New Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification Sharpens Youngsters for Work and University says North Wales Business Chief

25 Jul 2008


Teenagers will be better prepared than ever to become effective workers, entrepreneurs or university students thanks to a versatile new qualification, says a prominent North Wales businesswoman.

Heather Clwyd Roberts, who runs leading Ruthin-based accountancy firm Businesswork Solutions, said the increasingly popular Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification was giving youngsters just the skills they needed to face the challenges of the workplace or higher education.

The Welsh Baccalaureate formally recognises a number of activities such as work experience, personal and social education and voluntary work. It also encompasses established qualifications like A levels, GCSEs and NVQs and adds breadth and balance through a Core programme of activities including all six Key Skills.

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Mrs Roberts is a regular visitor to the town’s Ysgol Brynhyfryd, one of the first schools in Wales to pilot the innovative qualification, which is designed to give young people a combination of both academic learning and practical and personal development skills.

She is one of a growing number of employers in North Wales to recognise the additional skills and capabilities the Welsh Baccalaureate is giving young people.

From this September 24 schools across North Wales will deliver the qualification bringing the total number of young people in the region to benefit to some 6,500.
Mrs Roberts mentors Young Enterprise teams at Ysgol Brynhyfryd, advising them how to set up and run a business, and also coaches students on interview techniques.

In addition she is a ‘role model’ with the Assembly Government’s Dynamo Project, working with schools and colleges in Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham and a member of the 14-19 Pathways Agenda Employers Forum for North East Wales, the Denbighshire Young Enterprise Strategic Board and the board of Careers Wales.

Through these activities she has been ideally placed, as a business person, to witness the positive impact the Welsh Baccalaureate is having on local youngsters’ career potential.

Ysgol Brynhyfryd already has around 400 students taking the qualification at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels, with an additional 200 learner places from September 2008.

Mrs Roberts said: "In my experience, the Welsh Baccalaureate has given students a lot more confidence with their presentation and communication skills, which is demonstrated in the Young Enterprise competition. I think it develops better balanced students who have a good business perspective."

Mrs Roberts added: "I meet the Young Enterprise teams at the school each week and six of the current students are so keen to carry on at the end of the project that they have offered to mentor other teams next year. I am always impressed by their ideas and creativity.

Linda Cooledge, Ysgol Brynhyfryd’s assistant headteacher, said: "We are 100 per cent positive about the Welsh Baccalaureate, which provides so many different experiences and opportunities for our students. Our students have always had good results; now they are even better.

"Students are much more confident, more willing to get involved in the school and community life and are better at communicating, problem solving and working together in teams as a result of the Welsh Baccalaureate. They become independent learners who are much better prepared for university and the world of work."

From September 2008, the Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced level Welsh Baccalaureate will be available from 106 centres across Wales and will be delivered to some 23,000 learners.

Welsh schools and colleges that have been delivering the qualification have said it has contributed to students becoming more effective learners, improved their academic performance and equipped them with life skills that are transferable to whatever situation they find themselves in, whether that is Higher education or employment.

Jane Hutt, Minister for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills, welcomed the increasing employer support for the programme. She said: One of the key aims of the qualification is to help make the Welsh economy more competitive by enabling young people to become more confident and effective in the workplace. It’s very encouraging that employers recognise the value of this new approach to learning."

The Minister this week announced that the Welsh Baccalaureate will be rolled out at Foundation level in post 16 and foundation and intermediate levels in Key Stage 4 from September 2009.

The Minister also announced that the Principal Learning and Project Qualifications being developed for the 14-19 Diplomas in England will be available within the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification framework from September 2009. Applications to participate in the delivery of this new provision will be invited from 14-19 Networks.