Jo Hutchinson

Strategic Approaches to Local Regeneration: The Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund

FORDHAM G., HUTCHINSON J. and FOLEY P. (1999) Strategic approaches to local regeneration: the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund, Reg. Studies 33 , 131-141. The Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) Challenge Fund aims not only to achieve its substantive aim of local economic regeneration, but also to change the way local partners operate. Strategy is crucial to both of these objectives. This paper reviews the differing approaches taken to strategy, characterized by consultation, participation and generation of policy and project options. Based on interviews with 16 SRB partnerships and two government offices, it demonstrates that in the first round of SRB, partnerships adopted a range of strategy development approaches - a dynamic process which is not easily captured by the administrative structures used to implement the Challenge Fund. FORDHAM G., HUTCHINSON J. et FOLEY P. (1999) Des strategies en faveur de la regeneration locale: le fonds SRB, Reg. Studies 33 , 131-141. Le fonds SRB cherche non seule...

Managing the Challenge: Winning and Implementing the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund

(1998). Managing the Challenge: Winning and Implementing the Single Regeneration Budget Challenge Fund. Planning Practice & Research: Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 63-80.

Economic development in Poland: a local perspective

Explores the local impact of market reform in a former communist country. Uses the Bialystok voivodship in Poland to discuss the local impact of monetary reform and the banking system, local business development, the impact of Western influences, and finally the problem of unemployment and policies intended to combat it. The voivodship is geographically remote from areas currently favoured by foreign investment which contributes to a growing sense of East‐West inequality. Despite showing ingenuity and entrepreneurialism to work the system many businesses are still struggling to adapt and realize that the market economy has significant individual costs. Highlights the local impact of national policy and re‐emphasizes the potential for local economic opportunities not only between countries but also between different regions within those countries.

Delivering NEET policy packages? A decade of NEET policy in England

This article explores the way in which government policy shapes the lives of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). In particular it examines how the concept of NEETs is set within a specific infrastructure and discourse for managing and supporting young people. The article provides a brief history of the NEET concept and NEET initiatives, before moving on to scrutinise the policies of the Coalition Government. A key distinction is made between those policies and practices that seek to prevent young people becoming NEET from those that seek to re-engage those who are NEET. It is argued that the Coalition has drawn on a similar active labour market toolkit to the previous Labour administration, but that this has been implemented with fewer resources and less co-ordination. It concludes that there is little reason to believe that Coalition policy will be any more successful than that of the previous government, and some reason to be concerned that it will lead to young people becoming more entrenched within NEET.

Education to employment: complicated transitions in a changing world

This special issue of Educational Research focuses on the notion of transition from statutory education through to the labour market. Some young people experience relatively smooth transitions and encounter few problems as they move from education to employment, possibly via further training or higher education. However, this is not a universal experience: for a notable minority of young people, impediments arise as they seek to navigate their way forward into work or learning. Such complications can arise from their social, economic or personal circumstances and can be further exacerbated by the opportunities around them or indeed, by a lack of adequate opportunities, resulting in less successful transitions to the labour market. In recent years, complicated transitions have been in the context of a changing world, characterised by full globalisation and a recent worldwide recession that has had a disproportionate impact on young people (Eurofound 2012a). Many countries across the world (including countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America) have come to categorise these young people using the acronym ‘NEET’ as shorthand for the description ‘not in education, employment or training’. Organisations such as the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the African Economic Outlook all refer to, collect and publish statistics on NEETs, although their categorisations of NEETs vary to some extent. Initially, the term NEET was used in England to highlight the needs of a group of 16–18-year-olds who were not eligible for benefits and, therefore, were not recorded as being unemployed – but neither were they participating in education or training (Thompson 2011). Since then, the term has been extended in age range, and adopted worldwide to describe young people who are not participating in the wider labour market. However, this term is increasingly being rejected just as it is becoming more widespread in international policy and academia. Research evidence from the UK suggests that the term tends to imply a particular set of characteristics – such as low attainment, low engagement and disruptive behaviour. It is clear, though, from research that the young people labelled as NEET are, in fact, a heterogeneous group (Spielhofer et al. 2009). Indeed, the subcategories of NEETs identified through Spielhofer et al.’s segmentation analysis show that almost two-thirds of the NEET cohort do not face complex barriers to engaging with education, training or employment. Hutchinson, Korzeniewski, and Moore’s (2011) research echoed this finding; some young people who became NEET could trace their experience back to one or two issues in their lives which went unsupported and which played a significant role in their subsequent lack of engagement with education or employment. Yet, despite the evident heterogeneity of the NEET

Ensuring quality in online career mentoring

This article explores the issue of quality in online career mentoring. It builds on a previous evaluation of Brightside, an online mentoring system in the UK which is primarily aimed at supporting young peoples transitions to further learning. The article notes that participants in Brightsides mentoring programmes reported satisfaction with their experiences, with many stating that it helped them to make decisions and to positively change their learning and career behaviours. However, the article argues that there are challenges in ensuring quality and consistency connected to both the voluntary nature of mentoring and the online mode. The article proposes a 10-point quality framework to support quality assurance, initial training and professional development for online mentors.

Employers and schools: How Mansfield is building a world of work approach

There is a keen interest in encouraging employers to engage with schools so that young people can learn more about careers, understand the skills that employers are interested in, broaden their aspirations and be motivated to succeed. Employer engagement in schools in England however is increasingly fragmented because of a loss of brokering infrastructure. This article describes a partnership approach developed in Mansfield where a consortium of local schools has worked with their business community and public sector organisations. Together they have listened to what young people say they both want and need to know about careers and then responded by providing a strategic careers learning programme. The particular contribution of the Mansfield Learning Partnership which is wholly funded by the town’s secondary schools is detailed in the article alongside elaboration of the Mansfield Framework for Career Learning which provides a work experience programme and several imaginative opportunities for young people to engage in meaningful encounters with employers.

Career guidance in five English independent schools

ABSTRACT English independent schools are not required to follow government statutory guidance in a number of aspects including career education and guidance, and yet many are actively engaged in careers work and this has caught the attention of policymakers. State schools are subject to statutory guidance but, according to Ofsted and other authorities, the majority fail to adequately support young people through their post-school transitions. Using evidence from five English independent schools, the type of provision they offer is analysed against benchmarks of good practice to identify where their support is focussed. The factors that shape the resourcing and design of career education and guidance in the five schools are also explored. The extent to which the practices observed in the case studies can be replicated in all, or a sub-set of state schools, is discussed in the light of policy influence of independent schools.