All images © Mat Wright

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Enhancing Employer Engagement in the Design & Development of Effective Skills SolutionsAmman8-9 September 2015

All images © Mat Wright

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Skills Development in the UKEmployers in PartnershipRichard Beamish

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Training Boards

• 1964 Industrial Training Act

• Over 27 Industry Training Boards:

• Secure provision of training courses• Identify course content and standard• Levy/grant system in place• Exemption system for smaller firms

• 1982 Industrial Training Act – responsibility for training to industry rather than boards

• A few survived, including Construction and Engineering Construction

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Sector Skills Councils

• Introduced from 2002

• Employer owned but licensed by Government

• 16 SSCs and several related organisations undertaking similar work, including ECITB and OPITO

• Develop Labour Market Information

• Responsible for National Occupational Standards

• Usually responsible for Apprenticeship Frameworks

• Work with UK Commission for Employment and Skills

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Sector Skills Councils & Industry Training Boards

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Leitch Review of Skills 2006

• By 2020 in England:

• 95% achieve functional literacy & numeracy

• 85% literacy & 79% numeracy in 2005

• Over 90% qualified to at least level 2

• 69% in 2005

• Balance of intermediate skills to level 3

• 40% to level 4 and above

• 29% in 2005

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Vocational Skills Partners in the United Kingdom

Employers Directly and through:Sector Skills Councils

Industry Training Boards

Government Ministries

UK Commission for Employment & Skills

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Education Universities

CollegesPrivate Training

Providers

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Fit for purpose programmes

UK skills system is demand-led:

• Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) & Industry Training Boards (ITBs) are employer led bodies that develop skills solutions for their industry sectors.

• UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) which offers advice on UK skills and employment issues

• Labour market intelligence

• Occupational standards define the competence (knowledge and skills) required for occupations and job functions

• Employers increasingly involved in designing and delivering vocational qualifications and learning programmes, such as Apprenticeships

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Learning environment

Colleges and other providers of skills training:

• work with employers, higher education and other stakeholders to ensure learning is relevant to employment, meets learner needs and offers progression

• must comply with requirements for delivery, assessment and standardisation

• undertake continuous improvement through self-assessment and make the outcomes of this available

• are inspected by an independent inspectorate in each country

• are judged on the quality of their programmes and the success of their learners

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Functions of UK Skills Organisations•Labour market intelligence – sector specific skills research

• Sector Skills Assessments annually

• Regular intelligence papers

• State of the nation Reports

•Create national occupational standards, accredited qualifications and apprenticeships

•Develop career pathways and supporting careers information

•Support for provision of training and qualifications at all levels

• Employer engagement

• Skills Academies

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• Occupational Standards break down the skills, knowledge and understanding needed to undertake a particular role

• They describe what a person needs to do, know and understand in order to carry out their role in a consistent and competent manner – key competencies

• Competence is defined as an ability to apply skills, knowledge and understanding in the workplace – to a standard agreed by employers

• Occupational Standards are the building blocks for many UK-wide qualifications and for numerous professional and/or business improvement tools

What are National Occupational Standards?

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• They define in detail the performance criteria expected of an individual in a role

• They set out clearly what an individual needs to know and understand to enable them to meet the performance criteria

• They can be used by employers to:

- Improve quality of goods and services- Increase productivity- Reduce costs for recruitment- Provide for better human resources planning- Help effective skills upgrading- Act as a benchmark for rewarding experience, knowledge and competence

How do National Occupational Standards help employers?

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• NOS, the bedrock of qualifications development, can underpin training and qualification provision for the workforce

• Education materials can be reviewed and refreshed as revised NOS are approved

• Identify skills gaps

• Identify new areas for qualification and / or training development

• Assist workforce development planning

How do National Occupational Standards help education providers?

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Investing in National Occupational Standards

Standards

- Advice to Governments on which standards will achieve the best

outcomes and impact

- Securing standards to support apprenticeships and vocational

qualifications

- Managing the quality assurance and approval of standards

- Reporting on the impact of standards across four nations

LMI/Evidence Base

- UKCES Research portfolio

- Triangulation of evidence from other sources

- International benchmarking and comparisons including links to

European standards and qualification frameworks

- Evaluation – outcomes and impact

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• Skills organisations have a key responsibility of ensuring that fit-for-purpose qualifications are available for employers and the wider workforce across the UK

• Once new or refreshed occupational standards are approved by the UK Commission, it is expected that a review of qualifications will also take place

• Skills organisations also set out current and future learning and qualification needs of their respective employers and sectors in specific Sector Qualification Strategies

What is the relationship between National Occupational Standards and qualifications?

How National Occupational Standards are developed

Occupational Map

Functional Map

NationalOccupational Standards

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Qualifications system

• In the UK accredited qualifications are admitted to qualifications and credit frameworks.

• Key purposes of a qualifications framework – quality

• Organising qualifications against clearly defined principles and characteristics

• Offers public confidence in the quality of qualifications

• Offers a basis for comparison

• Avoids duplication and overlap between qualifications

• Allows users to identify relevant qualifications

• Clarifies progression opportunities

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UK context Four country dimensionPolitical diversity

Democratic approach to policy development

UK Parliament (Westminster)

Department for

Education

Department for

Business, Innovation and Skills

Welsh Government

Northern Ireland

Assembly

Scottish Government

Department for

Education and Skills

Department for

Employment and

Learning

Department of

Education

Learning and Justice Directorate

All images © Mat Wright

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Over1000

Employersalready involved in redesigningApprenticeships

Over1.9m

Apprenticeshipstarts this Parliament. We are committed to delivering at least 2 million.

96% Employers who take on an apprentice say their business benefited.

£117kExtra income earned by someone who completes a Level 3 Apprenticeship

Amount we invested in Apprenticeships last year

Return for every pound that Government invests in Apprenticeships

£1 £28

Number of ‘full Apprenticeships’ has trebled since 2009/10

£1.5 bn

Over 220,000

Workplaces already offeringApprenticeships

At least 12 monthsDuration for Apprenticeships

11 out of 11

Industrial Strategy sectors covered by our Trailblazers

NewHigherApprenticeshipsIn occupations like space engineer and pilot

68,000Apprenticeships in smaller businesses supported by our Grant for Employers

Over 20,000Apprenticeships pledged during National Apprenticeships Week 2014

Over 70 sectors involved in developing new Apprenticeships

Organisations representing half a million businesses support our reforms

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LMI

NOS

QualsEngage

Delivery

Use occupational and functional mapping to

create National Occupational Standards

Develop qualifications based on the national

standard

Engage with employers to meet national

standards

Develop and maintain provision network

Working with Employers

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A simple support plan

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Typical Global Skills Cycle

1. Identify skills needed to deliver

industry objectives

2. Examine skills and competence

of current workforce using

international benchmarks

3. Identify skills gap in current

and future industry

requirements

4. Design training programmes, train

the trainer, and build high

quality provision

5. Deliver certified training

programmes to international standards

6. Quality assure delivery against

industry objectives

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