Few phrases in Scottish education get thrown around as commonly as “parity of esteem”. A good vocational route, especially those in the further education sector believe, should carry the same weight and be worth just as much as a university degree.
And in basic, credit-level terms, there are, of course, further education courses equivalent to a degree. I have often wondered, however, how much of that filters through to students and their families.
Do young people in secondary school, who often get signalled early on that university most likely won’t be for them, feel that courses often available just around the corner are of equal value?
And how many feel that even if they do well on that path and excel at their chosen trade or profession, they will never quite reach the potential success of their higher education peers? That is not to say, importantly, that young people at college are not positive about their prospects.
There are very few things in life as uplifting as watching a well-run college class at work, where the stellar career ahead of the learners in it is as apparent as if they were already in a real-life job. Colleges raise self-esteem and open up routes for learners of all ages and all backgrounds. To do so, they use a whole range of different approaches.
Skills competitions are one such way. Last week, Jordan Charters, a young Scot about to finish his painting and decorating apprenticeship and a former Edinburgh College student, told me about the pride he feels at realising that, having secured a spot on Team UK for the WorldSkills championship in Abu Dhabi later this year, he is now, in his words, the best in the country.
“How many people can say that?” he asked, the shock still fresh in his voice.
And Barry Skea, who met Jordan’s team-mate Betsy Crosbie when she first sat in his college class three years ago, speaks of the enormous change in her, the confidence she has gained and the way she has grown as a person.
It is easy to see how their lives, and their view of themselves, will forever be changed by this experience. They have been compared to Olympic athletes and trained for thousands of hours, with hundreds more to come over the next six months.
But with those two the only Scottish young people to secure a place on the team, it is also easy for some to dismiss skills competitions as out of the reach of most learners.
This would be wrong. College leaders across the UK are adamant the impact they have goes beyond those that succeed at international level.
Jordan and Betsy’s success will, hopefully, have a wider impact on their respective colleges. Mechanical engineering students at New College Lanarkshire and painting and decorating students in Edinburgh should feel pride in the fact that they now train where the very best have been trained. And pupils at their former schools should know of the success of those that went before them.
Local and regional skills competitions take place at colleges all over the country every year, giving all students something to work toward and measure their ability against - not just for the dozens who make the national finals and the even smaller group that gets chosen for EuroSkills or WorldSkills.
These are truly inspiring events - and the FE sector should be praised for fully embracing the idea. Those - often in schools - that dismiss the idea as frivolous totally miss the point.
Perhaps they should even take some of their pupils along to spectate. They might just learn something about vocational education.
@JBelgutay
