A review of Snippets is underway. Readers' comments so far have been very positive about keeping Snippets, and some helpful ideas have been contributed. These include that EC UK might:

•  investigate if it is feasible to publish less but more often;

•  ask Professional Engineering Institutions to contribute an article about what they do in education & training, who's who and so forth (watch out for first contribution from the Institute of Physics );

•  similarly request or develop regular 'spotlight' articles of key STEM-related education or training programmes & projects (all levels);

•  consider how to upgrade the visual presentation.

If you have views about Snippets (is it or not useful to you? If so how? If not, why not?) or ideas for improvement - please mail Ruth Wright HERE.

The positive impact of new forms of vocational education on 14 - 16 year olds
Research from the National Foundation for Educational Research into the Increased Flexibility for 14 - 16 year olds programme (IFP) shows that it achieved most of its aims and that students with lower attainment levels benefited most from the programme. http://nfer.steel-hosting.co.uk/research-areas/pims-data/summaries/evaluation-of-increased-flexibility-for-14-to-16-year-olds-programme-outcomes-for-the-first-cohort.cfm

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development)
People are facing growing pressures to go on developing skills and knowledge over their working life-time as job mobility increases and job tasks become more complex, and governments in many countries need to do more to foster education and training at all stages of people's lives, according to the latest edition of the OECD's annual Education at a Glance .http://www.oecd.org/document/13/0,2340,en_2649_201185_35341645_1_1_1_1,00.html
http://www.edexcel.org.uk/about/policies/epw/

LSC - Work Based Learning Success Rates 2004/05
Work Based Learning success rates for 2004/05 periods 1 to 9 (August 2004 to April 2005) are now available on the LSC internet site at: http://www.lsc.gov.uk/National/Partners/Data/Statistics/LearnerStatistics/Learning
AimOutcomes/WBLSuccessRates/WBLSuccessRates200405.htm

HESA has just published the higher education performance indicators for 2003/04 entry which includes info rmation on drop-out rates (e.g. Table SN3, a continuing issue for Engineering and Technology) and First Destination Employment (e.g. table SE1, confirms that Engineering and Technology doing less well than it might on first jobs).
See http://www.hesa.ac.uk/ p i/0304/home.htm

Destinations of Leavers from HE 2003/04

HE destinations data has been published in the Higher Education Statistics Agency's latest publication "Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education, 2003/04". The highest proportions of those working were in medicine & dentistry, subjects allied to medicine, and education, all above 80 per cent. The highest proportions of those studying were in law, at over 50 per cent, and mathematical sciences and physical sciences, both above 30 per cent. Computer science had the highest unemployment rate, at just over 11 per cent, and creative arts & design, engineering & technology, and mass communications & documentation were all above 8 per cent.

http://www.hesa. a c.uk/p r ess/pr90/pr90.htm
http://www.hesa.ac.uk/p r ess/sfr89/sfr89.htm  

The National Student Survey 2005 (final year undergraduates) results will be published on the Teaching Quality Information (TQI) website shortly - http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/
For background info rmation see HERO: http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/inside_he/teaching_quality_information_and_national_student_survey.cfm
and TQI: http://www.tqi.ac.uk/sites/tqi_new/about_tqi/index.cfm

Participation in Higher Education: A Study to Determine whether the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate should be Disaggregated
This study was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in October 2004 to undertake an option appraisal regarding the possible disaggregation of the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) by ethnicity, social class and disability.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectId=14567&type=5&resultspage=1

New Chief Executive for Sector Skills Development Agency
Mark Fisher, currently Business Strategy Director of Jobcentre Plus, will succeed Christopher Duff as the new Chief Executive of the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA).

 Proskills UK set to become 24th licensed SSC
Proskills UK has been recommended for licence and is set to become the 24th Sector Skills Council (SSC) in the network. Proskills UK will cover the following industries:

•  Process and manufacturing of building products
•  Extractive and mineral processing
•  Refractories
•  Glass and glass products
•  Paint and coatings
•  Print and printed packaging

 New screen academy launched in Scotland
Skillset the Sector Skills Council for audio-visual industries has launched a screen academy in Scotland to educate and train film-making talent at the Screen Academy at Napier University & Edinburgh College of Art. http://www.ssda.org.uk/ssda/Default.aspx?page=2018

 Ensuring Foundation Degrees are 'fit for purpose'
Three new Foundation Degree Frameworks are now available from SEMTA, the sector skills council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies.  Developed to guide the design of foundation degrees and meet specific sectors, the frameworks are in aerospace engineering, automotive engineering and electronics engineering. Aimed at employers, awarding bodies, colleges, universities and other providers of learning, SEMTA has developed them in partnership with employers, Foundation Degree Forward (fdf), learning providers and professional bodies.
For further information contact John Harris at SEMTA on 01923 238366.

 QCA - Report on Post-Accreditation Monitoring of Vocational Qualifications 2004/5
The report outlines methods used for monitoring awarding bodies' quality assurance arrangements for vocational arrangements for 2004/5 http://www.qca.org.uk/14429.html

QCA - Delivering Accredited Qualifications 2005
New publication outlining the roles and responsibilities of centres. http://www.qca.org.uk/3255.html

 DfES research - Children and Young People's Home Use of ICT for Educational Purposes: The Impact on Attainment of Key Stages 1-4
This research project on behalf of the DfES examined the links between children's educational uses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at home and their performance and attainment in key school subjects. It involved a pupil survey, and interviews with children, parents and teachers, during the summer term of 2004 in 12 English schools.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch/projectinformation.cfm?projectId=1
4522&type=5&resultspage=1

 NFER - Developing Digital – opportunities and dangers in the development of electronic test questions
ICT-based tests seem to offer great opportunities for new styles of assessment and new types of question - but the reality can be much more restricted.
http://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/other-publications/conference-papers/developing-digital-
opportunities-and-dangers-in-the-development-of-electronic-test-questions.cfm

 NESTA - 14-19 and Digital Technologies : A review of research and projects by Chris Davies, Geoff Hayward and Linariah Lukman, Department of Educational Studies, Oxford University . This review maps out a framework within which a coherent strategy for the design and use of digital technologies for learning can be developed. Download the report at: http://www.nestafuturelab.org/research/lit_reviews.htm#lr13

 Welsh Baccalaureate
The first students have achieved the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma, the core certificate of which is worth 120 UCAS points, equivalent to an A grade 'A level'.  To achieve the WBAD, students have to complete a compulsory core as well as options.  It includes current, approved qualifications like A levels, GCSEs and NVQs.
http://www.wbq.org.u k /index.cfm?method=content.homepage

 DfES - Prior Qualifications of Adult Learners in Further Education
Every year in excess of 3 million learners in Further Education (FE) undertake a wide range of courses, varying from NVQs in Care to Certificates in Electrical Installation Theory. The aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of adult learners in FE and particularly how their current study aim relates to their prior attainment, and in this way assesses the extent to which learners are progressing to new or higher levels of attainment. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/programmeofresearch
/projectinformation.cfm?projectId=14018&type=5&resultspage=11