NCFE welcomes Government incentives to get young people into work
06 October 2009
NCFE has backed Government plans to incentivise young people into finding work, as the national qualification provider's Get Set for Work campaign grows increasingly popular.
Further Education Minister Kevin Brennan recently announced that young people in England may be offered financial incentives to take college courses that are more likely to lead to jobs following claims that some courses fail to adequately prepare students for the workplace.
David Grailey, chief executive at NCFE said: "Unemployment among young people is set to reach over one million just this year, so attempts to ensure that more young people are qualified and able to land good jobs that will support our economy are very welcome indeed.
"There have been claims that some of the ‘softer' courses offered by colleges mislead young people and are oversubscribed when compared with the number of jobs actually available in those sectors. NCFE launched Get Set for Work in response to a growing need for courses that offer students training and skills that will make them more attractive to potential employers.
"NCFE's employability skills courses, for example, can be studied either separately or alongside other subjects. The courses work to ensure that young people leave education fully equipped with the vital key skills needed to enter, and survive in, the workplace."
Get Set for Work provides courses in employability skills, covering interview techniques, time management, working with colleagues as well as other modules. All courses provide the skills and support to follow pathways into key growth areas such as health, public services and care, leisure travel and tourism and retail and commercial enterprise.
Grailey added: "In the current conditions, finding employment is always going to be tough, however by investing in young people's futures now will ensure that they can secure sustainable jobs with good career prospects and develop the skills that are needed to help re-build our economy."
