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Pass rates must be improved on engineering courses, say inspectors.

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M2 PRESSWIRE-30 April 2003-UK Government: Pass rates must be improved on engineering courses, say inspectors(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:04302003

Further education should be matched more closely to the needs of local employers, say Chief Inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) in their first joint annual report on post-16 education and training in England.

Reporting on the engineering curriculum area inspectors say that too many students fail to achieve qualifications. Few modern apprentices complete their apprenticeship as planned because they fail to pass the necessary key skills qualifications and arrangements to assess the practical competences in the workplace are poorly developed. Some students written and numerical work is poor, but practical work is often good. Retention and pass rates differ widely between colleges ranging from 85 per cent to more typically less than 55 per cent and pass rates of 40 per cent.

Most colleges offered a broad range of craft and technical provision and academic courses were offered in both FE and sixth form colleges.

Specialised courses such as marine engineering, lighting and process control are designed to meet local, regional and national needs. New course development is often centred ion electronic or computer maintenance. This is still an area where few women enrol. Some provision has been developed to suit the needs of 14 to 16 year-olds who do not attend school regularly. The standard of practical work that students produce is of a high standard and practical skills are taught well, however, theory...

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