Collaborative learning: Helping to prepare our students for industry

25 June 2026

In recent years, Nicky has transitioned from exercise and healthcare vocations to teach across sport, science and health and social care in Further Education (FE) settings. More recently, he has become an Advanced Teaching Practitioner at Exeter College. For this blog, he reflects on the experiences teaching a group of NCFE Level 3 Health & Social Care students.

Nicky White

Advanced Teaching Practitioner, Exeter College

Are our students being prepared for industry?

Recent research finds just one in four employers recruiting young people today think that they are well-prepared for the world of work (CIPD, 2024). This includes being equipped with the key soft skills that employers are looking for such as communication, leadership, positivity, flexibility and problem solving (NCS, no date).

The same research found that, in the workplace, 64% of employers think young people lack important social skills and 34% think young people don’t have effective communication skills. One strategy we use to tackle this problem is utilising collaborative learning to get students working together, in-person and away from a screen, to overcome difficult situations.

The EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit highlights collaborative learning as a potentially effective approach, with evidence suggesting stronger effects in secondary settings. Would this be even more impactful in further education? Would this support disadvantaged students to build the skills employers are looking for to help break down barriers in attainment and employment? We wanted to find out.

What is collaborative learning?

A collaborative learning approach involves students working together on activities or tasks in a group small enough to ensure that everyone participates. Students may work on separate tasks contributing to a common overall outcome or work together on a shared task. This is distinct from unstructured group work.

How have we used collaborative learning?

There are risks if activities like this are poorly planned or not supervised effectively, but those risks are well worth it considering the benefits that we have found. By structuring the small groups so there was a range of strengths and learning profiles, closely monitoring engagement and progress in the classroom, modelling high-quality collaboration, and facilitating a safe learning environment, we have successfully implemented this approach across a range of our units. For example, our NCFE Level 3 Health & Social Care students worked in collaborative groups to create a learning activity that showcases how to develop physical, intellectual, emotional, and social skills for a specific target age group. As part of the task, groups had to:

  • agree a focus, an age group and the activity;
  • brainstorm ideas and problem solve any issues;
  • plan and create the resources in-line with their roles;
  • deliver the activity to the rest of their class; and
  • reflect on how the whole process went.

Students faced, and mostly overcame, many hurdles together. This allowed them to develop their confidence, team-working and problem-solving skills. They learned so much more from themselves and from each other than they could do from someone teaching them directly.

Call to action

  • Access the EEF guidance and think about where it might be appropriate to introduce collaborative learning approaches in your course
  • Consider how you could structure an engaging revision lesson utilising collaborative learning, such as using a market stall activity.
  • Reflect on previous group work and identify where clearer roles, expectations and planning could strengthen collaborative learning.

References:

CIPD (2024) Changing Face of the Youth Labour Market. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/globalass... (Accessed: 8 May 2026)

Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Collaborative Learning Approaches. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoun... (Accessed: 8 May 2026)

National Careers Service (no date) How to develop your soft skills. Available at: https://nationalcareers.servic... (Accessed: 9 May 2026)