On the Job Training: Giving Non-Graduates Their Chance

I’d like to take time out for a moment, to consider one group of people, who need opportunities the most: the Non-Graduates. While this project is focussed on young people in higher education: who will have the means and influence to create opportunities for others; it has been pointed out to me, that there are plenty of young people who are smart and talented, but whose families could not afford to send them to college or university. Add to this the rising cost of tuition fees, the massive overheads of student accommodation and food, and we see that higher education is becoming increasingly off limits, to all but all but a privileged few.

The all too familiar scene I see around me now, is that people have to keep their heads down just to pay their bills. Between long hours, low wages, and responsibilities to family and home, there is very little time or resources left to study for full time education. The result is, that while there are some employees who are overqualified for the jobs they have; there are also those who are underqualified, because they have learned through experience on the job, new skills for which they may receive a grade.

Some solutions like home learning, have been tried to good effect, and I myself am lucky to have had one qualification through an out-of-hours diploma. But again, these cost time and money. For those in full time work: especially the Non-Graduates, who may not have the option of full time study, there is I think, a more practical solution.

A number of years ago, there was a very interesting role that I applied for. The government had responded to a damning report by an international survey, about the relative skill levels of each nation’s workforce. Britain was ranked lowest in the survey; but this, as government ministers argued, was unfair, because a lot of skilled employees were working to a level they had not been graded for.

So a scheme was introduced, to appoint special assessors, to find talented young people, who could be given on-the-job training. It was an exciting idea: after all, there are plenty of young employees who are learning on the job through experience, and it would be interesting to see how many deserved to be given qualifications on what they had learned.  Sadly, I didn’t get the job, but it showed me how important it is, to discover hidden talent. So here’s how it could work.

The government could create a scheme, where special referrals can be made, by employers, teachers, and parents; for on-the-job assessments: similar to past schemes, but this time for employees within all professions. I earned a QCF (formally NVQ) in Customer Service this way, so it can certainly be done. Once a Formal Recommendation is made, an assessor could be appointed, to check the candidate’s progress. The assessor would determine what grades the candidate would qualify for; and if the candidate needs to sit an exam, what further training or preparation is needed for this. The candidate would then receive the grade(s) from the assessor, or be referred to sit the relevant exam.

This kind of assessment has been used in the past, but I argue that it should now be made universal: if an employee’s line manager, or a student’s teacher can see that he or she possesses an ungraded skill, then a candidate in any profession should be referred for assessment.  

What this will do, is to reveal a wealth of hidden talent, right across our workforce. It will allow talented employees to rise in their profession, and help them overcome the frustration of feeling held down or held back, because they will be given new opportunities for career advancement. For Non-Graduates especially, it will allow access to on-the-job qualifications, that will reflect their true ability, and overcome a great many social disadvantages they have had to endure. On-the-job training may seem a poor substitute for higher education, but I believe that it is a practical way to nurture the talent of Non-Graduates, and to give them the break they deserve.