What future for the construction diploma?

If Ed Balls was disappointed that 25% fewer students have signed up to the Construction & Built Environment (C&BE) diploma than originally intended, he wasn't showing it last week.

The schools secretary and his travelling PR circus descended on Newham Sixth Form College on Wednesday to watch students build models of the Olympic Village as part of the first lessons in the new qualification.

It was no coincidence that Balls chose Newham - the London borough that will play host to the London 2012 Olympics - for the launch.

As he breezed through the classroom, quizzing students on their career ambitions, the implication was clear: these aspiring architects, civil engineers and builders may well end up working on the tail-end of the London 2012 Olympics - one of the most high-profile projects the country has ever seen.

And that would be a rare good news story for the government.

Credit crunch?

We made a conscious decision not to push up the numbers for the first year of diplomas. We were actually saying to a number of consortia, it would be better if you actually waited a year. I am completely relaxed about the numbers," he told CJ.

But the birth of diplomas has been a difficult one. And C&BE is still generating controversy, even as students sit down at their desks to begin learning.

Last week, CJ reported that negative headlines generated by the housebuilding downturn could have dampened teenagers' enthusiasm for entering construction, resulting in just 3,000 students signing up for C&BE, against a target of 4,000.

More accurate numbers are expected at the end of the month.

Balls dismissed the idea that a weak economy would play any role in students' choices.

"If you look at the Olympics in London, hospital and school building and the housing challenge in our society over the next 10 to 20 years, I don't think anyone is going to doubt that there is going to be real demand for construction skills," he said.

Practical enough?

And then there is the question of whether the course is too academic, and does not offer enough practical experience.

In a House of Lords debate in June, Baroness Walmsley questioned whether diplomas provided "relevant practical experience", while contractors have also voiced fears that the course had a watered-down vocational element.

Civil Engineering Contractors Association training manager Joe Johnson has expressed concern over the relevance and quality of the experience on offer. And he is worried that a lack of information on where the shortages of support from employers are will leave students fighting over placements

"If students don't get their boots muddy for two or three days, it's going to hold back the diploma in general. There is no guidance to say this is what good work experience looks like. Our worry is that kids get chucked in an admin office making the coffee for 10 days," he said.

Nick Gooderson, head of standards and qualifications at ConstructionSkills, admitted that there is no guarantee that students who have chosen a specific career path will get experience in that area, but defended the structure of the course.

"Remember it is Construction and the Built Environment, so it isn't just about mainstream construction. It is likely that some of the work experience will be in a planning office, or in an architect's office, or it might be with a contractor, or a building service company," he said.

Schools and colleges would "do their best" to provide relevant experience to students, with the help of construction employers via local Business Education Partnerships, he promised.

Meanwhile, Balls dismissed any suggestion that there wasn't enough of a practical element.

"Construction employers have been right at the heart of this from the beginning. And what we are trying to do is have a qualification that doesn't require people to make a decision at 14 or 16 as to whether they are going to go down one route or another," he said.

Employer engagement

One employer that is already supporting the scheme in Newham, as well as in Manchester, is Bovis Lend Lease.

Val Lowman, managing director of Bovis' not-for-profit arm Be Onsite, welcomed the diploma and said it finally gave her a chance to work with students interested in construction at an official level.

"Prior to this diploma, Jim Lawrence [the lead C&BE diploma teacher at Newham] and I would have to create and invent ways to work together, which we were quite good at in the end.

"But the real issue was that construction wasn't in the curriculum, whereas it now is. And the beauty of this diploma is that it is in the curriculum in the broadest way, rather than the narrow trades," she said.

So what grade does the qualification get so far? Lowman gave it a glowing report and said if employers wanted to see the qualification become a success, her message to them was simple: "Get involved."

Johnson's verdict was more along the lines of: "Must try harder."

"If the diploma comes off, it will be good. But I remain to be convinced. There are still a lot of employers out there who don't even know what diplomas are and they started delivery this week," he said.

Ed Balls inspects Olympic models at Newham Sixth Form College.

Diplomas Q&A

Who is it for?

GCSE and A-level age students (14-19 years old).

What's the point of C&BE?

A broad taster of the industry across three areas: designing the built environment, creating the built environment and managing the built environment.

How does it work?

There are three levels: foundation and higher (for 14-16-year-olds) and advanced (16-19-year olds).

How many subjects are there?

Five: engineering, construction, information technology, creative and media studies. There will be 17 by 2011.

How much work experience is involved?

Ten days per level.

What happens after the course?

The aim is for students to specialise further, by taking a degree or apprenticeship.