News from BIS
The closing date for BIS consultations on skills and on funding is 14 October. Your views are important so please let us have your response:
Skills for Sustainable Growth - This consultation invites views on how skills policy should be set out in the future and includes references to the Qualifications and Credit Framework.
A Simplified Further Education and Skills Funding System and Methodology - This seeks views on simplifying the post-19 Further Education and Skills funding system and methodology
The Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, has asked Professor Alison Wolf to carry out an independent review of 14-19 vocational education. The review will consider how government can ensure that vocational education for 14-19 year olds can promote successful progression into the labour market, higher level education and training routes. Professor Wolf has published a letter calling for evidence
Next Step is the free, national adult careers service available to everyone in England aged 19 and over, (or 18 if they are a Jobcentre Plus customer or an offender in custody) whatever their prior skills, qualifications or employment status.
Next Step has:
If you want to promote the service, support materials, such as posters, leaflets and information sheets, are available on the Skills Funding Agency website.
More information about Next Step is given at the end of this newsletter
The formal closure of this programme is planned for 31 December 2010. Work will continue until 31 March 2011 on: regulatory IT by Ofqual; the personal learning record by the Skills Funding Agency; and evaluation.
BIS Programme Office is managing the winding down process for this programme and will produce an end of programme report. Project leads and colleagues from Wales and Northern Ireland will be contributing to this report.
After the programme has closed, there are plans to set up a group to discuss vocational qualification issues at a UK level. We are aiming to provide more information about this group in the next newsletter due at the beginning of December.
The VQ Partners Project has been overseeing communications and capacity building for learners, employers, providers, and awarding organisations. By 31 December these audiences should be well on the way to being ready to benefit from the reforms. The projects for providers and employers are planned to continue until the end of March 2011. Learners will receive advice and information about QCF qualifications via Next Step, advisers based in colleges and others working directly with learners.
There are now over 6,000 qualifications on the QCF, with over 28,000 units available.
Over 80% of all vocational qualifications are on the QCF and work is well on track for all key vocational qualifications to be on the framework by the end of 2010.
A survey of large employers, undertaken with the help of six SSCs, has been completed and the results are currently being collated. The survey assessed levels of engagement and understanding of the changes to vocational qualifications amongst businesses with over 100,000 employees. To ensure maximum use is made of the survey, Skillsmart Retail has proposed to run a focus group for SSCs to look at the results of the survey and set the scope for further work.
A library of quality case studies, to aid employers' understanding with some real-life examples, is being developed.
The Business Link page about the benefits of vocational qualification reform has links to 15 SSCs and work is underway to attract additional SSCs.
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.
The team at the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) have completed the 200th QCF Support Visit to work-based learning providers.
Providers have been very positive about the help and advice given during the visits. They particularly welcome the opportunity to feedback issues and concerns. Feedback from providers has been invaluable to ALP when working with the Skills Funding Agency and other stakeholders in trying to ensure that the transition to QCF is as smooth as possible. ALP is also supporting providers with QCF issues in a variety of other ways:
For further details please visit the ALP website.
The new LSIS sector-led QCF Support Programme begins at the start of October. This programme builds on the success of the previous QCF champions training programme. Regional champions are being recruited from colleges, independent training providers, adult and community learning providers and voluntary and community services providers. These regional champions will provide support for QCF implementation and curriculum development for their peers in their local area. This may include in-house support for action planning, staff training workshops or participation in peer-to-peer groups to share emerging practice in QCF implementation.
Colleges or providers wishing to subscribe to the new QCF support programme should first make sure that their organisation has opened their LSIS account.
For further information about the QCF Support Programme, please contact liz.walters@lsis.org.uk
Working with the Association of Colleges (AOC) and the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) the Skills Funding Agency released a document in August Guidance and Information on Managing the Transition to the QCF. This document supports colleges and providers during the period up to January 2011 when public funding for Adult Learner Responsive (ALR) and Employer Responsive (Train to Gain) moves to qualifications on the QCF. It uses a step-by- step approach to actions which providers and colleges are encouraged to take between now and January.
The Agency has published a further list giving information on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) qualifications it proposes to withdraw from public funding for new starts across the Adult Learner Responsive (ALR) and Train to Gain funding streams on 31 December 2010 or the accreditation/operation end date, whichever is sooner. This is part of the ongoing transition to QCF from the National Qualifications Framework (NQF),
In compiling the list the Agency has consulted with the AOC and ALP as well as receiving feedback from Awarding Organisations and Sector Lead Bodies to ensure that the list is accurate and based on an appropriate QCF offer available for new starts. There is a challenge process for providers to make a challenge against a qualification being on the list. This process runs from 1 October 2010 to 12 noon on 22 October 2010.
RITS is the name of Ofqual's project to implement the new regulatory IT systems for regulated qualifications and units. The first full release will go live on 25 October 2010 and will be the full replacement for the Web-Based Accreditation system (WBA) and the National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ). The replacement for NDAQ will be known as the Register of Regulated Qualifications. The weblink for the Register is not active yet and there will be a redirection from the existing NDAQ site.
For more information about RITS contact rits@ofqual.gov.uk
Ofqual is hosting a training event to provide awarding organisations with the tools to get new qualifications accredited using RITS. The event will include a demonstration of the system, a user guide, some frequently asked questions and information on how to access a RITS training environment.
All awarding organisations will receive an invite from Ofqual. For more information about the event please contact rits@ofqual.gov.uk
The Welsh Assembly Government (DCELLS) has produced a new set of leaflets about the QCF and the wider Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CFQW). Four are targeted at young learners, adult learners, employers and careers advisors. These were first used at the very successful Skills Wales event in Cardiff on 16-18 September. The fifth is a set of standard texts that any organisation can use to explain CQFW and QCF in their own documents. All five leaflets will be available from www.cqfw.net very shortly.
A sixth leaflet-style publication explaining the ULN, LRS and actions for providers' administrative staff is in development. We are also working closely with Careers Wales Online to develop an interactive tool about the QCF which will show the QCF in context in the CQFW.
The implementation of the VQ Reform Programme in Northern Ireland is overseen by the NI VQRP board. The programme is largely concerned with end user communications and ensuring that the physical infrastructure is in place to underpin the use of QCF qualifications.
Recent surveys indicate that the FE sector, awarding organisations active in NI and, to a large extent, public sector learning providers can be defined as ‘QCF ready'. Further work is required with SSC managers, private and community and voluntary sector training organisations. Further advice and support about the Learning Records Service systems is also required. Further surveys will be issued in October. Find information about previous surveys.
The NI programme team is currently implementing recommendations made following the second NI VQRP conference, held in June. A Northern Ireland Learning Records Service (LRS) implementation board has also been established to coordinate the use of LRS systems by schools, colleges and other learning providers.
Information events with employers are planned for November. For further details contact Aidan Kearney, 028 9025 7412. Events with the higher education sector are also being planned.
For further information about the reforms in Northern Ireland visit the NIVQRP website or contact Nick Gibson, 028 9025 7973.
Next Step will give everyone access to the best information, advice and resources to make more effective choices about skills, careers, work and life. The Next Step advisers are highly motivated, professionally qualified and independent people offering a quality service no matter which channel is accessed.
A Next Step adviser can help individuals:
The Next Step service will also work with employers who may require support for their employees:
Links with business support organisations for people looking to become self employed.