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Following reports that Michael Gove wants to replace GCSEs with O-level style exams, we had this to say.

A Pearson spokesperson said:

“We look forward to seeing further details of the proposals discussed by the Secretary of State today.

“We have repeatedly stated our commitment to working with Government to build a resilient examinations system which upholds high standards and has the confidence of the public. This is in the best interests of the hundreds of thousands of pupils who sit examinations in the UK each year.

“It is right that the education system is challenged to reach for the standards achieved by our peers globally. We can and should be ambitious for all children and we support a system which delivers that.

“We would have serious reservations about any approach which sets lower expectations for some at the age of 14. A new approach needs careful consideration to ensure it encourages high aspirations and expectations across the board, and doesn’t lower our ambitions for some students.”

In a CBI/Pearson survey of 542 companies employing around 1.6 million people, 61% say school and college leavers don’t have enough self-management skills.

The number of employers who are dissatisfied with school and college leavers’ basic skills remains stuck at around a third – the same as a decade ago(1) – with 42% reporting that they have had to provide remedial training for school and college leavers.

The persistence of this finding suggests that there are structural issues within our schools that need to be addressed if we are to ensure every young person gets a good start in life. The CBI has recently launched a major project designed to address this issue.

The survey also finds that as the UK competes ever more for business and talent in global markets, employers are looking to up-skill their workforces. Over the next three to five years, employers expect to need more people with leadership and management skills (a balance of +67%) and other higher skills (+61%), whereas for lower-skilled workers, they expect to slightly cut numbers (-3%).

While half of employers (a balance of +51%) are confident that they will fill their low-skilled vacancies, they are not confident of meeting their need for higher-skilled employees (-15%).

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said:

“The UK’s growth will depend on developing a wider and deeper pool of skills so that our economy can prosper in the face of fierce international competition for business.

“There is nothing more important to the future economic success of our country, and the lives of young people, than education.

“The foundations for the development of higher-level skills and the essentials for working life, that employers require, are laid at school.

“With the right start at school our young people can go on to have successful and fulfilling careers and have a strong base from which to learn more at college, university, or in the workplace.

“But levels of educational attainment are rising fast in many leading and emerging economies, so in the UK we must ensure that our education and skills system can continue to compete at the cutting edge.”

Rod Bristow, UK President of Pearson said:

“The connection between education and the world of work is critically important. Employers and all of us working in education have a big task to address that connection properly. Despite improvements in the past decade, employers want to see an even sharper focus on literacy and numeracy, beginning at primary school. Literacy and numeracy are the basic building blocks that help young people learn other subjects, get on in life and find rewarding work.

“But it’s not just about literacy and numeracy. Even the best-performing nations say the number one issue in education is to better equip school leavers with the broader skills needed for working life, and we are no exception. Employers still find that some young people lack the initiative, problem-solving and communication skills to succeed at work.”

“But this survey should fuel optimism that the best and brightest firms are continuing to invest in education, work with schools and colleges and maintain their own investment in training.”

Importance of school performance underlined by more businesses building links with schools

Employers recognise that they have an important role to play helping students and schools understand what skills are needed for working life. More than a third have increased their engagement with schools in the past year (+39%), while just 7% have reduced it, giving a balance of +32%.

• 57% have links with secondary schools
• 56% with further education colleges
• But only 20% with primary schools

One of the most important roles which half of all employers already carry out is providing careers advice (51%), but it’s clear that more work needs to be done in this area, with 68% saying that the general quality of advice is still not good enough. More than 60% of respondents say they would like to play a greater role in delivering careers advice.

In other areas, more than two thirds of employers (70%) provide work experience to students and around a third of employees (29%) act as governors. The survey found that some of the barriers to stepping up business involvement include insufficient guidance and support on how to make work experience placements worthwhile (26%), and onerous health and safety requirements (22%).

When asked which areas of education they think primary schools should focus on, 61% of employers said numeracy, 58% writing, 45% reading, and 42% said communication skills. For secondary schools, employers say the main focus should be on developing broader skills for working life:

• Employability skills – 71%
• Literacy – 50%
• Numeracy - 45%

But, the survey finds that no one current qualification addresses the combination of literacy, numeracy and employability requirements effectively. While employers think that for numeracy, GCSE maths is the best qualification, they say that vocational qualifications best equip young people with the broader employability skills.

Big growth in employer interest in ‘learn-while-you-earn’ approach

One in five jobs (20%) requires graduate-level skills, particularly in professional services (70%). But most employers (63%) expect increases in tuition fees to change the market for graduate-level skills, with 30% expecting to receive fewer graduate applications in the future. As a result, more than a third of firms (38%) expect to expand their recruitment of school leavers and / or apprentices with A-levels to provide an alternative to graduate-level training. Among the largest employers, with more than 5,000 staff, this figure rises to 68%.

John Cridland said:

“With extra pressure on student budgets from changes to tuition fees, more employers are stepping in to offer a range of innovative ‘learn while you earn’ routes to higher-level skills.”

Employers have increased apprenticeship places and maintained their spending on training

Since the start of the Education & Skills survey five years ago, the number of businesses involved in apprenticeships has grown rapidly from 48% to 63% this year. More than half of employers (58%) say that they intend to expand their current apprenticeship programmes or plan to start providing apprenticeship places in the next three years. This is particularly encouraging in view of the end of government funding for programme-led apprenticeships and the need for all apprentices in the future to be sponsored by an employer.

Small and medium-sized companies are still a relatively untapped market for apprenticeships. While 89% of organisations with over 5,000 staff are providing apprenticeships in 2012, this figure falls to 22% for firms with under 50 employees.

In terms of action required to get more employers involved in apprenticeships, respondents highlighted the following:

• Qualification programmes that are more relevant to business needs – 46%
• Government support for firms to train more apprentices than they need – 37%
• Greater flexibility for employers to design bespoke frameworks – 36%
• More suitably qualified and motivated young people applying – 34%
• Reductions in bureaucracy – 28%, rising to 57% for larger firms

In November, the Government announced measures to reduce the amount of red tape around apprenticeships, but so far only 6% of employers say they have experienced a change.

In the face of challenging economic conditions, the vast majority of employers (81%) plan to maintain or increase their spending on training over the coming year, but there are major differences between sectors. A balance of +17% of manufacturers say they are planning to increase spending, while -36% of public sector employers plan reductions. Two thirds of employers (67%) report that they intend to seek more cost effective ways of delivering training in the next year.

John Cridland said:

“Even in the difficult economic climate, business leaders recognise the importance of training and skills to their success and are investing now for the future.

“It’s great news that apprenticeships are on the increase, but the system must be simplified to make it easier, especially for small and medium-sized firms to be involved. The Government has set out promising plans to cut red tape for apprenticeships, but we now we need to see urgent delivery on the ground.”

Businesses need strong STEM skills to compete for growth

Recruiting staff with strong science, technology engineering and maths (STEM) skills will help underpin the UK’ ability to compete and achieve growth in many major sectors like manufacturing, construction and engineering. People with STEM skills are recruited at every level from apprenticeship entry (43%), technicians (40%) and graduates (53%). But 42% of firms struggle to find the STEM talent they require.

Businesses are well aware of the need to take steps to grow the talent pool of STEM skills, with 64% taking some action to encourage young people to pursue STEM subjects. 42% of organisations provide high-quality work placements, 39% engage with schools to encourage pupils to study STEM subjects and 35% provide STEM apprenticeships. More than two-thirds of employers (68%) think the Government can help future shortages by better promoting science and maths in schools, especially post-16.

Languages will help open up new markets to UK companies

Operating effectively in a global economy relies on the right language skills, but the UK has the worst language proficiency in Europe, according to the Education & Employer Taskforce. An overwhelming 72% of businesses say they value foreign language skills, most importantly for building relations with overseas contacts (39%). The major European languages continue to be the most in demand, but language skills geared towards doing business in China and the Middle East feature prominently:

• German – 50%
• French – 49%
• Spanish – 37%
• Mandarin – 25%
• Polish 19%
• Arabic – 19%

John Cridland said:

“Rebalancing our economy will mean tapping into high-growth markets in places like Asia and Latin America, so companies will need people with the relevant language skills to do business in these countries.”

Notes on this story

(1)- 35% are dissatisfied with school and college leavers’ literacy skills and 30% with their levels or numeracy. These figures are broadly unchanged from 2003 when CBI data showed that 34% were unhappy with the basic skills of school leavers.

The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce. With offices across the UK as well as representation in Brussels, Washington, Beijing and Delhi the CBI communicates the British business voice around the world.

Professor Sir David Melville CBE has been appointed as chairman of the Pearson Education Ltd board of directors with immediate effect.

A Professor of Physics, David has over 40 years experience of working across the broad span of education to bring to bear on the role. Most recently Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, he has served as Chief Executive of the Further Education Funding Council and Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University. He was a member of the Tomlinson 14-19 Review, the Foundation Degree Task Force and the Foster Review of the Future of Further Education Colleges.

David has been a primary, secondary and academy chair and vice-chair of governors, the Government Thames Gateway Skills Envoy, Chair of Lifelong Learning UK, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the Learning and Skills Council in Kent and Medway, the University Vocational Awards Council and Higher Education South East.

Sir David replaces Martin Cross, who retired at the end of his term this year.

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said:

“I am delighted that David has taken up the role of Chair. He has already made a very strong contribution to the business in his role as a non-executive director and is extremely well qualified to Chair the board.

“We are all very sad to say goodbye to Martin who has done a wonderful job in the role over a number of years. We wish him well in the future.”

Professor Sir David Melville said:

“I am honoured to be taking over the chair of Pearson Education Ltd at a crucial time for qualifications and examinations in this country. I am committed to all forms of educational opportunity and our mission to provide high quality resources and qualifications is central to this endeavour.”

About Professor Sir David Melville CBE

David Melville has over 40 years experience of working in education with involvement in HE, FE and schools. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kent, Chief Executive of the Further Education Funding Council and Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University. Before that he was a lecturer and later professor of physics. He was a member of the Tomlinson 14-19 Review, the Foundation Degree Task Force and the Foster Review of the Future of Further Education Colleges.

He has been a primary, secondary and academy chair/vice-chair of governors, the Government Thames Gateway Skills Envoy, Chair of Lifelong Learning UK, the Higher Education Statistics Agency, the Learning and Skills Council in Kent and Medway, the University Vocational Awards Council and Higher Education South East, and a board member of the ifs School of Finance, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, The Place and the Council for Industry and Higher Education.

He has been on the board of Edexcel/Pearson Education Ltd since 2005, and is currently Chair of the Kent Surrey and Sussex NHS Postgraduate Deanery and a board member of the Network for Black Professionals, K College of FE and London South Bank and Manchester Metropolitan Universities and is a patron of the 157 Group, Comprehensive Future, the Disabled Sailors Association, Faversham Creek Trust, Faversham Festival and the Thames Gateway Young Chamber. He was educated at Sheffield and Columbia Universities.

We’ve published wide-ranging recommendations in a report that sets out the part we hope to play in building confidence in Britain’s examination system.

The report forms part of Pearson’s response to the findings of its “Leading on Standards” consultation which launched in January this year to seek the views of students, teachers, parents, higher education and employers on the future of the examinations system.

The report offers new ways to ensure that the standards debate remains at the centre of education thinking in the UK. Pearson is making a series of commitments for action in support of this, including:

• A five yearly, independent and fundamental Review of Educational Ambition which will ensure the British examination system is fit for purpose;
• Enhanced and accredited training and recognition for Pearson examiners through a strategic partnership with the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors and University of Durham;
• A new generation of A levels which set the bar higher, and encourage deeper learning; 
• Independent validation of skills at age 18 in partnership with employers, higher education and other relevant experts.

The report also recommends that teachers are better supported to assess student progress in their classroom rather than in the exam hall. It argues that focus on quantity of exams with students taking large numbers of GCSE’s should be replaced by a more balanced approach to ensure students are equipped for life through learning experiences which are shaped, valued and accredited by higher education and employers.

The report will be launched this evening at Skinners Academy in North London, with representatives from higher education, employers, teachers, parents and students taking part in a panel debate on exams and education.

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said:

“Setting educational expectations high – both for students and those of us who seek to support their learning - is fundamental to getting standards right. Our aspirations and actions need to help build a culture of ambition in British education, shifting mind sets from meeting to exceeding expectations.

“Through these actions and others, we want to work with partners across education to help re-instil confidence in the British examination system, and ensure that the knowledge children acquire during their time at school truly endures and serves them throughout their lives.

“We are making this series of commitments because we know we have an important role and responsibility, but we can't do it alone. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with all those with a role in British education to raise standards and ensure high-quality outcomes.

“Too much focus on exams risks undermining the broader purpose of education. By acting on the commitments outlined in the report we believe we can help to build a system that fosters a culture which emphasises learning more, rather than simply testing more.

“Young people want to be tested in a way that is more appropriate for the world they live in. We need to ensure the education system is dynamic and ready to respond to changing skills and needs. But it’s not enough to look ahead to a fresh start. We need to rebuild confidence in the way examinations are run, where awarding bodies can be trusted to uphold and drive the highest standards.”

1. The Report makes eight commitments. Pearson will:

• commit to fund a Review of Educational Ambition
• seek to build confidence through greater transparency
• recognise and grow the expertise of our examining workforce
• invest to build assessment skills in the classroom
• think beyond exams to encourage more rounded learning 
• create a New Generation of A levels
• exercise our influence as an awarding organisation and publisher to reinforce broad learning
• support accountability methods that better represent the concerns of parents

2. The full findings and details of the recommendations can be found at www.leadingonstandards.com

3. The consultation was launched on January 31st. Responses were sought via the online document as well as through a series of seminars held in conjunction with the think tank Reform which represented 75 organisations from across education and business.

Rod Bristow, president of Pearson UK, has given our perspective on Ofqual’s report, Exam Board Seminars.

Rod said:

“We have always made clear that we believe it is essential that teachers are given support to deliver qualifications, to enable them to give guidance to their students.

“Events of the past six months have however demonstrated the risks associated with this. We have already taken strong action to ensure that the information shared through events and other channels is always appropriate. Many of our events will be online, and all will be recorded, to enable a high degree of transparency.

“These new measures are also reflected in the guidance issued by Ofqual today.”

For the last few months, we’ve been running a consultation on ways to restore confidence in exams, putting standards and quality front and centre. 

It is a debate central to Edexcel, one of the UK’s leading examination bodies, and therefore to Pearson, as its parent company.

In January, Pearson launched the consultation ‘Leading on Standards’ to begin working out the best way to move forward.

The consultation explores a number of ways to build confidence in the UK’s examination system. We asked six questions we believe are key to ensuring the examination system defends high standards:

• How best to set world leading standards?
• How best to define and protect a new gold standard? 
• Should assessment be a profession? 
• How best to share and use data to drive system wide improvement? 
• How best to create a curriculum with a balance of stretch and mastery? 
• How best to measure with more meaning?

As part of this consultation process, we hosted five seminars with a wide range of influential stakeholders in education, representing 75 organisations, and moderated by the think tank Reform. They brought together employers; higher education professionals; headteachers, college principals and senior teachers; parents and students; and the policy community including Government and regulators.

We carried out this exercise because we believe that a robust and rigorous qualifications system is an essential part, although not the only important one, of Britain’s world-class education system. Pearson has been involved in education for over one hundred years, and we want our exams to help raise the standard of education that every single child receives.

We’ve been digesting the results of those conversations, talking to experts, and listening to what schools, teachers and pupils themselves think. Pearson will shortly be publishing our conclusions, and sharing more information with the education community about how we believe we can make real improvements to the system’s credibility, and improve confidence in our teachers and examiners.

Find out more about Leading on Standards

We had this to say on Ofqual’s review into exam textbooks, which suggested that they are too focused on preparing for exams over subject content.

A Pearson spokesperson said:

“Pearson looks forward to engaging with Ofqual’s review.

“We believe strongly that aligning curriculum and teaching and learning resources is important and enables the best quality of learning. That is why we work closely with both our own publishing imprints and other third party publishers to develop materials of the highest quality which support this goal. This is consistent with best practice in the rest of the world and includes making best use of new technology.

“We recognise that we should do everything we can to promote choice of high quality resources for teachers and learners and uphold the integrity of high stakes assessments. Pearson has robust conflict of interest processes and work with a full range publishers, not just our own imprints.

“In addition, our textbooks are changing to reflect increasingly digital learning environments, which enable them to be tailored to meet the individual needs of each learner. This will support learners to explore their subject in ever greater depth.

“The report highlights concern that exam-endorsed textbooks are sometimes written by chief examiners. Pearson has been reviewing its processes and has decided we will no longer allow Senior Examiners to write resources to support specifications that they examine.”

Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, has been chosen to develop the frameworks for the OECD’s landmark PISA educational assessment in 2015.

The PISA assessment is widely recognised as the benchmark for measuring the improvement of education systems worldwide. 74 countries/economies participated in the 2009 test.

In 2015, PISA’s main focus will be testing the scientific literacy of students around the world. The test will feature significant new elements:

• A new Collaborative Problem Solving assessment will be added, in recognition of the ways young people will have to learn and work throughout their lives. Pearson will develop this new domain for PISA
• Greater use of computer-based testing

Pearson will also provide advice to the PISA study on the benefits, opportunities and implications of implementing computer adaptive testing for PISA in future.

Pearson International chief executive John Fallon said:

“High quality education is vital to a nation's economic development and social well-being - and PISA is a key benchmark by which nations can measure their own progress and learn from each other. So we are thrilled to have the chance to work with the OECD and academic communities around the world to develop the 2015 test.

“We are committed to developing a global benchmark that, through assessing a wider range of skills and making better use of technology, will be even more relevant to helping countries prosper in an increasingly global and knowledge-based economy."

Head of the PISA programme at the OECD Andreas Schleicher said:

“PISA 2015 has the potential to be the start of a new phase of our international assessments. We need to make much smarter use of technology in how we test young people, and we need to assess problem-solving abilities as governments around the world seek to equip young people with the skills they need for life and employment.

“Pearson have put forward an ambitious strategy to support the OECD and member governments in creating a global benchmark for education.”

Notes on this story

1. The OECD’s PISA test (www.pisa.oecd.org) is widely recognised as the benchmark for measuring the improvement of education systems worldwide. 74 countries/economies participated in the 2009 test representing around 87% of the world’s economy. Representative samples of students are selected at age 15 in each country in order to provide consistency across borders and regions.
   
   The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (www.oecd.org) exists to promote policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.
2. Pearson (www.pearson.com) is the world’s leading learning company, providing educational materials, technologies, assessments and related services to teachers and students of all ages. From pre-school to higher education and professional education, our curriculum materials, digital learning tools and testing programmes help to educate more than 100 million people worldwide.
   
   Together with the OECD, Pearson has formed international panels of experts in science, collaborative problem solving, mathematics and reading to define the competencies, understanding and reasoning that students should be tested on in 2015, involving academics from thirteen different countries representing a spread across five continents.

Pearson has announced a new educational partnership with Royal Holloway, which will see the college validating their new business degree.

The new degrees will combine the highest levels of academic rigour alongside practical learning relevant to the workplace. Students will start to enrol students on these Pearson degree programmes from September 2012.

Pearson is the world’s biggest learning company, working in more than 70 countries and with over 100 years of experience. Royal Holloway is in the top 1% of universities in the world and has an excellent record in graduate employment. This makes it the perfect partner to help develop flexible Pearson degrees that balance academic achievement and the needs of employers.

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said:

“We’re delighted that Royal Holloway has come on board as our validating university partner for this exciting project. Pearson has a long heritage of working in higher education around the world and we’re really looking forward to bringing this expertise to UK degrees”.

Roxanne Stockwell, Managing Director of Higher Education Awards at Pearson will be leading the Pearson degree development team. She said:

“Working with Royal Holloway will allow us to produce a degree that is not only academically stretching, but also gives students the skills that are genuinely valuable to employers. There is a real demand for flexible academic degrees which facilitate progression to the workplace. Thanks to this partnership, students will have more choice in the higher education marketplace, and will be able to choose a degree that suits their needs and helps them make progress in their lives.”

As the validating university Royal Holloway will ensure the high academic quality of the degrees, while Pearson will undertake its design, development and delivery through a network of suitable locations such as such as Corporations and Further Education colleges.

Professor Rob Kemp, Deputy Principal of Royal Holloway, said:

“Our founders, in opening colleges for women in the 19th Century, were the first to address the challenge of widening access and we are delighted to continue this tradition today by supporting Pearson in this initiative.”

The first degree to be offered will be Business, with further degree programmes being developed by Pearson in the future.

About Royal Holloway

Royal Holloway, University of London is one of the UK’s leading teaching and research university institutions, ranked in the top 20 for research in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. One of the larger colleges of the University of London, Royal Holloway has a strong profile across the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Its 8,000 students work with internationally-renowned scholars in 18 academic departments. Over 20% of students are postgraduates and 22% come from 130 different countries. Renowned for its iconic Founder’s Building, Royal Holloway is situated on an extensive parkland campus in Egham, Surrey, only 40 minutes from central London.