BIS April Vocational Qualifications Newletter

APRIL 2011

Welcome to our newsletter. This newsletter aims to keep you up to date with what is going on in the world of vocational qualifications.

For the first time the newsletter includes an article from one of our stakeholders – Sue Reynolds from Walsall College. We welcome similar articles for future newsletters.

The newsletter also gives you the chance to view a film about how vocational qualifications are making a difference at Honda and includes news updates from BIS and reports from the Skills Funding Agency, Ofqual, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Comments welcome

If you would like to feature in the next newsletter, or have any comments or suggestions please contact Wendy Simpson.
 

Events

VQ Day 22 June 2011

Worldskills event 5- 8 October 2011

The view from Walsall College

Sue Reynolds, Director of Qualifications at Walsall College explains how the College took on the challenge of the QCF and made it work for them.

“With the introduction of the QCF Walsall College seized the opportunity to embrace the flexibility it offered. By taking a strategic approach to curriculum planning we ensured that by the time the QCF arrived the whole college was prepared.

We started in early 2009 when the Principal assigned me as the QCF lead, a task which I relished. I undertook the LSIS QCF Champions training and established a working group of senior colleagues to assist with the roll-out across the college as the QCF framework evolved.

In April 2010 a 2 day mandatory staff development event was held. Representatives from BIS, Skills Funding Agency and City & Guilds were present and explained their role vis-à-vis the QCF and outlined what its introduction would mean to the audience. A range of Awarding Organisations and SSCs were also on-site and staff were encouraged to engage with sector experts about the forthcoming changes.

In parallel, to ensure employers were exposed to the benefits of the QCF, the Principal had early the same year taken a visionary decision to seek approval status to become an Awarding Organisation. Accredited Skills for Industry (asfi) was realised later that year, with the aim of accrediting the excellent training provided by many of the employers engaged with the college. Asfi prides itself on producing units and qualifications that are employer-led, primarily available as small chunks of learning for all learners as well as enhancing the qualifications appropriate for the workplace. Asfi collaborates with Walsall College using the vocational talent of the staff when developing the qualifications and ensures the qualifications offer real value for money.

As qualifications evolve asfi has found itself at the forefront of many initiatives. For example, through local collaboration with a social housing group asfi developed a Sustainable Construction qualification. This provided asfi with a unique opportunity to influence new and emerging technologies and as a spin-off has resulted in the College being primarily placed to influence local and regional partnerships focusing on the wider ‘Green’ agenda.

As the understanding of the QCF and its opportunities has grown, the College has migrated its curriculum where possible to qualifications available in the QCF. Many curriculum programmes now provide wider choice and opportunities for students than has ever been possible before. Staff have the tools available to engage with students providing effective Initial Advice and Guidance and students are engaging in programmes of study that meet their needs and are tailor-made to suit the jobs they are doing or seeking.

This is never more so than the opportunities being provided by the college through their engagement in the Unit Funding Trials. The result though yet to be fully appreciated can almost be predicted, that where effective advice and guidance is applied more adults will be able to gain achievements than ever before.

Unit achievement and credit accumulation also provides many opportunities for employers. We can now offer employers the bespoke training packages so many have demanded over the years. Walsall College Account Managers are talking to employers with confidence knowing they will be able to offer a package of units that not only meets their training needs but also fits with their increasingly tight budgets.

The college is delighted with the progress thus far and looks forward to hosting a generation of learners who will enter the college knowing they can achieve full qualifications that form the basis of their training and, as a result of the QCF, will be able to embrace lifelong learning opportunities accumulating the credits that suit them and their career paths making their skills fit for the future whatever that may hold.”
 

BIS News

Government sets out Budget for Growth and boosts Apprenticeships

The Government has set out a radical plan to get the UK economy growing as part of the budget 2011 announcements. The Plan for Growth, published alongside the budget, sets out a package of measures to support private sector investment, enterprise and innovation.

As part of the Plan for Growth the Government announced a £180 million package for 50,000 additional apprenticeships, an additional 80,000 work placements for young people, and a capital investment of £100 million in science.

Over three million learners gain skills and qualifications

New statistics show that 3,291,200 learners achieved a Government-funded FE and Skills qualification in 2009/10.

Further education boosts economy by £75 billion

Further education participants generate an additional £75bn for the economy over their lifetimes, with Apprenticeships generating around £40 for each pound of Government investment, new research shows.

The study examined the economic value generated by Government funded post-19 qualifications – including Apprenticeships, National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and basic skills qualifications. The estimates were calculated using data from the cohort of learners that started qualifications in 2008/09.

Review of Vocational Education - The Wolf Report

Professor Alison Wolf’s review of 14-19 vocational education in England reporting to the Secretary of State for Education was published on 3 March 2011. The Department for Education issued a press notice.

A Government response to the report is being prepared.

Vocational Qualifications Forum

The first meeting of the Vocational Qualifications Forum took place on 25 March 2011 in Belfast.

The Forum is responsible for actively taking forward vocational qualifications policy, monitoring progress and developments on policy and legacy work from the UK Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme which has now closed. All BIS’s major partners for vocational qualifications are represented on the Forum together with representatives from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Employer support offer

Employers wishing to have their own training accredited on the QCF, or interested in becoming an awarding organisation should visit Business Link for information and to view interactive tools on the processes involved.

Honda drives forward employer understanding of new-style qualifications

Skillsmart Retail has been working on behalf of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils and BIS, to communicate the benefits of the new-style vocational qualifications to employers across all sectors.

Find out how vocational qualifications are making a difference by clicking the picture below.

A longer film featuring exclusive interviews with theatre companies in the South West and retail giant, Matalan, will be ready shortly and available to watch on the Business Link website.

Skills Funding Agency Update

Focussing Funding on Provision within the QCF
The Skills Funding Agency’s main work on focussing funding on vocational qualifications in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) is now complete. Over 4,000 qualifications are now confirmed for funding in the QCF. For more information on transition please see the Agency website.

Unit Funding Trials
The Skills Funding Agency has been working with 18 providers to support flexible delivery of the QCF provision through unit funding trials. The trials are being expanded with an extra 61 providers now involved.

A list of units confirmed for the trials including funding rates is available. All providers involved with the trials can access the units on the list.

The Agency is working with the Association of Learning Providers with a view to opening up the trials to independent and work-based providers.

Non-Regulated Provision
The Skills Funding Agency has begun to consider how far, and when, to encourage publicly funded provision which currently sits outside any national regulatory framework to move into the QCF.

The Learning and Skills Network (LSN) are examining the benefits, risks, challenges and opportunities around non-regulated provision moving into the QCF, or ceasing funding for non-regulated provision where an alternative, appropriate offer already exists in the QCF.

The Agency has identified January 2012 as the date by which decisions for continuation of funding of non-regulated formal and non-formal provision should be clear, with the aim to ensure transition, where appropriate by the end of July 2012. The Agency recognises, and will continue to fund provision, where it is inappropriate for it to become part of the QCF.

Personal Learning Record (PLR)
The Agency is working closely with awarding organisations and their representative organisations building on a partnership approach to the PLR. The Learning Records Service (LRS) is currently carrying out design work to improve the usability of the PLR for Learners, Providers and IAG Advisors. The presentation of the LRS site will change based on feedback; however the functionality will remain the same. The new look site will be available from the middle of April 2011.
 

Provider case studies

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has recently published a QCF Provider Case Studies Report which draws on 15 case studies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and informs the overall evaluation of the UK Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme. The case studies were from 8 FE colleges, 6 private training providers and a private residential college.

Here is a small sample of the key findings:

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All providers have accessed support made available by external agencies.

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Most providers recognised the potential of the QCF to develop bespoke accredited programmes and to accredit existing in-house training but are yet to take this forward.

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Most learners thought the units available to them are relevant to their jobs or future careers and some valued the opportunity to do specialist units.

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Employers generally welcomed the practical nature of qualifications and felt they were relevant to their needs.

For a copy of the report please contact Sarah Black at UKCES.

Ofqual

Ofqual is currently conducting standards and comparability reviews of a number of qualifications. Our Vocational Qualifications monitoring team is looking at ESOL qualifications that can be used to gain citizenship in the UK, and at functional skills in mathematics.

Experts have conducted a comparability review of standards across all eight awarding organisations who offer ESOL qualifications, looking specifically at ESOL Skills for Life (speaking and listening) at entry levels 1, 2 and 3.

Standards reviewers are looking at all accredited mathematics functional skills qualifications. The work will determine if standards are comparable between awarding organisations and if there is suitable differentiation between levels.

The ESOL report will be published in May, while the functional skills report will be published in autumn.

For more information about Ofqual’s role regarding vocational qualifications click here or e-mail.
 

Report for Northern Ireland

Although the NI Vocational Qualifications Reform Programme has now formally closed, support is still available including:

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continued capacity building for learning providers to realise the potential flexibilities of QCF qualifications, and for providers and information, advice and guidance practitioners to make effective use of the IT systems underpinning the QCF;

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better coordination of support and encouragement for employers to use regulated VQs as part of their employee training programmes;

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more focussed wider communications with end-users of QCF qualifications.

A programme of capacity building activities is currently being developed (details available in the next newsletter). Employer case studies have also been developed to promote QCF qualifications to a broad range of employers.

Please contact Nick Gibson for more information about activities in NI.

Report from Wales

Good progress is being made with awareness raising and capacity building for the changes to vocational qualifications:

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Colleges Wales report their activities have reached over 1,000 individuals to date;

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DCELLS have delivered four Train the Trainer events which have informed careers company trainers and HM prisons services about the QCF and other changes and where training staff can access materials to prepare and train frontline staff;

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NIACE Dysgu Cymru delivered four awareness events for adult community learning practitioners and Trades Unions;

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The National Training Federation Wales delivered four sessions to Careers Wales West staff designed for operational staff.

Work has begun to produce a video (DVD+DVD ROM+ download) to explain ULN, LRS and act as training support for front-line staff including examinations officers/admin staff. Leaflets for young learners, adult learners, employers and professionals are in demand and have been reprinted.

Work to implement the personal learning record in Wales using Careers Wales' online service continues with the first phase of activity scheduled for completion by end April 2011.