Assess the view that vocational education and training schemes have done nothing to reduce social inequalities.
Using Information from item B and elsewhere assess the view that vocational education and training schemes have done nothing to reduce social inequalities.
There are a range of different schemes available within the new vocational education system such as NVQ’s, apprenticeships, YTS’s and GNVQs. These are work based awards which are achieved through training and assessment. These awards are usually equivalent to 2 A levels and usually schemes like apprenticeships put you straight into a job when you finish the course; this is an extremely popular vocational course as job’s are hard to come by in this economic climate.
The training scheme was also introduced around the same time as students experiencing difficulty with their traditional subjects. The aim was to help 14-16 year olds get more out of their education. The students were allowed to attend college for one/two days a week to study for vocational qualifications that were not available at school. Most schools used this to re-engage disaffected young people. Although many schemes may have helped working class students it has also helped middle class and so it does not appear to have helped reduce social inequality but instead give students more choice over their education. Although vocational education and training schemes do help some students and provided people with more qualifications they have not reduced social inequality. They have helped middle class students as well as working class ones but give few skills that can only be used in low paid/ unskilled work.
