining the place of work experience in the curriculum.
• Many noted an increase in 'self-found' placements, and this was taking the allocation of placements out of school control. (One authority noted that in a particular school 'self-found' placements were now in excess of 70% of placements.) It was suggested that there was an equity issue here as pro-active parents and families used their contacts or encouragement to secure 'good' placements for their children. Some authorities, observing this happening, were keen to target work experience placements on those children whose parents were not in a position to be influential on their behalf.
• There was increasing tension between what were seen as varying purposes of work experience. Was it still about 'gaining an understanding of the working world' regardless of whether it was in an occupational area that interested pupils? And if so, was it of any value when pupils already had had part-time jobs, in some ways seen as giving a more accurate reflection of the demands of the working world? If it was to give pupils a 'taster' in an area of vocational interest, then placements were not seen to be sufficiently varied to match the aspirations of pupils.
• Following on from this point, many authorities were keen to move to 'bespoke' placements targeted on individuals needing the experience to move into particular HE courses or professional training, or those with specific needs, for example excluded or disruptive pupils, those with additional support needs or those expecting to enter the labour market straight from school (especially from S4 or from the leaving date in the middle of S5).

13.11 These issues are particularly relevant to this research as the targeting of work experience was seen by many authority representatives only to be practicable since many pupils had already had paid part-time employment. It is also interesting to see the 'equity and fairness' issue (which we note elsewhere as of considerable concern for school and local authority staff and pupils considering the use of part-time employment in schooling), also being raised about work experience (particularly with respect to self-found placements).

13.12 School staff also referred to a number of these issues, as we will now see when we compare part-time employment and work experience.

Part-time work and work experience

13.13 In considering the relationship between part-time work and work experience we draw on evidence from the pupil survey, from the SCEIN study, from the school staff in focus studies and from employers.

How many pupils had had neither work experience nor a part-time job?

13.14 We now focus on the extent of pupils' involvement in work experience and/or part-time work drawing on data from the national pupils' survey. We omit the S3 group since although some would have had part-time employment, most would not have had the opportunity to do work experience. Table 13.3 shows the extent to which S4 - S6 pupils had only work experience, only part-time work, combined the two experiences or had neither. For over a quarter of S4-S6 pupils, their experience of the working world was solely through work experience (27%) while for a smaller proportion (13%), their experience was through part-time employment alone. Just over half of the S4-S6 group had been on work experience as well as having a part-time job (51%). Just under 10% had no experience of work through either work experience or part-time employment. A lower proportion of young men combined work experience and part-time work than did their female counterparts (46% vs 57% table 13.3). However, they were slightly more likely to have been involved solely in work experience (29% vs 24%, table 13.3). Table 13.4 shows pupils' participation in work experience and part-time employment over the school years. The biggest change across the years is the increase, especially between S5 and S6, in the proportion who had experienced both part-time work and work experience.

13.15 Tables 13.3 and 13.4 illustrate the extent to which pupils' experience of work is not confined to their work experience placements. This has implications for the organisation, planning and delivery of work experience. However, the tables also show that more than a quarter of pupils relied on work experience for their exposure to the working world, and, at the S4 and S5 stage the proportion of pupils who did so was higher. Young men were slightly more reliant on work experience than were young women. While it is necessary to take account of the fact that a significant number of pupils who go on work experience also have had part-time employment, it is also important not to lose sight of the group who rely on work experience for their insight into the working world. There was also a small minority of pupils who had no involvement in either work experience or part-time employment especially at the S4 stage. While the proportion of pupils concerned is small, nevertheless it is notable there were a group of pupils who did not experience the working world through either type of opportunity.

Table 13.3: S4, S5 and S6 pupils: extent of work experience and part-time work

Table 13.4: S4, S5 and S6 pupils: extent of work experience and part-time work, by stage

What were the views of school staff on the relationship between work experience and part-time employment?

13.16 The general pattern of responses from e nterprise in education specialist staff in the eight schools in our focus study suggests little or no interplay between work experience and part-time employment. When asked about the impact of part-time work on work experience one interviewee stated:

'It doesn't…everyone in 4 ^th year gets a work placement whether they've got part-time work or not.'

13.17 Work experience and part-time work were generally seen to be different in purpose and content:

'Work experience is more related to a future desire or at least an experience, it's something they thought they might like, very often the value of work experience is that it teaches them that it's not something they want to do with their lives, it's more focused more directed to what they want to do in their careers, whereas the part-time jobs I'm aware of it's a way of earning money but there may be by-products.'

13.18 There were mixed views from Headteachers on the current value of work experience: at one end of the scales was the argument that work experience had in the past been effective, but at the present time was ineffective and a poor use of time since the quality of placements was thought to have dropped over time. Others were much more positive:

'I think work experience is a terrific thing. The enthusiasm is clear and the work experience helps them to put the school work into perspective… there's the slant that's put on the work experience by the lead up in class and the debrief afterwards.'

13.19 The same spread of opinion was apparent in Headteachers' comparisons of what they felt pupils gained from work experience compared with part-time work:

'If you're out working part-time you tend to see a snapshot of the organisation for those few hours you are working there, whereas if you go for a full five days they see a whole week's activity across the business and they are more liable to come across difficult situations, difficult customers, problem solving issues. In a part-time situation they are less likely to use their own initiative.'

'We used to have a very comprehensive work experience programme … a perfect solution would be to have genuine work, I think when you start to create false working conditions, going and kid-on you're working in the x [fast food outlet] it's no good, because a lot of the benefit of mixing school and work is the genuineness, it's the reality of the situation. To put them in false situations where they are exchanging fake goods and toy money doesn't really give them the experience, they can do that in the class.'

13.20 To recognise part-time work would, several Headteachers thought, have some impact on work experience: perhaps those with part-time work would not need access to work experience, thus freeing up placements for others.

13.21 SCEIN respondents raised similar issues. Some respondents suggested that it would be easier to certificate unpaid as opposed to paid experiences. Their view was that the Intermediate 2 Work Experience unit required pupils to negotiate the work they did in the work place, and while that could happen in work experience it was unlikely to happen in part-time work where, they thought, young people just 'have to do what they are told or they don't get paid'. (There is, however, a question about the extent to which, in reality, pupils on work experience might have sufficient confidence to negotiate tasks, or the extent to which work experience employers would expect this to happen). On this basis, if being able to negotiate tasks was important, then work experience might, they thought, be considered more amenable to recognition than part-time work. But if the focus were to be on skill and attitude development (eg responsibility, work discipline) then it was suggested that part-time work might provide more material for recognition. The same issue was noted with regard to voluntary work: it was thought to be more flexible and capable of being driven by the pupil, with the potential for demonstrating development of target-setting and negotiation skills.

13.22 Some suggested that the order in which young people had work experience and part-time employment was important:

'it's [ie work experience] a more powerful experience if it precedes part-time employment for pupils.'

13.23 However, for the 48% of S3 pupils who had already had a part-time job by the time of our pupil survey, work experience would not be the first experience of the workplace.

13.24 Lastly, many SCEIN respondents wondered whether young people might be increasingly more likely to want a vocationally relevant placement from their work experience if they were already getting basic knowledge of the world of work from part-time work. The overall balance and relationship seemed to be of key importance. Might increasing acknowledgement or recognition of pupils' part-time work undermine the principle of 'work experience for all', or could the experience be made complementary?

What were the views of employers on the relationship between work experience and part-time employment?

13.25 The study of 42 employers of school pupils showed that 17 of those did also offer work experience placements, of whom just over half were involved in providing feedback to the school on the performance of pupils on work experience. Nine of those employers had also employed the same pupils in their business as had been on work experience.

13.26 The majority of employers suggested that part-time employment was of more value to pupils than work experience in the context of future employment (Table 12.6). Reasons given for this were that young people had found the job for themselves, that the experience was for a longer period, provided a broader range of experiences and a more accurate view of the workplace:

'part-time gives you the full picture.'

'part-time work is more real.'

13.27 Those employers defined as 'miscellaneous' (which includes employment such as pupils working in care homes, leisure facilities and jobs involving mechanical skills such as bike maintenance) were more likely to be positive about work experience than other employers. This was because work experience was seen to provide access to a wider range of opportunities than part-time work.

Table 13.6: Value of part-time work and work experience (positive responses)

Vocational pathways and development of a more flexible curriculum

13.28 Over recent years schools and authorities have been encouraged to make the curriculum more flexible, as a result of which a range of vocationally related opportunities had been developing in secondary schools in Scotland, many of them linked to local colleges (Scottish Executive, 2005). Since an aim of this research was to consider ways in which part-time work could be linked into schooling, the relationship between part-time employment and these new developments formed part of the discussions with SCEIN members.

13.29 Vocational pathways had been developing in S3/S4 in order to provide young people with a vocational experience which included a workplace (or simulated workplace) element. SCEIN respondents were asked about the stage of development of vocational pathways in their locality, the sectors involved and the potential for links with school pupils' part-time employment.

13.30 At the time of this research, vocational pathways were at very differing stages of development in authorities. Around a third could be classified as well developed with a range of industry sector provision, with the remainder at differing stages from pilot to limited range. Target groups were varied: some had replaced one or more 'S' grades with opportunities which included vocational pathways; the majority of authorities were targeting particular pupil groups (for example those for whom a particular 'S' grade seemed unsuitable; those who were challenging or disaffected; S5 Christmas leavers; or those studying 'S' grade at general level who might be encouraged to remain in full time FE).

13.31 Not all SCEIN respondents were familiar with the development of vocational pathways in their authorities, but from those that were, industry sectors covered by these pathways (which typically included work towards Scottish Progression Awards - SPAs; or other SQA national units) were:

• Construction (28)
• Hairdressing (15)
• Hospitality (10)
• Care (9)
• Sport and leisure (8)
• Land-based (8)
• Admin (7)
• Motor vehicle (5)
• Engineering (4)
• Retail (2)
• Tourism (2)
• Call centre (2)

13.32 Industry sectors are listed above to allow comparisons with the types of part-time work that the pupil survey has identified. Few respondents had considered that part-time work might provide a work context for vocational pathways, and when asked, only a minority saw it as a possible development, with hairdressing being the sector most likely to be noted as a possibility. One reason for this was that they tended to expect pupils to be working in retail and hairdressing rather than in opportunities that might match to the vocational pathways.

13.33 Respondents were asked how the sectors were chosen for development. The most commonly reported approach was to start by making use of spare capacity in the local FE college. This approach impacts on the range of pathways as some sectors, most significantly retail (a key player in the employment of school pupils), deliver off the job training through companies or commercial training providers, and some respondents questioned whether parents would accept the value of training provided in such settings compared with that available in FE. (It is likely that this comment also reflects the views of many school and authority staff, given historical scepticism about work-based training routes compared with academic ones). A small number of authorities noted that their initial sector targets had been based on labour market information and skill shortages, though that had also been constrained by the availability of FE provision. Localities where there was no FE provision had had to be much more flexible, making use of what available provision there was, and locating much of the vocational learning on adapted school premises.

13.34 It was not the purpose of this survey to gather detail on vocational pathways, as the focus was on possible links to part-time employment, but it was clear that there were a large number of developments taking place, not just in the S3/S4 curriculum, but also at S5 and S6 (for example, the introduction of Higher National Certificates ( HNCs) in some specialist areas for senior pupils). All these developments had the potential to link to pupils' part-time employment; indeed without this it could give rise to the bizarre situation (a small number of respondents suggested) where schools and authorities were struggling to locate work-based learning opportunities for young people who were already employed in the part-time pupils' labour market.

13.35 The most obvious route, it was suggested, was for a direct sector link between part-time work and vocational learning opportunity (for example, hairdressing to hairdressing). However, a few respondents commented that part-time work might contribute to the generic employability element of Scottish Progression Awards ( SPAs), thus doing away with the need for a direct vocational match.

13.36 We asked how important the direct vocational match might be? From a labour market perspective, there was an incentive for young people who were making good progress to continue along a particular vocational pathway and into full time work in the same vocational area since the level 2 Vocational Qualification could not be awarded to them until they were actually in employment. There was also an incentive for the employer to take these young people on as full time workers since financial payments became available very quickly to a company once an employee achieved the level 2 award. Such clear articulation between school pupils' achievements in vocational pathways and post-school opportunities in FE and the labour market was obviously extremely important for those young people who had clearly chosen their career direction and who have been carefully advised and supported. But it was potentially very narrowing for others (probably the majority) who were less clear or committed to a single route, chosen at the end of S2. Only one SCEIN respondent noted that the careers adviser was involved throughout with those young people on vocational pathways (but this issue did not emerge until more than halfway through the research interviews, so not all respondents were asked about it). If part-time work could be tied in to vocational pathways, would this also have a narrowing effect? Perhaps most pupils saw part-time work as instrumental (in a very broad sense) rather than as linking them on to a specific vocational route, it was suggested.

13.37 At the time of the research, the retail sector seemed not to be involved to any great extent in vocational pathways, but it was a sector which provided a significant amount of pupils' part-time jobs. If recognition of part-time work was to be tied into vocational pathways, then there was recognition that retail pathways would need to be developed. There were recognised difficulties involved in getting retail sector standard training - much current training was employer-specific rather than industry specific. Given that retail work-based training was now rarely done in FE, perhaps private training providers (sometimes regarded with suspicion by educationalists) might provide a more generic training environment for vocational pathways in retail? SCEIN respondents were unsure about this issue.

13.38 Given the general concern raised by SCEIN respondents (and also by a range of respondents to this research) we also asked about equity in recruitment to, and selection for, vocational pathways. Who are vocational pathways aimed at? A number of SCEIN respondents noted that both employers and lecturers were 'pleased with the quality of young people' being put forward for the vocational pathways, suggesting that 'better' pupils were being targeted for these opportunities. (This comment was less likely to be made where access to vocational pathways had been targeted at disaffected or disengaged young people, an approach which had been adopted in some areas.) Lecturers were noted, in some cases, as seeing themselves able to 'slot young people in' to full-time courses on leaving school because they were getting a 'consistently better calibre' of young people than many applying to FE previously. Clearly, different approaches were being taken to the allocation of these vocational opportunities in different areas, in itself a further source of inequity.

Self employment

13.39 One aspect of the employment of school pupils was self-employment. From the pupil survey we know that only 2% of pupils were self-employed, a small figure. In order to learn more about this, and to see if pupils' self employment was linked in any way into schooling, we asked SCEIN members to comment.

13.40 The majority (25 of 32) of SCEIN respondents felt unable to comment on the extent of self-employment amongst pupils. Others had anecdotal evidence, but this was based on the exceptional rather than the common experience of pupils. Most of the evidence came from activities arising out of Young Enterprise programmes, with one locality noting that it was a role for school enterprise programmes to help the young person who was a sole trader. The only pattern noticeable was that in some farming communities it was common for a pupil to have their own cow or sheep from which they built up a small business.

13.41 The types of businesses pupils ran ranged from the more informal (babysitting circles, selling home bakery and tablet round doors, employing others to do a paper round, negotiating from a supermarket the right to allocate 'trolley-gathering' work to others) to more structured opportunities such as:

• Being a weekend musician
• Producing craft work for sale at shows
• Bike hire
• Importing a game from the internet and negotiating ownership of the UK franchise
• Selling goods on a personal website
• Growing mushrooms for farmers' markets
• IT consultancy

13.42 Those respondents who gave examples of self-employment amongst pupils were positive about the skills and experiences gained, responding in some cases with a mixture of admiration and astonishment at some of the entrepreneurial approaches used. However another respondent commented that schools generally might not be so positive: 'some schools are so concerned with attainment they are very unlikely to celebrate wee Jimmy having his own business'.

13.43 SCEIN members were unable to identify direct links between self-employment and schooling.

The school as an employer of pupils

13.44 In discussions with SCEIN members it emerged that there were a number of examples of schools employing their own pupils.

13.45 Some schools in some authorities (11 of the 32) were employing their own pupils for specific tasks (and in one case, pupils worked centrally with the authority, providing administrative cover over the holiday periods). These roles included: school cleaner (4); website design (4); admin duties in the school office (5); and support for summer camps, including Enterprise Camps (3). There were also instances of other tasks being paid: work in the school library; dining hall supervision; coaching; mentoring; playground supervision; setting up science experiments for the next day.

13.46 Generally, however, SCEIN members reported some resistance to mentoring roles being paid. This was partly due to a feeling that pupils should contribute to the school community through voluntary support for others, and also to a reported block from the EIS to pupils being paid for any duties that might have been done by a teacher. The situation seemed to be confusing, for example, with some areas expecting pupils to do admin work in the school office as volunteers, and others paying for this work. Nine respondents felt that most of this work should be on a voluntary basis. The remaining respondents were not clear whether schools employed pupils in their area (11) or were clear that this did not happen in their locality (10).

13.47 While the number of young people involved in this was small, it is relevant to this research for two reasons. Firstly, where the school is also the employer, the potential exists to develop approaches to assessing and accrediting the experience. Secondly, as some respondents suggested, this could help with any equity issue by ensuring that disadvantaged young people who did not have a part-time job with another employer were given priority access to these opportunities.

Enterprise in education inputs, apart from work experience

13.48 The final area in which we searched for links between part-time work and schooling was in what we have termed enterprise in education inputs. (We have already discussed work experience: this section considers the other elements). In discussing this we draw on the views of enterprise in education specialist staff in our eight focus group schools, and on the data in the pupil survey about pupils' actual contact with specific enterprise in education experiences.

13.49 We asked the enterprise in education school staff to comment on how part-time work might link to enterprise in education. Most were unable to identify direct links.

13.50 Others noted that it might already be being discussed within some subject teaching, or within PSE/guidance roles. There seemed to be few links to enterprising teaching and learning or to world of work activities. Examples of how these links might be made include: in industry challenge and awareness days; Real Game activities; or in enterprise inputs. In each of these, pupils commonly take on roles, whether in simulated or real-life tasks. It might be possible, for example, to compare the skills used in these experiences with those used in part-time work. There are other examples, but this illustrates the potential. However, making such links, other than in a very general way, had not been considered by our respondents.

13.51 We asked a question in the pupil survey about pupils' involvement with what might be termed the enterprise in education curriculum and we note the results below (excluding work experience).

Table 13.7: Education in Enterprise inputs

Table 13.8: Education in Enterprise inputs

13.52 Looking at those enterprise in education inputs which might reflect 'enterprise education' it appears that around two fifths of pupils said they had discussed running a business, while just under a half noted they had taken part in an enterprise project/challenge day. More S3 and S6 pupils than S4/5 recalled having these experiences, which for S3 is likely to reflect the use of Schools Enterprise Programme packages in primary and lower secondary schools over the last few years and for S6 the Young Enterprise programme. More S3 pupils noted they had discussed the links between school subjects and business/industry than other age groups, but this is likely to be due to the proximity of S3 pupils to the S2/S3 subject choice programme which is likely to cover these issues. Beyond that, the differences across year groups show that the numbers experiencing enterprise in education inputs increased as pupils moved up the school.

Models of certificating vocational or 'out of school' experiences

13.53 In the final section of this chapter we look at how vocational and other 'out of school' experiences are certificated in order to identify models that might be applied to pupils' part-time employment. This section can be seen as a link into the following two chapters which consider the policy and practice of recognising part-time employment in schooling.

13.54 One section of our discussions with SCEIN respondents examined any existing models of recognition that might also be appropriate for recognition of part-time employment. Respondents noted a range of possibilities, though they also commented that they were not fully aware of all possible approaches. A summary of these discussions now follows, but a fuller review would be required as part of any future feasibility study.

13.55 Work experience and voluntary work were the examples most commonly given of the recognition of pupils' 'out of school' experiences. In addition, vocational pathways, existing certification and provision designed to provide extra support targeted on particularly needy young people and the development of local certificates were also suggested as possible approaches to formal recognition of pupils' part-time employment.

The certification of work experience

13.56 We asked SCEIN respondents about the position (at the time of the research) with regard to certification of work experience. Across Scotland the general picture was of a reduction in the certification of work experience, although a number of the total of 32 authorities were still aiming for close to 100% certification. Most of those (10) were certificating work experience at Intermediate 1. Some were aiming for Intermediate 2 (5) but this was for at most 50% of the year group. Beyond this certification was limited or non-existent (11). This included: certification only for those doing Social and Vocational Studies; the use of the ASDAN award; the use of work experience to provide evidence of core skills, particularly 'working with others'; and certification at Access 3. It also included two authorities where a positive decision had been taken not to seek accreditation because the quality of the experience was seen as being the most important gain. Six authority representatives were not sure about the extent of certification in their area.

13.57 The most commonly raised issue was a lack of clarity about SQA requirements for certification, with some authorities apparently being given different advice from SQA compared with others. On the one hand, accreditation at Access level created no organisational difficulties but this level of qualification was thought not to be valued by able pupils (particularly those aiming for higher education), by parents or by school senior managers. There was thought to be a lack of clarity, for example, about the number of hours required for Intermediate 1 and 2, what level of qualification could be gained by pupils who had used an authority or Careers Scotland database rather than finding their own work experience placement, and the extent to which pupils had to negotiate their own tasks with the work experience employer in order to get higher levels of certification.

13.58 Accreditation of work experience was thought to be more important for some pupils than others. Those with otherwise low attainment were thought to be a priority for certification; but on the other hand pupils who would benefit most from having an Intermediate 2 award were not thought to have the personal resources to get their own placement. One respondent noted that some pupils were asked to do extra placements in their school holidays to raise the number of working hours in order to get an Intermediate 2 award: it was important that they found their own placements, but since pupils had been told these had to be related to vocational goals it was not possible to use any part-time employment unless it related to their vocational aspirations.

The certification of voluntary work

13.59 Formal recognition of pupils' voluntary work came from the SQA in only a small minority of situations. Three authority representatives noted the use in some of their schools of SAD, VAD or PAD units to recognise voluntary work. Five noted some use of undefined certification which was seen as the equivalent of the old 'Community Involvement' module whereby 'the SQA gave a set of criteria and a named assessor in the workplace ticked boxes to confirm the criteria had been met'. In addition to this there would be, presumably, some kind of internal or external moderation/verification. However, there was much greater use of other types of recognition:

• 16 authorities noted some use of the ASDAN award to recognise voluntary work, and two said this was being introduced. This required young people to provide evidence of having met their negotiated 'challenges', and the number of hours completed would be signed off.
• 18 authorities noted that community work was recognised as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. This was not difficult to do, it was suggested, as the standards were clear and agreed by everyone. A log book signed by the person with whom the young person was working was considered sufficient evidence.
• The Princes Trust, or Princes Trust XL, was noted by 9 respondents as being delivered in their area, and using unpaid community work as part of the experience.

13.60 School level certification of voluntary or community work, through achiever awards or citizenship certificates, were noted by almost all respondents. Some noted that this was only certificated if the voluntary work was part of the school curriculum, and raised the issue of who accredited voluntary work undertaken outwith the school curriculum? This had been addressed in one area where development funding had been made available to ensure that all young people leaving school should have gained a certificate from their volunteering, accredited by the local Volunteer Development Centre.

13.61 Although a small number questioned the desirability of this happening, when asked if these approaches could be used to recognise part-time work most SCEIN respondents thought this would be possible.

Linking to vocational pathways for certification

13.62 Another approach, SCEIN respondents suggested, would be to use pupils' part-time employment within vocational pathways, perhaps to cover the work for a half or a full module from the group of modules. This could also be done by using an SQA-accredited employer of part-time school pupils to provide evidence for a Scottish Progression Award ( SPA). Or a hairdressing employer, for example, could be paid to close the salon for half a day to do accredited training as part of a hairdressing vocational pathway. Another idea was that part-time work might be used as part of an SPA in Employability Skills.

Harnessing existing approaches designed for young people with support needs

13.63 In most SCEIN areas there were examples of provision targeted at young people with different kinds of support needs. Some of those might be possible ways of providing some formal recognition of part-time employment. These included: Access 3 Work Experience which did not need moderation; Preparation for Independent Living Unit 1 or 2; ASDAN awards which could include part-time work as part of Learning for Work initiatives; an ENABLE initiative which employed young people without special needs to do a part-time job alongside a young person with additional support needs; Princes Trust XL award; Bridges to Work programmes in special education. Using part-time work in schooling would link well to authorities' work to engage disaffected young people. The Bridges to Employment package being introduced for all young people in one area was another possibility.

Locally produced certificates

13.64 A further possibility, SCEIN respondents suggested, was to extend local certificates or recording systems to include part-time work. One authority, for example, was planning a Determined to Succeed Award Scheme for young people doing voluntary work or citizenship activities, and this could be extended to include part-time work. Another had a Local Leavers' Statement of Achievement in which young people might be encouraged to include part-time work. A third had a local certificate for Enterprise and Citizenship in which part-time work could have a logical place.

Overview

13.65 The discussion of the interplay between work experience and part-time employment has raised a number of questions and issues. Work experience and part-time employment can each be seen as a 'majority experience'. Moreover, just over half of S4 to S6 pupils had both experiences: this suggests that various aspects of the planning of work experience needs to reflect this in order that learning from vocational experiences can be maximised and that these learning experience can be complementary and, if possible, progressive. Those pupils who had only done work experience might be likely to be more reliant on it to provide an insight into the working world, and briefing and debriefing might need a differentiated approach for this group. There was also a minority (9%) of pupils who had had neither work experience nor part-time employment. How much does this matter? Where are these pupils gaining an understanding of the working world, and what role can enterprise in education play for this group?

13.66 It seems that work experience and part-time work are seen to serve different purposes. Opinion varied as to which was 'best'. On the one hand, work experience was seen to have a more varied range of opportunities. This view is supported by data from Careers Scotland work experience databases which suggests a quite different balance of 'job' opportunities and of employers than in part-time work. (Public sector providers and major utilities and financial services employers play a key role in work experience, and can ensure access to more opportunities in care and educational roles, in leisure, sport and recreation and in office and technical roles than can part-time work). On the other hand, part-time work is seen to be more 'real' and provide a picture of work across the year. (For more detail on the quality and 'demandingness' of part-time work, see chapters 9 and 10 of this report.)

13.67 To what extent are these experiences complementary, and to what extent repetitive? And should vocational experiences which are within the power of the school to allocate be targeted on those in greatest need, or needing to try out a career idea, or those who are not otherwise involved in the labour market?

13.68 Although not all respondents had direct dealings with vocational pathways, those who did noted little evidence of pupils on these programmes being asked if they had any part-time work. The potential to make use of the experience (whether through a direct link eg a hairdressing pathway linked with a hairdressing Saturday job; or through a more generic link into the employability element of SPAs or of HNC units) had just not been considered at that point.

13.69 There were few links apparent between part-time work and enterprise in education inputs. Pupils' involvement in the elements of this curriculum varied by stage, with involvement increasing for most elements from S3 to S6.

13.70 SCEIN respondents were able to note a number of existing approaches to certificating pupils' vocational or 'out of school' experiences. These included the use of: existing work experience modules; certificates and modules used for voluntary work; vocational pathways certification; programmes and certificates for young people with support needs; and locally produced certificates of achievement. The full list of certificates and approaches to recognition noted by SCEIN respondents is attached to Appendix 11, but this list represents those approaches known to the informants, and do not replace the need for a full feasibility study.

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