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i ELWa

National

Learner

Satisfaction

Survey

for Wales

2003

CONTENTS

Findings from the National Learner Satisfaction for Wales 2003

i ELWa

1. INTRODUCTION 001

1.1 AIMS 001

1.2 SURVEY COVERAGE – PROVISION TYPES 002

1.3 SURVEY COVERAGE – QUESTION AREAS 002

1.4 METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING 003

1.4.1 Sampling 0031.5 SAMPLE STRUCTURE 004

1.6 REPORTING 004

1.7 GUIDANCE ON INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA 004

2. OVERALL SATISFACTION 006

2.1 OVERVIEW 0062.1.1 Overall satisfaction with

learning experience 0062.1.2 Achievement of objectives 007

2.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 0082.2.1 Overall satisfaction with

the learning experience 0082.2.2 Extent to which pre-course

objectives were met 010

2.3 WORK BASED LEARNING 0162.3.1 Overall satisfaction with

the learning experience 0162.3.2 Extent to which pre-course

objectives were met 0172.3.3 Relevance and usefulness

of training to current job 0202.3.4 Usefulness of training 020

2.4 ACCREDITED ADULT CONTINUING EDUCATION 022

2.4.1 Extent to which pre-course objectives were met 023

2.5 COMPARISON ACROSS PROVISION TYPES 025

2.5.1 Overall satisfaction with the learning experience 025

2.5.2 Achievement of objectives 0262.5.3 Drivers of satisfaction 028

2.6 KEY POINTS RAISED IN THIS SECTION 029

1. INTRODUCTION

ii ELWa

3. MAKING THE DECISION 031

3.1 OVERVIEW 0313.1.1 Choice 0313.1.2 Advice about choice

of course and provider 0323.1.3 Pre-course expectations 033

3.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 0343.2.1 Learning provider choice 0343.2.2 Course choice 0363.2.3 Reasons for choosing provider 0363.2.4 Sources of advice about

choice of provider 0383.2.5 Whether pre-course

expectations were met 040

3.3 WORK BASED LEARNING 0423.3.1 Provider Choice 0423.3.2 Choice of training 0443.3.3 Reasons for choosing provider 0453.3.4 Sources of advice about


expectations were met 049


3.4.1 Provider choice 0513.4.2 Course choice 0513.4.3 Reasons for choosing provider 0523.4.4 Sources of advice about


expectations met 054


3.5.1 Expectations of what the course might involve 059


4. QUALITY OF TEACHING 064

4.1 OVERVIEW 065

4.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 0674.2.1 Overall satisfaction

with teaching/training 0674.2.2 Quality of specific aspects

of teaching/training 0674.2.3 Management of learning 069

4.3 WORK BASED LEARNING 0694.3.1 Overall satisfaction

with teaching/training 0694.3.2 Quality of specific aspects

of teaching/training 0704.3.3 Management of learning 0764.3.4 Volume and adequacy of hours

spent off-the-job training 0794.3.5 Volume of hours spent

off-the-job training 0794.3.6 Adequacy of hours spent

off-the-job training 079


4.4.1 Overall satisfaction with teaching/training 081

4.4.2 Quality of specific aspects of teaching/training 082

4.4.3 Management of learning 086


4.6 DRIVERS OF SATISFACTION WITH TEACHING AND MANAGEMENT 090

4.6.1 Further Education 0904.6.1.1 Management 0924.6.2 Work Based Learning 0924.6.2.1 Management 0924.6.3 Accredited ACE 0924.6.3.1 Management 092



iii ELWa

5. FACILITIES 098

5.1 OVERVIEW 098

5.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 099

5.3 WORK BASED LEARNING 100




6. AVAILABILITY OF LEARNING IN WELSH MEDIUM 107

6.1 OVERVIEW 107

6.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 1086.2.1 Welsh language abilities 1086.2.2 Preference for tuition in Welsh medium 1096.2.3 Whether learners were asked

if they would like to undertake learning in Welsh 111

6.2.4 Availability of specific aspects of learning in Welsh 112

6.3 WORK BASED LEARNING 1136.3.1 Welsh language abilities 1136.3.2 Preference for tuition in Welsh medium 1136.3.3 Whether learners were asked




6.4.1 Welsh language abilities 1186.4.2 Whether learners were asked



6.5 COMPARISON ACROSS PROVISION TYPE AND SUMMARY 120

6.5.1 Preference for tuition in Welsh medium 120


iv ELWa

7. PROBLEMS 124

7.1 OVERVIEW 124

7.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 1257.2.1 Disabilities and learning difficulties 1257.2.2 Thoughts of leaving course 131

7.3 WORK BASED LEARNING 1337.3.1 Thoughts of leaving course 1377.3.2 Satisfaction with employer support 1387.3.3 Reasons for satisfaction 1397.3.4 Reasons for dissatisfaction 140


7.4.1 Thoughts of leaving course 143



8. EARLY LEAVERS 148

8.1 OVERVIEW OF FURTHEREDUCATION EARLY LEAVERS 148

8.1.1 Demographic variables 1488.1.2 Programme variables 1488.1.3 Overall satisfaction with

learning experience 149

8.2 EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS OF EARLY LEAVERS 149

8.2.1 Pre-course objectives 1498.2.2 Patterns of advice seeking 1528.2.3 Problems encountered during courses 1528.2.4 Quality of teaching 1548.2.5 Ratings for Provider Facilities (FE) 157

8.3 SUCCESS OF ACHIEVINGQUALIFICATION/MODULES 158

8.4 WHAT THEY ARE DOING NOW 159


9. FUTURE INTENTIONS 162

9.1 OVERVIEW 162

9.2 FURTHER EDUCATION 164

9.3 WORK BASED LEARNERS 164


10. TECHNICAL APPENDIX 166

10.1 SAMPLE DESIGN 16610.1.1 Sample Coverage 16610.1.2 FE and accredited ACE sample 16610.1.3 WBL sample 167

10.2 SAMPLE STRUCTURE 167

10.3 FIELDWORK AND RESPONSE RATES 167

10.4 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN 169

10.5 MANAGEMENT OF TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING 169

10.6 ANALYSING THE DATA 17110.6.1 Weighting the Data 17110.6.2 Interpreting the data 17210.7 Regression Analysis 173

11. GLOSSARY OF TERMS 177

12. APPENDICES 178

12.1 APPENDIX A – THE CUSTOMER RESEARCH STRATEGY 178

12.2 APPENDIX B – SUBJECT CLASSIFICATIONS 180

12.3 APPENDIX C – LETTERS 181

12.4 APPENDIX D – QUESTIONNAIRE 185

1. INTRODUCTION

1 ELWa

ELWa has responsibility for planning, funding and

promoting post 16 learning provision in Wales with

the exception of Higher Education.This includes

Further Education (FE), Adult Continuing Education

(ACE), School Sixth Forms and Work Based

Learning (WBL) programmes.

An important part of fulfilling its responsibilities to

learners is that ELWa should understand learner

needs and experiences and should use this

knowledge to continually improve the range and

quality of available provision.

ELWa therefore commissioned a survey of post

16 learners’ satisfaction with their learning

experiences.The survey reports on learners’

perceptions and describes the learning experience

from their point of view.The information it

provides will be used to help ELWa and other

stakeholders to improve the quality of education

and training for young people and adults aged

over 16.

ELWa’s customers include all current learners and

potential future learners – this includes all

individuals, businesses, and communities across

Wales.This exercise forms part of ELWa’s

Customer Research Strategy which is part of the

overall drive within ELWa to:

● Encourage evidence based policy and demand

led planning

● Bring the “customer” centre stage

The Strategy encompasses three main strands

of activity:

● Understanding what motivates customers to

learn in order to widen and deepen participation

in learning

● Understanding what customers think of the

education and learning services they receive

● Tracking and understanding participation within

the customer groups (individuals, businesses

and communities)

1.1 AIMS

The National Learner Satisfaction Survey for Wales

covers the second of these strands and its main

aims are to:

● Obtain measures of learner satisfaction in

ELWa-funded provision across Wales;

● To establish benchmarks which, when tracked over

time, will show trends in learner satisfaction, and;

● To highlight priorities for action


2 ELWa

Table 1.1: Planned activity for the

Customer Research Strategy

Other work which has already taken place or is

planned to take place within the next six months

under the Customer Research Strategy is shown is

Appendix D.

1.2 SURVEY COVERAGE –

PROVISION TYPES

This wave of the survey was designed to cover

the following learners:

● Those in the Further Education sector (FE)

● Those undertaking Work Based Learning

programmes (WBL)

● Those undertaking accredited Adult Continuing

Education (ACE)

There is an intention to cover non-accredited

Adult Continuing Education in future waves of the

survey, but some preparatory work needs to be

undertaken to identify the most suitable

methodology for sampling this sector.

In addition, the methodology for this wave of the

survey was considered inappropriate for School

Sixth Form provision.Therefore a separate but

comparable piece of work has been undertaken

which included focus groups in eight schools and a

self–completion questionnaire exercise with

around 5,000 Year 12 and 13 pupils across Wales.

The results from this survey can also be found on

the ELWa website at: http://www.elwa.org.uk

1.3 SURVEY COVERAGE –

QUESTION AREAS

The main topics covered by the National Learner

Satisfaction Survey for Wales are as follows:

● Factors affecting choice of subject/learning

● Satisfaction with teaching

● Satisfaction with facilities

● Satisfaction with the availability of tuition in the

Welsh medium

● Overall satisfaction with the learning experience

and reasons for this

● Reasons for early leaving

Research Exercise Aims

Household Survey of

2000 individuals

creating a panel which

will be interviewed on

an annual basis

To understand factors

which lead to

participation in

learning looking in

particular at inactivity

and people in

disadvantaged areas

Employer Case Studies The focus of this

research i.e. how to

get more employers

to engage in learning

and offer learning

more widely across

the workforce

Telephone Survey of

2000 employers

Creating a panel which

will be interviewed on

a regular basis

Understanding the

role that learning

plays in organisations

and ways in which

provision needs to

be adapted to

business needs

3 ELWa

Copies of the questionnaires are included in

the Appendix.

1.4 METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING

The survey was carried out by means of a

telephone interview, lasting 20 minutes on

average. Interviewing took place between July

and August 2003.

The option for a face-to-face interview was built

into the study for those who would find a

telephone interview difficult e.g. because of

language difficulties or other communications

difficulties (15 such interviews were conducted).

Respondents also had the option for their

telephone interview to be conducted in Welsh -

they were asked at the beginning of the interview

whether they would prefer it to be conducted in

Welsh.Those who wished to be interviewed in

Welsh were subsequently re-contacted by a

Welsh speaking interviewer (7 interviews were

undertaken in Welsh).

1.4.1 Sampling

Further Education and accredited Adult

Continuing Education sample

Learners in the FE sector and those in accredited

ACE were sampled from the Individualised Student

Record (ISR) in April 2003.The ISR does not

hold names or contact details for learners and

therefore, the sampling exercise depended on the

co-operation of colleges in providing this data.

Colleges provided names and address details for

the student reference numbers sampled at random

for their college.The majority of colleges

participated. Numbers by region are as follows:

Table 1.2: Number of colleges participating

In sampling students, over-sampling took place

amongst 16-18 year olds, learners in Mid Wales

and also certain course types (aiming to ensure

that were sufficient numbers of interviews in each

group to be able to analyse these separately). Any

over-sampling has been corrected at the analysis

stage by weighting the interviews back to their

representative proportions.

Although ACE learners were sampled via the FE

Colleges, their learning was in some cases

delivered by adult learning providers and it is these

providers that they were asked to rate when

answering the questionnaire.The vast majority

(98%) of accredited ACE learners are in the

South East and South West regions and the

sample reflects this.

Learners were then sent a letter outlining the

survey to them and giving them the opportunity

to opt out via a Freefone number. A copy of this

letter is in the Appendix.

Full details of the sampling process are included in

the Technical Appendix, together with details of the

sample that this generated.

Region No. of colleges

participating

South East 6

South West 4

North 3

Mid Wales 1


4 ELWa

WBL sample

The WBL sample was sourced from the National

Training Database (NTD) and personal details

were present. A random sample of 4,000 names

was drawn with a computer-generated random

start. Learners in Mid Wales were over-sampled

and this was corrected by weighting the results at

the analysis stage.

There was no requirement to send opt out letters

in this case as all WBL learners have signed a

declaration to indicate whether or not they are

willing to have their names passed on to a third

party for research purposes. A courtesy letter was

sent out, however, to explain the survey and let

people opt out if they wished.

1.5 SAMPLE STRUCTURE

Interviewing took place during July and August

2003. Interviews were completed before exam

results were published.The following numbers of

interviews were achieved:

Table 1.3: Number of interviews for each

provision type

1.6 REPORTING

The substantial sample size involved and the

robustness of the survey data allows the

opportunity of analysing results, particularly for the

Further Education sector, in greater detail, and with

greater confidence, than has been possible to date.

It should be stressed, however, that whilst results

for the Further Education sector can be analysed

by ELWa regions, it would be inappropriate to

disaggregate results at a lower level.

● The intention of this report is to highlight the

most significant findings from the National Learner

Satisfaction Survey for Wales

Each section of this report is presented in the

following format:

● Overview of all learners

● Findings for each type of provision

● Comparison by provision type

● Summary of key findings

All those involved in the project are keen that the

data collected is put to full use.With this in mind,

the data will be made available on the ELWa

website: http://www.elwa.org.ukProvision type No. of interviews

Further Education 4,707

Work Based Learning 1,000

Accredited Adult

Continuing Education

508

5 ELWa

1.7 GUIDANCE ON INTERPRETATION

OF THE DATA

Given that the samples of Further Education

and Work Based learners were weighted at

the analysis stage to ensure that they were

representative of learners in each provision type,

the tables in this report show unweighted and

weighted bases.The unweighted base is the

number of interviews which took place with the

group in question. So the unweighted base is the

base one would use if saying ‘this figure is based on

interviews with ‘x’ people’.The weighted base is

the number this group represents after the data

has been weighted to match the profile of the

leaner population and can be used, for example,

if one wants to say that x group of learners make

up x% of the population. For accredited Adult

Continuing Education no weighting took place so

only unweighted bases are shown.

The accuracy of estimates based on the survey data

depends on two things: firstly the sample size;

secondly, the actual survey result. For example, based

on 1,000 interviews amongst WBL learners, a finding

of 50% has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. So if 50%

of WBL learners in the survey say they are satisfied

with the overall quality of teaching they received, the

true figure for WBL learners as a whole (i.e. the

WBL learner population) is between 46.9% and

53.1%.The margins of error are larger in the middle

of the scale (i.e. for results around the 50% mark)

and smaller at the top and bottom of the scale. A

finding of 10% (or a finding of 90%) has a margin of

error of +/- 1.9%. So if 90% of WBL learners say

they are satisfied with the overall quality of teaching

they received (or 10% were dissatisfied), the true

finding in the population is between 88.1% and

91.9% (or between 8.1% and 11.9% dissatisfied).

It is not advisable to analyse subgroups containing

fewer than 100 learners.This is because the

margin of error on a sample containing fewer than

100 is +/- 10% or more, which is generally too

large to use as a reliable estimate for learners in

that subgroup.

In comparing results in different subgroups, e.g. for

learners with disabilities and learners without

disabilities, as a general rule, based on sample sizes

of 100 or more, a difference of 12% (or more)

between two groups is always statistically

significant. So, if there is a finding of 50% amongst

learners with disabilities and a finding of 62%

amongst learners without disabilities, the difference

between the two groups indicates a genuine

difference in the population, and is not just a result

of the survey margins of error.The larger the

sample size, the smaller the difference needs to be

to indicate a genuine difference between different

groups in the whole population.

Some figures in the charts and tables may not add

to 100% due to rounding. In cases where answers

add to more than 100% because multiple

responses are allowed, a note has been provided.

The following symbols have been used in

the tables:

* to indicate percentages of less than 0.5 per cent

but more than zero

- to indicate zero per cent

2. OVERALL SATISFACTION


6 ELWa

This section covers:

● Learners' overall satisfaction with their

learning experience

● What they had hoped to achieve by undertaking

the course and the extent to which their

objectives had been met

● For WBL learners only, the relevance of their

training to their current job

● Analysis of the key drivers of overall satisfaction

2.1 OVERVIEW

2.1.1 Overall satisfaction with

learning experience

Satisfaction is high, with 70% of learners describing

themselves as extremely or very satisfied and over

90% expressing some degree of satisfaction.The

latter figure is so high that it might be argued that

there is little room for improvement. However,

those learners who were only ‘fairly satisfied’ are

arguably less than fully satisfied and belong to the

group for whom the experience could have been

improved.This group therefore constitutes 30%

of learners.

Table 2.1: Overall satisfaction with

learning experience

Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown

Base:All learners Total

Base: Unweighted 6215

Base:Weighted 6215

%

Extremely satisfied 27

Very satisifed 43

Fairly satisfied 22

Neither nor 2

Fairly dissatisfied 3

Very dissatisfied 1

Extremely dissatisfied 1

Total extremely/very satisfied 70

Total satisfied 92

Total dissatisfied 5

7 ELWa

2.1.2 Achievement of objectives

Satisfaction is inevitably a somewhat subjective

measure. It will be influenced, to some extent, by the

learner’s disposition (i.e. their character and outlook)

and by their expectations. In order to investigate the

match with expectations, learners were asked what

they had hoped to achieve by undertaking the

course and how far the course had helped them in

achieving these objectives. Learners’ objectives were

generally linked to self development or improvement

but a significant proportion (just under 75%) had

career or education progression in mind.

Table 2.2: Learners’ objectives in

undertaking their course

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Multipleresponses allowed

The vast majority of learners feel that the

course/training has helped them a lot in achieving

their objectives.Table 2.3 shows the percentages

that feel their learning has helped them a lot and

helped them a little in achieving each objective.

Taken at face value, it shows that learners with

progression related objectives rate the

effectiveness of their learning lower than those

with other objectives. However, where courses

have not helped the learner to meet their

objectives, this tends to be because the course is

ongoing (and therefore a proper assessment

cannot be made), or that the learner dropped out

of their course before completion.



Base:Weighted 6215

%

Improve knowledge of subject 95

Gain new skills 93

Further your personal development 92

Meet new people 83

Do something useful with spare time 76

Get onto other courses/

further your education

74

Get more satisfaction from work 74

The ability to progress through

career generally

73

Get a different job/better job 63

Learn skills for a job you were

doing at the time

53


8 ELWa

Table 2.3: Extent to which course has

helped learner to achieve objectives

Notes: ‘Did not help at all’ and ‘don’t know’ are not shown

The remainder of this section looks at these issues

in greater detail within type of provision.

2.2 FURTHER EDUCATION

2.2.1 Overall satisfaction with the

learning experience

Over a quarter of FE learners (27%) are extremely

satisfied with their overall learning experience, and

43% are very satisfied.This means 70% of FE

respondents fall within the highest two rating

bands, whilst 92% of FE learners express some

degree of satisfaction. Just 5% of FE respondents

express dissatisfaction, therefore the overall results

are very positive.

Chart 2.1: Overall satisfaction with

learning experience (FE)

Satisfied Dissatisfied

Extremely Very Fairly

Base: All FE learners (4707)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘neither/nor’ not shown

Satisfaction varies by gender with males in the

16-18 age band slightly less likely than females in

the same age bracket to be extremely or very

satisfied with their overall learning experience

(64% versus 70% respectively).

It is also interesting that the views of older

learners are marginally more polarised than

those of their younger counterparts, with

higher proportions stating that they are

extremely satisfied but also higher proportions

expressing dissatisfaction.



Base:Weighted 6215

% helped

a lot

% helped

a little

Improve knowledge

of subject

86 16

Gain new skills 76 20

Further your personal

development

66 25

Meet new people 69 25

Do something useful

with spare time

54 24

Get onto other

courses/further

your education

60 26

Get more satisfaction

from work

65 25

The ability to

progress through

career generally

69 23

Get a different

job/better job

51 19

Learn skills for a

job you were doing

at the time

61 27

27% 43% 22% 5%

9 ELWa


Analysis by ethnic group is restricted to FE only.

Whilst the samples for each provision type are

representative of ethnicity, the proportion of

minority ethnic people in Wales is low (2%).

Hence, even within FE, the potential for analysis is

limited by the numbers of minority ethnic learners

(98). Overall levels of satisfaction with the learning

experience as a whole are similar when the two

groups are compared, but there are variations

regarding the degree of satisfaction. For example,

minority ethnic learners are less likely to say they

are ‘extremely satisfied’ with the overall learning

experience (58% versus 70% of white learners).

Course variables also influence overall levels of

satisfaction with the learning experience.The

groups most likely to declare themselves to be

‘extremely’ or ‘very’ satisfied are:

● Those studying ‘Hospitality/catering’ (77%),

‘Leisure/travel/tourism’ (80%) and ‘Languages’ (77%)

● Those living in North Wales (76%)

Age within gender

Base: All FE learners Male

16-18

Male

19-24

Male

25+

Female

16-18

Female

19-24

Female

25+

Base: Unweighted 700 326 733 687 378 1883

Base:Weighted 598 320 1087 555 339 1807

% % % % % %

Extremely satisfied 23 20 27 29 22 30

Very satisfied 41 43 45 40 40 44

Fairly satisfied 30 30 19 24 30 18

Neither/nor 2 3 2 3 2 2

Fairly dissatisfied 2 2 4 1 3 4

Very dissatisfied * * 1 1 2 1

Extremely dissatisfied 1 2 2 1 1 1

Total extremely/very satisfied 64 62 72 70 62 73

Total satisfied 94 92 91 94 92 92

Total dissatisfied 3 4 7 3 6 6

Table 2.4: Overall satisfaction by age within gender (FE)


10 ELWa

The least satisfied groups include:

● Those who have seriously thought about leaving

their course (46%)

● Those doing courses delivered in writing

(61% versus 71%+ for other respondents)

Although a minority of FE learners expressed

dissatisfaction, it is useful to consider the reasons

why this is the case. Dissatisfaction generally relates

to the overall learning experience not being what

learners expected (this is covered in more detail in

the next sections) and poor teaching standards.

Other reasons for dissatisfaction include:

● ‘Didn’t get the help needed’

● ‘Lack of staff/changes in staff ’

● ‘Badly run/organised’

● ‘Tutors unsupportive/poor attitude’

● ‘Communication poor’

● ‘Boring/repetitive’

● ‘Workload/time pressure’

Chart 2.2 Reasons for dissatisfaction

Base: All FE learners who are less than very

satisfied (1422)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included

Examples of typical comments are:

“I didn’t enjoy the course. Only one of the

modules I found interesting. All the others were

just repeated. Sometimes the teachers weren’t

there when you needed help.”

“The tutor changes things around a lot.Transport

- the college buses are sometimes not there on

time, they are either early or late and that affects

our learning. A few times they have cancelled our

lessons because they have staff meetings. I feel they

should not do it in our lesson time.”

“The tutor was very nice but whenever we asked

a question or queried she would say ‘I don’t know’

and ‘I’ll find out’. Overall it was enjoyable but we

could have had a bit more explanation.”

2.2.2 Extent to which pre-course objectives

were met

Age influences expectations relating to long-term

career development.Thus, decreasing proportions

of learners cite each of the following objectives as

age increases:

● ‘Get a different job/better job’

● ‘The ability to progress through your

career generally’

● ‘Get onto other courses or further your education’

Notably (and unsurprisingly) those in the

youngest (16-18) and oldest age groups (55+)

are more likely than other learners to cite ‘To do

something useful with your spare time’ as a

pre-course objective.

Not what I expected

Poor teaching standard

Didn’t get the help I need

Lack/change of staff

Badly run/organised

Tutors unsupportive/poor attitude

Communication poor

Boring/repetitive

Workload/time pressure

21%

21%

14%

11%

11%

4%

4%

4%

3%

11 ELWa

Again, when considering the most commonly cited

pre-course objectives listed initially, there is little

variation by subject. However, Chart 2.3 reveals

the subjects of study of those most likely to state

their expectations as ‘Get a different job/better job’

and/or ‘Get onto other courses or further your

education’ (over 80% of learners in each case):

Get onto other course/


Engineering & manufacturing

Leisure/travel/tourism

Management/business/law

Health/social care

Literacy/numeracy

Science & maths

Humanities/social sciences

Get a different job/

better job

Leisure/travel/tourism

Literacy/numeracy

Science & maths

Chart 2.3: Subjects of study by reason for studying (FE)


12 ELWa

The majority of FE learners felt that their course

helped them a lot in meeting their pre-course

objectives (Table 2.6).This is particularly true of

the following objectives:

● ‘Improve your knowledge of the subject’ (81%)

● ‘Gain new skills’ (73%)

● ‘Do something useful with your spare time’ (69%)

● ‘Meet new people’ (68%)

Age within gender

Base: All FE learners Total 16-18 19-24 25-34 35-54 55+

Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 4707 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % %

Get a different job/better job 65 86 82 73 55 16

Learn skills for a job you

were doing at the time

53 48 62 61 57 29

The ability to progress

through your career generally

75 88 91 85 69 30

Get more satisfaction out of

your work

75 86 85 78 71 50

Get onto other courses or


76 88 82 81 70 52

Improve your knowledge of

the subject

95 96 95 95 95 94

Gain new skills 94 98 96 95 89 91


development

92 93 93 96 90 91

Meet new people 83 94 88 75 77 80

To do something useful with

your spare time

75 81 75 68 71 84

Table 2.5: Learners’ objectives in undertaking course by age (FE)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Multiple responses allowed

13 ELWa

Base:All FE learners Extent to which course helped meet objectives

Base

(unweighted)

Base

(weighted)

Helped

a lot

Helped

a little

Not helped

at all

% % %


better job

717 718 49 20 25

Learn skills for a job

doing at the time

577 627 59 28 9


through career generally

803 775 58 27 13

Get more satisfaction out

of your work

821 795 63 27 8

Get onto other courses

or further your education

833 860 55 25 14

Improve your knowledge

of the subject

1159 1145 81 16 2

Gain new skills 1144 1121 73 21 5


development

1107 1110 63 27 9

Meet new people 1104 1081 68 26 4

To do something useful

with your spare time

970 1005 69 23 7

Table 2.6: Extent to which course helped meet objectives (FE)



14 ELWa

Demographic analysis of those learners who say

their course helped them realise their objectives

reveals little variation overall. However, in terms of

gender, men are slightly more likely than women to

say that their course helped a lot in terms of:

● Their ability to progress through their career

generally (61% versus 56%)

● Getting more satisfaction out of their work

(67% versus 59%)

● Furthering their personal development

(32% versus 24%)

In terms of age, again, there are few variations, but

it is worth noting the following:

● Those in the 16-18 and 55+ age groups are far

more likely than other FE learners to feel that their

course helped a lot in terms of furthering their

personal development (70% and 69% respectively)

● Those in the younger age groups (34 years and

under) are more likely than older learners to feel

their course helped a lot in terms of meeting new

people (82%)

When the data is analysed by different course

variables, the following themes emerge:

● Perhaps inevitably, those who have seriously

thought about leaving are less likely than other FE

learners to say their course helped a lot in terms

of meeting their objectives

● Generally, the longer the course, the more likely a

respondent is to feel their learning experience

helped a lot to meet their expectations, with the

exception of:

– ‘Ability to progress through your

career generally’

– ‘Get onto other courses/further

your education’

– ‘Do something useful with your spare time’

● There is only limited scope for analysis by subject

given the base sizes. However, where comparison

with one or more subjects is possible, Information

and Communication Technologies (ICT) students

are less likely than other learners to feel their

course helped them a lot with regard to:

● ‘Getting a new/better job’

● ‘Learning skills for a job you were doing at

the time’

● ‘Getting more satisfaction out of work’

● ‘Meeting new people’

15 ELWa

The reasons why courses have not helped FE

learners to meet their expectations vary, and the

following chart summarises the key messages

where bases are sufficiently large for analysis.

Did not help to progress


Need more courses/

qualifications (14%)

Still training (12%)

Course irelevant to job (11%)

Didn’t finish job (10%)

Did not help to get

different job because

Still in same job (24%)

Still training (15%)

Didn’t finish course (11%)

Not working (11%)

Did not help to get

onto other courses

Didn’t finish course (22%)

Problems with course (10%)

Haven’t applied to

other courses (8%)

Chart 2.4: Reasons why courses have not helped meet expectations (FE)


16 ELWa

2.3 WORK BASED LEARNING

2.3.1 Overall satisfaction with the

learning experience

Around a quarter of WBL respondents are

extremely satisfied with their overall learning

experience, whilst a further 46% are very

satisfied, giving a total of 70% of WBL learners

who are highly satisfied with their overall learning

experience. Indeed, 94% of WBL learners express

some degree of satisfaction and just 4% are

dissatisfied. Again, these are positive and very

encouraging findings.


learning experience (WBL)



Base: All WBL learners (1000)

Notes: Figure for total extremely/very satisfied adds to 70% because ofrounding; ‘Don’t know’ and ‘neither/nor’ not shown

When overall satisfaction with the learning

experience across demographic groups is

considered, there are some variations, as follows:

● Females are more likely than males to say they are

extremely satisfied with their overall learning

experience (27% versus 21% of males).

(See table 2.7)

● Females in the 19+ age group are most likely to

be extremely or very satisfied (73%) compared to

68% of males

Groups who are less satisfied include:


(84% express some degree of satisfaction versus

98% of other learners)

● WBL learners who are less than very satisfied

with their employer support (54% versus 80+%

of other WBL learners)

As with FE, reasons for dissatisfaction primarily

revolve around the learning experience not being

what the respondent expected (20% of

responses). Other reasons for dissatisfaction are

shown in table 2.6:

Chart 2.6: Reasons for dissatisfaction

Base: All WBL learners who are less than

very satisfied

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included;Multiple responses allowed

Some typical learner comments are given below:

“Sometimes I feel that the person in question is

too busy to be interested.When they do listen

they offer good advice. At the start they said

somebody would come to see me and when I

started nobody saw me for 3 months.The current

assessor is very good-but the other two were not

so good. Also I am not happy with the test we

have to take because I feel it is irrelevant.”

23% 46% 24% 4%

Summary

Total extremely satisfied 70%

Total satisfied 94%

Total dissatisfied 4%

Not what I expected

Didn’t get the help I need

Boring/repetitive

Poor teaching standard

Could have covered subject faster

Lack/change of staff

Badly run/organised

20%

12%

10%

10%

8%

4%

2%

17 ELWa

“Basically when we were taken onto the job we

were told by our employers that we would be given

time during work to do the course… but we were

not given any time at all.The course should have

been completed by now but because of less time

the course is taking longer than expected.”

2.3.2 Extent to which pre-course

objectives were met

The largest proportions of WBL learners

(90%+ in each case) cited the following aims for

their training programme:


● ‘Improve knowledge of the subject’ (94%)

● ‘Further personal development’ (93%)

● ‘The ability to progress through career

generally’ (93%)

● ‘Get more satisfaction from work’ (90%)

Gender does not appear to influence expectations.

However, age does play a role (table 2.8) with

those in the younger age group more likely than

respondents of 19+ years to cite ‘Meet new

people’ and to ‘Do something useful with your

spare time’ as expectations of their training.

Age Age within gender

Base: All WBL

learners

Male Female Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Base: Unweighted 579 421 218 361 133 288

Base:Weighted 580 421 220 361 136 285

% % % % % %

Extremely satisfied 21 27 21 21 30 26

Very satisfied 47 46 49 45 41 48

Fairly satisfied 26 21 26 27 24 20

Neither/nor 2 2 1 3 1 3

Fairly dissatisfied 2 2 3 2 2 2

Very dissatisfied * 1 - 1 1 1

Extremely dissatisfied 1 1 1 1 1 1

Total extremely/

very satisfied

68 73 70 66 71 73

Total satisfied 94 94 95 93 95 93

Total dissatisfied 4 4 4 3 4 4

Table 2.7: Overall satisfaction by gender and age within gender (WBL)



18 ELWa

The majority of WBL learners felt that their

training has helped them a lot in achieving their

pre-training objectives.This is particularly the case

for the following, where over 75% of WBL learners

felt that their training helped a lot in terms of

achieving each goal:


● ‘Improve your knowledge’ (81%)


● ‘Further your personal development’ (75%)

Age

Base: All WBL learners Total 16-18 19+

Base: Unweighted 1000 351 649

Base:Weighted 1001 355 646

% % %

Get a different job/better job 84 87 83

Learn skills for a job you were doing at the time 79 76 80

The ability to progress through your career generally 93 93 93

Get more satisfaction out of your work 90 92 89

Get onto other courses or further your education 82 82 83

Improve your knowledge of the subject 94 94 95

Gain new skills 95 95 94

Further your personal development 93 91 95

Meet new people 84 91 80

To do something useful with your spare time 75 81 71

Table 2.8: Learners’ objectives in undertaking training by age (WBL)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Multiple responses allowed.

19 ELWa

Base:All WBL learners Extent to which learning helped to meet objectives

Base

(unweighted)

Base

(weighted)

Helped

a lot

Helped

a little

Not helped

at all

% % %


better job

193 191 63 14 18

Learn skills for a job

doing at the time

169 171 74 21 4



239 238 68 21 10


out of your work

198 201 71 22 6



199 201 59 18 18


of the subject

196 198 81 18 2

Gain new skills 187 186 83 15 3


development

215 215 75 20 4

Meet new people 196 193 78 16 5



159 157 64 22 11

Table 2.9: Extent to which training helped meet objectives (WBL)



20 ELWa

2.3.3 Relevance and usefulness of training

to current job

This section applies to WBL learners who were

employed at the time of interview (79% of all

WBL learners).

The vast majority of working WBL learners (87%)

say their training is directly related to their job,

whilst for 8% the training is indirectly related. Only

a tiny minority (4%) feel that their training is not

related to their job at all.

Chart 2.7: Relevance of training to job

Directly related to job 87%

Indirectly related to job 8%

Not related to job 4%

Don’t know 1%

Base: All WBL learners in employment (787)

Those who have seriously considered leaving are

less likely to say their training is directly related to

their job (77% versus 89% of those who have not

seriously considered leaving – table 2.10).

2.3.4 Usefulness of training

The majority of employed WBL learners (66%) feel

the training is very useful in connection with their

job, whilst 29% feel it is quite useful (table 2.11). Only

a tiny minority appear to have derived no use at all.

Chart 2.8: Usefulness of training to job

Very useful 66%

Quite useful 29%

Not very useful 4%

Not at all useful 2%


Younger learners (aged 16-18) are more likely to

rate their training as very useful to their current

job (72% versus 63% of 19+ year olds).

Learners’ assessment of the usefulness of their

training correlates with satisfaction with employer

support.Those who are less than very satisfied with

employer support also give lower ratings for training

usefulness.This underlines the importance of the

employer in securing a successful learning experience

for WBL learners. Further, those who have seriously

considered leaving their course are far less likely than

other respondents to rate their training as very useful.

21 ELWa


Seriously thought about leaving

training programme

Base:WBL learners employed

at time of learning

Total Yes No



% % %

Directly related to job 87 77 89

Indirectly related to job 8 16 6

Not related at all to job 4 7 4

Don’t know 1 - 1

Table 2.10: Relevance of training by whether thought about leaving programme (WBL)

Age Seriously thought

about leaving

Satisfaction with

employer support

Base:WBL

learners employed

at time of learning

Total 16-18 19+ Yes No Extremely Very Less than

very

Base: Unweighted 787 247 540 156 595 230 258 292

Base:Weighted 787 247 540 158 594 226 264 291

% % % % % % % %

Very useful to

your job

66 72 63 48 71 78 73 51

Quite useful to

your job

29 24 31 40 26 20 24 39

Not very useful to

your job

4 3 4 8 2 1 1 7

Not at all useful

to your job

2 * 3 4 1 1 2 3

Table 2.11: Usefulness of training to job by age, whether thought about leaving and

satisfaction with employer support (WBL)


22 ELWa

2.4 ACCREDITED ADULT

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Accredited ACE learners are the most satisfied

group. Roughly four in ten ACE learners (37%)

are extremely satisfied with their overall learning

experience. Adding the 41% who are very satisfied

means there are almost eight in ten ACE

respondents expressing high levels of satisfaction

and this is extremely encouraging. Just 4% of ACE

respondents are dissatisfied.


learning experience (ACE)



Base: All ACE learners (508)

Notes: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘neither/nor’ not shown

Levels of satisfaction are generally consistent across

age bands. As with FE and WBL, female learners

tend to be more satisfied (80% extremely or very

satisfied versus 75% of males).

Table 2.12: Overall satisfaction by

gender (ACE)


Gender

Base: All ACE learners Male Female

160 348

% %

Extremely satisfied 33 39

Very satisfied 42 40

Fairly satisfied 19 15

Neither/nor 2 2

Fairly dissatisfied 2 2

Very dissatisfied 1 1

Extremely dissatisfied 1 1

Total extremely/very

satisfied

75 80

Total satisfied 94 95

Total dissatisfied 4 4

Summary


Total satisfied 94%


37% 41% 16% 4%

23 ELWa

Other points that are worth noting:

● Regional analysis is limited to the South West and

South East only because sample sizes in the other

regions are too low, reflecting the fact that there

are relatively few accredited ACE learners within

those regions.Those studying in the South West

are more satisfied than those in the South East

(88% versus 75%)

● Those who study during the evening are less

satisfied than daytime learners (72% versus 82%

respectively)

Just 19 respondents express dissatisfaction with

their learning experience, and this base is too

small for robust analysis of the reasons driving

dissatisfaction. However, as for FE, the most

commonly cited reasons relate to the course not

being what the learner expected and poor

teaching standards. Some typical comments are

given below:

“We were only being taught 10 minutes out of the

two hours so we didn’t get taught enough.”

“(The problem was) my shortcomings and finding

it difficult to learn new tricks.The class wasn’t

structured. She was a good tutor but it wasn’t

quite how I would have preferred it.”

“The tutor tended to concentrate on people that

already had some skills. Some people thought

she didn’t concentrate on people that didn’t have

any skills.”

2.4.1 Extent to which pre-course objectives

were met

The key objectives for this group of learners are:

● ‘Improve your knowledge of the subject’ (94%)



Objectives are influenced by age (table 2.13).Those

in the 16-34 age group are far more likely than

other learners to cite career-related objectives:

● ‘Get onto other courses or further your education’

● ‘The ability to progress through your career’

● ‘Get a different job/better job’

A similar pattern emerges when those with

responsibilities (children or children and/or adults)

are considered versus other ACE respondents.

The former group are significantly more likely

than those with no responsibilities at home to

cite expectations that largely relate to career

development.This no doubt reflects their current

life stage because they tend to be younger than

the average ACE learner and therefore more likely

to be economically active or thinking of returning

to work.

In considering whether their course has helped

them realise their pre-course objectives, analysis is

limited to those expectations where bases are

sufficiently large for scrutiny, i.e. the most common

pre-course objectives.

In most cases, over three-quarters of ACE learners

feel that their course helped a lot in realising each

objective.The one exception relates to meeting

new people, where just 67% of learners feel their

course helped a lot in this respect.This information

is summarised in table 2.14.


24 ELWa

Age Responsibilities at home

Base: All ACE learners Total 16-34 35-54 55 + Children

only

Children

and/ or

adults

None

Base (unweighted) 508 74 194 239 131 177 331

% % % % % % %


better job

28 61 38 10 49 45 19

Learn skills for a job you

were doing at the time

31 41 46 15 43 42 24



41 68 55 21 63 57 32


out of work

51 66 59 41 66 62 46



57 74 62 48 69 68 51


of the subject

94 89 96 95 95 95 94

Gain new skills 91 95 90 90 91 91 91


development

91 96 92 89 94 93 89

Meet new people 87 92 83 90 85 85 89



86 82 80 92 77 80 89

Table 2.13: Learners objectives in undertaking course by age within gender and

responsibilities at home (ACE)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Multiple responses allowed; Unweighted base is shown as ACE data was not weighted.

25 ELWa

2.5 COMPARISON ACROSS

PROVISION TYPES


learning experience

It is an extremely positive finding that around

seven in ten FE learners and WBL learners

describe themselves as extremely or very satisfied

overall, whilst the same is true of almost eight in

ten ACE learners. Indeed, levels of dissatisfaction

are very low for every learning type.


learning experience by type of provision



Notes:WBL figure for total extremely/very satisfied adds to 70%because of rounding; ‘Don’t know’ and ‘neither/nor’ are not shown

Base:All ACE learners Base

(unwtd)

Helped a

lot

Helped a

little

Not helped

at all

% % % %

Improve your knowledge of the subject 152 86 13 1

Gain new skills 147 79 18 3

Further your personal development 171 75 18 5

Meet new people 119 67 26 6



129 81 16 2

Table 2.14: Extent to which training helped meet objectives (ACE)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Multiple responses allowed; Unweighted base is shown as ACE data was not weighted.

Summary

FE: Extremely/very satisfied 70%

WBL: Extremely/very satisfied 70%

ACE: Extremely/very satisfied 78%

37% 41% 16% 4%

23% 46% 24% 4%

27% 43% 22% 5%


26 ELWa

Dissatisfaction is primarily due to expectations not

being met, although poor teaching standards are

also mentioned.

2.5.2 Achievement of objectives

The common objectives relate to self-

improvement, either in the form of gaining

additional knowledge or skills or in the general

area of personal/ social development.

For the remaining objectives there is more

differentiation by learning type.This reflects the

nature of provision and the life stage of the

different learner profiles in that:

● WBL learners, as one would expect are much

more likely to cite work/career related goals

● ACE learners' objectives are mainly linked to

personal development

● FE learners express a mix of goals reflecting the

wide age range within this learner group, and the

wide range of learning programmes undertaken

Base:All learners FE WBL ACE



% % %

Improve knowledge of subject 95 94 94

Gain new skills 94 95 91

Further your personal development 92 93 91

Meet new people 83 84 87

Get onto other courses/further your education 76 82 57

The ability to progress through career generally 75 93 41

Get more satisfaction from work 75 90 51

Do something useful with spare time 75 81 86

Get a different job/better job 65 84 28

Learn skills for a job you were doing at time 53 79 31

Table 2.15: Learners’ objectives in undertaking course by type of provision

Notes: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Multiple responses allowed

27 ELWa

The vast majority of learners feel that the

course/training has helped them a lot in achieving

their objectives.The table below shows the

percentages who feel that their learning has helped

them a lot and helped them a little in achieving

each objective.Where there are gaps in the

ACE figures (marked by N/A), this is due to low

base sizes.

Base:All those stating

each objective

FE WBL ACE



% helped

a lot

% helped

a little

% helped

a lot

% helped

a little

% helped

a lot

% helped

a little

Improve knowledge of subject 81 16 81 18 86 13

Gain new skills 73 21 83 15 79 18


development

63 27 75 20 75 18

Meet new people 68 26 78 16 67 26

Get onto other courses/


55 25 59 18 N/A N/A

The ability to progress through

career generally

58 27 68 21 N/A N/A

Get more satisfaction from work 63 27 71 22 N/A N/A

Do something useful with

spare time

69 23 64 22 81 16

Get a different job/better job 49 20 63 14 N/A N/A

Learn skills for a job you were

doing at time

59 28 74 21 N/A N/A

Table 2.16: Extent to which course has helped achieve objectives by type of provision



28 ELWa

The highly targeted nature of WBL programmes is

reflected in the high proportions who feel that

their learning has made a contribution to meeting

their work related objectives. A clear majority of

this group feel that they are making real progress.

For FE, it is interesting that the lowest assessments

of the course contribution are given for career

progression objectives: 'get a different/better job',

'get onto another course, further your education',

and 'ability to progress through career generally'.

This may be because it is too early for the learners

interviewed to have derived such benefits, whereas

WBL learners will see the benefits immediately

reflected in the work they are doing.

Where courses have not helped the learner to

meet their objectives, this tends to be because the

course is ongoing (and therefore a proper

assessment cannot be made), or that the learner

dropped out of their course before completion.

2.5.3 Drivers of satisfaction

Regression analysis has been used to identify

drivers of satisfaction/dissatisfaction.The process

involved tracking the correlation between how

learners feel about different elements of the

learning experience and how satisfied they are

overall.The analysis allows weights to be attached

to the various factors influencing satisfaction

among learners.

As can be seen from the table below, the results

are broadly similar for each provision type when

looking at the teaching and management factors

but vary where support services and facilities are

concerned.Teaching and management issues stand

out as having the most influence on overall

satisfaction levels. Facilities are also important in

driving satisfaction but the importance of different

types of facility varies according to provision type.

Among FE learners the four elements which are

influencing satisfaction each have a broadly similar

impact but among WBL learners there is stronger

weight attached to social facilities and

counselling/childcare facilities.The satisfaction levels

of ACE learners also seem to be more strongly

influenced by social facilities and learning facilities

play a stronger role in driving satisfaction than is

the case with the other provision types.

Table 2.17: Relative influence of different

elements of learning experience on overall

satisfaction by provider type

Notes: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included




% % %

Teaching 37 41 36

Management 31 29 34

Counselling/

Childcare Facilities

10 10 6

Making the Right

Choice

8 3

Learning Facilities 7 11

Other Facilities 7 3

Social Facilities 12 10

IT Facilities 6

29 ELWa

2.6 KEY POINTS RAISED IN

THIS SECTION

FE

Overall satisfaction with the learning experience is

high, with 70% saying they are extremely or very

satisfied, and 92% expressing some degree of

satisfaction.The learners that are most likely to feel

extremely or very satisfied are:

● Females aged 25+ (74%)

● Males aged 25+ (72%)

● Those studying hospitality related courses (77%)

The least satisfied learners are:

● Males aged 16-18 (64%)

● Males aged 19-24 (63%)

● Females 19-24 (62%)

Younger learners are much more likely to

qualify their assessment by opting for a fairly

satisfied rating.

Reasons for giving a less than very satisfied rating

revolve around:

● The learning not matching expectations

● Teaching standards being poor

● Provision being poorly organised or

communication being poor

The younger, least satisfied learners are more likely

than average to raise issues around:

● The learning not matching expectations

● Tutor’s attitudes being poor/unsupportive

● Lessons being boring

● There being lack of staff or frequent changes

of staff

Learners generally have several objectives they

wish to fulfil by means of their learning, ranging

from career progression, to furthering their

education or to making better use of their spare

time. Given some of the goals are long term,

it is too early for some learners to assess the

contribution the learning has made. In general,

however, assessments are very positive with

the majority of learners already feeling that the

course has helped them a lot in moving towards

their individual objectives.


30 ELWa

WBL

Satisfaction with the overall learning experience is

high – 70% of WBL learners are either extremely

or very satisfied. Extreme satisfaction is more likely

amongst females, but age also has an impact.

Females in the 19+ age group are most likely to

be extremely or very satisfied, whilst males in the

same group are the least likely to express this

degree of satisfaction.

Reasons for dissatisfaction primarily relate

to the experience not being what the

respondent expected.

The majority of WBL learners feel that their

training has helped a lot in terms of realising their

pre-training objectives, particularly in the cases of:


● ‘Improve your knowledge’ (94%)

● ‘Ability to progress through career generally’ (93%)



WBL learners who were employed at the time

of their interview were asked about the relevance

of their training and the usefulness of that training

in terms of their current job.The majority feel

that their training is directly related to their job

(87%), whilst 66% feel that their training is very

useful and 29% feel it is quite useful.

ACE

ACE learners show the highest levels of satisfaction

of all three groups. 78% are extremely or very

satisfied, whilst 94% express some degree of

satisfaction. Levels of satisfaction are generally

consistent across age bands. However, females are

slightly more likely than males to be extremely or

very satisfied.

When analysing whether cited pre-course

expectations were met, this is limited to

expectations where bases are sufficiently large.

Over 75% of ACE learners say their course

helped a lot in terms of:

● ‘Improving your knowledge of the subject’ (86%)

● ‘Do something useful with your spare time’ (81%)



Proportion with first

choice of provider/

course declines

through groups

3. MAKING THE DECISION

31 ELWa

This section covers:

The choices that learners have made and whether

they managed to get their first choice of course

and learning provider.Those who did not get

their first choice of provider or course were

asked to give details of their preference and to

say why they did not attend that provider or

follow that course/ training programme

● The advice they sought in making those choices

● How useful they feel the advice has been

● Whether their expectations of what the course

might involve have been met

3.1 OVERVIEW

3.1.1 Choice

The majority of learners are studying at their first

choice of learning provider (75%) and following

their first choice course/training (87%).

Chart 3.1: Choice of learning provider

Base: All learners (6215)

Chart 3.2: Choice of course

Base: All learners (6215)


For every learning type, achieving one's first

choice of provider/course influences overall

satisfaction with the learning experience.

Overall satisfaction deteriorates as the proportion

of learners accessing their first choice of provider

and course falls.

Chart 3.3: Correlation between attending

first choice of provider and course and

overall satisfaction with learning

Extremely satisfied

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Indifferent/ dissatisfied

When it comes to choosing a learning provider,

58% of learners state that convenience of location

is a key factor, whilst 27% say that a key reason

was because the provider offered the training they

wanted (table 3.1).

Yes - First choice

No - Not first choice

Didn’t have any choice

Didn’t actively consider another option

75%

4%

15%

6%

Yes - First choice

No - Not first choice


Didn’t actively consider another option

87%

4%

5%

3%


32 ELWa

Table 3.1: Reasons for attending provider


3.1.2 Advice about choice of course and

provider

Table 3.2 shows that the most commonly used

source of advice is ‘tutors at the college/provider’

but even so only 37% of learners appear to have

consulted them together with a further 25% who

have consulted the ‘college admissions office’.

‘Friends’ are an important source of advice at 36%.

Some learners said they had consulted their

‘School Careers Advisor’ and this is interpreted to

mean either the Careers Wales Advisor or a

teacher within the school.

Table 3.2: Sources of advice used




Base:Weighted 6215

%

Convenience of location 58

Offered the training I wanted 27

Has the best reputation (general) 11

Has the best reputation for

pass rates

1

Has the best reputation for

my course/training

2

Friends were going there/

friend recommended

9

Recommended by

career advisor/school

2

Offered coursetraining at

convenient times for me

6

Had no choice – employer chose 8

Had no choice – no other

providers in area

4

It included Welsh language

teaching/training

*

To progress/get qualified 6



Base:Weighted 6215

%

Careers Wales 21

College admissions 25

Teachers at school 20

Tutors at college/ provider 37

Parents or family members 25

Friends 36

Employer 25

Schools Careers Advisor 20

learndirect service 7

learndirect website 4

33 ELWa

There is not a great deal of differentiation between

sources in terms of the usefulness of advice

offered. However, advice from colleges/providers

receives marginally higher ratings than that

originating from school related sources (table 3.3).

Ratings are shown as mean scores out of 4 where

4 is ‘very useful’ and 1 is ‘not at all useful’.

Table 3.3: Usefulness of different sources -

mean score out of 4, where 4 is very useful


3.1.3 Pre-course expectations

In order to assess how prepared learners were

for what their course/training would involve,

they were asked to indicate whether their

expectation had been met regarding the factors

listed in table 3.4.

Table 3.4: Percentage of learners whose

pre-learning expectations were met


The bulk of the remainder said they had no

expectations and, in particular, over 20% of

learners say they had no expectations regarding

the types of people that would be on their

course/training programme.



Base:Weighted 6215

Careers Wales 3.4

College admissions 3.6

Teachers at school 3.4

Tutors at college/provider 3.7

Parents or family members 3.5

Friends 3.5

Employer 3.4

Schools Careers Advisor 3.4

learndirect service 3.5

learndirect website 3.4



Base:Weighted 6215

%

The amount of work

you have to do

79

Structure of the course 79

The amount of responsibility

you would have to take

72

The amount of deadlines to meet 73

Course content 84

Teaching styles and methods

used in the sessions

79

Standard of work expected 86

The types of people on the course 70


34 ELWa

When the reality differed from expectations this

was mainly due to:

● ‘Too much work’

● ‘Teachers disorganised/ not very good’

● ‘Too much responsibility’

● ‘Not enough time to do work/too much at once’


3.2.1 Learning provider choice

Chart 3.4:Whether attending first

choice provider

Yes - first choice 77%

Didn’t have any choice 14%

Didn’t actively consider another option 6%

No - not first choice 4%

Base: all FE learners (4707)


77% of FE learners are studying at their first choice

of provider (chart 3.4).When this proportion is

examined by age (table 3.5), it is evident that those

aged 16-18 are significantly more likely than other

age groups to be studying at their first choice of

provider, and far less likely to say that they didn’t

have a choice where they studied (4% versus 15%

or more in other age groups).

35 ELWa


Notably, males in the 19-24 age bracket are less

likely than their female counterparts to say they

are studying at their first choice of provider.

To some extent this is subject influenced –

those studying ‘Engineering/manufacturing’ and

‘Management/business/ law’ (both male dominated)

are amongst those least likely to be studying at

their first choice.

Region influences response.Those living in North

Wales are slightly less likely than other FE learners

to say they are studying at their first choice of

provider (72%) and more likely to feel that they

didn’t have a choice (20%).

Other points worth noting

● Those studying ‘Engineering/manufacturing’ are

slightly more likely than other FE learners to say

that they didn’t have a choice when selecting their

provider (22%)

● The following groups are less likely than

other learners to be studying at their first choice

of provider:

– Those studying for NVQs (67%).This group

are also slightly more likely to say that they

didn’t have a choice of where to study

– Those employed for 21+ hours (67%)

– Learners following a written course of

study (64%)

Base:All

FE learners

Age within gender

(M – Male F – Female)

Age

Total M

16-18

M

19-24

M

25+

F

16-18

F

19-24

F

25+

16-18 19-24 25-34 35-54 55+

Base:

Unweighted 4707 700 326 733 687 378 1883 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:

Weighted 4707 598 320 1087 555 339 1807 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % % % % % % % %

Yes –

first choice77 89 73 72 86 82 72 88 77 72 71 73

No – not

first choice4 3 2 3 8 2 4 5 2 4 3 3

Didn’t have

any choice14 5 21 19 2 10 17 4 15 17 19 17

Didn’t actively

consider

another

option

6 3 4 6 4 5 7 3 5 6 7 7

Table 3.5:Whether attending first choice provider (FE) by age and age within gender


36 ELWa

– Respondents who speak fluent Welsh (68%),

who are also more likely to say they didn’t

have a choice where to study (25%)

Amongst the FE learners who are not studying at

their first choice of provider, the most commonly

cited reasons they provide are as follows:

● ‘Didn’t offer the course I wanted’ (20%)

● ‘Location/not as convenient/too far away/poor

transport’ (14%)

● ‘Wasn’t accepted onto that course/applied too

late/was full’ (12%)

3.2.2 Course choice

Chart 3.5:Whether attending first choice

course (FE)





Base: All FE learners


The vast majority of FE learners (88%) are

following their first choice course (chart 3.5), and

this proportion is consistent across both genders

and all age groups. Furthermore, analysis by

programme shows little variation across region,

subject type and qualification type.

Of the 4% of learners who are not pursuing their

first choice of course, the courses most commonly

cited as their initial preference are as follows:

● ‘Arts and media’ (16%)

● ‘ICT’ (12%)

● ‘Humanities & social sciences’ (9%)

● ‘Leisure, travel and tourism’ (9%)

The most widespread reasons for not following a

first choice course include:

● ‘College does not provide the course

I wanted’ (12%)

● ‘Could not get on the chosen course’ (10%)

3.2.3 Reasons for choosing provider

Convenience of location is the main driver when it

comes to choosing a provider for this learner

group.The following table shows the most

commonly cited reasons for provider choice:

37 ELWa

Age is the main variable influencing choice of

provider. Most notably, learners in the 16-18 age

group are more likely than older learners to be

influenced by their friends in their choice of

provider (21% versus an average of 10%).

Looking at course type, the following groups are

more likely to say that their employer chose the

learning provider:

● Those aged 19-54

● Those studying ‘Engineering/manufacturing’ (17%),

‘Hospitality/catering’ (21%), ‘Retailing/distribution/

customer service’ (17%)

Age

Base: All FE learners Total 16-18 19-24 25-34 35-54 55 +

Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 4707 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % %

Convenience of location 60 61 62 61 58 63

Offered the training I wanted 27 27 22 27 28 32

Has the best reputation (general) 12 18 15 10 8 8

Friends were going there/friend

recommended

10 21 8 7 6 4

Had no choice – employer chose 8 2 11 14 10 5

Offered course/training at convenient

times for me

5 2 3 8 7 6

To progress/get qualified 5 4 5 4 7 6

Been to college before 4 2 6 7 3 4

Has the best reputation for my

course/training

3 4 3 3 2 1

Good facilities/resources 3 4 2 2 3 1

Had no choice – no other providers

in area

3 3 4 3 4 5

Table 3.6: Reasons for choosing provider by age (FE) (Mentions by 3% or more of total)



38 ELWa

● Learners pursuing written courses (23%)

● Those studying for NVQs (17%)

3.2.4 Sources of advice about choice

of provider

Chart 3.6 illustrates that the main sources of

advice for FE learners are ‘Tutors at college’ (40%)

and ‘Friends’ (36%).The chart also depicts the

Quality Score for each source of advice – this is

the mean score in terms of usefulness of advice

received where 1 is ‘not at all useful’ and 4 is ‘very

useful’.There is little variation across the sources in

terms of usefulness of advice, although ‘Tutors at

College’ and ‘College admissions’ receive relatively

higher mean scores.

Table 3.7 provides a full breakdown of the

proportions of FE learners citing each advice

source, and shows the variation in advice seeking

across age groups. In most cases those in the

16-18 age group are far more likely to have sought

advice from each of the key sources than older

learners.The notable exception is that 16-18 year

olds are less likely to have consulted their

employer than those aged 19-54.

It is also worth noting that minority ethnic learners

are more likely than white learners to have sought

advice from:

● Careers Wales (40% v 21% of white learners)

● Teachers at school (45% v 21%)

● Parents/family (43% v 25%)

● Friends (48% v 36%)

● School careers advisor (36% v 20%)

This in part reflects their younger age profile

(older people from minority ethnic groups have

lower levels of participation in learning than white

people of the same age).

Chart 3.6: Sources of advice about choice of provider (FE)



learndirect website

learndirect service

School Careers Advisor

Employer

Friends

Parents or Family

Tutors at college

Teachers at school

College admissions

Careers Wales

Quality

3.4

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.5

3.5

3.7

3.4

3.6

3.4

4%

7%

20%

24%

36%

25%

40%

22%

27%

21%

39 ELWa

Analysis by subject reveals that:

● Those studying ‘Leisure/travel/tourism’ and

‘Literacy/numeracy’ are more likely to have sought

advice from ‘Careers Wales’ than other learners

(48% and 40% respectively)

● Those studying ‘Engineering/manufacturing’ and

‘Hospitality/catering’ are more likely than other

learners to have sought advice from their

‘Employer’ (45% and 49% respectively)

● Students of ‘Leisure/travel/tourism’ and ‘Science/

maths’ are at least twenty percentage points more

likely to have consulted ‘Teachers at School’ and

‘Schools Career Advisors’

Age


Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 707 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % %

Careers Wales 21 55 26 7 7 5

College admissions office 27 33 27 26 26 25

Teachers at school 22 58 26 4 8 5

Teachers/tutors at provider 40 59 43 36 30 27

Parents or other family members 25 59 36 8 9 7

Friends 36 58 40 27 26 27

Employer 24 14 33 31 28 10

Schools Careers Advisor 20 65 27 1 2 1

learndirect service 7 9 7 6 6 5

learndirect website 4 6 3 3 3 4

Table 3.7: Sources of advice about choice of provider by age (FE)



40 ELWa

Diagram 3.1: Sources of advice by subject

choice (FE)

Interestingly, learners with learning difficulties are

significantly more likely than those without to have

sought advice from the following:

● ‘Careers Wales’ (28% vs 21% of those without

learning difficulties)

● ‘Teachers at school’ (31% vs 21%)

● ‘Parents/other family members’ (35% vs 24%)

● ‘Schools Careers Advisor’ (30% vs 20%)

Other points worth noting for this section:

● Those living in the South East and South West are

more likely to cite ‘Careers Wales’ as a source of

advice than FE learners in other regions 25% and

24% respectively)

● FE learners in North Wales are less likely than

those living elsewhere to have sought advice from

several key advice sources, namely ‘Teachers at

school’ (12%), ‘Tutors at college’ (35%), ‘Schools

Career Advisor’ (7%), ‘Parents/other family

members’ (14%) or ‘Friends’ (29%).This group,

however, is slightly more likely to have sought

advice from an ‘Employer’ (30%).

3.2.5 Whether pre-course expectations

were met

The vast majority of FE learners felt that their

experience matched their pre course expectations,

which ties in with the high levels of overall

satisfaction with the learning experience.

Advice Source:

Employer

Engineering/

Manufacturing

Hospitality/Catering

Advice Source:

Teachers at School and

Schools Careers Advisor

Leisure/Travel/Tourism

Science

Maths

Advice Source:

Careers Wales

Leisure/Travel

Tourism

Literacy/Numeracy

41 ELWa

Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown.Table shows row percentages.

Notably, respondents were most likely to say they

had no expectations in relation to:

● ‘The types of people on your course’ (25%)

● ‘The amount of responsibility you would have

to take’ (22%)

● ‘The amount of deadlines to meet’ (20%)

There may be scope to provide more guidance on,

certainly the latter two of these issues, given that

an underestimate of what is going to be required

of them can lead to some learners failing to

complete their course.

Age and gender influences whether some

expectations have been met, as follows:

● Males aged 19-24 are more likely than females in

the same age category to feel the structure of the

course (84% vs 72%) and the amount of deadlines

met their expectations (81% vs 71%)

Other points worth noting:

● Those who have seriously considered leaving their

course were generally less likely to say that their

expectations had been met

● There was little variation by subject although:

– Those studying ‘Hospitality/catering’ and ‘Arts

and media’ are less likely to feel that their

expectations had been met regarding the

amount of responsibility they would have to take

– Those studying ‘Management/businesslaw’ are

most likely to say they had no expectations

regarding the types of people that would be on

their course

The reasons why expectations have not been met

vary, but are most likely to focus on there being

too much work, too many deadlines, too much

responsibility and the work being too difficult. Few

learners complained of being under stretched.

Base:All FE learners Extent to which expectation met

Base: Unweighted: 4707 Met Not met No expectation

Base:Weighted: 4707 % % %

The amount of work you have to do 79 8 12

Structure of the course 79 7 13



72 3 22

The amount of deadlines to meet 73 5 20

Course content 84 6 9

Teaching styles and methods used in the sessions 79 8 11

Standard of work expected 86 4 9

The types of people on the course 70 3 25

Table 3.8:Whether pre-course expectations were met (if they had any) (FE)


42 ELWa


3.3.1 Provider Choice

The majority of WBL respondents (61%) are

undertaking their training programme at their first

choice of provider.When comparing across other

provision types, this proportion is relatively low

and is likely to relate to training choices being

dictated by an employer – indeed, around a

quarter of WBL learners (23%) say they did not

have a choice of provider.


provider (WBL)





Base: All WBL learners


Results vary by age within gender. Males in the

16-18 band are slightly less likely than females in

the same age group to say that they ended up

with their first choice of provider (66% compared

with 71%). Further, males in both the 16-18

and 19+ age bands are more likely than their

female counterparts to say that they didn’t have

any choice.

43 ELWa


Overall satisfaction with learning decreases as the

proportion of learners attending their first choice

provider decreases (table 3.9).

Other points worth mentioning include:

● The proportion of respondents who are training at

their first choice provider is roughly consistent

between regions

● Respondents studying ‘Management/business/law’

or ‘Health/social care’ are slightly more likely than

those studying other subjects to be training at their

first choice of provider (65%)


their training are less likely to have been

matched with their first choice of provider (55%

compared with 63% who have not seriously

thought about leaving)

Age within gender Overall satisfaction

Base: All WBLlearners

Total Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Extremely Very Fairly Indifferent/

dissatisfied

Base: Unweighted 1000 218 361 133 288 240 458 240 61

Base:Weighted 1001 220 361 136 285 235 463 242 60

% % % % % % % % %

Yes – first choice 61 65 55 73 61 66 66 53 41

No – not first

choice

7 12 4 10 3 7 5 8 9

Didn’t have

any choice

23 15 32 9 25 18 21 29 39

Didn’t actively

consider another

option

9 7 8 9 10 9 8 10 11

Table 3.9:Whether attending first choice provider by age within gender and overall

satisfaction (WBL)


44 ELWa

3.3.2 Choice of training

In terms of choice of training, the vast majority

of WBL learners (81%) are following the subject

and qualification that they most wanted to do.

However, 5% say they are not pursuing their

first choice, whilst 8% feel that they didn’t have

a choice and 6% didn’t actively consider

another option.


training (WBL)





Base: All WBL learners


Again, age has a bearing on the results (table 3.10).

A slightly smaller proportion of those in the 19+

age group received their first choice of training,

compared to younger respondents (79% versus

85%). Older respondents were also slightly more

likely to feel that they didn’t have any choice

when it came to training options (10% in the

19+ category compared with 3% in the

16-18 age group).

There are no significant differences between the

regions, with similar proportions of respondents

following their first choice of training across the

four areas.

Those respondents who stated that their training

course was not their first choice (48 respondents)

were asked to state their first choice for training.

The most commonly cited training courses are

listed below:

● ‘Construction’ (10 mentions)

● ‘ICT’ (9 mentions)

● ‘Engineering and manufacturing’ (4 mentions)

● ‘Business, administration and law’ (4 mentions)

● ‘Retailing, distribution, customers services’ (incl.

hairdressing) (4 mentions)

● ‘Different qualification/ different level of training’

(4 mentions)

Respondents who did not get their first choice

of provider or training were asked to give the

reasons why this was the case.This was a free

response question, and more than one reason

could be given.

45 ELWa

The most commonly cited reasons relate to not

being able to get onto a chosen training

programme or a particular provider not supplying

the training that the respondent wanted.The

following list summarises the most commonly

cited reasons (5 or more mentions out of a total

of 106):

● ‘Could not get on the chosen training’

(17 mentions)

● ‘No places on the training’ (15 mentions)

● ‘Provider does not provide the training I wanted’

(13 mentions)

● ‘Didn’t enjoy first choice training/wasn’t happy

there’ (8 mentions)

● ‘Travel problems’ (7 mentions)

● ‘This one is better/better training/opportunities/

experience’ (6 mentions)

● ‘Left the course/left the job/dropped it/

transferred, no reason given’ (5 mentions)

● ‘Wanted to work at the same time/get paid/

couldn’t have done that’ (5 mentions)

● ‘Wouldn’t have been paid on other training/

less pay/no grant’ (5 mentions)


Amongst WBL learners, the most common

reasons for choice of training provider are

summarised in table 3.11 – ‘Convenience of

location’ and ‘Offering the training I wanted’ are by

far the most frequently cited reasons.

Age Overall satisfaction

Base: All WBL

learners

Total 16-18 19+ Extremely Very Fairly Indifferent/

dissatisfied

Base: Unweighted 1000 351 649 240 458 240 61

Base:Weighted 1001 355 646 235 463 242 60

% % % % % % %

Yes - first choice 81 85 79 84 86 74 63

No – not first choice 5 6 4 2 4 7 7

Didn’t have any

choice

8 3 10 6 6 10 19

Didn’t actively consider

another option

6 6 5 7 3 8 11

Don’t know 1 - 1 1 1 - -

Table 3.10:Whether attending first choice training by age and overall satisfaction (WBL)


46 ELWa

As can be seen from the above, employers play

more of a role among in the choice of trainees

aged 19+.Trainees aged 16-18 are marginally more

likely to be influenced by friends (particularly

female trainees within this age group (15%)) and

by the reputation of the provider.

‘Convenience of location’ is more important for

certain groups, as follows:

● Males in both the 16-18 and 19+ age groups

(30% and 33% respectively)

● Those studying ‘Construction’, which is in itself a

male dominated course (38%)

Age

Base: All WBL learners Total 16-18 19+



% % %

Convenience of location 28 26 29

Offered the training I wanted 25 22 27

Had no choice – employer chose 16 7 21

Has the best reputation (general) 9 12 8

To progress/get qualified 9 10 9

Friends were going there/friend recommended 6 10 4

Wanted a good job 5 4 6

Had no choice – no other providers in area 4 5 3

Recommended by careers advisor 4 6 3

Wanted to work/earn some money 4 4 4

Wanted on-the-job training in workplace 4 3 5

Offered course/training at convenient times for me 3 3 3

Has the best reputation for my course/training 3 3 2

To get hands on experience 3 4 2

To help me get a job/they find you a job 3 3 3

Table 3.11: Reasons for choosing provider by age (WBL) (Mentions by 3% or more of total)


47 ELWa

● Respondents following courses of 2 or more years

duration (39% cite this compared with 28%

or less for shorter courses)

Within all regions, ‘Convenience of location’

was the most commonly cited reason for

choice of provider, with the exception of the

South East region, where ‘Offering the training

I wanted’ received more mentions (22% and

27% respectively).

3.3.4 Sources of advice about choice of

provider

It is of no surprise that the key source of advice for

WBL learners was their employer – 55% cited this

source. In terms of the Quality Scores relating to

the usefulness of each advice source there is little

variation where 1 is ‘not at all useful’ and 4 is ‘very

useful’. However, ‘Employers’ and ‘Tutors at provider’

scored relatively higher, whilst the ‘learndirect

website’, ‘Parents/family’ and ‘Teachers at school’

scored relatively lower (chart 3.9).

Analysis by age shows strikingly different advice

seeking patterns between the 16-18 and 19+ age

groups. Gender also influences advice seeking.

The key messages may be summarised as follows:

● 16-18 year olds are more active receivers of

advice given that they are far more likely than

older respondents to have had contact with

‘Careers Wales’ and ‘Teachers at school’.

Males are more likely than females to have cited

these sources

● The same is true for ‘Schools Career Advisors’ and

this is interpreted to mean either the Careers

Wales Advisor or a teacher within the school.

53% of 16-18 year olds cited this source of advice,

versus 23% of older respondents

Chart 3.9: Sources of advice about choice of provider (WBL)



learndirect website

learndirect service


Employer

Friends

Parents or Family

Tutors at provider

Teachers at school

College admissions

Careers Wales

Quality

3.2

3.4

3.4

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.6

3.3

3.4

3.4

4%

7%

33%

55%

37%

39%

36%

26%

16%

43%


48 ELWa

● 54% of 16-18 year olds cited ‘Parents/other family

members’ as a source of advice, compared with

30% of 19+ year olds

● ‘Employers’ are the most commonly cited source

of advice for older respondents, and this group

was slightly more likely to mention their ‘Employer’

as a source of advice than those in the 16-18 age

group (57% versus 51% respectively)

The subject of study has some influence regarding

the sources of advice used by respondents.

The following diagram shows the subjects studied

by those who are most likely to consult the

most popular advice sources – ‘Employers’ and

‘Careers Wales’.

Age within gender Length of training

Base: All WBL

learners

Total Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Up to

1 yr

>1yr up

to 2 yr

2 yrs

plus

Base: Unweighted 1000 218 361 133 288 330 244 286

Base:Weighted 1001 220 361 136 285 333 246 281

% % % % % % % %

Careers Wales 43 64 33 66 27 43 42 44

College

admissions office

16 17 18 17 13 12 18 22

Teachers at school 26 40 25 34 12 18 31 34

Teachers/tutors

at provider

36 40 39 31 30 29 41 43

Parents or other

family members

39 56 36 50 23 28 41 54

Friends 37 46 33 49 31 34 38 43

Employer 55 48 58 55 56 48 56 61

Schools Careers

Advisor

33 53 28 52 16 24 40 42

learndirect service 7 9 7 6 6 5 7 8

learndirect website 4 4 4 6 2 5 3 3

Table 3.12: Sources of advice about choice of provider by age within gender and length of

course (WBL)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not shown; Multiple responses allowed

49 ELWa

Diagram 3.2: Sources of advice by

subject choice

Length of the training also influences advice

seeking. In general, the lower the time

commitment, the less likely respondents are to

have sought advice from any of the key sources.

3.3.5 Whether pre-course expectations

were met

Generally WBL learners appear to have known

what to expect although a fifth of respondents did

not know what to expect with regard to the

'Types of people on the training'.

Advice source:

Employer

Construction/Engineering/

Manufacturing

Health/Social care

Advice source:

Careers Wales

Hospitality/Leisure/

Travel/Tourism/

Customer service

ICT

Construction/Engineering/

Manufacturing


50 ELWa

Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown; Table shows row percentages.

When the results are analysed by demographic

and course variables, a few common patterns

emerge, notably:

● Females in the 19+ age bracket seem to have had

a better idea of how much responsibility they

would have to take than males in the same age

group (82% vs 76%)

● Males in the 16-18 age group are slightly more

likely than females in the same age band to have

had accurate expectations regarding ‘Training

content’ (87% vs 81%) and ‘Teaching styles/

methods’ (85% vs 78%)

● Those studying ‘ICT’ and ‘Hospitality/catering/

leisure/travel/retail/customer service’ are less likely

than those on other programmes to have known

how much responsibility they would have to take

(23% and 20% compared to 15% overall)

● As with FE, those who have seriously thought

about leaving their training are generally less likely

than other respondents to say their expectations

have been met

Extent to which expectation met

Base: All WBL learners Met Not met No expectation

Base: Unweighted: 1000

Base:Weighted: 1001

% % %


Structure of the training 82 4 13



80 4 15


Training content 82 4 13



The types of people on the training 75 2 21

Table 3.13:Whether pre-course expectations were met (if they had any) (WBL)

51 ELWa

3.4 ACCREDITED ADULT CONTINUING

EDUCATION

3.4.1 Provider choice

The vast majority of accredited ACE learners

(78%) are studying at their first choice of provider,

and this proportion is largely consistent across

gender and age groups.Whilst 10% of respondents

felt that they didn’t have a choice regarding

provider, this proportion is consistent between the

two regions for which comparisons can be made

(South West and South East), suggesting that

differential availability is not a regional issue for this

learner group.


choice provider





Base: All ACE learners


The timing of a course appears to influence

whether respondents attend their first choice

of provider. Evening students are marginally

more likely to be attending their first choice than

daytime students, (81% and 76% respectively).

Daytime students are slightly more likely to

feel that they didn’t have any choice regarding

their provider.

3.4.2 Course choice

The overwhelming majority of respondents (92%)

are studying their first choice of course. Again, this

proportion is consistent across both gender

groups and age bands.

A slight difference is evident when regions are

compared – those in the South West are slightly

more likely than those in the South East to

be studying their first choice of course

(96% versus 91%).


52 ELWa


choice course





Base: All ACE learners


Only a very small number of ACE learners (2%)

were not attending their first choice of provider or

course, and this proportion is insufficient for

quantitative analysis. Some of the reasons they

gave are quoted below:

“There wasn’t one available on the night I

had free.”

“Because they only had advanced computer

courses whereas I wanted basic.”

“Because there weren’t enough members on

the course.”

“[It wasn’t my first choice] but it was the nearest

place that did Spanish.”


Convenience and the availability of particular courses

are the main drivers for provider choice amongst

this learner group, and this is consistent across

genders, age groups and the two regions available for

comparison (South West and South East).

Table 3.14: Reasons for choosing provider

(ACE) (Mentions by 3% or more)


Other points worthy of note:

● Working respondents are slightly more likely to cite

convenience of location as a reason for choosing their

provider (76% vs 68% of those who are not working)

● Convenience of location was cited by a larger

proportion of those studying in the evening (77%)

than during the daytime (69%)

● Respondents with disabilities/ learning difficulties

are slightly more likely to cite ‘Friends were going

there/ friend recommended’ as a reason for

choosing their provider (10% vs 4%)

Base:All ACE learners 508

%

Convenience of location 72

Offered the training I wanted 28

Offered course/training at

convenient times for me

12

Friends were going there/

friend recommended

5

Has the best reputation (general) 4

To progress/get qualified 4

Had no choice – no other

providers in the area

4

53 ELWa

The pattern for sourcing advice is notably different

amongst accredited ACE learners. In particular,

there is a reliance on friends for advice as opposed

to the more formal information sources favoured

by FE and WBL learners.The Quality Scores

(where 1 is ‘not very useful’ and 4 is ‘very useful’)

show some considerable variation between advice

sources, however, these should be approached

with caution, as the bases for the usefulness

of some sources of advice are too small for

robust analysis.

Other points worth noting about advice

sources include:

● Table 3.15 reveals that, as with FE and WBL, ACE

respondents in the 16-34 age group are more

likely to cite ‘Careers Wales’ as a source of advice

(however, the results for this age group should be

approached with caution due to small base size)

● Those with disabilities/learning difficulties are more

likely to have sought advice from their ‘College

admissions office’ than other learners in this group

learndirect website

learndirect service


Employer

Friends

Parents or Family

Teachers at college

Teachers at school

College admissions

Careers Wales

Quality

3.5

3.7

4.0

3.5

3.6

3.7

3.9

3.7

3.6

3.2

2%

5%

2%

6%

31%

14%

22%

7%

13%

6%

3.4.4 Sources of advice about choice of provider

Chart 3.12: Sources of advice about choice of provider (ACE)

Base: All ACE learners (508: small bases for some sources)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and other responses are not shown; Multiple responses allowed


54 ELWa

3.4.5 Whether pre-course

expectations met

ACE learners have generally had their expectations

met, the most notable exception concerns the

amount of responsibility and deadlines, where

substantial minorities of respondents said they had

no expectations in these areas (table 3.16).

Age

Total 16-34 35-54 55 +

Base (Unweighted) 508 74 194 239

% % % %

Careers Wales 6 18 6 2

College admissions office 13 14 12 13

Teachers at school 7 15 8 4

Teachers/tutors at provider 22 28 20 21

Parents or other family members 14 26 10 14

Friends 31 35 28 32

Employer 6 7 12 2

Schools Careers Advisor 2 7 1 1

learndirect service 5 5 5 5

learndirect website 2 3 3 2

Table 3.15: Sources of advice about choice of provider by age (ACE)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not shown; Multiple responses allowed; Unweighted base is shown as ACE data was not weighted

55 ELWa

Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown;Table shows row percentages.

There are few variations across demographic

groups or course variables, with the exception

of the following:

● Those who are working are less likely than

non-working ACE respondents to say that their

expectations were met in relation to the

‘Teaching styles and methods used in the sessions’

(79% versus 89% not working)

● They are also less likely than non-working

respondents to say their expectations were met in

relation to the ‘Types of people on the course’

(67% versus 79% not working)


PROVISION TYPES

Whilst the majority of all learners are studying at

their first choice of provider and following their

first choice course/training, smaller proportions of

WBL learners are studying at their first choice

provider or following their preferred training

programme.This is likely to relate to employer

influences on WBL learners. Indeed, almost a

quarter of WBL learners do not feel they had a

choice regarding where they studied (23%).

Extent to which expectation met

Base: All ACE learners (508) Met Not met No expectation

% % %





65 1 30


Training content 85 6 9




Table 3.16: Whether pre-course expectations were met


56 ELWa

(Base: FE 4707;WBL 1000; ACE 508)

(Base: FE 4707;WBL 1000; ACE 508)

When it comes to choosing a provider,

‘Convenience of location’ is a key driver for each

provision type, but of less overall importance for

WBL learners. ‘Offered the training I wanted’ is

also key across all provision types.

Yes - first choice

No - not first choice


Didn’t actively consider another optionFE

77%

4%

14%

6%

Yes - first choice



Didn’t actively consider another optionWB

L

61%

7%

23%

9%

Yes - first choice



Didn’t actively consider another optionAC

E

78%

4%

10%

7%

Chart 3.13: Choice of provider by type of provision

Yes - first choice



Didn’t actively consider another optionFE

88%

4%

5%

3%

Yes - first choice



Didn’t actively consider another optionWB

L

81%

5%

8%

6%

Yes - first choice



Didn’t actively consider another optionAC

E

92%

2%

2%

4%

Chart 3.14: Choice of course by type of provision

57 ELWa

Advice seeking patterns differ between learner

groups, with one of the most obvious differences

relating to WBL learners, who are far more likely

than other learners to seek advice from their

employer and/or Careers Wales than other

learners.Within all provision types, the 16-18 year

old learners are far more likely to have sought

advice than older learners and to have consulted a

range of sources. As one would expect the

younger learners are active users of school or

Careers Wales staff.Whilst these are considered

useful, there is tendency to attach more value to

the advice received from the point of destination

i.e. staff at the provider they are now attending

or the employer they are working for.This is

possibly because they are able to offer more

specific information.





% % %

Convenience of location 60 28 72

Offered the training I wanted 27 25 28

Has the best reputation (general) 12 9 4

Has the best reputation for pass rates 2 1 *

Has the best reputation for my course/training 3 3 *

Friends were going there/friend recommended 10 6 5

Recommended by career advisor/school 2 4 1

Offered course/training at convenient times for me 5 3 12

Had no choice – employer chose 8 16 1

Had no choice – only one that accepted me 1 1 *

Had no choice – no other providers in area 3 4 4

It included Welsh language teaching/training * * 1

To progress/get qualified 5 9 4

Table 3.17: Reasons for attending provider


58 ELWa

Ratings of usefulness are broadly similar by

provision type with college/provider tutors the

most highly rated source. Employer advice is

more useful to WBL learners as one would expect

and parental or family advice is more valued by

FE learners.




% % %

Careers Wales 21 43 6

College admissions 27 16 13

Teachers at school 22 26 7

Tutors at college/ provider 40 36 22

Parents or family members 25 39 14

Friends 36 37 31

Employer 24 55 6

Schools Careers Advisor 20 33 2

learndirect service 7 7 5

learndirect website 4 4 2

Table 3.18: Sources of advice about choice of provider

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not shown; Multiple responses allowed

59 ELWa

3.5.1 Expectations of what the course

might involve

In the majority of cases expectations have been

met. ACE learners, however, are the least likely to

say their expectations were met in terms of the

amount of responsibility they would have to take

and the amount of deadlines they would have

to meet.




Careers Wales 3.4 3.4 -

College admissions 3.6 3.4 -

Teachers at school 3.4 3.3 -

Tutors at college/ provider 3.7 3.6 3.9

Parents or family members 3.5 3.3 -

Friends 3.5 3.4 3.6

Employer 3.3 3.5 -

Schools Careers Advisor 3.4 3.4 -

learndirect service 3.5 3.4 -

learndirect website 3.4 3.2 -

Table 3.19: Usefulness of different sources of advice about choice of provider

(mean score out of 4, where 4 is very useful)

Notes: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown (- indicates base sizes too small)


60 ELWa

Across all three groups, over 20% of learners

said they had no expectations regarding the

types of people that would be on their

course/training programme.

When the reality differed from expectations this

was mainly due to:

● ‘Too much work’

● ‘Teachers disorganised/ not very good’

● ‘Too much responsibility’

● ‘Not enough time to do work/too much at once’

Type of provision

Base: All learners FE WBL ACE



% % %



The amount of responsibility you would have to take 72 80 65


Course content 84 82 85




Table 3.20:Whether pre-course expectations were met

Note: Percentages based on all those whose pre course expectation were met; ‘Don’t know’ is not shown

61 ELWa


THIS SECTION

FE

Whether an FE learner accesses their first choice

of provider and/or course has an impact on their

overall satisfaction with their learning experience,

so it is positive that the majority of FE learners are

at their first choice of provider (77%) and/or

following their first choice of course (88%).

Those most likely to achieve their first choice

of provider were learners in the youngest age

group (16-18).

Those least likely to be at their first choice

provider were:

● Those living in North Wales (who are more likely

to say that they didn’t have choice)

● Males aged 19-24

● Those studying ‘Engineering/manufacturing’

or ‘Business studies’ courses

‘Convenience of location’ is by far the main factor

for FE learners when it comes to choosing a

provider – 60% cited this reason compared with

27% saying the ’Provider had the course I wanted’

and 12% saying the ‘College has the best

reputation’.This does not vary by region.

The main sources of advice for this group are

‘Tutors at college’ and ’Friends’. Advice seeking

varies by age – notably, those in the 16-18 age

group are far more likely to have sought or

received advice from all the key sources, with the

exception of ‘Employers’. ‘College based staff ’

receive higher ratings for the usefulness of their

advice than other sources.

Generally most expectations of what the course

would involve have been met.The aspects for

which there is most uncertainty as to what to

expect relate to:

● ‘Type of people on the course’

● ‘The amount of deadlines’

● ‘The amount of responsibility learners have

to take’

The last two of these, are among the more

commonly mentioned difficulties that learners

have experienced (see the Problems section,

Section 8). A mismatch of expectations is one

of the most commonly mentioned reasons for

dissatisfaction.The proportion who say that their

expectations have not been met with factors

such as course content are broadly in line with

the levels of dissatisfaction.

Priorities for Action

Factors relating to making the right choice

accounted for around 8% of satisfaction.

Within the elements that make up this category,

improving the usefulness of advice should be

the main focus for action.


62 ELWa

WBL

Whilst the majority of WBL learners are studying

at their first choice provider (61%) and are

following their first choice of training (81%), these

proportions are lower than observed amongst FE

and ACE learners, perhaps reflecting the fact that

this group are strongly influenced by their

employers (see below).

The percentage accessing their first choice of

provider varies by age and gender and subject.

When considering first choice of training, there is

little regional variation, but age does appear to

influence whether learners are pursuing their

preferred training programme in that younger

learners are more likely to have obtained their

first choice.

‘Convenience of location’ and ‘Offering the training

I wanted’ drive choice of provider for this group,

with similar proportions of WBL learners citing

each of these reasons, but employer influence is

also an important factor.Variations in expectations

are uncovered when age, gender and subject are

considered. For example, females aged 19+ had

more accurate expectations regarding how much

responsibility they would have to take than males

in the same age bracket. In addition, those studying

‘ICT’ and ‘Hospitality/catering’ ‘leisure/travel’ ‘retail/

customer service’ were less likely than those on

other programmes to have known how much

responsibility they would have to take.

It is of little surprise that the key source of advice

for WBL learners is their ‘Employer’ – 55% cited

this source, and this is most likely to be the case

amongst those aged 19+. Indeed, age has a strong

influence on advice seeking.Thus, learners in the

youngest age category (16-18) are significantly

more likely than other WBL respondents to cite

‘Careers Wales’, ‘Teachers at school’, ‘School

Careers Advisors’ and ‘Parents/family members’

as sources of advice.

Employer advice and advice from tutors at

college/provider are the most highly ranked in

terms of usefulness.

Generally WBL learners appear to have known

what to expect in terms of what the course

would involve but females aged 19+ appeared to

have a clearer idea of how much responsibility

they would have to take than their male

counterparts. Male 16-18 year olds, on the

other hand, were more likely than their female

peers to know what to expect as regards

training content and methods.


This aspect of training provision did not

emerge to have as much importance for WBL

learners as for other learners and no priorities

for action were identified.

63 ELWa

ACE

The vast majority of accredited ACE learners are

studying at their first choice of provider (79%) and

following their first choice of course (92%).These

proportions are largely consistent across age and

gender groupings, and there is little regional

variation (regional analysis is limited to South East

and South West only).

The level accessing their first choice of provider is

influenced by course timings – those studying in

the evening are slightly more likely to be at their

first choice of provider when compared with

daytime learners (81% vs 76%).

As with learners in other types of provision,

‘Convenience of location’ and ‘Availability of

courses’ are the key drivers for this group when

choosing a provider, and there is little variation

across region, gender and age groups.Those who

are working and/or studying in the evening are

more likely to cite ‘Convenience of location’ as a

driver than other ACE respondents.

Accredited ACE learners tend to rely on ‘Friends’

for advice – 31% cited this source.This may

explain why they have slightly less expectation of

what the course will involve than other learners.


As for FE learners the main priority for action

is to improve the usefulness of advice.

4. QUALITY OF TEACHING


64 ELWa

Introduction:

This section covers learners’ assessments of the

quality of teaching/training they have received.

They were asked to rate their overall satisfaction

with the quality of teaching and performance on

a number of detailed teaching related

indicators covering:

● ‘Making your subject interesting or enjoyable

for you’

● ‘Understanding you and how you like to learn’

● ‘The support they give you for example

in improving your study techniques or

time management’

● ‘Makes good use of session time’

● ‘The quality and availability of teaching materials

they use’

● ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals to help y

ou improve’

● ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback

on progress’

● ‘Dealing with disruptive learners’

● ‘Ability to explain the subject’

● ‘Listening to your needs’

Performance on a number of management

related indicators covering:

● ‘Making sure enough trainers/assessors

are available’

● ‘Providing support when I or other learners

need it’

● ‘Helping new people settle in’

● ‘Managing timetables so that they suit the

learner best they can’

● ‘Communicating changes in times for sessions’

● ‘Assessors turning up as planned’

● ‘Seeing the same assessor throughout’

Learners rated these indicators on a points out

of 10 basis. In analysing the results a score of 9 or

10 out of 10 has been treated as a high score

65 ELWa

4.1 OVERVIEW

Satisfaction with teaching is very high across all

learners with over 90% stating some degree of

satisfaction (either extremely, very or fairly).

Table 4.1: Overall satisfaction with teaching


The highest scoring indicators relating to

teacher/trainer performance are:

● ‘Ability to explain the subject’ (54% of learners

giving 9 or 10 out of 10)

● ‘Listening to your needs’ (51% of learners giving

9 or 10 out of 10)

Lower scoring indicators (with 45% of learners or

less giving 9 or 10 out of 10) were:

● ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals’ (40%)


(42%)

● ‘The quality and availability of teaching materials’

(43%)

● ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback’ (43%)

● ‘Dealing with disruptive learners’ (43%)

● ‘The support they give to you’ (44%)

● ‘Makes good use of session time’ (45%)

On all of these indicators over 20% of learners

scored performance as 6 out of 10 or less.

Learners were asked to rate a number of issues

relating to the management and administration of

their learning.The results are shown in table 4.3

below.The lowest rating factors relate to

communicating changes to lesson/session times

and ensuring enough trainer/assessors are available.

Base:All learners All Learners


Base:Weighted 6215

%


Very satisfied 37

Fairly satisfied 24

Neither/nor 3


Very dissatisfied 1


Total extremely/very satisfied 67

Total satisfied 91

Total dissatisfied 5


66 ELWa

Table 4.2:Top ratings on teaching/training

indicators (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than thosegiven on the table.

Table 4.3:Top ratings on management and

administration indicators (% awarding 9 or

10 out of 10)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those giving a rating.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given in the table.

In the following part of this section the aim has

been to explore learners’ views by looking at the

responses overall and by learner and course

characteristics.This enables the identification of

groups who perceive aspects of teaching/training

quality to be particularly high or low.



Base:Weighted 6215

%

Ability to explain the subject 55

Listening to your needs 52

Making subject interesting/

enjoyable

48

Understanding you and how

you like to learn

42

The support they give to you 44

Makes good use of

session time

45

The quality and availability of

teaching materials

43

Setting clear targets or

learning goals

40

Providing prompt and

regular feedback

43

Dealing with

disruptive learners

43



Base:Weighted 6215

%

Making sure enough trainers/

assessors are available

39

Providing support when I or

other learners need it

48

Helping new people settle in 48

Managing timetables so that they

suit the learner best they can

40

Communicating changes in times

for sessions

34

67 ELWa


4.2.1 Overall satisfaction with teaching/training

Three in ten learners (30%) in Further Education are

extremely satisfied overall with the standard of

teaching.Adding to this another 36% who are very

satisfied means that over two thirds are highly satisfied

with their teachers. In fact, a total of 91% expressed

some degree of satisfaction and just 5% stated a level

of dissatisfaction.These are extremely positive findings.


teaching (FE)




Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘neither/nor’ not shown; the summary totals varyby 1% due to rounding

There is little variation in overall satisfaction with

teaching/training across demographic groups

within the FE learners, however:

● Females show a slightly higher likelihood to be

extremely satisfied (32% compared to 28% of males)

● Younger age groups show a slight inclination to be

very satisfied rather than extremely satisfied, but

this is not significant

● White learners are more likely to be extremely

satisfied than minority ethnic learners

(31% versus 15%)

There is a tendency among certain groups however

to be more critical, and this is demonstrated below

where the components of teaching are broken down

into individual indicators.This suggests that, whilst there

may be issues that could be addressed on a very

specific level for certain groups, the overall impression

and perception of the standard is very good.

4.2.2 Quality of specific aspects of

teaching/training

Only two of the indicators received top ratings (9 or

10 out of 10) from at least half of the learners in FE;

‘ability to explain the subject’ (53%) and ‘listening to

your needs’ (51%).The proportion of respondents

giving top ratings to ‘making your subject enjoyable

and interesting’ was 47%. Approximately 40% of

learners in FE awarded teachers top ratings for the

following indicators (table 4.4 has the detail):


● ‘The support they give to you’

● ‘Makes good use of session time’


● ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals’

● ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback’

Females were more likely to award teachers top

ratings for all specific indicators posed but areas

where the likelihood was at least 5% points greater

than their male counterparts were:

● ‘Listening to your needs’ (55% of females gave top

ratings (9 or 10 out of 10) compared to 47%

of males)

● ‘Making the subject interesting/enjoyable’ (49% of

females gave top ratings compared to 43% of males)

● ‘Understanding you and how you like to learn’ (44%

of females gave top ratings compared to 35%)

● ‘Makes good use of lesson time’ (46% versus 40%)

Summary


Total satisfied 91%


30% 36% 24% 5%


68 ELWa

In terms of age, the least satisfied group with all

aspects of teaching is the 19-24 year olds.They

are even less satisfied than the 16-18 year olds.

From the age of 25 plus, satisfaction levels

increase progressively.

Gender Age

Base: All FE learners rating Total Male Female 16-18 19-24 25-34 35-54 55 +

Base: Unweighted 4707 1759 2948 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 4707 2005 2702 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % % % %

Ability to explain the subject 54 53 55 50 44 59 56 61

Listening to your needs 51 47 55 48 44 51 54 59

Making subject

interesting/enjoyable

47 43 49 42 35 46 50 64

Understanding you and

how you like to learn

40 35 44 36 30 43 42 53

The support they give

to you

43 41 45 44 31 46 42 55

Makes good use of

session time

44 40 46 39 31 48 46 55

The quality and availability

of teaching materials

43 43 43 43 34 45 43 52


learning goals

39 38 41 39 32 39 40 47


regular feedback

42 40 44 38 35 45 43 53

Dealing with

disruptive learners

43 41 44 38 35 46 52 48

Table 4.4:Top ratings on teaching/training indicators (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10)

by gender and age (FE)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor. This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given on the table.

69 ELWa

4.2.3 Management of learning

Half of the FE learners (50%) awarded their provider

top ratings for providing support when they or other

learners needed it and/or helping new people settle in

(54%). Lower ratings were given for making sure that

teachers are available (43%) and managing timetables

to best suit the learner’s needs (45%).

In most cases female learners were more likely to

give the provider top ratings for the indicators

listed (this was usually an increase on the male

percentage of around 5% points). In terms of age,

younger learners appear to be less satisfied but the

differences are not so pronounced as those noted

for quality on individual aspects of teaching.



teaching/training

Just over a fifth (22%) of all WBL learners are

extremely satisfied with their trainers/assessors

overall and an additional 37% are very satisfied.

This means that 59% of learners awarded their

trainers/assessors top ratings.The remaining 41% is

made up of 33% who are fairly satisfied, 3% who

are indifferent or unwilling to give a satisfied or

dissatisfied rating and 5% who are dissatisfied.

Given these findings, it should be noted that the

actual recorded level of dissatisfaction is

extremely low.

Gender Age

Base: All FE learners rating Total Male Female 16-18 19-24 25-34 35-54 55 +

Base: Unweighted 4707 1759 2948 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 4707 2005 2702 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % % % %

Making sure enough

teachers are available

43 42 44 34 28 50 49 58

Providing support when I

or other learners need it

50 48 51 44 40 54 52 64

Helping new people

settle in

54 52 56 50 43 61 56 64

Managing timetables so

that they suit the learner

best they can

45 43 47 41 34 49 46 62

Communicating changes

in times for sessions

41 38 43 33 28 47 45 61

Table 4.5:Top ratings on management and administration indicators by gender and age (FE)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given on the table.


70 ELWa


teaching/training (WBL)





Satisfaction rates differ across demographics and

course types. Concentrating on the likelihood to

give the top rating of extremely satisfied, the data

shows that:

● Females are more likely to say that they are

extremely satisfied (27% compared to 19% of males)

● Age also has a compounding impact.When

exploring age within gender, older females

(19 years plus) are the most likely to be extremely

satisfied and the youngest males least likely

(28% compared to 14% given by 16-18 males)

Other points to note are that:

● Employed learners are more likely to be extremely

or very satisfied compared to those that are not

employed (61% compared to 52%)

● By subject, those training in Management/business/

law are the most satisfied compared to those in

Construction/engineering/manufacturing and

transport who are the least (68% said extremely

or very satisfied in the former category compared

to 53% in the latter)

● Satisfaction with employer support and usefulness

of training to current job are linked to higher

satisfaction scores for trainers and assessors overall


teaching/training

Table 4.6 (later in this section) shows the

proportion of respondents awarding their trainers

and assessors top ratings (9 or 10 out of 10) for

the same indicators alongside demographic

information. In terms of the general response to

the quality of trainers/assessors the largest

proportion of WBL learners will give the highest

quality rating to the following statements:

● ‘Ability to explain the subject‘ (48%)

● ‘Listening to your needs‘ (47%)

● ‘The support they give to you for example in

improving your study techniques and time

management’ (40%)

Elements that are less likely to receive such strong

ratings are managing feedback, target setting and

dealing with disruptive learners.

Gender is a major influence on attitude

to quality of trainers/assessors, for this group.

Males appear to be much less satisfied than

females. Age also is an important influence as the

19+ age group for both females and males are

more likely to be satisfied. Satisfaction amongst

WBL learners appears to increase with age:

Summary


Total satisfied 92%


22% 37% 33% 5%

Satisfaction

declines

through

groups

71 ELWa

Diagram 4.1: Satisfaction (very/extremely)

with teaching/training by age within

gender (WBL)

19+ Females (65%)

19+ Males (58%)

16-18 Females (56%)

16-18 Males (53%)

The following points serve to further illustrate the

chart above (table 4.6 gives the full detail).The

data shows that some of the variance in ratings is

highly significant, the main points to note are that:

● Males are less likely to give trainers/assessors top

ratings on almost all indicators (see table 4.6).

Further to flagging this for all males, there are

three indicators where the rates are 5%

percentage points lower for 19+ males than for

males in the 16-18 age group.These are:

– ‘Making your subject interesting or enjoyable

for you’

– ‘The support they give to you for example

in improving your study techniques and

time management’

– ‘The quality and availability of teaching

materials’

● The two indicators ‘Target setting’ and ‘Prompt

feedback’ received the same level of top ratings

from 16-18 males and 19+ males, 32% and 31%

respectively. ‘Target setting’ was as high as 53% for

16-18 females (21% higher). ‘Feedback’ was 13%

higher for females than for males

● Males appear far less satisfied with how

trainers/assessors are dealing with disruptive

learners (30% of male learners give top ratings as

opposed to 46% of female learners)

Moving to females, the indicators that show any

evidence of the older females being less satisfied than

the younger (by at least 5 percentage points) are:

● ‘Making your subject interesting or enjoyable

for you’

● ‘The support they give to you for example

in improving your study techniques and

time management’

● ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals to help

you improve’

Table 4.7 looks at the ratings given for trainers/

assessors against whether the learner undertook

off-the-job training at a college, a private training

provider, or at their workplace.Whilst the variance

in satisfaction is not on the same scale as the

variances by age and gender, the provider variable

shows that:

● Learners in colleges are less likely to rate trainers/

assessors as highly on all indicators.This is

particularly the case for ‘Understanding you and

how you like to learn’ and ‘The support they give

to you’

● Those who undertake their off-the-job training at

a training provider are most likely to give top

ratings on all indicators

● The percentage giving top ratings for trainers/

assessors in the workplace is as high as that for

those in training providers for ‘Ability to explain

the subject’, ‘Listening to your needs’, ‘Setting clear

targets’ and ‘Making the subject interesting and

enjoyable’. For the remaining indicators the

proportion is somewhere in between training

providers and colleges


72 ELWa

Table 4.8 looks at the percentage giving 9 or 10

out of 10 by course subject area. As one might

expect, given that males are giving lower ratings

than females, subject areas that are predominantly

male produce lower satisfaction:

● The ‘Construction/engineering/manufacturing and

transport’ subject areas have the lowest

percentage giving top ratings for all trainer/assessor

related indicators. Proportions are low (compared

to the overall average) for :

● ‘Listening to your needs’:34% against an average of 47%

● ‘Setting clear goals’: 29% against an average of 38%

● ‘Ability to explain the subject’:

40% against an average of 48%

● ‘The support they give to you’:


● ‘Makes good use of session time’:


● ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback’:


Gender Age within gender

Base: All WBL learners rating Total Male Female Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Base: Unweighted 1000 579 421 218 361 133 288

Base:Weighted 1001 580 421 220 361 136 285

% % % % % % %

Ability to explain the subject 48 43 55 43 42 58 54

Listening to your needs 47 38 59 40 37 59 59

Making subject interesting/enjoyable 36 30 43 33 28 48 41

Understanding you

and how you like to learn

39 32 48 33 32 50 47

The support they give to you 40 34 48 37 32 53 46

Makes good use of session time 37 31 47 31 31 49 45



37 34 43 37 32 42 44

Setting clear targets or learning goals 38 31 48 32 31 53 46

Providing prompt and regular feedback 37 31 44 31 31 45 44

Dealing with disruptive learners 36 30 46 34 28 45 46

Table 4.6: Satisfaction with teacher/training aspects (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10)

by gender and age within gender (WBL)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given in the table.

73 ELWa

Provider type for off-the-job training

Base: All WBL learners rating Total College Training

provider

Workplace

Base: Unweighted 1000 328 232 648

Base:Weighted 1001 319 236 649

% % % %

Ability to explain the subject 48 43 50 49

Listening to your needs 47 42 48 50

Making subject interesting/enjoyable 36 32 38 36

Understanding you and how you like to learn 39 32 45 40

The support they give to you 40 32 46 41

Makes good use of session time 37 31 44 38

The quality and availability of teaching materials 38 36 43 36

Setting clear targets or learning goals 38 32 42 40

Providing prompt and regular feedback 37 32 40 38

Dealing with disruptive learners 36 32 44 3

Table 4.7: Satisfaction with teaching/training aspects (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10) by

provider type (WBL)



74 ELWa

Subject

Base: All WBL learners rating Total

Con

stru

ct./

Eng.

/

Man

agem

ent./

Tra

nspo

rt

Hos

pita

lity/

Cat

erin

g/

Leisu

re a

nd T

rave

l/ Re

tail

ICT

Man

agem

ent./

Bus

ines

s./

Adm

in./

Law

Hea

lth/

Soci

al/

Chi

ldca

re

Lite

racy

/ N

umer

acy/

Basic

Ski

lls

Oth

er*

Base: Unweighted 1000 305 300 174 156 114 84 54

Base:Weighted 1001 304 298 174 157 113 84 56

% % % % % % % %




enjoyable

36 28 37 40 32 36 44 48

Understanding you

and how you like to learn

39 30 40 41 47 36 36 41

The support they give to you 40 32 39 42 44 38 44 52

Makes good use of session time 37 29 35 36 43 40 42 33



38 32 40 44 41 30 38 45

Setting clear targets

or learning goals

38 29 39 40 40 38 35 44

Providing prompt

and regular feedback

37 29 37 41 40 33 39 48

Dealing with disruptive learners 36 31 38 41 47 32 32 43

Table 4.8: Satisfaction with teaching/training aspects (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10) by

subject type (WBL)

*Other includes Languages/Humanities/Arts and Sciences


75 ELWa

There is further evidence to support the intrinsic

link between overall satisfaction and satisfaction

with trainers/assessors:

● If the respondent is extremely satisfied overall

then they are much more likely to rate

trainers/assessors 9 or 10 out of 10 on

individual aspects


give significantly lower ratings for all indicators.The

most revealing points to note on this relate to the

very low rating these learners give to target setting

and feedback. In terms of target setting the

percentage of those who have seriously thought

about leaving who gave trainers/assessors 9 or 10

out of 10 is over 20% lower than those who have

never thought about leaving (22% compared to

44%). Similarly, the comparison for feedback on

progress is 22% compared to 42%. This points to

the fact that those thinking about leaving are less

happy with quality generally but of all the

indicators, they are least satisfied with the

management of their learning and the feedback

they receive

● Support from employers appears to be crucial.

Learners who are extremely satisfied with the

support they get from employers are much more

likely to rate trainers/assessors very highly. On

most indicators the proportions giving top ratings

are at least four times higher than those who are

less than very satisfied with the support from their

employer. In our sample 72% of those who are

employed were doing at least some of their off-

the-job training in the workplace

Pen portrait:Work Based Learner

This learner is undertaking an NVQ programme

in Painting and Decorating (Construction). He

is seventeen years old. He is employed and

undertakes off-the-job training in his workplace.

He had many reasons for doing this programme;

to learn skills for a job he is currently doing, to

give him the ability to progress through his

career generally, to get more satisfaction out of

his work, to get onto other courses or further

his education, to improve his knowledge of the

subject and to meet new people.

This learner did not actively consider other

options and says that his friends recommended

this course and type of provision. He used his

friends and other family members for advice and

also read a newspaper article all of which he

found to be very useful.

He is extremely satisfied with the trainers/

assessors and rates them as excellent on all the

individual indicators. He says that they helped

him a lot.The support from his employer is

evident. He is extremely satisfied with his

employer, he says ‘he showed me everything,

I can ask him anything and he would always be

so happy to help’.

This learner believes that his training has been

very useful to his job. All expectations about the

course have been met and this individual says

that he is extremely satisfied overall. He will be

very likely to undertake further learning in the

next three years.


76 ELWa


Table 4.9 shows that:

● Over half of the respondents gave top ratings for

‘assessors turning up as planned’ (52%) and ‘seeing

the same assessor throughout’ (56%)

● ‘Helping new people settle in’ and ‘making sure

that enough trainers/assessors are available’ were

also very likely to be given high ratings (45% gave

each of these factors a 9 or 10 out of 10)

● ‘Communicating changes in times of sessions’ was

least likely to receive top ratings (35%)

Consistent with earlier findings in this report, it is

male learners who are less satisfied with these

administration based indicators, particularly the

19+ males.Thus the survey reflects problems not

just with the relationship and quality of trainers/

assessors for these individuals but also with the

general management of the programme for

this group:

● ‘Managing timetables’ appears to particularly

impact on the 19+ male group, just 31% awarded

the college/training provider or workplace top

ratings compared to the 41% overall

● Support proves to be a big issue once more with

only 34% of the 19+ males giving top ratings

compared to the overall average of 43% and 62%

from the most satisfied group, the 16-18 females

When just females are considered, the general

pattern appears to be that 16-18 year olds appear

to be slightly more satisfied. Indeed, with some of

these indicators, they seem much more satisfied

than the 19+.The main areas of satisfaction

for 16-18 year old females revolve around

support systems:

● ‘Making sure enough trainers/assessors are

available’ (59% gave the college/provider or

workplace top ratings compared to 48% of 19+

females and 44% overall)

● ‘Providing support when I or other learners need

it’ (62% gave 9 or 10 out of 10 compared to 49%

of 19+ females and 43% overall)

● ‘Helping new people settle in’ (60% gave top

ratings compared to 49% of 19+ females and

45% overall)

Compared to other providers, colleges receive

the lowest proportion of ratings for 9 or 10 out

of 10 from their learners (a similar finding was

given for the trainer/assessor related indicators).

Training providers consistently score high as do

workplace providers although the latter’s ratings

tend to fall for administrative factors such as

managing timetables and ensuring assessors turn

up as planned.

● ‘Construction/engineering/manufacturing and

transport’ learners are consistently less likely than

the other subjects to give top ratings for these

management and administration indicators. In

some cases the proportion is at least 10% lower,

for example:

– ‘Providing support when I or other learners

need it’

– ‘Managing timetables so that they suit the

learner best they can’

– ‘Communicating changes in times for sessions’

77 ELWa

Age within gender Provider type

for off-the-job

Base: All WBL

learners rating

Total Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

College Training

provider

Work-

place

Base: Unweighted 1000 218 361 133 288 328 232 648

Base:Weighted 1001 220 361 136 286 319 236 649

% % % % % % % %

Making sure enough

trainers/assessors

are available

45 41 38 60 49 41 50 45

Providing support when I

or other learners need it

45 40 36 63 50 40 45 46

Helping new people

settle in

48 46 40 61 54 45 50 48

Managing timetables

so that they suit the

learner best they can

42 37 32 58 50 36 50 41

Communicating changes

in times for sessions

35 29 25 51 44 26 36 39

Assessors turning up

as planned

52 48 46 63 57 48 61 50

Seeing the same

assessor throughout

56 50 51 62 62 49 59 58

Table 4.9: Satisfaction with the management of learning (% scoring 9 or 10 out of 10)

by age within gender and provider type for off-the-job training (WBL)



78 ELWa

Subject

Base: All WBL learners rating Total

Con

stru

ct./

Eng.

/ M

anuf

./

Tran

spor

t

Hos

pita

lity/

Cat

erin

g/

Leisu

re a

nd T

rave

l/ Re

tail

ICT

Mng

mnt

./Bus

ines

s./

Adm

in./

Law

Hea

lth/

Soci

al/

Chi

ldca

re

Lite

racy

/ Ba

sic/

Basic

Ski

lls

Oth

er*

Base: Unweighted 1000 305 300 174 156 114 84 54

Base:Weighted 1001 304 298 174 157 113 84 56

% % % % % % % %

Making sure enough

trainers/assessors are available

45 37 45 49 45 45 43 50



45 34 43 46 48 43 45 48

Helping new people settle in 48 36 51 51 57 48 46 62



42 31 43 46 47 45 39 50

Communicating changes in

times for sessions

35 23 34 36 41 36 31 44

Assessors turning up as planned 52 46 58 59 57 45 58 66

Seeing the same

assessor throughout

56 49 59 60 61 54 67 66

Table 4.10:Top ratings on management and administration indicators

(% scoring 9 or 10 out of 10) by subject (WBL)



79 ELWa

4.3.4 Volume and adequacy of hours spent

off-the-job training

WBL learners were asked about the amount of

off-the-job training they were receiving and

whether they felt these were sufficient.

4.3.5 Volume of hours spent


Almost eight in ten (79%) of WBL learners

interviewed were employed whilst undertaking

their training.Those who were employed were

asked how many hours they spent in off-the-job

training per week.The results are relatively spread

with 14% spending less than two hours per week,

23% stating two to four hours per week, 14%

between five and seven hours per week and 26%

above seven hours per week. An important point

to note is that 20% of the respondents could not

answer this question due to the fact that they did

not undertake off-the-job training every week.

Chart 4.3: Number of hours per week

spent off-the-job training (WBL)


The number of hours spent undertaking off-the-

job training per week varies significantly by type

and location of training. As one would expect,

those who are training at colleges as opposed to

training providers or in the workplace have a

higher number of off-the-job training hours.

Also those who are doing construction/

engineering/manufacturing/transport subjects are

much more likely to be undertaking off-the-job

training for over seven hours per week (43% who

are on training related to these subjects compared

to the overall total of 25%). Linking in with this, it is

the male WBL learners who benefit from more

off-the-job training (34% are on programmes that

give them over seven hours per week compared

to just 13% of the females).

Concentrating on learners who said that they

get at least 7 hours off-the-job training per

week, table 4.12 shows how subject of training

relates to number of hours.

4.3.6 Adequacy of hours spent


All WBL respondents who were employed were

asked if the amount of off-the-job training they

received was adequate or would they prefer more.

Whilst a majority of WBL learners appear to be

happy with the volume of hours (71% said that

they have enough time) a quarter would like more

dedicated time.

Under 2 hours 14%

2 - 4 hours inc 23%

5 - 7 hours inc 14%

Above 7 hours 26%

Don’t know 3%

Do not have every week

20%


80 ELWa

Chart 4.4:Adequacy of hours spent off-the-

job training per week (WBL)

Enough time 71%

Would like more time 25%

Don’t know 4%


There is very little to suggest that any particular

group of WBL learners requires more off-the-job

training hours. Learners on programmes/subjects

that actually offer less hours per week in off-the-

job training (i.e. Hospitality/Catering/Leisure and

Travel/Retail and Health/Social/Childcare) are not

particularly more likely to say that they require

more time.

Gender Provider type for


Base: All learners Total Male Female College Training

provider

Workplace

Base: Unweighted 787 465 322 273 136 568

Base:Weighted 787 465 322 273 136 568

% % % % % %

Under 2 hours 14 11 19 4 11 16

2-4 hours inc. 23 20 27 13 25 26

5-7 hours inc. 14 14 15 24 18 13

More than 7 hours 26 35 12 46 27 21

Do not have every week 20 17 23 10 16 22

Don’t know 3 3 3 3 2 3

Table 4.11: Number of hours per week off-the-job training by gender and provider type for

off-the-job training (WBL)

81 ELWa


EDUCATION


teaching/training

Almost four in ten (39%) learners in ACE are

extremely satisfied with their teachers overall.

With another 40% very satisfied this means that

almost eight in ten fall within the highest two

rating bands.The proportion choosing extremely/

very satisfied options is higher than amongst FE

and WBL learners and confirms that quality is

extremely high in the eyes of this learner group.

Just 4% were dissatisfied to some degree.


teaching (ACE)



Base: All ACE learners (508)


39% 40% 15% 4%

Summary


Total satisfied 94%



82 ELWa


teaching/training

Age and gender influence degrees of satisfaction

amongst ACE learners. Older females are

consistently the most likely to award teachers 9 or

10 out of 10 on all indicators. In most cases, the

younger females are more satisfied than the older

males. It is the males under 55 years of age that

are least satisfied. In particular, ratings are much

lower for the following issues:


(with 47% giving top ratings, 10% less than the

average and 19% down on the most satisfied

group, the 55+ females)

● ‘Makes good use of session time’ (48% giving top

ratings, which is 10% down on the average and

16% down on the 55+ females)


(12% down on the overall average)

● ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback’ (20%

down on the overall average)

Subject

Base: All learners Total

Con

stru

ct./

Eng.

/

Man

uf./

Tran

spor

t

Hos

pita

lity/

Cat

erin

g/

Leisu

re a

nd T

rave

l/ Re

tail

ICT

Mng

mnt

./ Bu

sines

s./

Adm

in./

Law

Hea

lth/

Soci

al/

Chi

ldca

re

Lite

racy

/ Ba

sic/

Basic

Ski

lls

Oth

er*

Base: Unweighted 787 265 222 109 129 86 62 39

Base:Weighted 787 264 221 110 129 85 61 40

% % % % % % % %

Under 2 hours 14 7 13 16 17 14 16 15

2-4 hours inc. 23 14 22 28 28 32 24 28

5-7 hours inc. 14 15 19 17 14 16 10 19

More than 7 hours 26 46 31 29 15 11 31 27

Do not have every week 20 15 13 10 24 23 19 12

Don’t know 3 4 3 1 2 4 - -

Table 4.12: Number of hours per week off-the-job training by subject (WBL)


Satisfaction

declines

through

groups

83 ELWa

Ratings show that the 55+ females are extremely

satisfied with teaching quality. Particular indicators

are ‘Listening to your needs’ and ‘Making subject

interesting/enjoyable’.

Taking into account the four age/gender groups,

it may be generalised that the ‘trail’ of satisfaction

runs along the following lines (chart 4.6 gives the

full detail):

Chart 4.6: Satisfaction with

teaching/training (ACE)

55 + Females

Under 55 Females

55 + Males

Under 55 Males

Age within gender Age leaving school

Base: All ACE learners rating

9 or 10 out of 10

Total Male

<55

Male

55+

Female

<55

Female

55+

<16 16-18 18

plus

% % % % % % % %




enjoyable

62 54 63 59 72 77 59 55


you like to learn

57 47 51 56 66 67 56 47




teaching materials

51 39 48 52 57 63 47 44


learning goals

47 40 43 47 54 62 44 36


regular feedback

53 33 45 57 60 59 51 44


Table 4.13:Top ratings on teaching/training indicators by age within gender and age leaving

school (ACE)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor. This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given in the table.


84 ELWa

A number of other variables have an impact on

satisfaction with teaching indicators. On all

indicators, its appears that:

● Learners who left school young (under 16) are

more satisfied than those who finished or stayed

on in education. As a group they are in fact at least

10% higher than the average to give 9 or 10 out of

10 for all of the following indicators:

– ‘Listening to your needs’

– ‘Making the subject interesting/enjoyable’

– ‘Makes good use of session time’


materials’

– ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals’

● ACE learners who are not working give higher

ratings on all factors than those who are working

(there may be an age factor at play here)

● Those who have disabilities or learning difficulties

are more satisfied than those who do not (see

table 4.14).The proportions rating teachers 9 or

10 out of 10 were significantly higher for this

group when relating to the following issues:

– ‘Makes good use of session time’

– ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals’

– ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback’

On selected indicators, it appears that learners

with responsibilities (either children only and/or

children and adults) are more satisfied than

those without:

● ‘Listening to your needs’ (67% of those with

children only and 68% of those with children

and adults to care for gave teachers top

ratings compared to 59% of learners with

no responsibilities)


(64% of those with children only and 62% of

those with children and adults to care for gave

teachers top ratings compared to 54%)

● ‘The support they give to you’ (57% of those

with children only and also of those with

children and adults to care for gave teachers

top ratings compared to 49% of learners with

no responsibilities)

85 ELWa

Employment Disabilities/

learning

difficulties

Prime

responsibilities

Base: All ACE learners rating

9 or 10 out of 10

Total

Not

wor

king

Wor

king

With

disa

bilit

y/

lear

ning

diff

icul

tyN

o

disa

bilit

y/ le

arni

ng

diffi

culty

Resp

onsib

ilitie

s-

child

ren

only

Resp

onsib

ilitie

s-

child

ren

and/

or a

dults

No

resp

on-s

ibilit

ies

% % % % % % % %




enjoyable

63 69 55 69 61 62 63 63


you like to learn

57 65 46 65 54 64 62 54




teaching materials

51 55 46 59 49 54 53 50


learning goals

47 53 41 60 44 52 50 46


regular feedback

53 54 51 65 49 55 55 51


Table 4.15: Top ratings on teaching/training indicators (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10)

by employment, disabilities/learning difficulties and responsibilities (ACE)



86 ELWa

Pen portrait:ACE Learner

This learner is male, 69 years old and is

undertaking a part time (three hours or less per

week) course in the Welsh language.

He decided to do the course so that he could

improve his knowledge of the subject, gain new

skills, further his personal development, meet

new people and do something useful with his

spare time. He also wanted the ability to

communicate with grandchildren in this language.

He is attending his first choice of course and

provider, the location being the primary driver.

Unfortunately he is extremely dissatisfied with

the quality of teaching overall. For the indicators

relating directly to teachers he tends to award

them 5 or 6 out of 10 and the same applies to

the ratings for the management of his learning

by his provider. He has experienced problems in

maintaining his personal motivation and believes

that the teacher did not have the ability to

communicate adequately.

This learner is fairly satisfied overall. He says that

progress has been made in his studies that he

proposes to continue. He will be undertaking

further learning in the next three years.


All indicators received top ratings from

approximately six in ten accredited ACE learners.

When the teacher based indicators were explored

in the previous section, quite a degree of variance

was found between the younger male and older

female rates of satisfaction (the latter being much

more satisfied). A similar pattern emerges when

ratings of how the course is handled by the

provider are considered. However, whilst the under

55 males are least satisfied, on many of the

indicators the difference is not so marked.

Issues where the under 55 male is least

satisfied are:

● ‘Managing timetables’ (37% rated their provider

9 or 10 out of 10 compared to the overall

average of 58%)


(45% rated their provider 9 or 10 out of 10

compared to the overall average of 59%)

Another positive finding is that people with

disabilities and/or learning difficulties generally rate

the management of learning in ACE higher than

average. Of particular note are the following:

● ‘Helping new people settle in’ (74% gave their

provider top ratings compared to the overall

average of 63% and the figure for those with no

disabilities/learning difficulties of 60%)

● ‘Managing timetables’ (70% gave their provider top

ratings compared to the overall average of 58%

and the figure for those with no disabilities/learning

difficulties of 54%)

87 ELWa

Other variables that show a likelihood to rate the

management of learning higher are:

● Those who left education early (this group are

more likely to give high ratings than those who

have stayed on at school longer)

● Learners with childcare or other caring

responsibilities were slightly more likely to give top

ratings for ‘providing support when I or other

learners need it’ (65% compared to 57% with no

caring responsibilities)

4.5 COMPARISON ACROSS PROVISION

TYPES

Satisfaction with teaching/training is very high

across all three provision types with over 90% in

each case stating some degree of satisfaction

(either extremely, very or fairly). Key differences by

provision type are as follows:

● ACE learners are the group most likely to say that

they were extremely satisfied (39% compared to

30% in FE and 22% in WBL)

● WBL learners are more guarded in their expression

of satisfaction than other types of learner, fewer fall

into ‘extremely satisfied’ category and more describe

themselves as only ‘fairly satisfied’

Age within gender Disability/

learning difficulty

Base: All ACE learners rating Total Male

<55

Male

55+

Female

<55

Female

55+

With

disability

/learning

difficulty

No

disability

/learning

difficulty

% % % % % % %

Making sure enough

trainers/assessors are available

61 50 65 58 70 66 60



63 52 62 65 66 68 61

Helping new people settle in 63 51 58 65 69 74 60



58 37 55 59 68 70 54

Communicating changes in times

for sessions

59 45 56 57 72 66 57

Table 4.15:Top ratings on teaching/training indicators (% scoring 9 or 10 out of 10)

by age within gender and disability/learning difficulty (ACE)



88 ELWa

The highest scoring indicators relating to

teacher/trainer

performance are:



● In the case of both these elements top ratings are

given by over 50% of FE learners, just under 50%

of WBL learners and over 60% of ACE learners

● ‘Making your subject interesting and enjoyable’ was

one of the highest scoring indicators for ACE and

FE learners (63% and 47% respectively)

Low scoring indicators (with 40% or less giving

9 or 10 out of 10) were:

● For FE , ‘Target setting’ (39%) and ‘Understanding

you and how you like to learn’ (40%)

Type of provision




% % %

Extremely satisfied 31 22 39

Very satisfied 36 37 40

Fairly satisfied 24 33 15

Neither/nor 3 3 2

Fairly dissatisfied 3 3 2

Very dissatisfied 1 1 1

Extremely dissatisfied 1 1 1

Total extremely/very satisfied 67 59 79

Total satisfied 91 92 94

Total dissatisfied 5 5 4

Table 4.16: Overall satisfaction with teaching/training by type of provision


89 ELWa

● For WBL, a number of indicators score low.

These are as follows:

– ‘Making subject interesting/ enjoyable’ (36%)

– ‘Dealing with disruptive learners’ (36%)

– ‘Makes good use of session time’ (37%)

– ‘Providing prompt and regular feedback’ (37%)


materials’ (37%)

– ‘Setting clear targets or learning goals’ (38%)

– ‘Understanding you and how you like to learn’

(39%)

– ‘The support they give you’ (40%)

● For ACE all indicators score highly

Indicators relating to the management and

administration aspects of the learning experience

covered factors such as accessibility of

teachers/trainers, timetabling, induction and

continuity of support.Table 4.18 shows that in

general ACE learners were most satisfied whilst

WBL learners and FE learners record lower levels

of satisfaction with certain aspects.

Table 4.17:Top ratings on teaching/training indicators (% awarding 9 or 10 out of 10)

by type of provision


Type of provision

Base: All learners rating FE WBL ACE



% % %

Ability to explain the subject 54 48 64

Listening to your needs 51 47 62

Making subject interesting/ enjoyable 47 36 63

Understanding you and how you like to learn 40 39 57

The support they give to you 43 40 52

Makes good use of session time 44 37 58

The quality and availability of teaching materials 43 38 51

Setting clear targets or learning goals 39 38 47

Providing prompt and regular feedback 42 37 53

Dealing with disruptive learners 43 36 59


90 ELWa

Issues that are scored particularly low by FE

learners compared to ACE learners are:

● ‘Making sure enough trainers/assessors are

available’ (43% vs 61%)

● ‘Providing support when I or other learners need

it’ (50% vs 63%)

● ‘Helping new people settle in’ (54% vs 63%)


(41% vs 59%)

4.6 DRIVERS OF SATISFACTION WITH

TEACHING AND MANAGEMENT

4.6.1 Further Education

Statistical analysis was carried out to check what

contribution the different elements of teaching

make to driving satisfaction and how learners rated

performance on each element.

Chart 4.8 below maps out the statistical analysis by

positioning the aspects of teachers according to

the satisfaction ratings and the contribution each

aspect makes in driving satisfaction.This provides

four quadrants:

Top left hand: High contribution but lower

satisfaction indicating need for action

Top right hand: High contribution and high

satisfaction indicating case for promotion of

these strengths

Bottom left hand: Lower contribution and

lower satisfaction indicating case for monitoring

these aspects

Bottom right hand: Lower contribution but high

satisfaction indicating need to maintain performance

Type of provision

Base: All learners rating FE WBL ACE



% % %

Making sure enough trainers/assessors are available 43 45 61

Providing support when I or other learners need it 50 45 63

Helping new people settle in 54 48 63

Managing timetables so that they suit the learner best they can 45 42 58

Communicating changes in times for sessions 41 35 59

Assessors turning up as planned N/A 52 N/A

Seeing the same assessor throughout N/A 56 N/A

Table 4.18:Top ratings on management and administration indicators (% scoring 9 or 10 out

of 10) by type of provision


91 ELWa

ACTION

Imp

ort

ance

in

dri

vin

g s

atis

fact

ion

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

6 7 8 9 10

Dealing with disruptive learners

Understand how you like to learn

Quality/availability of teaching materials

Good use of lesson time

Prompt/regular feedback

Subject interesting/enjoyableSupport they give to you

Ability to explain subject

Listening to your needs

PROMOTE


MONITOR MAINTAIN

Mean Learner Satisfaction score

Chart 4.8: Identifying priorities for action (FE)

Note:The axis on the grid is built around the scores given.They do not therefore start at zero.There are no mean satisfaction scores below 7 out of 10 andno mean importance scores below 3

Table 4.19:Aspects of management driving satisfaction (FE)

Priority

ranking

Aspects of management Contribution

to driving

satisfaction

Satisfaction

performance

score (out of 10)

1 Communicating changes to lesson times 20% 7.6

2 Ensuring that enough tutors and/or teachers

are available

20% 7.7

3 Managing timetables so that they suit the learner

as best they can

20% 7.8

4 Providing support when you or other learners

have problems

20% 8.1

5 Helping new people settle in 20% 8.3


92 ELWa

The elements of teaching that fall into the ‘action’

quadrant are as follows:

● The support they give you, for example


time management

● Providing prompt feedback on progress

● Setting clear targets or learning goals to help

you improve

● Makes good use of lesson time

● Understanding how you like to learn

Improvement of these elements would have

maximum impact on overall satisfaction levels.

Aspects of teaching that would benefit from

continued promotion are:



● ‘Making the subject interesting or enjoyable’

4.6.1.1 Management

All aspects within management make an equal

contribution in driving satisfaction. However, the

satisfaction levels do vary.The priorities for action

are those aspects that receive relatively lower

satisfaction scores.These are:

● Communicating changes to lesson times

● Ensuring that enough tutors/teachers are available

● Managing timetables so that they suit the learner

as best they can

4.6.2 Work Based Learning

For WBL, the elements of ‘Teaching/training’ that

fall into the ‘action’ quadrant are as follows (see

chart 4.9):

● Make good use of session time


you improve

● Support they give you for example in improving

your study techniques or time management

● Providing prompt and regular feedback on progress

● Making your subject interesting or enjoyable for you

4.6.2.1 Management

The priorities for action are the factors that

receive lower satisfaction scores.These are:

● Communicating changes to session times

● Managing timetables so they suit the learner as

best they can

● Making sure enough tutors/teachers are available

4.6.3 Accredited ACE

The elements of ’Teaching’ that fall into the ‘action’

quadrant are as follows (see chart 4.10):

● The support they give you, for example in improving


● Providing prompt and regular feedback on progress


you improve


● Understanding how you like to learn

Improvement of these elements would have

maximum impact on overall satisfaction levels.

4.6.3.1 Management

The priorities for action are:


as best they can


● Ensuring that enough tutors/teachers are available

93 ELWa

ACTION

Imp

ort

ance

in

dri

vin

g s

atis

fact

ion

15

12

9

6

3

7.5 7.75 8 8.25 8.5

Dealing withdisruptive learners

Understand howyou like to learn



Prompt/regular feedbackSubject

interesting/enjoyable

Support they give to you

Ability to explain subjectListening toyour needs

PROMOTESetting clear targets

MONITOR MAINTAIN


Chart 4.9: Identifying priorities for action WBL


Priority

ranking

Aspects of Management Contribution

to driving

satisfaction

Satisfaction

performance

score (out of 10)


2 Managing timetables so they suit the learner as

best they can

14% 7.8

3 Making sure enough tutors and /or teachers are

available

14% 7.8


have problems

14% 7.9

5 Assessors turning up as planned 14% 8.1


7 Seeing the same assessor throughout 14% 8.2

Table 4.20:Aspects of management driving satisfaction (WBL)


94 ELWa

Chart 4.10: Identifying priorities for action:ACE


ACTION

Imp

ort

ance

in

dri

vin

g s

atis

fact

ion

14

12

10

8

6

4

8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7

Dealing withdisruptive learners

Understand how you like to learn



Prompt/regular feedback

Subject interesting/enjoyable

Support they give to you

Ability to explain subject

Listening toyour needs

PROMOTE


MONITOR MAINTAIN


Priority

ranking

Aspects of management Contribution

to driving

satisfaction

Satisfaction

performance

score (out of 10)

1 Managing timetables so that they suit the learner

as best they can

20% 8.4


3 Ensuring that enough tutors and/or teachers

are available

20% 8.5


have problems

20% 8.6


Table 4.21:Aspects of management driving satisfaction (ACE)

95 ELWa


THIS SECTION

FE

Overall satisfaction with teaching is high (66% are

either extremely or very satisfied, 90% state some

degree of satisfaction).There is little variation in

overall satisfaction by age and gender, however

some groups are less satisfied with particular

aspects of teaching.

Younger learners, particularly the 19-24 year olds,

are significantly less satisfied with the following

aspects (compared to the oldest group the 55+):

● ‘Ability to explain the subject’ (44% vs 61% of

those aged 55+)

● ‘Listening to your needs’ (44% vs 59%)

● ‘Making the subject interesting/enjoyable’ (35% vs 64%)


(30% vs 53%)

● ‘Makes good use of lesson/session time’ (31% vs 55%)

Younger learners are also less satisfied with

management issues such as availability of teachers,

management of timetables and communications of

changes to these.This either indicates that older

learners are more tolerant of such factors or that

younger learners are more commonly exposed to

upheavals of this nature.

Male learners appear to be less satisfied than their

female counterparts with the dialogue they have

managed to secure with their teachers. In

particular they give lower satisfaction ratings for :


(47% vs 55% of female learners)


(35% vs 44%)

● ‘Makes good use of lesson time’ (40 vs 46%)

Priorities for Action as regards teaching

activities are mainly connected with the

management of the learning process:

● Support

● Feedback

● Target setting

● Understanding you and how you like to learn.

These, together with 'good use of lesson time'

are features which appear to be downrated in

particular by the younger male learners and

targeting these areas by providing more

rigorous input to these learners should help

raise their satisfaction.

Priorities for action as regards

management activities are as follows:



● Ensuring that enough teachers/tutors are available


96 ELWa

WBL

Overall satisfaction with trainers/assessors is high.

However, males are less inclined to be satisfied

(particularly the 19+ males). As a group the

females rate trainers/assessors higher but the 19+

females are slightly less satisfied than the 16-18

females.The differences in ratings between males

and females are sometimes quite dramatic

particularly for :

● ‘Listening to your needs’ 38% of males give top

ratings compared to 59% of female learners


(31% vs 44%)

● ‘Dealing with disruptive learners (30% vs 46%)

In addition the 19+ males are more likely to fault

trainers’ ability to make the subject interesting and

enjoyable and to provide the necessary support.

They also give consistently lower ratings for the

way their training programme is managed.

Other variables that appear to impact on

satisfaction for this group are:

● If employed (more satisfied)

● Subject (male dominated subjects will obviously

score lower)

● If the employer is supportive the learner is more

satisfied with trainers/assessors


There is a fairly strong degree of overlap between

the priorities for action in Further Education and

those identified for Work Based leaning.

Teaching is the main driving factor and within

that the areas to prioritise are:

● Make good use of lesson time


you improve

● Support they give you for example in improving


● Providing prompt and regular feedback

on progress

● Making your subject interesting or enjoyable

for you

The management factors that need addressing are

identical to those identified for FE:

● Communicating changes to session times

● Managing timetables so they suit the learner as

best they can

● Making sure enough tutors /teachers are available

97 ELWa

ACE

Extremely high scores of overall satisfaction with

teaching were given by this group.When looking at

individual aspects of teaching there is an age and

gender impact on levels of satisfaction whereby

the females are more satisfied generally and the

older females are most satisfied.The younger males

(under 55) are least satisfied. Other variables that

appear to show a higher level of satisfaction for

this group are if the respondent:

● Left school early

● Is not working

● Has a disability or learning difficulty

Amongst all these groups the proportion

giving top ratings is generally at least 10% higher

than average.


Whilst the overall scores for this type of provision

were very high the areas of relative weakness are

identical to those highlighted for FE. Given the

high ratings however it is difficult to pinpoint any

aspects of teaching and management as requiring

immediate action.

5. FACILITIES


98 ELWa

Introduction:

This section covers learners’ opinions

of the facilities at their college or provider.

These included:

● Library or learning centre

● IT facilities/equipment

● Learning support services

● Other support services

● Childcare facilities

● Careers advice

● Canteen/café

● Facilities for people with disabilities/

learning difficulties

● Sports facilities/equipment

● Other specialist facilities/equipment related

to your course

All learners attending a college or training

provider were asked to rate these facilities on a

scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means poor and 10

means excellent.Where learners had no

experience of a facility, they tended not to give a

rating.The following analysis is based on all those

who gave a rating for a facility, and focuses on the

top ratings (i.e. those who gave 9 or 10 out of 10).

5.1 OVERVIEW

Generally the learners’ ratings of facilities are lower

than the ratings received for teaching standards.

Core, learning related facilities such as IT facilities,

libraries and learning support services are the

highest rated facilities.The lowest rated facilities are

the canteen and facilities for socialising.Whilst

these are arguably peripheral to the actual process

of learning, the social benefits of learning are

important to learners so this is potentially an area

for consideration.

Table 5.1: Rating of facilities at college/

provider (% rating 9 or 10 out of 10)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than thosegiven in the table.

Base:All learners attending

a college or provider

5757


Base:Weighted 5911

%

Library or learning centre 50

IT facilities/equipment 55

Learning support services 48

Other support services 43

Childcare facilities 47

Careers advice 42

Canteen/café 33

Facilities for people with

disabilities/learning difficulties

50

Sports facilities/equipment 41

Other specialist facilities/

equipment related to your course

41

Facilities provided for socialising

with other learners

32

99 ELWa


Table 5.2 shows the highest proportions of

learners (at least 50% in each case) award a

9 or 10 rating for the following:

● Library or learning centre (52%)

● IT facilities/ equipment (55%)

● Facilities for people with disabilities/learning

difficulties (52%)

Facilities that are scored 9 or 10 out of 10 by

fewer than 40% of the group include canteen/café

and facilities for socialising with other learners.

Whilst these may not be central to the actual

learning activity it is worth highlighting relative

dissatisfaction with this aspect of provision.

Demographic analysis of those providing a 9 or 10

rating for facilities reveals some variations, particularly

relating to the 19-24 age group, as follows:

Base:All FE learners Rating for facility


Base:Weighted: 4707

Rating 9 or 10 Rating 7 or 8 Rating 6 or less

% % %

Library or learning centre 52 34 14

IT facilities/equipment 55 32 13

Learning support services 48 34 18

Other support services 43 32 25

Childcare facilities 49 24 28

Careers advice 41 38 21

Canteen/café 33 41 27

Facilities for people with disabilities/learning difficulties 52 33 16

Sports facilities/equipment/ 41 34 25

Other specialist facilities/equipment

related to your course

40 39 21

Facilities provided for socialising with other learners 31 38 31

Table 5.2: Rating of facilities at college/provider by all those rating 9/10 out of 10 and

7/8 and 6 or less (FE):



100 ELWa

● Males in the 19-24 age band are less likely than

other learners to give a 9 or 10 rating for :

– Library/learning centres

(41% versus 49% or more)

– Learning support services (31% versus 42% or

more amongst other learners)

– Facilities for socialising (19% versus 27%

or more for other groups)

● The 19–24 age group tend to rate IT facilities/

equipment and Careers Advice lower

It is worth noting that for most facilities those with

disabilities and/or learning difficulties tend to give

higher ratings than those without, notably:

● Library/learning centre - those with learning difficulties

are more likely to give a rating of 9 or 10 than those

without (63% versus 51%). Similarly, those with

disabilities are more likely than other learners to give

the highest ratings for this facility (69% versus 50%)

● Careers advice – those with disabilities are more

likely than those without to give a 9 or 10 rating

for careers advice (54% v 40%).The same is true

for those with learning difficulties (51% give a top

rating compared with 40% of other learners)

● Learning support services - those with learning

difficulties are more positive about these facilities

than those with none (54% versus 47%), and this

reflects a greater first hand experience

● Facilities for people with learning difficulties or

disabilities - those with learning difficulties are more

likely than those without any learning difficulties to

give a high rating (60% versus 50% of other learners).

The proportions of learners with and without

disabilities giving a 9 or 10 rating, however, are similar

Another point worth raising relates to Childcare

facilities. Notably, there is little variation in terms of

the proportions of learners giving the top two

ratings when men and women are compared, nor

when those with or without children are examined.

There are some differences between the regions in

terms of quality of facilities (although it should be

noted that the base for Mid Wales is generally too

small for inclusion in the analysis). In general,

learners in the South East are less likely than

learners in either North Wales or the South West

to give ratings of 9 or 10 for the following:


● Careers advice

● Sports facilities

However, learners in North Wales are more likely

to give top ratings than learners in other regions

for the following:


● Other support services

● Facilities for disabled or those with



Amongst WBL learners who gave ratings for

facilities, the highest proportion (54%) gave a top

rating of 9 or 10 out of 10 to IT facilities/

equipment. In fact, this facility was the only one

where over half of learners gave a top score

(table 5.3).

● Fewer than 40% of WBL learners gave a top rating

of 9 or 10 out of 10 for the following facilities:

● Other specialist facilities/equipment related to your

training (39%)


● Canteen/café (37%)

● Sports facilities/equipment (35%)

● Other support services (34%)

● Facilities provided for socialising (32%)

● Childcare facilities (30%)

101 ELWa

Further analysis of the WBL results is limited due to

small base sizes for some facility questions (most

notably, regional analysis is not possible). However,

there are some variations when demographic

variables are considered. In particular, females are

more likely than males to give a top 9 or 10 out of

10 rating for the following:

● IT facilities/equipment (62% versus 51% of males

giving a top ratings)

● Learning support services (54% versus 39% of males)

● Other support services (44% versus 29% of males)

● Childcare facilities (46% versus 20% of males)

● Careers advice (49% versus 36% of males)

● Facilities for socialising (42% versus 28% of males)

Base:All WBL learners Rating for facility


Base:Weighted: 536


% % %









Sports facilities/equipment 35 30 35

Other specialist facilities/equipment related

to your course

39 38 24


Table 5.3: Rating of facilities at college/provider (WBL)



102 ELWa

Those with caring responsibilities at home are far

more likely than those with none to give a top

9 or 10 rating for Childcare facilities (50% with

responsibilities at home versus 21% of those

with none).

Looking at the results by training location, training

providers generally receive higher ratings for their

facilities than colleges, the exception being the

rating for library/learning centre.

Training location

Base: All WBL learners attending college or provider

and giving a rating of 9 or 10 out of 10

Total College Training

provider

Base: Unweighted 542 328* 232*


% % %

Library and learning centre 37 43 29


Learning support services, e.g. reading, writing

or maths support

44 40 51

Other support services, e.g. counselling, advice on

housing or financial support

34 30 38







to your training

39 38 40

Facilities provided for socialising with other trainees 32 28 36

Table 5.4: Rating of facilities at college/provider (WBL)

*Bases over-add because some say they are studying at bothNote: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given in the table.

103 ELWa


EDUCATION

The majority of Adult Continuing Education

learners give high ratings (i.e. over 50% rating 9 or

10 out of 10) for most facilities at their provider,

with the exception of:

● Canteen/café (33%)

● Facilities for people with disabilities/ learning

difficulties (42%)

● Sports facilities/equipment (48%)

● Facilities provided for socialising with other

learners (39%)

However, it should be borne in mind that generally

a minority of ACE learners rated facilities indicating

that such facilities are not available or that they are

infrequent users.This also means that the base

sizes for many facilities are too small for analysis.


PROVISION TYPES

Core learning-related facilities, such as IT facilities,

libraries and learning support services are the

highest rated facilities for FE and accredited ACE.

Rating for facility

Base: All ACE learners: 508


% % %










Other specialist facilities/equipment related to your course 50 29 22


Table 5.5: Ratings for facilities at college/provider (ACE)

Note: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given in the table.Table shows row percentages.


104 ELWa

WBL learners are the least positive about the

quality of many facilities and ACE learners the

most positive.To put this into context however,

many ACE learners could not rate facilities

because they had no experience of them.WBL

learner only rated facilities if they were attending a

college or provider.The ratings WBL learners give

are much lower than for the other provision types.

Base:All learners Type of provision

FE WBL ACE

Base Unweighted: 4707 542 508

Base Weighted: 4707 536 508

% % %




Other support services 43 34 54*

Childcare facilities 49 30 67*

Careers advice 41 41 51*



Sports facilities/equipment 41 35 48*


to your course

40 39 50


Table 5.6: Percentage of learners rating 9 or 10 out of 10 for facilities at college/provider by

type of provision

* bases lower than 100 responsesNote: Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor.This means that in some instances they will be slightly lower than those given in the table.

105 ELWa

5.6 KEY POINTS RAISED IN THIS

SECTION

FE

Of those FE learners who provided a rating for

facilities, the largest proportions of this group gave

ratings of 9 or 10 out of 10 for the following facilities:


● IT facilities/equipment (55%)

● Facilities for people with disabilities or learning

difficulties (52%)

There are variations in terms of ratings awarded

by different demographic groups. Most notably,

males in the 19-24 category are less likely than

other FE learners to give a top rating (9 or 10) for

library/learning centre, learning support services

and facilities for socialising.

Regional analysis is limited to the South East, South

West and North Wales. It is clear, however, that FE

learners in North Wales are more likely than those

in other areas to award top ratings to learning

support services, other support services and

facilities for the disabled or those with learning

difficulties.


For statistical analysis, designed to establish the

contribution that different aspects of provision

made to overall satisfaction, facilities were

grouped into two separate categories:

● Counselling/Childcare facilities

● Learning and ‘Other’ facilities

In the first category possible targets for

action are:


● Other support services e.g. counselling,

advice on housing or financial support

● Careers advice

In the Learning facilities category the following

areas should be targeted:

● Facilities provided for socialising with

other learners


to your course

● Canteen/café



106 ELWa

WBL

For WBL learners, IT facilities/equipment is the

only facility where over half of the group award a

top rating of 9 or 10 out of 10.

Generally, females are more likely than males to

award top ratings to facilities, with the exceptions

being Library/learning centre, Canteen/café,

facilities for those with disabilities or learning

difficulties and other specialist facilities.

The analysis divided WBL facilities into 3 categories

and these are shown in descending order of the

contribution they make to satisfaction:

● Facilities for socialising

● Counselling/childcare facilities

● IT and Other facilities

The following facilities most need improvement

(in broad order of priority):

● Canteen/cafe

● Facilities provided for socialising with other

learners

– Childcare facilities

– Other support services e.g. counselling,

advice on housing or financial support


ACE

Over half of this learner group who gave a rating,

a top rating (9 or 10 out of 10) was given for all

facilities, with the exception of canteen/café,

facilities for those with disabilities or learning

difficulties, sports facilities/equipment, and facilities

for socialising with other learners.The majority are

not able to give ratings because they have not

used or had access to the facilities.


Whilst scores for ACE provision are generally

very high, the provision of facilities was the only

aspect on which some factors received mean

performance scores below 8 out of 10.The

facilities, which should be priorities for

improvement, are as follows:

● Canteen/café

● Facilities for people with disabilities

● Library and learning centre

● Other specialist facilities relating to the course

6.AVAILABILITY OF LEARNING IN WELSH MEDIUM

107 ELWa

Introduction:

This section covers a number of questions

relating to demand for and supply of tuition in

the Welsh medium.These questions were asked

with the aim of identifying any gaps in provision

and were as follows:

● How learners would assess their own ability in

spoken and written Welsh and what is the main

language they use at home and outside the home

● What their preferences are for the balance

between English and Welsh medium provision

● How much learning is made available in the

medium of Welsh

● Whether learners would like to undertake any of

their learning in Welsh

6.1 OVERVIEW

One in ten of the learners interviewed spoke

Welsh fluently. Just over half described themselves

as having no ability to speak Welsh.The majority of

the remainder tended to describe their ability to

speak Welsh as ‘basic’.The figures are broadly

similar for written Welsh but a higher proportion

(60%) are unable to read or write Welsh.

Against this background it is perhaps unsurprising

that a relatively small proportion of learners (7%)

voice a preference for at least some of their tuition

to take place in Welsh.

Table 6.1:Welsh language abilities


Table 6.2: Preference for tuition in

Welsh medium




Base:Weighted 6215

Spoken Welsh %

Fluently in any situation 7

Fluently in informal situations 3

Some ability 10

Only basic ability 29

Not at all 51

Written Welsh

Confidently in any situation 7

Confident in informal situations 4

Confident only in reading 5


Not at all 60



Base:Weighted 6215

%

Prefer all Welsh 2

Prefer some Welsh 5

Prefer not to have any Welsh 73

Not concerned either way 19


108 ELWa

As can be seen from the table below, the

proportion of learners who actually receive some

form of their tuition in Welsh exceeds the

proportion who express a preference for Welsh

tuition by a factor of two or more.

Table 6.3: Learning made available

in Welsh


6.2.1 Welsh language abilities

Just under half the FE learners interviewed (49%)

had at least a basic ability to speak in Welsh.Welsh

language abilities vary by age with 16-18 year olds

much more likely to have at least basic ability

although the percentage able to speak fluently was

no higher than among the older age groups.

Levels of confidence in dealing with written Welsh

are lower than for spoken Welsh with 61% of

learners unable to either read or write Welsh. The

pattern by age is similar to that observed for

spoken Welsh.



Base:Weighted 6215

Support %

None 67

Some 11

All 9

Don’t Know 12

Communication

None 70

Some 11

All 7

Don’t Know 12

Written materials

None 65

Some 14

All 11

Don’t Know 10

109 ELWa

6.2.2 Preference for tuition in

Welsh medium

Of the FE learners interviewed, three out of four

learners said they would prefer to have no tuition

in Welsh at all, and a further 19% said they weren’t

concerned either way.

Gender has no effect on this preference but

younger learners (aged 16-18) and older learners

(55+) are the groups most likely to state a

preference for tuition in Welsh (8% in both cases).

Age


Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 4707 1153 659 786 1555 554

Spoken Welsh % % % % % %

Fluently in any situation 6 5 6 5 8 7

Fluently in informal situations 3 5 4 1 2 6

Some ability 10 16 10 9 7 8

Only basic ability 29 36 32 30 25 25

Not at all 51 39 49 55 57 54

Written Welsh

Confidently in any situation 7 8 7 5 6 8

Confident in informal situations 3 5 4 1 4 3

Confident only in reading 5 6 4 3 4 6

Only basic ability 24 36 26 23 18 19

Not at all 61 45 58 68 69 63

Table 6.4:Welsh language abilities (FE Learners)



110 ELWa

As one would expect, those who have Welsh

language abilities are more likely to prefer to

undertake learning in Welsh.The higher the level of

ability, the higher the preference.

Age


Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1328 733

Base:Weighted 4707 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % %

Prefer all Welsh 1 1 0 1 1 3

Prefer some Welsh 5 7 5 3 4 5

Prefer no Welsh 75 70 66 77 78 80

Not concerned either way 19 22 27 18 16 11

Table 6.5: Preference for tuition in Welsh medium by age (FE)


111 ELWa

6.2.3 Whether learners were asked if they

would like to undertake learning in Welsh

Almost 1in 3 learners were asked by their learning

provider if they would like to undertake any of

their learning in Welsh.Younger learners (aged 24

or less) are more likely to have been asked than

those who are 25 or over. Around 35% of 16-24

year olds were asked compared to around 30% of

those aged 25 plus.

Learners with Welsh language abilities are more

likely to have been asked if they would like to

undertake any learning in Welsh.This difference is

highlighted where learners speak/read/write

confidently in informal situations.

Base: All FE learners Preference


Base:Weighted: 4707

Prefer all

Welsh

Prefer some

Welsh

Prefer no

Welsh

Not concerned

either way

Spoken % % % %

Fluently in any situation 6 23 27 44

Fluently in informal situations 7 14 48 31

Some ability 3 11 50 34

Only basic ability 1 4 77 17

Not at all * 2 86 12

Written

Confidently any 3 19 38 40

Confidently informal 6 18 48 28

Confident only in reading 6 9 53 31

Only basic ability 1 6 66 24

Not at all * 2 85 12

Table 6.6: Preference for tuition in Welsh medium by Welsh language ability (FE)



112 ELWa

Table 6.7:Whether learners were asked if

they would like to undertake learning in

Welsh by Welsh language abilities (FE)

Note: Percentages are horizontal i.e. showing the percentage of, forexample those who speak fluent Welsh who have been offered theopportunity to learn in Welsh. ‘Don’t know’ is not shown.

Mode of study and timing of course influences the

likelihood of learners being asked if they would like

to study in Welsh. It is worth noting that there is

no evidence about whether providers would have

been able to meet a desire amongst learners to

undertake learning in Welsh.

Of the learners interviewed, learners on daytime

courses are more likely to be asked if they would

like to undertake Welsh medium tuition than their

evening counterparts. One in three learners (35%)

on daytime courses are asked compared to one in

four (25%) on evening courses.

There is some correlation with having been asked

if they would like to undertake any of their

learning in the Welsh medium tuition and overall

satisfaction with their learning experience:

39% of learners who are extremely satisfied with

their course state they have been asked, 33% of

very satisfied, 25% of fairly satisfied and only 18%

of those showing no satisfaction at all.

6.2.4 Availability of specific aspects of

learning in Welsh

Availability of elements such as written materials,

spoken communication or support in Welsh is low.

Written materials have the highest availability with

around 1 in 4 (23%) learners stating that all or

some materials are available in Welsh. 1 in 5 (19%)

learners stated that they have some/all support

outside lessons available in Welsh. Only 1 in 10

(11%) learners stated that there is some spoken

communication in lessons and a further 6% said all

spoken communication was in Welsh.

One in three (35%) fluent Welsh speakers stated

that these elements are available on their course.

This was around twice the proportion of non-

Welsh speakers citing availability.

Base:All FE learners


Base:Weighted 4707

Spoken Welsh %


Fluently in informal situations 40

Some ability 34


Not at all 28

Written Welsh


Confident in informal situations 37

Confident only in reading 43


Not at all 29

113 ELWa

Timing of course also had an effect on availability,

with courses conducted during the day having

higher levels across all 3 factors.

● Availability of handouts was highest with over

26% of day learners stating that some/all

handouts were available compared to only 15%

of evening learners.

● Over 1 in 5 (22%) day learners had support

outside lessons available in Welsh compared to

only 14% of learners in the evening.

Spoken communication in Welsh is the least

commonly available form of communication:

19% of day learners had some element of Welsh

spoken communication in their course compared

to 12% of evening learners.



The majority of WBL learners (56%) had at least a

basic ability to speak Welsh and just under half had

at least a basic ability to deal with written Welsh.

Those in the 16-18 age group tended to rate

their abilities more highly than those in the 19+

age group.


Welsh medium

There was little variation between males and

females in their preference for learning in Welsh,

although the 16-18 female learners were the

most likely to express a preference for at least

some Welsh tuition (13%).This reflects their

higher than average Welsh language abilities as

mentioned above

Those learners undertaking training in Health and

Social Care are the group of learners who would

most like some/all learning available in Welsh

(15%). Management and Business courses have the

highest group of learners stating that they would

prefer no Welsh at all with 3 out of 4 learners

stating this preference.

Learning Activity

Base: All FE learners Support outside

sessions

Spoken communication

in sessions

Written materials



% % %

Some 11 11 13

All 9 6 10

None 69 72 68

Don’t know 12 11 9

Table 6.8:Availability of Welsh provision for various aspects of learning provision (FE)


114 ELWa

Table 6.9:Welsh language abilities (WBL)


The South East has the largest percentage of

learners who would prefer no Welsh at all (70%).

This is followed by Mid Wales (69%), South West

Wales (65%) and North Wales (59%).



Overall, just over one in three learners (35%)

interviewed were asked by their provider whether

they would like to undertake any learning in Welsh.

A further 5% said they didn’t know, which leaves 3

out of 5 (60%) who were not given the option at all.

Of the learners interviewed, location played a large

role in whether the learners were asked if they

would like to undertake training in Welsh. Over

half (53%) of learners located in North Wales

were asked if they would like to undertake any of

their learning in Welsh.This was far higher than the

39% of learners in Mid Wales, 34% in South West

Wales and only 26% of learners in the South East.

Age within gender

Base: All WBL learners Total Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Base: Unweighted 1000 218 361 133 288

Base:Weighted 1001 220 361 136 285

Spoken Welsh % % % % %

Fluently in any situation 11 13 9 10 13

Fluently in informal situations 5 4 6 3 4

Some ability 13 13 10 20 11

Only basic ability 27 25 26 31 29

Not at all 44 45 48 36 43

Written Welsh

Confidently in any situation 12 17 8 15 12

Confident in informal situations 6 5 5 9 6

Confident only in reading 6 8 6 6 4


Not at all 52 49 57 37 54

115 ELWa

Chart 6.1:Whether provider asked

respondent if they would like to undertake

their learning in Welsh, by region (WBL)

There was little variation within gender and age as

to whether learners were asked whether they

would like to undertake training in Welsh but

significant variation by subject with 45% of

learners training in ‘health and social care’ having

been offered Welsh medium tuition and only 27%

of learners training in ‘languages/humanities/arts

and sciences’.

As with FE learners, the more satisfied learners are

more likely to have been asked if they would like

to undertake Welsh medium tuition. Similarly,

those who have been asked were less likely to

have seriously considered leaving their training

(37%) than those who hadn’t been offered

Welsh tuition (58%).


learning in Welsh

General levels of availability are higher than for

both FE and ACE learners.

● 22% of learners stated that some written materials

were available in Welsh and a further 15% stated

that all materials were available

● Almost 1 in 3 (32%) learners stated that they had

some/all support outside lessons available in Welsh

● In 12% of cases all spoken communication in

sessions was in Welsh and a further 17% stated

that some spoken communication was in Welsh

Age within gender

Base: All WBL learners Total Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Base: Unweighted 1000 218 361 133 288

Base:Weighted 1001 220 361 136 285

% % % % %

Prefer all Welsh 2 2 2 1 2

Prefer some Welsh 6 7 5 12 5

Prefer no Welsh 66 64 68 55 72

Not concerned either way 25 26 26 32 22

Table 6.10: Preferences for tuition in Welsh (WBL)


Mid Wales

North Wales

South East

South West

39%

53%

26%

34%


116 ELWa

There is no difference between the availability of

support, communication and materials to male and

female students. However, learners aged between

16 –18 report higher availability across all 3 factors

than their 19+ counterparts (see table 6.12).

Learning activity

Base: All WBL learners Support outside

sessions


in sessions

Written materials



% % %

Some 18 17 22

All 15 12 15

None 48 52 47

Don’t know 19 19 16

Table 6.11:Availability of Welsh for various aspects of learning provision (WBL)

Learning activity

Base: All WBL learners Support outside

sessions


in sessions

Written materials



% % %

16- 18 (Some/All) 35 34 42

19+ (Some/All) 31 27 34

Table 6.12:Availability of Welsh medium learning provision and age of learner (WBL)


117 ELWa

Of the learners interviewed, those based in the

North reported higher levels of availability than

the other regions over all 3 factors.

The type of training also has an effect on

availability of support, communication and written

materials. Learners studying ‘literacy/numeracy

/basic skills’ reported the highest level of availability

across all 3 factors with 43% saying that all/some

of their support is available in Welsh.Those

studying ‘languages/humanities/arts and sciences’

reported the lowest availability – only 23% had

some support available in Welsh.

Region

Base: All WBL learners Total North Mid

Wales

South

West

South

East

Base: Unweighted 1000 217 126 203 454

Base:Weighted 1001 233 63 218 487

Support % % % % %

None 48 37 44 48 55

Some 18 25 19 19 12

All 15 22 18 12 12

Don’t Know 19 16 19 21 21

Communication

None 52 40 48 53 58

Some 17 21 21 19 13

All 12 21 8 10 10

Don’t Know 19 18 24 18 18

Written materials

None 47 37 44 45 53

Some 22 30 22 26 16

All 15 21 13 13 14

Don’t Know 16 16 19 21 20

Table 6.13:Availability of learning in Welsh, by region (WBL)


118 ELWa


EDUCATION


The Welsh language abilities of ACE learners were

relatively low, reflecting the age profile of this

group. Around 4 in 10 (41%) have at least some

basic ability in spoken Welsh and a third (33%)

have at least some basic ability in dealing with

written Welsh.Those aged 55+ are more likely to

describe themselves as fluent Welsh speakers than

those under 55 (9% compared to 6%).

Age within gender

Total Male

Under 55

Male

55+

Female

Under 55

Female

55+

Base: All ACE learners 508 66 94 202 145

Spoken Welsh % % % % %

Fluently in any situation 4 3 4 3 6

Fluently in informal situations 3 2 5 3 3

Some ability 9 9 11 10 7


Not at all 59 52 63 59 59

Written Welsh

Confidently in any situation 4 3 3 3 6

Confident in informal situations 5 6 4 4 6

Confident only in reading 8 8 13 5 10


Not at all 67 58 68 68 68

Table 6.14:Welsh language abilities (ACE)


119 ELWa

Amongst the ACE learners interviewed there

appears to be a gender influence on preference

for learning through the medium of Welsh.

● Males are the most likely to prefer their learning to

be in Welsh with 9% preferring all Welsh and a

further 8% at least some

● Female learners rated 4% and 7% respectively

● When gender was considered with age, male

learners under 55 were the most likely to prefer

some/all of their learning in Welsh. Of this group

almost 1 in 4 (23%) stated this preference

compared to the smallest group, female learners

over 55, where the figure was only 7%.

Learners in the professional class were more likely

to state a preference for Welsh tuition: 17% of

learners in the AB (professional and managerial)

socio economic group would prefer all/some of

their learning to be in Welsh compared to 10% of

C1s (intermediate and junior non manual), 12% of

C2s (skilled manual) and 11% of DEs (semi-skilled

and unskilled manual).

Learners attending evening courses voiced a

greater preference for learning in Welsh compared

to their daytime counterparts. Of the evening

course attendees 18% stated they would like all or

some of their learning to be in Welsh compared to

only 8% of daytime learners.



Younger learners (defined as under 55 in this

learner group) are twice as likely as older learners

to have been asked if they would like to undertake

any of their learning in Welsh.Timing of the course

influenced likelihood of being offered Welsh

medium tuition.Welsh medium courses were

more widely available in the evening, with 1 in 3

(33%) evening learners being asked compared to

only 1 in 5 (20%) day learners.

Age within gender

Total Male

Under 55

Male

55+

Female

Under 55

Female

55+

Base: All ACE learners 508 66 94 202 145

% % % % %

Prefer all Welsh 6 9 10 4 3

Prefer some Welsh 7 14 4 8 4

Prefer no Welsh 69 55 74 69 74

Not concerned either way 16 17 12 18 17

Table 6.15: Preference for tuition in Welsh (ACE)



120 ELWa


learning in Welsh

As with FE learners,Welsh language tuition was

only available to a minority:

● Written materials in Welsh were most common

with 11% of learners stating some materials

were available in Welsh and a further 10%

learners stating all were available, which equates

to around 1 in 5 (21%) students having handouts

available in Welsh

● 15% of learners stated that they have some/all

support outside lessons in Welsh

● Less than 10% of learners stated that some

spoken communication in lessons was in Welsh

and a further 8% said all was in Welsh

6.5 COMPARISON ACROSS PROVISION

TYPE AND SUMMARY


Welsh medium

The desire to learn in the Welsh medium appears

low amongst learners in each provision type. Overall,

ACE learners reported a higher preference for Welsh

learning compared to WBL learners and FE learners

but more Welsh tuition was reported to be available

to WBL learners than ACE learners.Across all

provision types, the availability of learning in Welsh

was far higher than the proportion of learners who

preferred all or some Welsh language tuition.

Far more learners appear to have been asked if

they would like to undertake learning in Welsh

than are likely to take advantage of it, although

there is no evidence that the providers would be

able to meet the demand if all those asked about

language preference said they preferred Welsh.

It is also interesting that relatively high proportion

within each learner group say that they are not

concerned either way about which language is

used as the medium.

Support

outside

sessions

Spoken

communication

in sessions

Written

materials

Base: All ACE learners 508 508 508

% % %

Some 9 9 11

All 6 8 10

None 72 72 68

Table 6.16:Availability of Welsh for various aspects of learning provision (ACE)


121 ELWa

Around a third of all learners (31%) say they were

asked if they would like to undertake any of their

learning in Welsh.WBL learners were the most

likely to have been asked.

Type of provision




% % %

Prefer all Welsh 1 2 6

Prefer some Welsh 5 6 7

Prefer not to have any Welsh 75 66 69

Not concerned either way 19 25 16

Table 6.17: Preference for tuition in Welsh medium by type of provision

Type of provision




% % %

Yes 32 35 25

No 60 61 66

Don’t Know 8 4 7

Table 6.18:Whether learners were asked if they would like to undertake learning in Welsh

by type of provision


122 ELWa

In assessing how much learning had been made

available in Welsh, three factors were examined:

● Support from teachers outside lessons/sessions

● Spoken communication in lessons/sessions

● Written materials, handouts, notes etc.

Written materials appear to be the most

commonly available, followed by support

outside of sessions and spoken communication

in lessons.

WBL learners have most access across all 3

elements and ACE have the least (by a slight

margin over FE learners).

FE

WBL

ACE

FE

WBL

ACE

FE

WBL

ACE

Chart 6.2: Overall availability of learning in Welsh

Wri

tten

Mat

eria

lsC

om

mun

icat

ion

Sup

port

0%

All

20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Some None


123 ELWa

6.6 KEY POINTS RAISED IN THIS

SECTION:

FE

A third (32%) of FE learners were asked if they

would like to undertake learning in Welsh.The

most likely groups to have been asked are:

● Younger learners (16-24 year olds) (35%)

● Daytime learners (35%)

● Those who have at least some ability in Welsh

(36% on average)

Less than 1 in 10 (6%) would like their learning

to be in the Welsh medium. Older people are

the least likely to want this.Those with Welsh

language abilities are the most likely to prefer

some Welsh tuition (on average 26% who can

speak Welsh fluently and 23% who can

confidently read or write Welsh).

Around a quarter of learners (23%) and just

under a third (27%) of fluent Welsh speaking

learners have some Welsh medium element

available, written materials are the most common.

WBL

WBL learners are the most likely to have the

opportunity to learn in Welsh (35% across Wales

rising to 53% of learners in North Wales).There

seemed to be some variation by subject with

those on ‘Health and Social care’ programmes

most likely to have had the Welsh medium option.

Younger, female learners are more likely to say

that they would like to do at least some learning

in Welsh but, in total only 8% of WBL learners

express this preference.To this extent supply

can be said to outstripping demand because 37%

say that some or all of their written materials are

in Welsh and 33% say that some or all of their

support outside sessions is in Welsh.

ACE

The learners who are most likely to have been

offered Welsh medium tuition are:

● Younger (31% of under 55 year olds compared to

25% overall)

● Those undertaking evening courses (the opposite

pattern to that observed for FE)(33%)

Those who are most likely to state a preference

for learning in Welsh are:

● Males under 55 (23%)

● Those in the AB socio-economic group

i.e. professional/managerial (17%)

● Those on evening courses (18%)

One in five (21%) said that some or all written

materials were available in Welsh and 17% said

that at least some spoken communication was

in Welsh.

7. PROBLEMS


124 ELWa

Introduction:

This section deals with what problems, if any, have

been experienced by learners, whether they have

ever thought of leaving the course and it also

looks specifically at employer support issues for

WBL learners.

In order to assess what problems they had

experienced, respondents were shown the

following list of possible problems and asked if they

had experienced any of the following problems

during their learning:

● Keeping up with the standard of work required

● Maintaining your personal motivation

● Fitting the course in with commitments at work

● Fitting the course in with commitments at home

● Dealing with money pressures

● Travel to college/provider

● Problems of any kind with a member of staff

● Extra help you were promised not being provided

● Maths or numeracy skills

● Problems of any kind with other learners

● Reading/writing skills

● No problems

7.1 OVERVIEW

All respondents were asked whether they had had

any problems since starting the course or courses

at their college/provider.The first point to note is

that around half of learners have not experienced

any problems (49%).

The problems most commonly experienced are

consistent across the different provision types and

relate to:

● Keeping up with the standard of work required (18%)

● Maintaining your personal motivation (16%)

● Fitting the course in with commitments at work (16%)

● Fitting the course in with commitments at home (15%)

These tally with the picture that emerged when

pre-course expectations were discussed (see

section 4) where inaccurate expectations mainly

related to volume and standard of work.

Table 7.1: Problems encountered

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included;multiple responses allowed

Base:All learners All Learners


Base:Weighted 6215

%

Keeping up with the standard

of work required

18

Maintaining your personal

motivation

16

Fitting the course in with

commitments at work

16


commitments at home

15

Dealing with money pressures 11

Travel to college/provider 8

Problems of any kind with a

member of staff

6

Extra help you were promised

not being provided

6

Maths or numeracy skills 5

Problems of any kind with

other learners

4

Reading/writing skills 5

No problems 49

125 ELWa

Those learners that had not left their course early

were then asked whether they had ever seriously

thought about leaving their course.The proportion

of learners that have considered leaving is just

below one in five (18%).

Table 7.2:Thoughts of leaving course by

type of provision



Of the problems that respondents claim to have

had, the following are mentioned by at least one

in ten:

● Keeping up with the standard of work

required (18%)

● Maintaining personal motivation (16%)

● Fitting the course in with commitments at

work (16%)


home (15%)

● Dealing with money pressures (11%)

Nearly half (49%) of respondents had not had any

problems since starting their course(s). Problems

do not appear to be gender specific except that

male learners are more likely to mention money

pressures and less likely to mention home

commitments as a problem.

Younger learners are more likely to have problems with:

● Keeping up with the standard of work required –

22% of 16-18 year olds mention this, compared

with 18% of all FE learners

● Money pressures - 17% 19-24 year olds cite this

compared to one in ten (11%) of all respondents

● Travel to and from college; mentioned by 15% of

16-18 year olds

● Problems with maths or numeracy skills;

mentioned by 11% of 16-18 year olds

The problems reported by older learners generally

reflect their particular life stage:

● Fitting the course in with commitments at work is

mentioned by 21% of 25-34s and 20% of 35-54s

● Fitting the course in with commitments at home -

21% of respondents aged 25-34 and 19% of 35-54

year olds say this is a problem

The over 55s are less likely than average to

experience problems, the exception being ‘keeping

up with the standard of work required’ (21%).

7.2.1 Disabilities and learning difficulties

Just under a quarter (23%) of learners with

learning difficulties claim to have problems

maintaining personal motivation, compared with

16% of those without learning difficulties.The

problem is more significant among older learners

(31% of those over 19 within this group).

As table 7.5 illustrates, in most areas higher

proportions of those with disabilities and those

with learning difficulties have had problems.Whilst

some of these might be attributed to the nature of

a respondent’s disability/learning difficulty, there are

clearly areas where more support is needed for

these groups of learners.

Base:All learners except

early leavers


Base:Weighted 5500

%

Yes 18

No 82


126 ELWa

Gender

Base: All FE learners Total Male Female

Base: Unweighted: 4707 1759 2948


% % %

Keeping up with the standard of work required 18 19 17

Maintaining your personal motivation 16 17 16

Fitting the course in with commitments at home 15 13 16

Fitting the course in with commitments at work 16 15 16

Dealing with money pressures 11 13 10

Travel to college/provider 8 9 7

Problems of any kind with a member of staff 6 5 6

Extra help you were promised not being provided 6 5 6

Maths or numeracy skills 5 7 4

Problems of any kind with other learners 4 4 3

Reading/writing skills 5 7 3

No problems 9 50 48

Table 7.3: Problems by gender (FE)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; multiple responses allowed

127 ELWa

Age


Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1334 724

Base:Weighted 4707 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % %

Keeping up with the standard of

work required

18 22 17 16 16 21

Maintaining your personal motivation 16 16 18 19 17 12


commitments at home

15 8 11 21 19 14


commitments at work

16 8 16 21 20 10

Dealing with money pressures 11 14 17 14 7 5

Travel to college/provider 8 15 12 4 4 4

Problems of any kind with a member

of staff

6 10 8 5 3 3

Extra help you were promised not

being provided

6 8 6 5 4 3

Maths or numeracy skills 5 11 8 4 2 1


other learners

4 6 5 4 2 2

Reading/writing skills 5 7 5 5 3 2

No problems 49 48 48 45 51 54

Table 7.4: Problems by age (FE)



128 ELWa

Whilst those with disabilities are more likely to

have money pressures (21% compared with

10% of those without disabilities), the difference is

even more marked for those with learning

difficulties (34% compared with 9% of those

without learning difficulties). In particular,

respondents aged 16-18 and with either disabilities

(37%) or learning difficulties (37%) are more likely

to have money pressures.

There are some problems that are more likely to

be experienced by learners on academic courses

than those on vocational type courses:

Disability Learning

difficulty

Base: All FE learners Total Yes No Yes No

Base: Unweighted 4707 338 4359 286 4411

Base:Weighted 4707 435 4265 326 4375

% % % % %

Keeping up with the standard of work required 18 27 17 37 16

Maintaining your personal motivation 16 16 16 23 16

Fitting the course in with commitments at home 15 15 15 21 15

Fitting the course in with commitments at work 16 9 16 14 16

Dealing with money pressures 11 21 10 34 9

Travel to college/provider 8 7 8 17 7

Problems of any kind with a member of staff 6 8 6 13 6

Extra help you were promised not being provided 6 10 5 16 5

Maths or numeracy skills 5 16 4 32 3

Problems of any kind with other learners 6 8 6 13 6

Reading/writing skills 5 20 3 36 2

No problems 49 36 50 20 51

Table 7.5: Problems by learners with disabilities and learning difficulties (FE)


129 ELWa

Maintaining personal motivation:

● A quarter (24%) of respondents on humanities/

social science, science or maths courses state that

maintaining personal motivation is a problem

● 23% of literacy/numeracy course respondents

mention this too

● Conversely, only 11% of basic skills/foundation level

courses students mention this as a problem

Keeping up with the standard of work required:

● Between a fifth and a third of those studying

science and maths (28%), literacy/numeracy (22%),

humanities/social science (26%) and

education/training (22%) report problems keeping

up with the standard of work required

● In contrast only 14% of those studying hospitality,

catering, retail or customer service report this

● Learners undertaking vocational subject courses

are more likely to report problems fitting the

course in with commitments at home and at work:

● One third (35%) of people doing education/

training courses mention problems fitting their

course in with commitments at work compared

with 16% of all respondents

Among those reporting problems fitting in their

course with commitments at home:

● Those studying ‘basic skills/foundation’ level courses

(27%) compared to the average across all learners

of 15%

● Those undertaking written courses (21%) in

contrast to those studying face-to-face (15%)

● Those studying in the evening (20%) compared

with 13% of those studying during the day

Money pressures are more commonly

experienced by learners who are studying

full-time (17% compared to 11% of those studying

part-time).

As table 7.6 illustrates, a quarter of those working

over 21 hours per week have problems fitting the

course in with commitments at work and perhaps

inevitably, they are also the most likely to find fitting

the course in with other commitments at home to

be a problem.


130 ELWa

Employment

Base: All FE respondents Total Not

working

Under

7 hours

7 - 20

hours

21 hours

plus

Base: Unweighted 4707 1835 151 986 1634

Base:Weighted 4707 1737 157 822 1897

% % % % %

Keeping up with the standard of work required 18 18 29 20 16

Maintaining your personal motivation 16 16 25 16 17

Fitting the course in with commitments at home 15 12 10 14 19

Fitting the course in with commitments at work 16 4 14 15 26

Dealing with money pressures 11 13 18 14 7

Travel to college/provider 8 10 11 9 6

Problems of any kind with a member of staff 6 6 11 10 5

Extra help you were promised not being provided 6 7 10 6 4

Maths or numeracy skills 5 7 16 5 3

Problems of any kind with other learners 4 4 12 6 2

Reading/writing skills 5 5 10 4 3

No problems 49 50 42 48 49

Table 7.6: Problems encountered by employment status (FE)


131 ELWa

Pen Portrait: FE learner, problems with

home and work commitments

This learner is aged 32 and has left college early

before completing her course. She was

undertaking part-time studies (less than 3 hours

per week) training in health, social and childcare

and a part-time legal studies access course

(NVQ level 2 equivalent). She decided to do the

course for many reasons including getting a

better job and learning skills for a job she was

doing at the time.

Although very satisfied with the quality of

teaching, she had problems fitting the course in

with commitments at work and at home, as well

as keeping up with the standard of work

required. She was satisfied with many of the

facilities, but noticeably rated other support

services and childcare facilities as poor.

The one expectation not met was the amount of

work she had to do, this turned out to be a lot

more than she expected.

The learner is fairly satisfied overall, and even

thinks it is very likely she will undertake further

learning in the next three years. As she says, ‘if I’d

stayed on the course I would have had a better

career at the end for me’. She is now in part-

time employment (working less than 31 hours

per week).

7.2.2 Thoughts of leaving course

Those respondents that had not left their course

early were asked if they had ever seriously

considered leaving their course.

Among FE learners, one in five (18%) claim to

have thought seriously about leaving their course.

As table 7.7 below shows, the younger learners

are more likely to have considered leaving.

Albeit the base sizes are small, younger (16-18

year old) learners with disabilities or learning

difficulties are much more likely than any other

learner group to have considered leaving.

People who are studying full-time are more likely

to have thought about leaving.

Just over a quarter (26%) of students on

science/maths and humanities/social sciences

courses have thought about leaving. Similarly, 24%

of respondents on management, business or law

courses and health/social care.

Those studying at A/AS Level are the most likely

of the different qualification types to have

considered leaving (44%).


132 ELWa

Age


Base: Unweighted 4142 1211 610 486 1189 643

Base:Weighted 4138 1009 566 683 1391 490

% % % % % %

Yes 18 25 21 20 15 10

No 82 75 79 80 85 90

Disability Disability

within age

Learning

difficulty

Learning difficulty

within age

Base: All

FE learners

Total Yes No Disabled

16-18

Disabled

19+

Yes No Learning

difficulty

16-18

Learning

difficulty

19+

Base:

Unweighted

4142 280 3852 32 * 248 238 3896 92 * 146

Base:

Weighted

4138 379 3753 37 * 342 279 3854 98 * 181

% % % % % % % % %

Yes 18 17 19 40 15 20 18 31 14

No 82 83 81 60 85 80 82 69 86

Table 7.7:Thoughts of leaving by age (FE)


Table 7.8:Thoughts of leaving by disability and learning difficulties (FE)

*small base. Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown

133 ELWa


The chief problems mentioned by WBL

learners are:

● Managing to fit training in with other commitments

at work (17%)

● Managing to keep up with the standard of work

required (16%)




at home (12%)

Just over half (53%) of WBL learners have no

problems to report.

Female respondents are slightly more likely than

average to report problems managing to fit their

training in with other commitments at work.This is

particularly the case for females aged over 19, with

nearly one in four (23%) saying that this is a

problem, compared with the 17% average

mentioned by all WBL learners.

A higher proportion of females also report

problems managing to fit their training in with

other commitments at home.This affects a greater

proportion of females aged over 19 (15%)

compared with other groups.

Learners with responsibility for children and/or

adults at home, are more likely to report problems

managing to fit training in with other commitments

at home and keeping up with the standard of

work required.

For some reason, learners undertaking

Management, business or law courses report more

problems than learners on other courses:

● 29% of this group have problems managing to

fit their training commitments in with other

commitments at work

● 19% report problems maintaining their

personal motivation

● 18% state having problems managing to fit their

course in with commitments at home. In contrast

only 10% of those undertaking hospitality, leisure,

or retail courses report this problem

Base:All FE learners Total Full time Part time - more

than 3 hours

Part time - less

than 3 hours

Base: Unweighted 4142 1548 1178 1375

Base:Weighted 4138 1302 1368 1431

% % % %

Yes 18 26 18 13

No 82 74 82 87

Table 7.9:Thoughts of leaving by mode of study (FE)



134 ELWa


Base: All WBL learners Total Male Female Male

16-18

Male

19+

Female

16-18

Female

19+

Base: Unweighted 1000 579 421 218 361 133 288

Base:Weighted 1001 580 421 220 361 136 285

% % % % % % %

Keeping up with the standard of

work required

16 18 14 19 17 15 13


motivation

13 14 12 14 14 10 13


commitments at home

12 11 14 9 12 10 15


commitments at work

17 15 19 11 18 12 23

Dealing with money pressures 15 16 14 18 14 17 12

Travel to college/provider 9 11 7 12 10 10 6


member of staff

7 6 7 6 6 8 7


being provided

8 8 8 10 6 5 10

Maths or numeracy skills 7 7 6 10 5 6 7


other trainees

4 4 4 4 3 6 2

Reading/writing skills 5 6 4 8 4 4 4

No problems 53 54 51 54 55 54 49

Table 7.10: Problems encountered by gender and age within gender (WBL)


135 ELWa

Base:All WBL learners

Tota

l

Co

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on/

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ing/

man

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Hos

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basi

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Lan

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uman

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arts

and

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s

Base: Unweighted 1000 305 300 174 156 114 84 54

Base:Weighted 1001 304 298 174 157 113 84 56

% % % % % % % %


of work

16 15 17 16 16 19 20 23


motivation

13 15 14 15 19 11 17 19

Fitting the course in with home

commitments

12 11 10 11 18 16 11 10


commitments at work

17 13 13 13 29 18 23 19

Dealing with money pressures 15 18 15 13 12 18 16 17

Travel to college/provider 9 10 9 10 10 5 10 21


member of staff

7 5 5 5 6 13 8 7

Extra help not being provided 8 7 8 8 10 11 6 10

Maths or numeracy skills 7 8 6 7 3 9 12 15


other trainees

4 2 3 5 2 3 8 6

Reading/writing skills 5 6 7 6 1 6 7 10

No problems 53 57 54 54 49 49 48 43

Table 7.11: Problems encountered by subject (WBL)



136 ELWa

As was the case with FE learners,WBL learners

with disabilities/learning difficulties experience

more problems in particular with:

● Managing to keep up with the standard of

work required: 29% compared with 16% for all

WBL learners

● Dealing with money pressures: one in four of this

group (25%) mention this compared to 15% for all

WBL learners

● Extra help being promised but not being provided:

17% compared with only 7% of those without

disabilities or learning difficulties

Disabilities/

Learning difficulties

Base: All WBL learners Total Yes No



% % %










Problems of any kind with other trainees 4 7 3


No problems 53 34 55

Table 7.12: Problems encountered by learners with disabilities and learning difficulties (WBL)


137 ELWa

Pen Portrait:WBL learner, problems with

numeracy skills

The learner is male, aged 25 and has recently

completed his courses in numeracy and forklift

driving. He was based at his workplace for his

training, spending less than 2 hours per week off-

the-job training. He decided to do the course to

help him get a different or better job; learn skills

for his current job; progress through his career

generally; improve his knowledge of the subject;

gain new skills and further his personal

development. His decision to attend the particular

provider was made by his employer.

He is fairly satisfied with the teaching, rating many

of the different teaching aspects as being good.

Noticeably ‘makes good use of session time’ is

rated as excellent, but the ‘quality and availability of

teaching materials’ is poor.

He is less than happy with several management

issues such as communicating changes in times for

sessions and assessors turning up as planned - he

mentions that the trainer missed some of the

training sessions ‘as he was watching football’-

and managing timetables so that they suit the

learner. He also points out that his trainer has not

informed him whether he has passed or not.

The learner is fairly neutral about the support he

receives from his employer, but goes on to say ‘he

[the employer] took no active interest, they just

paid for the course and didn’t push me one way

or the other.’

He has had a number of problems whilst

undertaking the course – managing to fit training

in with other commitments at work; managing to

keep up with the standard of work required;

maintaining his personal motivation; and he has

problems with maths or numeracy skills (hence

one of the courses).

Despite the problems he has had and the negative

aspects of his training he did not consider leaving

the course at all and he acknowledges that the

training has been quite useful to his job. Overall

he is fairly satisfied, he is very likely to undertake

further training in the next three years.


21% of WBL learners report having seriously

thought about leaving their course.This is similar to

the figure of 18% for FE learners.The proportion

tends to be similar across most learner variables.

However the following groups are amongst those

most likely to have seriously thought about leaving

their course:

● A quarter (25%) of females aged over 19

● 24% of learners that have disabilities/


● 28% of those on management, business or

law courses

● Almost a quarter (24%) of learners on courses

more than one year but less than two years in

length report thinking about leaving.This compares

with 18% of those undertaking courses longer

than 2 years


138 ELWa

7.3.2 Satisfaction with employer support

Problems with lack of employer support are

sometimes cited as reasons for leaving WBL

programmes.WBL learners were therefore asked

specific questions to probe this issue.

WBL learners who are currently employed

(79% of all WBL learners) were asked how

satisfied they were with the support they receive

from their employer to help them succeed on

their training.They were then asked the reasons

for their satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Nearly 9 in 10 say they are satisfied with the

support; 62% are very or extremely satisfied.This is

a very positive finding and is consistent across

most learner variables including age and gender.

Those that left full-time education at age 19+,

tend more towards being fairly satisfied rather than

extremely or very satisfied with employer support.

48% of this group were extremely or very satisfied

compared with 62% of the whole sample.They

are, however, no more likely to be dissatisfied than

other groups.

Age left full-time education

Base: All WBL learners Total Under 16 16-18 19+

Base: Unweighted 787 61 663 56

Base:Weighted 787 61 664 56

% % % %

Extremely satisfied 29 34 29 25

Very satisfied 33 28 34 23

Fairly satisfied 26 30 25 39

Neither satisfied or dissatisfied 4 3 4 5

Fairly dissatisfied 1 2 4 2

Very dissatisfied 2 2 1 2

Extremely dissatisfied 1 2 1 4

All satisfied 88 92 88 88

All dissatisfied 7 5 7 7

Table 7.13: Satisfaction with employer support by age left full-time education (WBL)


139 ELWa

● A larger proportion of those with disabilities

and/or learning difficulties express satisfaction than

the average. 94% report being extremely/very or

fairly satisfied (61% are extremely or very), and

only 2% say they are dissatisfied

● Satisfaction levels with employer support were

highest in the South East (93% satisfied) - slightly

higher when compared with other regions

7.3.3 Reasons for satisfaction

The main reasons for satisfaction with employer

support are given below.This question was asked

as an open-ended question.

Table 7.14: Reasons for satisfaction with

employer support (WBL)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included;multiple responses allowed

The most cited reason was the affirmation that the

employer is supportive or encourages the learner

to train. Over a third of satisfied respondents

mentioned this (36%).This is then followed by

‘they advise me/explain things/help me do the

course work’ with 22%.

Some of the reasons for satisfaction are stronger in

certain subjects as table 7.15 shows.Whilst 40% of

respondents on health/social care courses say their

employer is supportive, only 5% say they are

allowed time to train.


answering

Total


Base:Weighted 698

%

Employer is very helpful/

supportive, encourages me to train

36

They advise me, explain things,

help me do the course work

22

Allow me time to study/train 12

Very happy, its working well,

provide everything I need

5

They’re OK, but not interested/

don’t get involved

5


140 ELWa

7.3.4 Reasons for dissatisfaction

Only 7% of employed respondents were

indifferent to or dissatisfied with the support from

their employer.

Table 7.16 highlights the main reasons for

dissatisfaction. A quarter of dissatisfied learners

state that their employer doesn’t give them any

assistance, advice or help with their projects.


Tota

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ing/

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Hos

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ICT

Man

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and

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s

Base: Unweighted 695 234 196 95 114 74 58 36

Base:Weighted 698 234 197 97* 114 74 * 57 * 37 *

% % % % % % % %

Employer is very helpful/

supportive

36 34 30 28 35 40 30 39

They advise me, explain things, 22 28 27 29 15 22 27 24

Allow me time to study/train 12 12 13 18 20 5 22 13

Very happy, its working well, 5 6 7 5 4 6 6 3

They’re OK, but don’t

get that involved

5 3 3 4 9 7 3 -

Table 7.15: Reasons for satisfaction with employer support by subject (WBL)

* small base sizes; ‘Don’t know’ and ‘other’ responses are not included; Mulitple responses allowed

141 ELWa

Table 7.16: Reasons for indifference/

dissatisfaction with employer support (WBL)




Among ACE learners, six in ten respondents (58%)

had no problems to report.This may well be a

reflection of their older age profile, meaning that

they are generally better equipped to deal with

the various challenges presented by undertaking

learning. Only three types of problem had been

experienced by more than 10% of ACE learners:



(13%)


(12%)

A fifth (19%) of those with children and/or adults

to look after report problems fitting in their

course with commitments at home.This

compares with 8% of those that do not have

responsibilities at home.

A fifth (18%) of males under 55 report

problems keeping up with the standard of

work required and fitting the course in with

commitments at work.

Other points to note:

● Nearly a quarter (23%) of ACE learners on

courses of 2 or more years say it is a problem

maintaining personal motivation.This is in contrast

to 11% of those studying a course of no longer

than 1 year

● More learners with disabilities/learning difficulties

reported problems keeping up with the standard

of work required; 19% compared with 11% of

those without disabilities/learning difficulties

● Full-time students also report problems keeping up

with the standard required. 26% report this,

compared with 13% of all ACE learners

Base:All WBL learners dissatisfied

with employer support

Total

Base: Unweighted 85

Base:Weighted 83

%

Employer doesn’t give me any

assistance/advice/help with my projects

25

Don’t allow me enough time to

train/study/have to take leave

19

They’re OK, but not really interested

really/don’t get involved

15

Pressure of work/no time to study/train 12


142 ELWa


Total Male Female Male

under

55

Male

over

55

Female

under

55

Female

over

55

Base: All ACE learners 508 160 348 66 94 202 145

% % % % % % %


motivation

13 11 14 12 11 15 14


of work

13 16 11 18 15 10 14


home commitments

12 9 13 14 6 17 7


work commitments

9 9 9 18 2 13 3

Dealing with money pressures 5 5 5 6 4 7 3

Travel to college/provider 4 5 4 8 3 4 3


member of staff

3 4 3 8 2 2 3


being provided

2 3 1 5 2 2 1


other trainees

2 3 1 5 1 1 1

Reading/writing skills 3 3 3 5 2 3 1

Maths or numeracy skills 2 3 1 5 1 2 -

No problems 58 58 58 47 65 55 62

Table 7.17: Problems encountered by gender, age within gender (ACE)


143 ELWa

Pen Portrait:ACE learner, problems with

juggling commitments and maintaining

personal motivation

The learner is 75 years old, disabled and has

finished her training in the last 12 months.

Her course was a part-time course (less than 3

hours per week), Open College credits in

Creative Writing.

Her expectations of the course were to get more

satisfaction out of her work; get onto other

courses or further her education; improve her

knowledge of the subject; gain new skills; further

her personal development; meet new people and

to do something useful with her spare time.

She is attending her first choice provider – it

offered the course she wanted and she was invited

to attend the college. She is undertaking the

course of her choice too.

She mentions problems fitting the course in with

commitments at home; keeping up with the

standard of work required and maintaining her

personal motivation.

Overall, she says she is extremely satisfied with

the quality of teaching, rating many aspects of

teaching as excellent. However a clue as to why

she may be having problems keeping up and

maintaining personal motivation lies in the fact

that she rates the tutor’s ability to explain the

subject and give her support as being poor. Her

expectations on teaching styles and the methods

used in lessons have not been met. She also

rates the availability of teachers as being poor.

She has little to say about many of the facilities -

perhaps many are not applicable to her, but she

does single out specialist facilities related to her

course, and the facilities provided for socialising

with other learners as poor.

The learner is fairly satisfied overall and says she

is quite likely to undertake further training in the

next three years.


Among ACE learners, 16% say they have thought

seriously about leaving their course.This is higher

among males (21%) than females (14%).

It is particularly the case among males aged

under-55, where 32% have considered leaving.

On average though the 35-54 age group are the

most likely to have thought about leaving;

21% report doing so.


144 ELWa

Interestingly, those studying the more basic levels

of course – level 2 or 1 are more likely to have

considered leaving than those working at the more

advanced levels, 21% versus 15%.


PROVISION TYPES

The problems most commonly experienced are

consistent across the different provision types and

relate to:


● Maintaining your personal motivation

● Fitting the course in with commitments at work


The proportions of learners that have seriously

considered leaving are also fairly consistent across

provision type at around one in five.

Age within gender Age

Total Male

under

55

Male

55 +

Female

under

55

Female

55 +

16-34 35-54 55 +

Base: All ACE learners 450 50 91 181 127 63 168 218

% % % % % % % %

Yes 16 32 14 15 11 14 21 12

No 84 68 86 85 89 86 79 88

Table 7.18:Thoughts about leaving by age within gender and age (ACE)


145 ELWa

Type of provision




% % %










Problems of any kind with other learners 4 4 2


No problems 49 53 58

Table 7.19: Problems by type of provision


Type of provision

Base: All learners except early leavers FE WBL ACE



% % %

Yes 18 21 16

No 82 79 84

Table 7.20:Thoughts of leaving course by type of provision



146 ELWa


THIS SECTION

FE

Almost half (49%) of respondents claim to

have experienced some problems since starting

their course.

Problems vary by life stage but the most common

problems relate to:

● Keeping up with the standard of work required (18%)

● Maintaining motivation (16%)

● Fitting the course in with commitments at work (16%)

● Fitting the course in with commitments at home (15%)

Middle-aged and older respondents are more likely

to report problems fitting the course in with

commitments at home and at work, whereas for

younger learners the problems are more to do

with actual learning and keeping up with the

standard of work.

Higher proportions of learners with disabilities

and learning difficulties report problems including

areas such as money problems and extra help

promised not being provided.

Those learners on academic courses tend to

experience more problems with motivation and

keeping up with the standard of work required,

whilst for those undertaking vocational courses,

fitting it in with commitments at home and at

work are more of an issue.

Just under a fifth of respondents have considered

leaving the course (18%).This is slightly higher

among 16-18 year olds (25%), particularly those

from this age group who have a disability (40%)

or learning difficulty (31%).

147 ELWa

WBL

Just over half (53%) of respondents have no

problems to report. Among those that do,

the main problems are similar to those

experienced by FE learners although money

pressures figure more prominently:


at work (17%)

● Managing to keep up with the standard of work

required (16%)


● Maintaining personal motivation (13%)


at home (12%)

Females are more likely to find it a problem fitting

training in with commitments at work and at

home, whereas males are slightly more likely to

report problems keeping up with the standard of

work required.

Those undertaking business studies courses seem

to experience more problems than those studying

other subjects, particularly in juggling commitments

and maintaining motivation.

As with FE, higher proportions of learners with

disabilities and learning difficulties report problems -

nearly a third (29%) mention problems keeping up

with the standard of work required, and a quarter

(25%) mention dealing with money pressures.

Just over a fifth (21%) say they have seriously

considered leaving their course.Those that are

more likely to have thought about it are:

● Females aged over 19 (25%)

● Those with learning difficulties or disabilities (24%)

● Those on business studies courses (28%)

Nearly nine in ten (88%) WBL learners currently

employed are satisfied with the support they

receive from their employer.

ACE

Nearly six in ten (58%) have no problems at all.

The chief problems for the rest are:


● Keeping up with the standard of work

required (13%)


home (12%)

Comparatively few (16%) have seriously thought

about leaving their course, but this is slightly

higher among males aged under 55 (where

32% say they have thought about it).

8. EARLY LEAVERS


148 ELWa

Introduction:

This section examines the reasons for leaving a

course or training programme. It looks at early

leavers in terms of their demographic or

educational profile and examines those aspects

of their learning experience which have led

them to leave the course early as well as looking

at what they are doing now.

Early leavers are defined as people who decided

to leave the course before completion. Given

that we drew our sample in March, the early

leavers described below will generally have left

their course in the interval between March

and when the fieldwork began in July.

There is no scope for analysis of early leavers

amongst WBL learners or Adult Continuing

Education (there are fewer than 60 early leavers

for each provision type).This section, therefore, is

restricted to an analysis of early leavers amongst

Further Education respondents only.

As a general comment, it is evident that early

leavers are, on the whole, more negative about all

aspects of their learning experience than those

who are currently learning and those who have

finished their course.To some extent, this pattern

is inevitable, and it is necessary to dig deep into

the data in order to identify the factors that are

key in prompting learners to abandon their

learning early.

8.1 OVERVIEW OF FURTHER

EDUCATION EARLY LEAVERS

8.1.1 Demographic variables

There are no significant differences in gender or

age when early leavers are compared with current

learners/ finishers. However, the early leaver group

are more likely to:

● Have GCSE as their highest level of qualification

held (29% versus 22% of other learners) and

to have left full time education at 16

(42% versus 36% of other learners)

● Fall into the C2DE (skilled manual, semi-skilled &

unskilled manual) socio economic group

(56% versus 46% respectively)

● Be involved in paid work during term time

(48% of early leavers do no paid work, compared

with 36% of others)

8.1.2 Programme variables

The first points to raise regarding early leavers

are that they are no less likely than other

respondents to have been studying at their first

choice of provider, nor are they less likely to have

been studying their first preference regarding

training programme.

There are, however, some differences in the type

of course they were doing when compared against

other learners, as follows:

● Early leavers were more likely to be studying a

course that lasted between 6 and 12 months

(44% versus 30% of current learners/ finishers),

but less likely to have been studying a course of

between 1 and 2 years (22% versus 29% of

current learners/ finishers)

149 ELWa

● Early leavers were more likely than current

learners/ finishers to be studying full time

(39% versus 31% respectively)

● This group was more likely to be studying ICT

(35% versus 24% current learners/finishers)


learning experience

In terms of their overall satisfaction, just 42% of

early leavers say they were extremely or very

satisfied, and this compares with 74% of current

learners/finishers.


learning experience (FE early leavers)



Base: FE early leavers (426)


When the reasons for overall satisfaction and

dissatisfaction are examined, there are no

significant differences between the opinions of

early leavers and current learners/ finishers.

Early leavers are no more negative than current

learners/ finishers about their experience at

school (47% of early leavers have generally

positive feelings about school, compared with

43% of other).

However, they are significantly less likely to say that

they will undertake further learning in the next

three years (76% of early leavers say this is very

or fairly likely, compared with 86% of current

learners/ finishers).

8.2 EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS

OF EARLY LEAVERS

8.2.1 Pre-course objectives

When the pre-learning objectives of early leavers

and current learners/finishers are compared, there

are few significant differences between the two

groups.The exceptions are that early leavers seem

to be less progression oriented and hence less

likely to:

● Think they would learn skills for a job they were

doing at the time (45% versus 54% of current

learners/finishers)

● Expect their learning to assist in their ability to

progress through their career generally

(68% versus 76%)

● Expect to get onto other courses or further their

education (71% versus 77%)

As tables 8.1 and 8.2 illustrate, early leavers are

also much less likely to feel that their course has

helped a lot in terms of:

● Improving their knowledge of a subject (56% vs

85% of those who continued with their course)

● Gaining new skills (48% vs 77%)

● Furthering their personal development

(31% vs 67%)

● Meeting new people (53% vs 70%)

Summary

Total extremely/very satisfied 43%

Total satisfied 76%


16% 27% 33% 16%


150 ELWa

FE early leavers appear to have had rather more

unmet expectations as regards what the course

would involve, particularly relating to ‘Teaching

styles and methods used in sessions’ (21% of early

leavers had unmet expectations versus 6% of other

learners) and ‘Course content’ (15% versus 5%).

Current learners/finished course

Base: All FE learners with pre-course expectations Helped a lot Helped a little Not helped at all


Base:Weighted: 1145

% % %

Improving knowledge of a subject 85 14 1

Gaining new skills 77 20 3

Furthering personal development 67 26 5

Meeting new people 70 25 4

Table 8.1: Fulfilment of pre-course objectives (FE current learners/ finishers)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown.Table shows row percentages. Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor ; in some instances, therefore, baseswill be lower than those given in the table

Early leavers

Base: All FE early leavers Helped a lot Helped a little Not helped at all


Base:Weighted: 426

% % %

Improving knowledge of a subject 56 27 15

Gaining new skills 48 29 22

Furthering personal development 31 33 33

Meeting new people 53 36 11

Table 8.2: Fulfilment of pre-course objectives (FE early leavers)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ is not shown.Table shows row percentages. Percentages shown are based on those rating each factor ; in some instances, therefore, baseswill be lower than those given in the table

151 ELWa

Pen Portrait: 19 year old female

early leaver

This early leaver is a 19-year-old female, who was

studying full time for a Level 2 NVQ including

numeracy and hairdressing. She was studying her

first choice course at her first choice provider, and

took advice about her studies from her parents/

other family members. However, she encountered

problems with fitting the course in with

commitments at home, dealing with money

pressures, maintaining her personal motivation

and travelling to college.

She is extremely dissatisfied with the overall quality

of teaching at her college, and provides the lowest

ratings (1 out of 10) for the following aspects of

her tutors: listening to her needs, making good use

of session time, setting clear targets or learning

goals to help her improve and providing prompt

and regular feedback on progress. She is also very

critical of the college making sure enough tutors

were available and managing timetables so that

they suited the learner.

Many of her expectations relating to her learning

were not met. In particular, this was the case

when considering the amount of work she

would have to do, the structure of the course,

the amount of responsibility she would have to

take and the teaching styles and methods used

in lessons. She comments that she did not feel

that her tutors were prepared to “push” learners

enough, and says that they were sometimes not

prepared to teach, therefore the students were

doing all the work themselves.

Overall she is extremely dissatisfied with the

learning experience. She says her class were not

interested because tutors were uninterested.

However she says it is quite likely that she will

do further learning in the next 3 years.


152 ELWa

Pen portrait: 38 year old male with

disabilities, early leaver

This early leaver is a disabled male, 38 years old

and was studying part time (more than 3 hours a

week) for a Level 2 City & Guilds in Electrical

Engineering. He decided to leave his course during

the past 12 months without achieving any

qualification. He is currently at home and not

seeking work.

His course and college were both his first choices.

He obtained advice from the college admissions

office and he found this fairly useful. However, he is

extremely dissatisfied with the overall quality of

teaching. Specifically, he gives ratings of just 1 out

of 10 for tutors listening to his needs, making the

subject interesting, understanding him and how he

likes to learn, giving support, the quality and

availability of teaching materials, setting clear

targets or learning goals, providing prompt and

regular feedback on progress and dealing with

disruptive learners.

Overall, he is fairly dissatisfied with the learning

experience. In several instances his expectations

of the learning experience were not met.This was

the case when considering the amount of work,

the structure of the course, the amount of

deadlines and teaching styles and methods

used in lessons. His comments imply that he

was expecting a more practical course, but

instead found there was too much paper work

and too many deadlines to meet. He also feels

he was assigned to the wrong course and that

he was misled in this respect about what he

would be doing.

Asked about any problems encountered

during the learning experience, this learner

cited the following: maintaining his personal

motivation, travelling to college, not receiving

extra help that he was promised, maths/

numeracy skills, fitting the course in with

commitments at home, keeping up with the

standard of work, dealing with money pressures

and problems with a member of college staff.

However this learner says that it is very likely

that he will undertake further learning in the

next 3 years.

8.2.2 Patterns of advice seeking

When the behaviour of early leavers is examined

with regard to seeking advice before starting their

course, there are only two significant differences

between this group and current FE learners/finishers:

● Just 34% of early leavers cite teachers at college/

provider as a source of advice, compared with

40% of current learners/ finishers

● 14% of early leavers sought advice from an

employer, compared with 25% of current learners/

finishers

8.2.3 Problems encountered

during courses

An analysis of problems encountered provides a

clearer picture of why early leavers may have

abandoned their course early.Whilst early leavers

are generally more likely to cite all the listed

problems than current learners/ inishers, the key

issues revolve around maintaining personal

motivation and keeping up with the standard of

work required (table 8.3).

153 ELWa

Learner Status

Base: All FE learners Current learners/

finished course

Early leavers

Base: Unweighted 4142 416

Base:Weighted 4138 426

% %

Fitting the course in with commitments at home 14 24

Fitting the course in with commitments at work 15 24

Keeping up with the standard of work required 16 32

Dealing with money pressures 10 19

Problems of any kind with other learners 3 5

Problems of any kind with a member of the staff 5 12

Maintaining your personal motivation 14 33

Travel to college 7 14

Extra help you were promised not being provided 5 13

Reading/ writing skills 5 4

Maths/ numeracy skills 5 6

Other 8 10

Table 8.3: Problems encountered on the course by learner status (FE)

Note: ‘No problems’, ‘don’t know’ and no answer not shown.


154 ELWa

Pen Portrait: 19 year old male early leaver

This 19 year-old male left his intermediate Arts

and Media City and Guilds course during the last

12 months without any qualification or part

qualification. He left his course because of pressure

to meet assignment deadlines, and his dyslexia was

making this difficult.The college could not get him

help until the following term and he was falling

behind. He is currently employed full time.

He was studying his first choice course at his first

choice provider, but overall is fairly dissatisfied with

the quality of teaching provided. He gives

particularly low ratings (less than 5 out of 10) for

tutors listening to his needs, understanding him and

how he liked to learn and for setting clear targets

or learning goals to help him improve. He is also

critical of tutors in terms of providing support

when he or other learners had problems (4 out of

10) and helping new people settle in (5 out of 10).

This learner experienced a number of problems

whilst on his course, including reading/writing skills,

maths/ numeracy skills, fitting the course in with

commitments at home, keeping up with the

standard of work required, dealing with money

pressures, problems with other learners, and

extra help he was promised not being provided.

Most of his expectations of his course were met.

The exception is the amount of deadlines that

he would have to meet, and he comments that

his tutor kept changing deadlines but did not

clearly communicate new dates.

Overall, however, he is fairly satisfied with the

learning experience and says it is quite likely that

he will undertake further learning in the next 3

years. He just feels that he was given hardly any

help during this particular learning experience.

8.2.4 Quality of teaching

Early leavers are far more critical than current

learners/finishers of the quality of teaching that

they received whilst doing their course.Whilst

69% of current learners/finishers say they are

extremely or very satisfied with the quality of

teaching, less than half (48%) the early leavers say

the same.

Chart 8.2: Overall satisfaction with the

quality of teaching (FE early leavers)



Base: FE early leavers: (426)

Note: ‘Don’t know’ and ‘neither/nor’ not shown Total satisfied/dissatisfiedmay not add to 100% due to rounding.

Summary

Total extremely/very satisfied 48%

Total satisfied 79%


23% 25% 30% 16%

155 ELWa

Table 8.4 shows the proportions of current

learners/finishers providing top ratings of 9

or 10 out of 10 for each indicator versus the

corresponding proportion of early leavers.

When the detailed teaching indicators are

considered, it is evident that early leavers are far

more critical on all aspects of teaching but

particularly those which involve active

teacher/tutor input.

Learner status

Base: All FE learners Current

learners/

finishers

Early leavers Early leaver

rating greater

than 15%

points lower



% %

Ability to explain the subject 55 39 ✓

Listening to your needs 52 35 ✓

Making subject interesting/ enjoyable 48 30 ✓

Understanding you and how you like to learn 41 30

The support they give to you 43 26 ✓

Makes good use of lesson time 44 27 ✓

The quality and availability of teaching materials 43 31

Setting clear targets or learning goals 39 27

Providing prompt and regular feedback 43 27 ✓

Dealing with disruptive learners 26 17

Table 8.4: Satisfaction with teaching indicators (score of 9 or 10 out of 10) by learner status



156 ELWa

Pen portrait: 55 year old female early leaver

This female early leaver is 55 years old, holds no

qualifications and was studying part time (more

than 3 hours per week) for a level 1 City & Guilds

in Arts and Media.

She left her course early, describing herself as

extremely dissatisfied with the overall quality of

teaching provided at her college. Indeed, she gives

very poor (1 out of 10) ratings for the following

aspects of her tutors: their ability to explain the

subject, listening to her needs, making good use of

session time, the quality and availability of teaching

materials, and providing prompt and regular

feedback on progress. In terms of management of

teaching, she is very critical in terms of the college

making sure enough tutors were available, providing

support when she or other learners had a problem,

managing timetables so that they suited the learner

and communicating changes to lesson times.

Her particular problems related to fitting the

course in with commitments at home, and

problems with a member of staff. In terms of her

expectations of her course, these were primarily

met, with the exceptions of the structure of the

training (relating to problems with her tutor being

disorganised) and the teaching styles/methods

used (she felt that the teacher was not well

qualified). Overall, she describes herself as very

dissatisfied with the learning experience. However,

she thinks it very likely that she will undertake

further learning in the next 3 years.

Learners were also given a list of indicators relating

to management and administration aspects of the

learning experience and asked to score them in

the same way i.e. by allocating points out of 10

where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent.This time the

indicators related to accessibility of teachers/

trainers, timetabling, induction and continuity of

support.Table 8.5 shows that, again, current

learners/finishers tend to be far more positive on

all indicators than the early leaver group.

157 ELWa

8.2.5 Ratings for Provider Facilities (FE)

Early leavers tend to be slightly less positive

about most of the facilities provided at their

provider/college than current learners/ finishers

(table 8.6). Again the issue of support is key - early

leavers are more critical than current learners/

finishers regarding learner support services.This

perception of a lack of support possibly ties in

with the fact that early leavers are far more likely

than to say that they had problems keeping up

with the standard of work required on their

course.

Learner status


learners/finishers

Early leavers



% %

Making sure enough trainers/assessors are available 40 28

Providing support when I or other learners need it 50 34

Helping new people settle in 49 40

Managing timetables so that they suit the learner best they can 42 32

Communicating changes in times for sessions 36 21

Table 8.5: Satisfaction with management based indicators (score of 9 or 10 out of 10)

by learner status (FE)



158 ELWa

8.3 SUCCESS OF ACHIEVING

QUALIFICATION/MODULES

When considering all FE learners who have left

their course of study, whilst the majority of those

who finished their course passed their qualification

completely (65%), not surprisingly the same is true

for just a small minority (6%) of those who left

early. Indeed, the majority of early leavers (75%)

neither passed their qualification completely nor

achieved a part qualification or a module.

Learner status


learners/finishers

Early leavers



% %

Making sure enough trainers/assessors are available 40 28

Providing support when I or other learners need it 50 34

Helping new people settle in 49 40

Managing timetables so that they suit the learner best they can 42 32

Communicating changes in times for sessions 36 21

Table 8.6: Ratings for facilities (percentage scoring 9 or 10 out of 10) by learner status (FE)


159 ELWa

8.4 WHAT THEY ARE DOING NOW

Despite their differences in terms of qualifications

achieved, similar proportions of early leavers and

those that finished their course are now in

employment, either full or part time (table 8.8).

Early leavers are, however, slightly more likely than

those who finished their course to say they are

registered unemployed/ signing on for Job Seekers

Allowance, and to say they are at home/not

seeking work.

Base:All FE leavers Finished course

completely

Early leavers



% %

Passed this qualification completely 65 6

Achieved a part qualification or a module 6 15

Neither of these 16 75

Don’t know 13 4

Table 8.7: Outcome for those who have left course by Learner Status


160 ELWa

Learner status

Base: All FE leavers Total Finished

course

Early leavers



% % %

Full time employment (31+ hours per week) 43 43 40

Part time employment (< 31 hours per week) 19 20 17

Self employment 3 3 3

Local or gov. training scheme involving paid work * * *

Local or gov training scheme not involving paid work * * *

Registered unemployed/signing on for JSA 2 1 4

Not registered unemployed but seeking work 3 3 8

Long term sick or disabled 2 2 2

Retired 7 8 5

At home/not seeking work 10 9 14

Full time education 7 8 4

Part time education 3 3 2

Unemployed (unspecified) 1 1 *

Looking for another course * * -

Going to college/doing a course 1 1 *

Voluntary work * 1 -

Maternity leave/pregnant * * *

Other * * *

Table 8.8:What Are You Doing Now? By learner status (FE)


161 ELWa


THIS SECTION

Early leavers are more likely than other learners to:

● Be working during term time (48% vs 36%)

● Have left full time education at 16 (42% vs 36%)

● Come from a poorer socio economic background

(56% vs 46%)

● Be studying full time (39% vs 31%)

● Be studying ICT (35% vs 24%)

As one might expect they are less satisfied with

most aspects of their learning experience than

those who have finished or are continuing their

course.The findings, which most strongly

differentiate early leavers from other learners,

are as follows:

● They are generally less likely to feel that their

expectations have been met

● They stand out as giving lower ratings for some of

the support aspects of the teaching function such as:

● ‘Listening to your needs’ (35% of early leavers

give a score of 9 or 10 out of 10 compared to

52% of other learners)

● ‘The support they give to you’ (26% vs 43%)


(27% vs 43%)

They are also more likely to have experienced

problems, in particular problems with the

standard of work (32% compared to 16% of

other learners) and with maintaining motivation

(33% compared to 14% of other learners).

9. FUTURE INTENTIONS


162 ELWa

Introduction:

This section looks at learners’ future intentions as

regards learning. Respondents were asked how

likely they would be to undertake further

learning in the next three years.

9.1 OVERVIEW

The majority of learners (84%) are either very or

fairly likely to undertake further learning within the

next 3 years.This is slightly higher amongst female

learners (87%) than it is for males (81%).

In terms of age, younger learners are marginally

less likely to be considering undertaking further

learning, particularly in the 19-24 age group (only

80% are very or fairly likely to undertake further

learning in the next 3 years).The likelihood of

undertaking further learning peaks in the 25-34

age group (89% very or fairly likely) and drops

slightly for the 35+ age group.

Looking in more detail at the 19-24 year olds, it is

the male learners that are depressing the figures

with only 75% expressing a likelihood to undertake

further learning, compared to 85% of female

learners of the same age.

Gender

Base: All learners Total Male Female



% % %

Very likely 58 55 60

Fairly likely 26 26 27

Not very likely 9 10 7

Not at all likely 5 6 4

Don’t Know 2 3 2

Table 9.1: Likelihood of undertaking learning in the next 3 years by gender (All learners)

163 ELWa

Age


Base: Unweighted 6215 1742 1204 681 1601 987

Base:Weighted 6215 1428 1019 936 1913 918

% % % % % %

Very likely 58 56 55 62 59 58

Fairly likely 26 30 25 27 25 25

Not very likely 9 8 13 5 8 9

Not at all likely 5 5 5 3 5 5

Don’t Know 2 1 2 4 2 2

Table 9.2: Likelihood of undertaking learning in the next 3 years by age (All learners)

Gender

Base: All FE learners Total Male Female



% % %





Don’t Know 2 3 2

Table 9.3: Likelihood of undertaking further learning in next 3 years by gender (FE)


164 ELWa


The majority of FE learners (59%) regard

themselves as very likely to undertake learning in

the next three years. Female learners are

marginally more likely to express some likelihood

of continuing their learning (87% describe

themselves as very or fairly likely to do so

compared to 82% of men).

Likelihood of undertaking further learning does

not appear to vary markedly by age but it is

interesting that the 19-24 age group is the least

likely to be expecting to continue learning

(79% are either very or fairly likely).This contrasts

with the 25-34 age group which is the most

positive about continued learning with 88%

very/fairly likely to undertake further learning.

Looking in more detail at the 19-24 year olds, it is

the male learners in this group who are depressing

the level of intentions (73% were very or fairly

likely to undertake further learning compared to

85% of female learners).

Looking at other learner variables, those which are

most likely to influence future intentions to learn

amongst FE learners are as follows:

● Whether they have children: those with children of

pre school age (aged under 5) are the most likely

of any group to have learning intentions (90%)

● Whether they have learning difficulties: 89% of

female learners with learning difficulties are

planning further learning

9.3 WORK BASED LEARNERS

As is the case with FE learners, females are

marginally more positive about future learning.

Generally, however, the level of intentions is fairly

consistent across most learner variables.The

one exception is highest qualification on entry:

those who had NVQ Level 1/2 qualifications or

equivalent are more likely to be planning further

learning (83%) compared to 76% of those with

Level 3 qualifications.

Age


Base: Unweighted 4707 1387 704 555 1334 724

Base:Weighted 4707 1153 659 786 1555 554

% % % % % %

Very likely 59 58 56 62 59 58

Fairly likely 26 28 23 26 26 25

Not very likely 8 7 14 5 8 10

Not at all likely 5 5 5 3 5 5

Don’t Know 2 1 2 4 2 2

Table 9.4: Likelihood of undertaking further learning in next 3 years by age (FE)

165 ELWa



In line with their high levels of satisfaction,

ACE learners have the highest level of learning

intentions with nine out of ten learners (90%)

planning to continue learning.

Gender

Base: All WBL learners Total Male Female



% % %





Don’t Know 3 3 2

Table 9.5: Likelihood of undertaking further learning in next 3 years by gender (WBL)

Table 9.6: Likelihood of undertaking further learning in next 3 years by gender (ACE)

Gender

Total Male Female

Base: All ACE learners 508 160 348

% % %





Don’t Know 2 3 1

10.TECHNICAL APPENDIX


166 ELWa

10.1 SAMPLE DESIGN

10.1.1 Sample Coverage

The survey covered learners in the following

provision types:

● Further Education (FE)

● Work Based Learning (WBL)

● Accredited Adult and Community Education

(ACE)

Details of how learners were sampled in each

provision type are given below.

10.1.2 FE and accredited ACE sample

This process involved several stages of contact:

● Anonymised Individual Student Record freeze sent

to NOP

● NOP sampled individual learners and sent the

student reference numbers to the colleges

● Colleges were requested to send contact details

for learners back to NOP (on spreadsheet or

hard copy) or to undertake the mailouts on behalf

of ELWa

● Learners were sent a letter informing them about

the survey and providing a Freephone number

should they have any queries or wish to opt out

● Learners dialled into the NOP Freephone number

to opt out

● Opt outs were deleted from each college’s

sample file before it was entered into the master

sampling frame

Learners in the FE sector and those in accredited

ACE were sampled from the Individualised Student

Record (ISR) in April 2003.They therefore came

from the December 2002 census.The ISR does

not provide names or contact details for learners

and therefore, the sampling exercise involved

stratifying the learners’ records by the following

variables and then drawing a random sample of

student reference numbers:

● Region

● Gender

● Age

● Course/programme type

In sampling FE students, over-sampling took place

amongst 16-18 year olds, learners in Mid Wales

and also certain course types (aiming to ensure

that there were sufficient numbers of interviews in

each group to be able to analyse these separately).

Classification of course type for FE involved

selecting the subject on which the student was

spending most time (where there were multiple

subjects).This actually proved very difficult and

attempts to over-sample certain subjects so that

there were sufficient interviews to analyse these

subjects separately proved very approximate.

Once student reference numbers had been

generated they were distributed to colleges.

The colleges were given the option of either

contacting students directly to provide the

opportunity of opting out of the survey or

supplying the contact details to NOP so that they

could undertake this part of the process.

Once the learners’ contact details were received

from the colleges, learners were sent a letter

outlining the survey to them and giving them the

opportunity to opt out via a Freephone number.

21 colleges were contacted in order to obtain

sample and a total of 17 colleges co-operated and

sent through sample for FE learners. 9 colleges

sent sample for accredited ACE learners.

167 ELWa

10.1.3 WBL sample

The WBL sample was sourced from the National

Trainee Database. A random sample of 4,000

names was drawn with a computer-generated

random start. Learners in mid Wales were over-

sampled and this was corrected by weighting the

results at the analysis stage.

There was no need to send out opt out letters in

this case as all WBL learners have signed a

declaration to indicate whether or not they are

willing to have their names passed on to a third

party for research purposes. A courtesy letter was

sent out, however, to explain the survey and allow

learners to opt out if they wished.

10.2 SAMPLE STRUCTURE

The following numbers of interviews

were achieved:

Table 10.1: Number of interviews by

provision type

10.3 FIELDWORK AND

RESPONSE RATES

The survey was carried out by means of a

telephone interview, lasting 20 minutes on average.

Telephone interviewing was chosen in preference

to other data collection methods on the

following grounds:

● Telephone interviewing avoids the need to

cluster sample

● It is generally much quicker than face-to-face

interviewing or self completion methods

● The subject matter lends itself well to questioning

over the telephone

The option for a Welsh interview was built into

the study for those who preferred to be

interviewed in Welsh.Whilst 34 people said they

would prefer to be interviewed in Welsh only 7

actually took up the option when contacted by a

Welsh speaking interviewer.The majority of the

remainder appear to have used this option as a

way of delaying/indirectly refusing the interview.

Fieldwork was carried out between 4th July 2003

and 18th August 2003.

Full response rate data is provided in table 10.2.

In looking at the breakdown, it is worth noting

the following:

● The quality of the contact data was relatively poor,

with a high incidence of telephone numbers which

were not contactable or which did not lead to the

individual the interviewer was trying to contact

● For FE and accredited ACE, fieldwork had to

begin before all the sample arrived. Sample which

arrived towards the end of the fieldwork period

therefore had less chance of being successfully

contacted than those which were available

earlier on in the process

The response rates were as follows:

Provision type No. of

interviews

Further Education 4,707

Work Based Learning 1,000

Accredited Adult

Continuing Education

508


168 ELWa

Table 10.2: Response rates by provider type

FE WBL ACE

Completed interviews 4707 1000 508

Hard and soft appointments 1124 224 120

Stopped interviews 168 37 33

Referred elsewhere/respondent moved 452 263 44

Refusal 1797 389 266

Ex directory 27 12 4

Respondent not available through fieldwork 135 51 4

TOTAL CONTACTS 8410 1976 979

Unused 1475 2 165

No answer/busy/voicemail 4199 702 556

TOTAL LIVE BUT NO CONTACT 5674 704 721

Number not in service 1348 586 157

Claimed duplicate 19 18 3

No eligible respondent 161 101 27

Under 16 3 2 1

Course completed before deadline 170 31 25

Not been on course 283 30 93

Number changed 18 60 2

Not main number 2 1 0

Business use only 45 20 5

Computer/fax/modem 50 16 4

Others cannot continue 176 55 22

TOTAL DEAD SAMPLE 2275 920 339

TOTAL ALL SAMPLE 16359 3600 2039

RESPONSE RATE ON CONTACTED SAMPLE 56 % 51 % 52 %

RESPONSE RATE ON CONTACTED AND OTHER LIVE SAMPLE 33 % 37 % 30 %

RESPONSE RATE ON TOTAL SAMPLE 29 % 28 % 25 %

169 ELWa

10.4 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN

The survey questionnaires were developed in

consultation with ELWa and included some of the

questions used in the Learning and Skills Council

National Learner Satisfaction Survey for England.

Four questionnaires were developed; these were:

● FE/ACE Current Learners

● FE/ACE Leavers

● WBL Current Learners

● WBL Leavers

A copy of the questionnaire used with FE/ACE

current learners is provided in the Appendix.

Copies of the other variations of the

questionnaires may be found at

http://www.elwa.org.uk.

The questionnaire was piloted.The pilot involved

30 telephone interviews between the 2nd and

10th July 2003.

10.5 MANAGEMENT OF TELEPHONE

INTERVIEWING

Interviewer Quality Control Scheme

(IQCS)

The quality of work undertaken by NOP’s

Telephone Interviewing Services is in accordance

with the standards laid down by the IQCS. All

member companies of the IQCS are inspected

annually by an independent inspector appointed by

the IQCS Council.The inspector assesses the

company’s performance and this is submitted to

the IQCS Council of Management for approval.

It is a condition for membership of the IQCS that:

● On appointment, each interviewer is issued with a

current copy of the Market Research Society

(MRS) Code Of Conduct, covering at least the

sections relating to the following:

– responsibilities to informants

– responsibilities to the general public and the

business community

● The words “Conducted within the Code of

Conduct of the Market Research Society” are,

wherever practical, included on the screen at the

start and end of every interview or shift, requiring

the interviewer to confirm compliance at that time

or covered in a separate sheet, identifying a

specified period of time on a specific job and

signed by the interviewer.

● Interviewers are made aware of the MRS Freephone

facility, which verifies the bona fides of companies

conducting genuine market research work.

Interviewers receive a minimum of 2 days basic

training covering quality related issues such as:

● The purpose & value of Market Research

● The importance of accurate & ethical interviewing

● The MRS Code of Conduct

● Special care when interviewing children, OAPs etc.

● Use of Freephone numbers

● Assurance of respondent confidentiality

and anonymity

● Quality Control procedures

● Interviewer courtesy/manner

● Interviewing technique

● Types of questions including Prompting & Probing

● Demographics/Classification/Social grading

● Some practical experience of interviewing

10% of all completed interviews are monitored via

remote listening-in and on-screen verification.


170 ELWa

No of interviews Weighted data

No % No %

Age within gender

Male

16-18 700 15 598 13

19-24 326 7 320 7

25-39 236 5 499 11

40-59 302 6 452 10

60+ 195 4 136 3

Female

16-18 687 15 555 12

19-24 378 8 339 7

25-39 722 15 828 18

40-59 845 18 791 17

60+ 316 7 188 4

Region

South East Wales 2240 48 1742 37

North Wales 700 15 1553 33

South West Wales 1168 25 1177 25

Mid Wales 599 13 235 5

Course subjects

Education + training 490 10 861 18

Management + business 367 8 692 15

IT 543 12 603 13

Health + social 859 18 433 9

Engineering 209 4 343 7

Construction 184 4 216 5

Arts 472 10 174 4

Hospitality + catering 199 4 132 3

Leisure + travel 86 2 127 3

Land based 152 3 85 2

Science + maths 305 6 85 2

Other 335 7 560 12

Table 10.3 Proportion of weighted interviews (FE)

171 ELWa

In addition, NOP’s Telephone Interviewing Service

applies a 7 hour rule which ensures that each

individual interviewer is monitored a minimum of

every 7 hours they work to ensure there is no

bias in terms of who is monitored within the

general 10% target.

Verbatim answers are scanned by the Team

Leaders on a session-by-session basis to ensure

that the quality of these open-ended answers

reaches the standard required for each project.

Miscodes are reviewed and corrected at the

Centre where possible to ensure the data is as

accurate as possible prior to leaving the Centre.

10.6 ANALYSING THE DATA

10.6.1 Weighting the Data

The FE sector data has been weighted to correct

for over-representation of 16 –18 year olds,

Mid Wales and certain course subjects.The

weights used are shown in table 10.3:

WBL data had involved over-sampling Mid Wales.

Details of the weighting for this group are

given below:

No of interviews Weighted data

No % No %

Region

South East Wales 454 45 487 49

South West Wales 203 20 218 22

Mid Wales 126 13 63 6

North Wales 217 22 233 23

Table 10.4: Proportion of weighted interviews (WBL)


172 ELWa

10.6.2 Interpreting the data

The following grid provides a useful rule of thumb

when judging the statistical significance of the

figures contained in this report:

Expected Proportion

Sample Size 50% 40% 30% 20%

or 50% 60% 70% 80%

100 +/- 9.8% +/- 9.6% +/- 9.0% +/- 7.8%

200 +/- 6.9% +/- 6.8% +/- 6.4% +/- 5.5%

300 +/- 5.7% +/- 5.5% +/- 5.2% +/- 4.5%

400 +/- 4.9% +/- 4.8% +/- 4.5% +/- 3.9%

500 +/- 4.4% +/- 4.3% +/- 4.0% +/- 3.5%

600 +/- 4.0% +/- 3.9% +/- 3.7% +/- 3.2%

700 +/- 3.7% +/- 3.6% +/- 3.4% +/- 3.0%

800 +/- 3.5% +/- 3.4% +/- 3.2% +/- 2.8%

900 +/- 3.3% +/- 3.2% +/- 3.0% +/- 2.6%

1,000 +/- 3.1% +/- 3.0% +/- 2.8% +/- 2.5%

1,500 +/- 2.5% +/- 2.5% +/- 2.3% +/- 2.0%

2,000 +/- 2.2% +/- 2.1% +/- 2.0% +/- 1.8%

2,500 +/- 2.0% +/- 1.9% +/- 1.8% +/- 1.6%

Table 10.5: Confidence intervals for different expected proportions and sample sizes

(based on 95% confidence)

Note this assumes the responses are from a completely unclustered random sample

173 ELWa

10.7 Regression Analysis

Regression analysis is a statistical method used to

measure the relationship between a learner’s

level of satisfaction with specific components of

learning and their overall level of satisfaction.The

stronger the relationship between a particular

factor and the overall level of satisfaction, the more

important that factor. If a factor rises or falls in line

with overall satisfaction it can be seen as a key

driver of satisfaction.

The analysis process involves:

● Using factor analysis to condense all aspects of

provision into separate service dimensions which

hold good levels of correlation in the data

● Identifying the contribution which each service

dimension makes to overall levels of satisfaction

When the analysis was applied to the results from

the National Learner Satisfaction Survey for Wales

2003,the service dimensions which emerged are

listed below. Please note that factors are grouped

differently in each provider type.

The service dimensions for FE were:

FE

● Teaching

● Management

● Facilities – Learning

● Facilities – Counselling

● Facilities – Other

● Making the Right Choice

The questions covered by each service dimension

were as follows:

Teaching


for you

● Understanding you and how you like to learn

● The support they give you for example


time management


● The quality and availability of teaching materials

they use


you improve


on progress

● Dealing with disruptive learners

● Ability to explain the subject

● Listening to your needs

Management

● Making sure enough tutors and/or teachers

are available

● Providing support when you or other learners

have problems

● Helping new people settle in


best they can

● Communicating changes in lesson times


174 ELWa

Facilities - Learning




to your course


other learners

Facilities – Counselling


● Other support e.g. counselling, advice on

housing or financial advice

● Careers advice


Facilities –Other

● Canteen/café




Making the Right Choice

● Usefulness of advice

● First choice of course

● First choice of provider

WBL

The service dimensions for WBL were:

● Teaching

● Management

● Facilities – Socialising

● Facilities – Counselling

● Facilities – IT

● Facilities – Other

Teaching


for you


● The support they give you for example


time management


● The quality and availability of teaching

materials they use

● Setting clear targets or learning goals to

help you improve


on progress




175 ELWa

Management

● Making sure enough trainers/assessors are available

● Providing support when I or other learners need



best they can

● Communicating changes in times for sessions

● Assessors turning up as planned

● Seeing the same assessor throughout

Facilities – Socialising

● Canteen/café


other learners


to your course

Facilities – Counselling


● Other support services e.g. counselling,

advice on housing or financial advice

● Careers advice


Facilities - IT

● IT facilities and equipment

Facilities – Other





Accredited ACE

The service dimensions were as follows:

● Teaching

● Management

● Facilities – Learning

● Facilities – Social

● Facilities – Childcare/Counselling

● Making the Right Choice

Teaching


for you


● The support they give you for example in

improving your study techniques or time

management


● The quality and availability of teaching materials

they use

● Setting clear targets or learning goals to

help you improve


on progress





176 ELWa

Management

● Making sure enough tutors and/or teachers

are available

● Providing support when you or other learners

have problems



best they can

● Communicating changes in lesson times

Facilities – Learning


to your course




Facilities – Socialising


other learners

● Canteen/café




Facilities – Childcare/Counselling


● Other support services e.g. counselling, advice

on housing or financial advice

● Careers advice

Making the right choice

● Usefulness of advice

● First choice of course

● First choice of provider

11. GLOSSARY OF TERMS

177 ELWa

FE

Learners from the Further Education sector

have been drawn from FE Colleges.The sample

covers the full range of learners, both full time

and part time.

WBL

The Work Based Learning programmes

covered include National Traineeship, Modern

Apprenticeship, Skillbuild,Work Based Learning

for Adults and Other Youth programmes.

ACE

This sample covers accredited Adult Continuing

Education. It therefore covers FE learning

delivered by adult learning providers. Although

the sample was collected via the FE colleges,

the learner rated the provider that delivered

the course.

Early leavers

Early leavers are defined as people who decided

to leave the course before completion.

Disability

Respondents were asked if they had a disability,

this is therefore a self-defined group.

Dependents

Respondents were asked if they had children in

their household and if so whether they fell into

the following age groups: under 5, 5-16, 16+.

Respondents were also asked whether they were

the primary carer for any adults (this could be

within or outside of their household), for example,

elderly relatives.

Learning Difficulty

Respondents were asked if they had a learning

difficulty, this is therefore a self-defined group.

SEG

At points during the report respondents are

described in terms of their Socio Economic Group.

The classification is as follows:

AB: Professional and Managerial

C1: Intermediate and Junior

Non-Manual

C2: Skilled Manual

DE: Semi-Skilled and Unskilled Manual

Regression

Where regression analysis is referred to this is a

process of statistical analysis which involves tracking

correlations within the survey data in order to

identify which factors are most influencing a

certain outcome.

12.APPENDICES


178 ELWa

12.1 APPENDIX A – THE CUSTOMER

RESEARCH STRATEGY

The National Council – ELWa’s 2002-3 Corporate

Plan included a requirement to establish ‘An

integrated programme to understand the needs of

our customers in order to ensure that all future

product development is based upon their needs’

(Corporate Plan – 2002-03 ref. P13).

Following a wide internal consultation process the

Customer Research Strategy was developed to

provide an understanding of learner needs,

motivation and satisfaction.This activity would

allow ELWa to:

● Understand what motivates customers to learn,

so enabling us to widen and deepen participation

in learning;

● Understand what customers think of the education

and learning services they receive, particularly

those which we fund; and

● Track and understand participation within the

different customer groups.

The proposed three-year research programme

was outlined to the Council in May 2003 and

includes the following elements:

● A blanket learner satisfaction survey during

Summer 2003, including 20 minute telephone

interviews with over 6,200 learners

● The development of a methodology to collect

similar information from Sixth Form students

across Wales

● The establishment of an individuals panel and an

employers panel in order to track changes in

attitudes to and participation in learning, and

● The production of a range of themed reports

throughout the programme lifetime

The following table provides detail of each

individual research element:

179 ELWa

Activity Fieldwork

National Learner

Satisfaction Survey

for Wales

6200 FE,WBL and ACE learners were interviewed by telephone in Summer 2003.

The survey aimed to provide an understanding of learners’ views and satisfaction

with their learning experiences.

ELWa School Sixth

Form Survey

5,000 sixth formers filled in self-completion questionnaires, and 12 focus groups

held February 2004.

Employer

Case Studies

28 case studies carried out during Jan/Feb 2004. Interviewing directors and line

managers, and surveying staff from a range of employers across Wales. Focussing

on attitudes to learning within the work place, and the decision making process

around work place learning.

Employers Panel 2,000 employers will be interviewed twice each year by telephone in order to track

and analyse attitudes to learning. The questionnaire and sample are currently being

designed – first wave of fieldwork planned for September.

Individuals Panel 2,000 individuals from across Wales were interviewed face-to-face during Dec

03/Jan 04. These individuals will form a panel that will be interviewed annually to

improve understanding in relation to attitudes to learning, and to track changes in

attitudes and perceptions.

Work Based

Learners Leavers

Survey (Pilot)

As part of ELWa’s requirements under its Management Schedules, a pilot project

has been designed to interview a sample of WBL programme learners

approximately 6 months after leaving the programme. 600 20-minute telephone

interviews were carried out in May 2004.


180 ELWa

12.2 APPENDIX B – SUBJECT

CLASSIFICATIONS

Table 12.1: Subject Classifications

Subject Groups Subjects included

Agriculture/Hort/Animal Care Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Care

Construction Construction

Engineering & Manufacturing Engineering, Manufacturing

Hospitality/Catering Hospitality, Catering

Retail/Distributing/Customer Service Retailing, Distribution, Customer Services, Hairdressing

Leisure/Travel/Tourism Leisure, Sport,Travel,Tourism

ICT Information & Communication Technology

Management/Bus/Law Management, Business, Administration and Law

Health/Social Care Health, Social and Child Care

Education/Training Education,Training

Literacy/Numeracy Literacy, Numeracy

Basic Skills/Foundation Basic Skills, Foundation

Languages English,Welsh, Other

Science/Maths Science, Maths

Arts/Media Arts, Media Studies

Humanities/Social Sciences Humanities, Social Sciences

Transport Transportation

181 ELWa

12.3 APPENDIX C – LETTERS

a) Letter to WBL learners

ELWa North Wales

Unit 6, St Asaph Business Park

St Asaph

Denbighshire

LL17 OLJ

Name

Address 1

Address 2

Address 3

Address 4

Postcode

Dear First name Surname

National Learner Satisfaction Survey - your serial number is Serial Number

The National Council – ELWa is the public body with responsibility for promoting, planning and funding

education and training for people aged over 16 across Wales (with the exception of Higher Education).

You may be aware that the National Council has contributed towards the funding of your Work Based

Learning Programme (Qualification)

We are about to launch a major survey to find out what learners think about their programmes and how

satisfied or otherwise they are with various parts of the training process.This exciting research will represent

the first time a large-scale survey has been used to help us understand learner satisfaction across all National

Council funded learning in Wales. It will help us build upon the individual training evaluation sheets you may

have filled out for your training provider.

The information we gather will help us to improve the quality and choice of the education and training

available, and to increase the numbers of people undertaking learning across Wales.We want to ensure

that the training we fund in the future meets the needs and the expectations of learners and future learners –

we can only do this by talking to learners and getting their views first hand.

We will be carrying out a voluntary telephone survey of over 6,000 current learners in Wales.You have

been chosen as part of a random sample, and the purpose of this letter is to ask you to take part by sharing

with us your views.We would like to conduct a voluntary telephone interview with you that will last around

20 minutes.


182 ELWa

We have asked an expert research company called NOP Research to carry out this survey. One of NOP’s

interviewers will call you in the next few weeks to see if you are willing to take part in the survey.They will

either carry out the interview at that time or arrange a more convenient time to call back.

The survey will be carried out using the Market Research Society’s Code of Conduct.This guarantees

absolute confidentiality and anonymity of response. Neither National Council - ELWa nor your

college/institution will be made aware if you take part, or of your individual answers to the survey questions.

We do not wish to assess individual responses, but simply need to obtain an overall picture of satisfaction.

For the survey to be as useful as possible, it needs to represent the views of all learners. It is, therefore,

important that as many of the selected learners as possible take part in the study, and I do hope that you

will be one of them.

If you have any queries, comments or concerns about the survey please call Paul Welsby at NOP on

Freephone 0800 279 0770 read out the serial number on the heading at the start of this letter. If you leave

your name and number, an NOP researcher will return your call. Alternatively, you can wait for a call from the

interviewer who should be able to answer any queries you may have.

Thank you in advance for your help.We look forward to hearing your views.

Yours sincerely,

Grenville Jackson Director, Strategy and Learning Development

183 ELWa

b) Letter to FE and ACE learners:

Dear First name Surname

National Learner Satisfaction Survey - your serial number is Serial Number

The National Council – ELWa is the public body with responsibility for promoting, planning and funding

education and learning for people aged over 16 across Wales(with the exception of Higher Education).

You may be aware that the National Council has contributed towards the funding of your course at

(Provider Name).

We are about to launch a major survey to find out what learners think about their courses and how satisfied

or otherwise they are with various parts of the learning process.This exciting research will represent the first

time a large-scale survey has been used to help us understand learner satisfaction across all National Council

funded learning in Wales. It will help us build upon the individual course evaluation sheets you may have filled

out for your learning provider.

The information we gather will help us to improve the quality and choice of the education and training

available, and to increase the numbers of people undertaking learning across Wales.We want to ensure that

the learning we fund in the future meets the needs and the expectations of learners and future learners – we

can only do this by talking to learners and getting their views first hand.

We will be carrying out a telephone survey of over 6,000 current learners in Wales.You have been chosen as

part of a random sample, and the purpose of this letter is to ask you to take part by sharing with us your

views.We would like to conduct a telephone interview with you that will last around 20 minutes.

We have asked an expert research company called NOP Research to carry out this survey. One of NOP’s

interviewers will call you in the next few weeks to see if you are willing to take part in the survey.They will

either carry out the interview at that time or arrange a more convenient time to call back.

ELWa North Wales

Unit 6, St Asaph Business Park

St Asaph

Denbighshire

LL17 OLJ

Name

Address 1

Address 2

Address 3

Address 4

Postcode


184 ELWa

The survey will be carried out using the Market Research Society’s Code of Conduct.This guarantees

absolute confidentiality and anonymity of response. Neither National Council - ELWa nor your college/

institution will be made aware if you take part, or of your individual answers to the survey questions.

We do not wish to assess individual responses, but simply need to obtain an overall picture of satisfaction.

For the survey to be as useful as possible, it needs to represent the views of all learners. It is, therefore,

important that as many of the selected learners as possible take part in the study, and I do hope that you will

be one of them.

If you do not want to take part in this survey or would like to take part but are not able to do so over the

telephone, please contact Paul Welsby at NOP. Call Freephone on 0800 279 0770 within the next two

weeks and read out the serial number on the heading at the start of this letter.You can also call this number

at any time if you have any questions, comments or concerns about the survey. If you leave your name and

number, an NOP researcher will return your call. Alternatively, you can wait for a call from the interviewer

who should be able to answer any queries you may have.

Thank you in advance for your help.We look forward to hearing your views.

Yours sincerely,

Grenville Jackson (Director, Strategy and Learning Development)

185 ELWa

12.4 APPENDIX D – QUESTIONNAIRE

The following questionnaire is one of four variations used in the survey.The other three questionnaire

versions may be found at www.elwa.org.uk .

LEARNER SATISFACTION SURVEY – FE (CURRENT LEARNERS)

Please note that the number order of questions make it appear that some questions are missing – this has

been done so that all questions that run across all types of questionnaire have, where applicable, the same

question number.

Some questions have been marked with an asterix – these are designated as ‘core questions’ – questions

that are critical and will be benchmarked over time and/or with the National Learner Satisfaction Survey

in England.

ARRANGING INTERVIEW:

Good MORNING / AFTERNOON / EVENING could I please speak to (NAMED RESPONDENT)

Yes 1 GO TO INTRO2

No: -

No – arrange another time 2

No – not available in fieldwork 3

No – refused 4

Other – cannot continue 5

INTRO2

Good morning/afternoon/evening my name is (NAME) and I am calling from NOP.We would like to speak to

you about learning you may have recently undertaken to find out how satisfied you are.

The survey is being conducted for the National Council ELWa, they want to know the views of learners like

yourself so that services can be improved in the way you want them to be. All your answers are confidential,

data will be reported back but not with names attached.

ADD IF NECESSARY

I believe you were phoned about a month ago to take part in the survey, and that you wished to take

part by doing the survey face-to-face.

If you would still like to take part could I arrange a suitable date and time to visit you?

The survey should take 20 to 30 minutes to complete, depending on your answers.We are not trying

to sell you anything.We are simply conducting a survey about your training or learning.


186 ELWa

APPOINTMENT 1 MAKE APPOINTMENT

REFUSED 2 GO TO THANK AND CLOSE

CLOSE

That’s all right.Thank you for your time.

ASK ALL

STATUSCHK*

Can I just check, are you..

READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY. A CODE HAS TO BE GIVEN TO CONTINUE.

OTHER SPECIFIED NOT INCLUDED

Still on the training 1 GO TO Q1a

Still training but on different course 2 GO TO Q1a

Decided to leave early 2 GO TO LEAVERS SCRIPTQ1a

Did not successfully complete modules/training 3 GO TO LEAVERS SCRIPTQ1a

Successfully completed modules/training 4 GO TO LEAVERS SCRIPTQ1a

SECTION A: SCREENING QUESTIONS

ASK ALL

Q1a* Can you tell me your age?

IF UNDER 16 THANK AND CLOSE

1 TO 100 (42-44)

*** IF REFUSED TO GIVE EXACT AGE (OTHERS GO TO Q4a)

Q1b*

PROMPT WITH RANGES

Under 16 1 GO TO CLOSE

16-18 2

19-24 3

25-34 4

35-44 5

45-54 6

55 plus 7

REFUSED 8 GO TO Q1c

187 ELWa

*** IF REFUSED AT Q1b (OTHERS GO TO Q2)

Q1c*

Can you confirm that you are 16 or over?

Yes – 16 or over 1 GO TO Q4a

No – under 16 2 GO TO CLOSE

CLOSE

I’m sorry, we can only talk to people who are 16 or over who are currently training or recently finished.

Thanks for your time.

SECTION B:ABOUT THE TRAINING

ASK ALL

Q4a* Can we just confirm the full name of the college or provider that you attended.

WRITE IN FULL NAME NOW

ASK ALL

Q4b* If your training or learning leads to one or more qualifications what are they?

DO NOT READ OUT, CODE ALL THAT APPLY. IF RESPONDENT MENTIONS MODULES/CERTIFICATES

TAKE FULL DETAILS DOWN AND CODE AS OTHER

HNC/HND 1

ONC/OND 2

BTEC, BEC or TEC 3

Teaching qualification (excluding PGCE) 4

Nursing or other medical qualification 5

Other higher education qualification 6

A-level/Vocational A-level or equivalent 7

NVQ 8

GNVQ 9

AS-level 10

Certificate of sixth year studies (CSYS) or equivalent 11

GCSE 12

RSA 13

City & Guilds 14

YT Certificate 15


188 ELWa

Modern Apprenticeship 16

Foundation Modern Apprenticeship 17

National Traineeship 18

Modern Skills Diploma for Adults 19

Open College Credits 20

Higher Education Credits 21

Any other professional / vocational qualification / foreign qualifications (specify) 22

__________________________________________________

Other (specify) 23

__________________________________________________

NO QUALIFICATION 24

Don’t know X

*** FOR EACH VOCATIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL PRECODE MENTIONED

(codes 8,9,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20, 21,22,23) AT Q4b (OTHERS GO TO Q6)

Q4c*

You mentioned (TEXT FROM Q4b), at what level are you currently training? PROBE FOR LEVELS 1

THROUGH TO 5 OR ADVANCED/INTERMEDIATE OR FOUNDATION. USE OTHER SPECIFY IF

NECESSARY. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

1 1 ____________________________

2 (equivalent to GCSE 2 or NVQ 2) 2 ____________________________

3 (equivalent to A level or NVQ 3) 3 ____________________________

4 (equivalent to higher education degree) 4 ____________________________

5 5 ____________________________

ADVANCED 6 ____________________________

INTERMEDIATE 7 ____________________________

FOUNDATION 8 ____________________________

Other (specify) ____________________ 0 ____________________________

Refused { ____________________________

Don't know Y ____________________________

189 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q6* And are you learning full or part time? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Full time 1

Part time - more than three hours per week 2

Part time - three hours or less per week 3

ASK ALL

Q7* And is the training mainly delivered face-to-face or in other ways such as in writing or online? READ

OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Mainly face-to face 1 GO TO Q7a

Mainly on line 2 GO TO Q8

Mainly in writing 3 GO TO Q8

A mixture of the above 4 GO TO Q7a

Other (SPECIFY) 5 GO TO Q8

*** ASK IF TRAINING/ASSESSORS DELIVER MAINLY FACE-TO-FACE OR MIXTURE

(OTHERS GO TO Q8)

Q7a* Do you mainly attend sessions in the daytime or evening

Day 1

Evening 2

ASK ALL

Q8* And what subjects or skills are you training? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY. PLEASE

USE CRIB SHEET TO PLACE SUBJECTS INTO BROAD CATEGORIES

AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND ANIMAL CARE 1

ARTS AND MEDIA 2

BASIC SKILLS/FOUNDATION 3

BUSINESS, ADMINISTRATION, AND LAW 4

CONSTRUCTION 5

EDUCATION AND TRAINING OCCUPATIONS 6

ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING 7

HEALTH, SOCIAL AND CHILD CARE 8

HOSPITALITY AND CATERING 9

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 10

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) 11

LANGUAGES - ENGLISH 12


190 ELWa

LANGUAGES – OTHER 13

LANGUAGES - WELSH 14

LEISURE,TRAVEL AND TOURISM (INCL SPORT) 15

LITERACY 16

MANAGEMENT 17

NUMERACY 18

RETAILING/DISTRIBUTION/CUSTOMER SERVICES

(INCL HAIRDRESSING) 19

SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS 20

TRANSPORTATION 21

OTHER (SPECIFY) 22

ASK ALL

Q9* When did you start your course. IF RESPONDENT HAS MORE THAN

ONE START DATE ASK FOR EARLIEST

Month 1 TO 12 __________

Don't know Y

Year 1990 TO 2002 __________

(Q10) Don't know Y

ASK ALL

Q11* And how long is your course? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY. IF RESPONDENT IS

UNDERTAKING MORE THAN ONE COURSE ASK FOR FULL DURATION OF ALL COURSES TOGETHER

Less than three months 1

Three to six months 2

More than 6 months and up to a year 3

More than 1 year and up to 2 years 4

More than 2 years and up to 3 years 5

More than 3 years 6

No time limit/time specified 7

Don't know Y

191 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q12a Thinking of [factor below]. How much of your learning, if any, is made available in Welsh?

READ OUT AND CODE ALL THAT APPLY

1 2 3 4

Support from l trainers/tutors/assessors outside sessions

Spoken communication in sessions

Written materials, handouts, notes etc

READ OUT

1. Some

2. All

3. None

4. Don’t Know

ASK ALL

Q12b* When you were first considering your (NAME OF COLLEGE/PROVIDER) were you asked if you

would like to undertake any of your learning in Welsh?

Yes 1

No 2

Don’t know Y

ASK ALL

Q12c* How much of your learning would you prefer to be in Welsh? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Prefer all Welsh 1

Prefer some Welsh 2

Prefer not to have any Welsh 3

Not concerned either way 4

Don’t know Y


192 ELWa

SECTION C:THE DECISION TO JOIN THE TRAINING

Q13 Before you started, did you expect that the training would enable you to gain any of the following?.

READ OUT. PROBE FOR OTHERS AND TYPE IN NOW. USE NULL FOR NONE OF THESE

Get a different job/better job 1

Learn skills for a job you were doing at the time 2

The ability to progress through your career generally 3

Get more satisfaction out of your work 4

Get onto other courses or further your education 5

Improve your knowledge of the subject 6

Gain new skills 7

Further your personal development 8

Meet new people 9

To do something useful with your spare time 10

Other 1 ___________________________________________________ 12

Other 2 ___________________________________________________ 13

Other 3 ___________________________________________________ 14

NULL

ASK ALL

Q15 And was (NAME OF COLLEGE/PROVIDER/YOUR WORKPLACE) your first choice i.e. the place where

you most wanted to do your course? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Yes - first choice 1 GO TO Q16

No – not first choice 2 GO TO Q15b

Didn’t have any choice 3 GO TO Q16

Didn’t actively consider another option 4 GO TO Q16

*** IF CODE 2 AT Q15 (OTHERS GO TO Q16)

Q15b What was your first choice? PROBE FULLY

_______________________________________________________________________

No answer X

Don't know Y

*** IF CODE 2 AT Q15

193 ELWa

Q15c Why didn’t you attend your first choice of provider?

_______________________________________________________________________

No answer X

Don't know Y

ASK ALL

Q16 Was the type of course or courses you are currently doing your first choice i.e. the subject and

qualification you most wanted to do? READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Yes – first choice 1

No – not first choice 2 GO TO Q17

Didn’t have any choice 3

Didn’t actively consider another option 4

*** IF CODED 2 AT Q16 (OTHERS GO TO Q17b)

Q17 What was your first choice? PROBE FULLY

_______________________________________________________________________

No answer........................................ X

Don't know....................................... Y

*** IF CODE 2 AT Q15 OR Q16 (OTHERS GO TO Q18)

Q17b Why aren’t you doing your first choice of course? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

No places on the course 1

Could not get on the chosen course 2

Provider does not provide the course I wanted 3

Cheaper to attend other choice 4

Friends going to other places 5

Travel problems 6

Training not available in Welsh 7

Other (specify) 8

_______________________________________________________________________

Don’t know X


194 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q18 What are your main reasons for deciding to attend (NAME OF COLLEGE/PROVIDER)?

DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ALL THAT APPLY

Convenient location/nearest 1

Offered training I wanted 2

Has best reputation (general) 3

Has best reputation for pass rates 4

Has best reputation for my course 5

Friends were going there/friend recommended 6

Recommended by career advisor/school 7

Offered course at convenient times for me 8

Had no choice -employer chose 9

Had no choice – only one that accepted me 10

Had no choice – no other providers in this area 11

It included Welsh language teaching/training 12

Other (specify) 13

_______________________________________________________________________

Don’t know X

Q19 missing*

195 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q20 Did you obtain advice about your choice of course or college/provider from any of the following?

READ OUT, CODE ALL THAT APPLY. (PRECODES ROTATED)

Careers Wales 1

College admissions office 2

Teachers at school 3

Teachers/tutors at college/provider 4

Parents or other family members 5

Friends 6

Employer 7

School Careers Advisor 8

learndirect service 9

learndirect website 10

Other 1 11

_______________________________________________________________________

Other 2 12

_______________________________________________________________________

Other 3 13

_______________________________________________________________________

NONE y

*** FOR MAXIMUM OF TWO MENTIONS AT PREVIOUS QUESTION (IF RESPONDENT

MENTIONS MORE THAN TWO CATI WILL RANDOMLY SELECT TWO AGENCIES)

Q21 How useful was the advice you received from ...., would you say READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Very useful 1

Fairly useful 2

Not very useful 3

Not useful at all 4

Don't know Y

MENTION 1: USEFULNESS RATING

______________________________________________ _________

MENTION 2: USEFULNESS RATING

______________________________________________ _________


196 ELWa

SECTION D:TEACHING/TRAINING

ASK ALL

Q22* Now moving on to tutors and teachers. Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of the teaching

for (TEXT FROM Q4a) that takes place at (NAME OF COLLEGE/PROVIDER/YOUR WORKPLACE)? Would

you say you were: READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY


Very satisfied 2

Fairly satisfied 3

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 4


Very dissatisfied 6


Don't know Y

ASK ALL

Q23* How would you rate the tutors or teachers on the following aspects? Please score on a scale of 1 to

10, where 1 represents very poor and 10 excellent. IF NEEDED – WE RECOGNISE THAT RATINGS MAY

VARY FOR INDIVIDUAL TRAINERS OR ASSESSORS-

PLEASE TRY YOUR BEST TO GIVE US AN OVERALL RATING. (PRECODES ROTATED)

RATING/10

1 Ability to explain the subject _________

2 Listening to your needs _________

3 Making your subject interesting or enjoyable for you* _________

4 Understanding you and how you like to learn* _________

5 The support they give you for example in improving

your study techniques or time management* _________

6 Makes good use of session time _________

7 The quality and availability of teaching materials they use* _________

8 Setting clear targets or learning goals to help you improve* _________

9 Providing prompt and regular feedback on progress* _________

10 Dealing with disruptive learners _________

No answer

Don't know

Not applicable

197 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q24a* How well do you think the following issues have been managed…

Please score on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 represents very poor and 10 excellent. IF NEEDED – WE

RECOGNISE THAT RATINGS MAY VARY OVER TIME - PLEASE TRY YOUR BEST TO GIVE US AN

OVERALL RATING. (PRECODES ROTATED). USE NOT APPLICABLE IF NEEDED

RATING/10

1 Making sure enough tutors and/or teachers are available _______

2 Providing support when you or other learners have problems _______

3 Helping new people settle in _______

4- Managing timetables so that they suit the learner as best they can _______

5 Communicating changes to lesson times _______

No answer

Don't know

Not applicable

SECTION F: PROBLEMS AND COMPLAINTS

ASK ALL

Q26* Since you started the course or courses at (COLLEGE/PROVIDERNAME)

have you had any problems with any of the following? READ OUT AND PROBE FOR OTHERS. PLEASE

USE “NULL” FOR NO PROBLEMS

Dealing with money pressures 1

Problems of any kind with other learners 2

Problems of any kind with a member of COLLEGE/PROVIDER/WORKPLACE staff? 3

Maintaining your personal motivation 4

Travel to college/provider 5

Extra help you were promised not being provided 6

Reading/writing skills 7

Maths or numeracy skills 8

Fitting the course in with commitments at home 9

Fitting the course in with commitments at work 10

Keeping up with the standard of work required 11

Other 12

No problems X

Refused {

Don't know Y


198 ELWa

*** ASK ALL EXCEPT CODE 3 AT STATUSCHK (NOT EARLY LEAVERS)

Q27 Have you ever seriously thought about leaving the course?

Yes 1

No 2

Don't know Y

SECTION E: FACILITIES

*** IF ATTENDING A COLLEGE OR PROVIDER (CODES 1 OR 2 AT Q3b) OTHERS GO TO

SECTION F

Q25 I want to know what you think of the facilities at (NAME OF COLLEGE/PROVIDER). Can you rate

them on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means very poor and 10 means excellent? You may not have used some

in which case just say not applicable? READ OUT AND CODE. FOR NOT APPLICABLE - USE NULL

(assuming these are rotated, due to different order on screen)

RATING/10

1 Library and learning centre _________

2 IT facilities/equipment _________

3 Learning support services e.g. reading, writing or maths support _________

4 Other support services e.g. counselling, advice on housing or financial support _________

5 Childcare facilities _________

6 Careers Advice _________

7 Canteen/café _________

8 Facilities for people with disabilities/learning difficulties _________

9 Sports facilities/equipment _________

10 Other specialist facilities/equipment related to your course _________

11 Facilities provided for socialising with other learners _________

No answer

Don't know

Not applicable

199 ELWa

SECTION G: OVERALL SATISFACTION

*** IF CODE 1 AT ANY PRECODES AT Q13 (OTHERS GO TO Q32) CATI TO SELECT A

MAXIMUM OF TWO CODES IF MORE THAN THIS WERE MENTIONED

Q30a You said earlier that, before joining the training you hoped that it would help in a number of ways.

For each of the following can you tell me whether, so far, it has helped a lot, a little or not helped at all.

MAXIMUM OF TWO PRECODES

RATING/4

Get a different job/better job 1 _________

Learn skills for a job you were doing at the time 2 _________

The ability to progress through your career generally 3 _________

Get more satisfaction out of your work 4 _________

Get onto other courses or further your education 5 _________

Improve your knowledge of the subject 6 _________

Gain new skills 7 _________

Further your personal development 8 _________

Meet new people 9 _________

To do something useful with your spare time 10 _________

Other 1 11

_________________________________________

Other 2 12

_________________________________________

Other 3 13

_________________________________________

Helped a lot 1

Helped a little 2

Not helped at all 3

Don’t know X


200 ELWa

*** IF CODED 3 AT ANY CODES AT Q30 (OTHERS GO TO Q31a)

Q30b Why is this? PROBE FULLY

_______________________________________________________________________

Q31a I am going to go through a list of things that you might have had certain expectations about before

starting on your course. For each one can you tell me whether your expectations have been met or not or

whether you had no expectations on this issue. CODE ONE ONLY (ROTATE PRECODES)

RATING/4

1 The amount of work you have to do _________

2 Structure of the training _________

3 The amount of responsibility I would have to take _________

4 The amount of deadlines to meet _________

5 Course content _________

6 Teaching styles and methods used in the lessons _________

7 Standard of work expected _________

8 The types of people on the course _________

Expectations met 1

Expectations not met 2

No expectations 3

Don’t know 4

*** IF CODED 2 AT ANY CODES AT Q31a

Q31b Why is this? PROBE FULLY.WE NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY IN WHAT WAY EXPECTATIONS

WERE NOT MET I.E. IF THEY HAVE MORE OR LESS WORK THAN EXPECTED, IF THEY HAVE MORE OR

LESS RESPONSIBILITY ETC

ASK ALL

Q32* And now taking all the issues we have discussed into account, how satisfied were you with the learning

experience we have been discussing? READ OUT CODE ONE ONLY


Very satisfied 2

Fairly satisfied 3

Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied 4


Very dissatisfied 6


Don't know Y

201 ELWa

*** ONLY ASK IF CODED 3,4,5, 6 OR 7 AT Q32

Q33 You said you were (response from Q32)....., what is the main reason for this? PROBE FULLY

_________________________________________________________

Refused {

Don't know Y

Q33b

ASK ALL

Thinking back to when you left school would you say that you had.. READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

Generally positive feelings about school 1

Generally negative feelings about school 2

No strong feelings either way about school 3

Don’t know X

Q33c

ASK ALL

How likely will you be to undertake further learning in the next three years?

Very likely 1

Quite likely 2

Not very likely 3

Not at all likely 4

Don’t know X

SECTION I: DEMOGRAPHICS

READ OUT

The last few questions are about yourself.These questions are to help us put your answers in context. None

of this information will be passed on with your name.

ASK ALL

Q34 Do you undertake any paid employment in term time? IF YES How many hours a week do you work in

paid employment?

PROMPT FOR NUMBER OF HOURS. ASK FOR HOURS IN AN AVERAGE WEEK. USE ZERO FOR NONE

0 or more

Don't know Y


202 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q35a* What is the highest level of examination or qualification that you now hold, including any that you

may have gained since leaving full time education? CODE ONE ONLY – HIGHEST QUALIFICATION,

CODE NULL IF RESPONDENT HAS NO QUALIFICATIONS

CSE 1

GCSE 2

GCE O level 3

A/S level 4

GCE A level 5

Diploma in Higher Education 6

Degree 7

Other degree level qualification 8

Higher degree (PhD, MSc) 9

Nursing or other medical qualifications 10

PGCE 11

Other teaching qualification 12

BTEC, BEC,TEC 13

City and Guilds 14

RSA 15

NVQ 16

GNVQ 17

ONC/OND 18

HNC/HND 19

Recognised trade apprenticeship 20

Other 00

IF VOCATIONAL OR PROFESSIONAL COURSES (codes 13, 14,15,16,17,,20 OR 00) AT Q35a

(OTHERS GO TO Q36)

203 ELWa

Q35b* And what level is your qualification? PROBE FOR LEVELS 1 THROUGH TO 5 OR

ADVANCED/INTERMEDIATE OR FOUNDATION. USE OTHER SPECIFY IF NECESSARY.

CODE ALL THAT APPLY

1 1 ____________________________

2 (equivalent to GCSE 2 or NVQ 2) 2 ____________________________

3 (equivalent to A level or NVQ 3) 3 ____________________________

4 (equivalent to higher education degree) 4 ____________________________

5 5 ____________________________

ADVANCED 6 ____________________________

INTERMEDIATE 7 ____________________________

FOUNDATION 8 ____________________________

Other (specify) 0 ____________________________

Refused {

Don't know Y

ASK ALL

Q36 At what age did you first leave full time education? FOR YOUNGER RESPONDENTS e.g. 21 and under,

that is assuming you have ever left it

Under 16 1

16 2

17 3

18 4

19 5

20 6

21 7

22 8

23 plus 9

Never left full time education 0

Refused {

Don't know Y


204 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q37* How well would you say that you speak and understand Welsh?

READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY


Fluently, mainly in informal situations 2

Not fluently but some ability 3


Not at all 5

Don’t know X

ASK ALL

Q38* And how well would you say you read and write Welsh? READ OUT AND CODE ALL THAT APPLY


Confidently in informal situations 2

Confident in reading but not writing 3


Not at all 5

Don’t know X

ASK ALL

Q39* Up to the age of 16 were you taught in school in the Welsh language?

READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY.

Yes – full or part Welsh medium 1

No Welsh medium at all 2

ASK ALL

Q46a* Which language do you use most often at home…READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

English 1

Welsh 2

Other (SPECIFY) 3

205 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q46b* Which language do you use most often outside the home i.e. in work or education…

READ OUT AND CODE ONE ONLY

English 1

Welsh 2

Other (SPECIFY) 3

ASK ALL

Q40* Do you have...READ OUT AND CODE ALL THAT APPLY

Responsibility for any children under 5 years at home 1

Responsibility for any children 5-15 year at home 2

Primary care of any adults e.g elderly relatives 3

None of the above 4

ASK ALL

Q41* What is the occupation of the chief income earner in your household?

PROBE FOR.....

● JOB TITLE

● JOB DESCRIPTION

● QUALIFICATIONS

● INDUSTRY + SIZE OF COMPANY

● IF MANAGER/SUPERVISOR/SELF EMPLOYED/NUMBER OF PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR

NB: If two or more related people in household have equal income, code the person who is the oldest.

Treat couples living together as married, therefore related.That respondent's occupation if not related to

others in the household

Interviewer then code into social grade at end of interview

Refused {


206 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q42* To help the National Council ELWa give services of equal quality to all learners, can you say to which

ethnic group do you consider you belong? DO NOT READ OUT. CODE ONE ONLY -

PROBE TO PRECODES

White:

British 1

Another white background (SPECIFY) 2

Mixed:

White & Black Caribbean 3

White & Black African 4

White & Asian 5

Another mixed background (SPECIFY) 6

Asian or Asian British:

Indian 7

Pakistani 8

Bangladeshi 9

Another Asian background (SPECIFY) 10

Black or Black British:

Caribbean 11

African 12

Another Black background (SPECIFY) 13

Chinese or other Ethnic Group:

Chinese 14

Any other ethnic group (SPECIFY) 15

Refused 16

207 ELWa

ASK ALL

Q43* Do you consider yourself to a have a disability?

Yes 1

No 2

Refused {

Don't know Y

ASK ALL

Q44* Do you consider yourself to have learning difficulties?

Yes 1

No 2

Refused {

Don't know Y

ASK ALL

Q45* The National Council ELWa will be doing further research about post-16 education in the year.Would

you be interested in helping them again? This means we will need to pass your name and contact details to

the National Council ELWa but we will not attach any of the data you have given in this survey.

Yes 1

No 2

Don't know Y

IF YES AT Q45

ADDCK*

If we wanted to talk to you again in one or two years time do you have a contact name and number we can

use to trace you? Possibly a member of the family or a friend?

ENTER ADDRESS 1

ENTER ADDRESS 2

ENTER ADDRESS 3

ENTER ADDRESS 4

ENTER ADDRESS 5

ENTER POSTCODE


208 ELWa

IF YES AT Q45

TEL1

And is (number) the best number to contact you on?

Yes 1

No, have other number 2

IF 2 No, have other number AT TEL1

TEL2

May I take the number? RECORD NUMBER

On behalf of National Council ELWa and NOPWorld we would like to thank you for your time and help.

NQ47* INTERVIEWER CODE:

MALE 1

FEMALE 2

NQ48* CODE SOCIAL GRADE

A 1

B 2

C1 3

C2 4

D 5

E 6

Refused {

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