CAE 1 Ready for Advanced Unit 4 Essay: Encouraging school-leavers to take college courses

Over the last ten years there has been a rise the number of teens finishing their studies at age 16 or 17. Statistics indicate that they are opting to leave school as early as possible, either because they are unable or unwilling to take their education further. It is clear that this could have a long-term impact on the skills, knowledge and qualifications of the general workforce. It is therefore essential that governments find ways to reverse this trend.

We need to begin by asking why young people do not see college as a good option. A major factor is certainly the cost. For many low-income families, course fees, materials and equipment are simply unaffordable. Reducing fees would therefore enable many more students to attend college. However, for the government to do this, it would need to use a very large part of its total budget for education, year after year.

It might be a more practical solution to offer young people more flexibility in when and how they study. If governments supported colleges developing online courses and blended learning programmes, more young people could study at a time and place that was convenient to them. Students with daytime jobs, for instance, could choose to do their coursework and view workshops or online webinars in the evening or weekends.

Setting up these kinds of programme would be expensive at first, but once the courses were established, it would be a cost-effective approach. Now we have the technology, we should use it to maximize educational opportunities for the young generation.

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Time to write your essay:

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Breaking News: The Great Blue Diamond Heist Task

Here's a news item from The Burglars Gang:

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Here's a news item from the Robbers Gang:

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CAE Report Model Answer Complete Advanced p.48

Here is the text of the report:

Report on workplace improvements

Introduction

The aim of this report is to outline the deficiencies in our present office environment and the suggestions which have been made for improvements, and to make recommendations for two changes.

The office environment

At present, the office suffers from a number of problems. Firstly, the air-conditioning system is antiquated and therefore noisy. This causes headaches and occasionally makes difficult to hold telephone conversations. Also, the open office plan makes difficult for people to concentrate on their work as they are frequently distracted by conversations in other parts of the office. Finally, many of the office chairs are uncomfortable and employees who spend long hours in front of their computers often complain of backache.

Staff suggestions

Staff were consulted and they made the following suggestions : first, the air-conditioning should be replaced by a more modern, quieter system which provides cool air in the summer and heating in the winter. It was felt that this would reduce tiredness and improve morale, which would enable staff to work more productively. To deal with distractions from conversations there were two suggestions : either dividing the office with screens round each work station, or having separate meeting rooms for "necessary work discussions. Staff also requested more ergonomic office chairs.

Recommendation

As a first measure, I would recommend replacing the air-conditioning and the office chairs. These two changes will have a direct effect on productivity by reducing absence due to sick leave enabling staff to work more efficiently and more comfortably.

Now recreate the text:

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Now try to fill the gaps with the words hidden:

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