FE Innovation Partners

Transforming employability training in the Further Education sector

The Challenge

Following the UK government’s “Skills for Jobs” whitepaper, the FE sector is gearing up for a significant overhaul with the objective of bridging the gap between education services and employer expectations. 

Our challenge is to ensure students are equipped not just with technical skills, but also the soft skills that will help them:
(1) get the jobs they deserve;
(2) unleash their full potential in the workplace;
(3) become valuable and respected members of their teams.

Our Approach

We’ve partnered with 6 Further Education colleges and academies to pilot a revolution in the way students develop their soft skills. Supported by a grant received from Ufi VocTech Trust, we have developed a bespoke immersive learning module, Career Mindset Development, tailored to FE students as well as a Performance Feedback app to allow teachers and advisors to provide valuable feedback throughout students’ development.

This novel approach, using immersive technologies to offer autonomous practice and automated behavioural feedback, is designed to boost every student’s chances of succeeding in the early stages of their career.

Next Steps

We are piloting the solution with over 300 students and 20 teachers in 6 colleges throughout March-April 2021.

"We are excited to be working with Bodyswaps to help them pilot their innovative new VR software. Through this partnership, students at Sandwell College will become some of the first in the country to trial a fun and engaging new tool to help them develop the soft skills they need for the workplace. We believe that this novel use of VR stands to transform the way we deliver learning and will help tackle the employability skills gap that many young people face."

Anne Scrimshaw

Fab Lab Manager, Sandwell College

The Solution

"Bodyswaps is a tremendous opportunity for our learners to enter into, and make judgements on behaviour in the workplace through virtual reality and for Harlow College to be part of an exciting new venture that so well matches our strapline "Not just courses. Careers.""

David Monk

E-Learning Development Coordinator, Harlow College.

Our aim is to measure the students’ engagement with the solution as well as confidence levels to apply learned skills in the workplace. Please find the highlights of the findings in this infographic.