Vocational qualifications are changing - first newsletter from BIS

BIS Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

The lastest from the BIS Qualification Reform Team

Welcome to our newsletter. It provides an update on work being done to change the vocational qualifications system in England so that it meets the skills needs of employers and learners. There is also an update on activities in Wales and Northern Ireland.

Organisational changes from 1 April

• QCDA no longer has a remit for post-19 qualifications and work on employer engagement is now being taken forward by BIS which has introduced a new employer support service.
• BIS is bringing work on communications, capacity building and employer engagement together and is setting up a Vocational Qualifications Partnership Programme (VQPP) to provide governance for this work. A VQPP Operations Group will meet monthly to oversee the programme of work and a VQPP Steering Group will meet quarterly to consider any sector concerns and offer advice to the Operations Group.
• The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is now a statutory independent body. The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 established Ofqual as an independent non ministerial government department on the 1 April 2010. Ofqual is the independent regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England and of vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland.
• The Skills Funding Agency is established as the single funding provider for adult skills in England outside of higher education. The Skills Funding Agency's main function will be to direct funding quickly and efficiently to further education colleges and other skills providers. It will take an activist approach to deliver the skills that employers and individuals need now and in the future, supporting skills development in areas of strategic importance to the economy.

New online resources from BIS

BIS launched new online resources for learners and employers on 16 February:

• For Learners - http://www.bis.gov.uk/vocationalqualifications
• For Employers - http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/vocationalqualifications

  Learning providers and awarding organisations are directed to relevant information through both these links.

In addition, information for employers about accreditation of their training and the new employer support service is available at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/trainingaccreditation

QCDA reception on 24 March

QCDA invited partners and stakeholders who had worked with them on the QCF readiness project to a reception on 24 March to highlight all that had been achieved and thank key players. The reception was well-attended and provided an opportunity for people to network and mark the important contribution made by QCDA to the programme of changes to vocational qualifications.

Managing the transition to QCF - LSC conference on 10 March

This conference was attended by 150 learning providers. Keynote presentations provided a picture of the benefits and challenges of the development, delivery and funding of QCF qualifications, particularly in terms of the interdependencies across sector organisations, awarding organisations and the funding body. The workshops focused on implementation issues covering updates around the Personal Learning Record and QCF Service, embedding QCF in the new Advancement Service, how the Skills Funding Agency works with sector organisations to identify qualifications for public funding as well as funding and performance and the QCF.

The opportunity for participants to contribute during the day was well received. Participants said:

"Excellent presentations, which acknowledged the current issues/ problems faced by providers".

"I thought the event was well organised and very well chaired. It ran slightly overtime but given the importance of the subject this was not an issue".

Work by LSIS is continuing

Beyond March 2010 the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) will be continuing to provide support to colleges and learning providers in preparation for successful implementation of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF).

For QCF there will be a continuance of consultancy support to help with action planning and the delivery of any bespoke training needs that are identified. Programme resources including the QCF Readiness Provider Support website and My Development CPD learning activities will continue to be updated and developed.

Communicating with employers

Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the retail sector, is taking work forward, on behalf of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils, to let employers know about the benefits changes to vocational qualifications will bring for them.

A number of SSCs have been working closely with BIS and Skillsmart Retail, to create the new web resource and material designed to increase employer awareness and involvement in these changes.

The web resource is designed to inform all employers about changes to the vocational qualification landscape, including reforms to make all qualifications focus on choice, clarity and confidence.

Since the launch of the web resource on 16 February, there have been over 1200 visits to the site and over 600 visits to SSCs' web pages about changes to vocational qualifications. In addition, 14 SSCs have supported a campaign to promote the benefits to employers of the changes to vocational qualifications that has reached over 880,000 people. This has included, postcard inserts in publications such as People Management, Leisure Management and Process Engineering Magazine. There have also been articles in over 18 key sector publications including Financial Advisor, Retail Week and Print Week with a total reach of over 515,000. Finally, over 110,000 employers have been reached through SSC Employer newsletters.

Employer Training Accreditation Support

The Government announced in the Skills for Growth White Paper in November 2009 that it will continue to support individual employers and institutions to have their own training accredited on the QCF.

On 1 April 2010 the employer engagement programme (EEP) led by QCDA will be replaced by an employer support service based on a website resource, hosted by Business Link, and a dedicated helpline. You can access the employer training accreditation support service at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/trainingaccreditation or telephone 0844 967 0277 (local rate)

Communicating with learners

BIS is leading work on communicating with learners. The new web resource for learners has had over 1,600 hits since its launch on 16 February.

We are continuing to distribute a leaflet explaining the benefits of the changes to vocational qualifications to learners at events such as the Skills and Apprenticeship conference held on 16 March.

Over 2,000 leaflets have been distributed since their launch on 21st January 2010. We are also working jointly with the Skills Funding Agency on scenarios that will help learners understand how the changes to vocational qualifications will help them access the training that will best meet their needs in terms of, for example, fitting it around their commitments and increasing their employability. These will be available online in April

Next generation careers advice service

In August 2010 a next generation careers advice service will be launched in England. It will supersede the current Careers Advice Service telephone service (formerly learndirect advice) and local nextstep face-to-face services, by creating a single, national service available online, by telephone, or face- to-face. It will provide access to better information about the labour market and new tools to help adults plan their career development; a new professional development framework for careers advisers; and a new brand to raise the service's appeal to the public.

The vision for this service is to enable millions of individuals to enjoy more rewarding lives, improving society as a whole and in turn increasing productivity and boosting the economy.

Fuelling Potential - a blueprint for skills accounts and the adult advancement and careers service, sets out the steps that will be taken to achieve this.

Update from Wales

Technical events for frontline staff

Discussions have been taking place with partners to explore a combined approach to delivering further awareness raising and technical training for frontline staff dealing with the QCF in provider settings. This follows on from the four stakeholder events held in Wales during November 09. It is envisaged that a series of events will take place across Wales during the spring of 2010.

Review of arrangements for QCF implementation in Wales

DCELLS is currently undertaking a review of the arrangements for QCF implementation in Wales. The review findings will be presented at the next meeting of the DCELLS QCF Strategic Implementation Board in May 2010.

QCF qualification size

DCELLS is currently working to ensure the transfer to QCF qualifications runs smoothly and effectively. DCELLS officials are currently reviewing qualification size, by mapping all the new QCF qualifications to their predecessor NQF qualifications in order to identify both additional elements and elements no longer included in the new QCF qualifications. This will provide a firm evidence base for addressing any emerging concerns.

Website information

Information on the QCF appears on the Welsh Assembly Government website, where the QCF is set within the context of the Credit and Qualifications Framework for Wales (CQFW).

The QCF sits within the regulated pillar of the CQFW. View a visual representation of the CQFW overarching framework

Update from Northern Ireland

NI VQRP Capacity-Building Programme

The NI Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), in its statutory advisory role, and the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) are bringing a coordinated programme of support to providers to ensure that they are ready to operate within the QCF and to take full advantage of the opportunities it provides. CCEA and LSDA are now rolling out a schedule of interactive QCF introductory workshops.

QCF Readiness Baselining Survey

A second set of surveys will be issued in April to gain a more detailed understanding of how the capacity building activities have met key stakeholders' needs. The results of the first survey in September 2009 (available at http://www.nivqrp.org.uk) showed that all stakeholders were at different states of readiness. The outcomes of the second survey will be used to shape the capacity building programme and further review the communications strategy for NI.

Recognition of Training in Employment (RTEP) Programme

The aim of this programme is to increase the number of accredited qualifications used by employers. Support and advice is being provided by the regulator, CCEA, which has been successful in engaging with a number of employers interested in having their in-house training accredited. The programme is currently being reviewed and a report will be presented at the next NI VQRP Board meeting. Organisations interested in this activity should contact in the first instance cheathwood@ccea.org.uk

Outcome of Learning Provider event on 11 March 2010

Over 100 delegates attended this event and heard from representatives of the Department for Employment & Learning’s policy branches, the CCEA and the Learning & Skills Council. Feedback from the event will be used to shape further planned capacity building events.

Northern Ireland specific QCF leaflets

A general introduction to the QCF leaflet and one aimed at employers will be distributed throughout NI during April.

Upcoming Events

Second NIVQRP Conference 3 June 2010 - aimed at learning providers and providers of information, advice and guidance

Regional QCF events for employers in late June - These events will focus on the impact of the introduction of the QCF and the reform of VQs.