More qualifications equals more pay?
Lesson
To enable students to see the link between pay and qualifications.
Context
Although not always true, it is generally thought that more qualifications can lead to better paid work. This can be illustrated by carefully selecting job titles in JED showing that starting salaries are generally higher for more qualified people. This is best shown if jobs from a similar occupational area are selected.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to identify lower and higher paid jobs in a particular sector of employment.
Students will be able to describe the link between pay and level of qualification/length of training.
Level
The activity can be used with students of average ability and above.
Resources
Depending on the ability of the students a long or short list of jobs can be selected. If students need to work out average rates of pay, they may need a calculator.
The associated document/worksheet for this activity can be downloaded as a pdf file.
Contribution to National Framework
This activity contributes to the following learning outcomes, KS3, KS4 and Post-16 learning outcome 9 and 14.
Starter
Introductory discussion on who is the most highly paid person in school and why. This will reflect length of training, experience and qualifications.
Main
Use the handout to record your ideas and information from JED.
Rank the jobs according to what you think the pay is. Start with 1 for the lowest paid.
Look up the jobs in JED and draw a bar next to each job to show the starting level of pay.
Look up the exam level required and note it in the table.
Discuss your results.
Plenary
If the exercise was across different sectors, would the same apply? Probably not, some sectors are generally better paid than others. Why?
Extension Activity
Students could be given a blank table and asked to look up jobs in a sector they are interested in, such as hotel and catering, or the health service. However note that the title of this activity is not always true which can lead to a discussion about the reasons why people work - it isn't always only for pay.
Page date 14/02/08