www.britishcouncil.org 2
What are skills?
EMPLOYABILITY
e.g.
• Problem solving
• Working in groups
• Self-management
VOCATIONAL
Occupational and Technical
skills required to be for
example: Car Mechanic,
Dentist, Teacher, Nurse
CORE
e.g.
• Numeracy
• Literacy
• Communication
• IT awareness
ENTERPRISE
e.g.
• Creative thinking
• Commercial awareness
• Networking
STUDY
SKILLS SKILLS
Who delivers skills?
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SKILLS
DELIVERY
Schools
Private Training
Providers
Non-traditional
settings
Further education
colleges
UniversitiesEmployers
Does the UK have only one system?
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SCOTLANDFurther education colleges in Scotland are now public sector organisations
NORTHERN IRELANDNorthern Ireland has an integrated approach to its career service
ENGLANDIn England, further education colleges are autonomous corporations with many freedoms
The UK is made up of four countries, and Skills policy is
devolved to each. There are common features, such as an
employer-led development of standards . There are also
interesting differences in how the Skills system works in
each country, in line with national priorities, for example:
WALESWales has its own Baccalaureate qualification
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Main policy drivers
• Youth employability
• Productivity and employer engagement
• Quality of provision
Providing real job opportunities with employers as the
drivers of vocational education
Strengthening vocational education to make sure it is high quality and relevant to
needs of young people
Raising of the participation age
(in England) to ensure more young people achieve their
full potential
Reforming FE to make sure it can respond to new challenges and
provide viable routes into HE and employment
High Quality Skills and Employers
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Fully active in the
labour market
Appropriately
qualified
With skills to innovate
and contribute
to UK prosperity
The aim is to have a working population that is:
“Many (14-19 year olds) leave education without the skills that will enable them to
progress at a later date.”
Alison Wolf, ‘Review of Vocational Education in England’ (2011)
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High Quality Skills and Students
A global
perspective
in curriculum design
and delivery
Up to date facilities
that reflect the work
place
Work experience
with employers
Exceptional
teaching and learning
and assessment
Occupationally
relevant courses
and curriculum
delivering the skills
that employers
need
A supportive
environment where
all students are
valued and treated
equally
QUALIFICATIONS
EMPLOYMENT
CONTINUING
EDUCATION/
TRAINING
STUDENT
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PROVIDER
High Quality Learning Providers
Strong leadership
and management
that also gives their
organisation a
global
perspective
Up to date
facilities
that reflect the
work place
Strong links with
employers underpinned
by labour market
intelligence
Excellent
teaching /learning and
assessment that deliver
high
success rates
An innovative
approach to
curriculum design and
delivery
Student centred
support services that
focus on equality of
opportunity
Further Education Colleges in England
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Legal statusFE Colleges are statutory corporations with powers and duties set out in the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The Education Act 2011 removed a significant number of the duties on colleges enabling them to operate more autonomously.
Colleges have the following freedoms:
* the ability to retain financial surpluses
* the power to buy, sell and lease land and buildings
* the delegation of employment relationship (i.e. they recruit and employ their own staff).
* the authority to make decisions about what courses to offer (subject to conditions that public funding only gets paid for courses leading to national qualifications).
* the option to buy or take over companies.
Governance:• The Governing Bodies should consist of representatives of the local community and in particular of the business community the college serves.
• They should possess between them a range of skills useful to the oversight of the leadership and management of the College.
• Governors are unpaid and offer their services on a voluntary basis
Further Education Colleges in Scotland
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Legal statusFE Colleges are Public Sector Bodies with charitable status as set out in the Post-16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013
College Boards:• Chairs of College Board are public sector appointments
• They should possess between them a range of skills useful to the oversight of the leadership and management of the College.
• Board members are unpaid and offer their services on a voluntary basis
Professional standards for vocational teachers
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Scotland:
The Professional Learning and Development Forum (PLDF) Scotland promotes a culture of professionalism and appropriate learning opportunities for all college sector staff with the aim of enhancing the student learning experience.
The PLDF sets the standards for Teacher Qualification in Further Education (TQFE) and the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) standards for FE staff in Scotland.
The TQFE is subject to a full approval and accreditation exercise every six years, conducted by the Scottish Government and the General Teaching Council Scotland.
It is not a compulsory qualification, but strongly advised for those teachers with substantial posts in FE Colleges. The Scottish Government expectation is that all new full-time lecturers should be working towards or already undertaking a TQFE, if they do not already hold an equivalent qualification.
Standards for Initial Teacher Training include standards for:
- Guidance and support
- Planning and preparing the learning experience
- Teaching / facilitating learning
- Assessment
- Quality and standards
- Professional practice and development
Standards for Continuing Professional Development include standards for:
- Managing an inclusive learning environment
- Promoting good relations between people of different racial and ethnic groups
- Promoting learning and equality for people with disabilities
- Managing and leading a curriculum team
- Teaching children and young people
- The use of information and communications technology for Learning and Teaching
Professional standards for vocational teachers
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England:
The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) aims to improve professionalism and standards in the skills sector. In 2014 they published ‘Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers in Education and Training – England’. These standards are divided into three sections
• Professional Values and Attributes
• Professional Knowledge and Understanding
• Professional Skills
The standards have been designed to:
• set out clear expectations of effective practice in education and training;
• enable teachers and trainers to identify areas for their own professional development;
• support initial teacher education;
• provide a national reference point that organisations can use to support the development of their staff.
They start from a positive view of teachers as being :
‘reflective and enquiring practitioners who think critically about their own educational assumptions, values and practice in the context of a changing contemporary and educational world. They draw on relevant research as part of evidence-based practice.
They act with honesty and integrity to maintain high standards of ethics and professional behaviour in support of learners and their expectations. ‘
How the system works
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* The approval is for assessment centres within learning providers
The UK Commission for Education and Skills (UKCES)
www.britishcouncil.org * See slide 14 for information on Sector Skills Organisations 14
Employer ownership of skills (England only)
• Launched in Dec 2011 to secure greater collective commitment to invest in skills to drive enterprise, jobs and growth, and create internationally competitive skills base
• Focused on employer leadership and collaboration, innovation, opportunities for young people, and employee/employer partnerships
• Public investment matched with employer investment
UKCES is a publicly funded, industry-led organisation that offers guidance on skills and employment issues in the UK. It is led by Commissioners who represent employers, trade unions, the public and voluntary sectors and further and higher education.
Research
UKCES produces robust and accessible labour market intelligence, research and insight
Standards and Apprenticeships
UKCES is responsible for managing the National Occupational Standards (NOS) programme across the UK. It commissions NOS and Apprenticeship frameworks from employer led bodies such as Sector Skills Organisations * according to labour market priorities and employer demand. Many vocational qualifications are built on NOS.
Industrial Partnerships (England)
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Industrial partnerships are supported by UKCES and involve employers, unions and others with a remit for taking "wider responsibility for skills development in a place or sector".
They are giving employers direct control of the end-to-end process, from development of sector skills standards through to their delivery. The new model sees government investment in workforce training being channeled through employers, as opposed to the traditional arrangement whereby all government funding went directly to colleges and training providers.
UKCES is encouraging the formation of effective industrial partnerships that demonstrably improve the outcomes of public and private investment in growth through people.
Between now and 2017 they plan to:• Establish and co-ordinate an industry-led
occupational standards programme that underpins apprenticeships and vocational qualifications across the UK
• Work with 8 industrial partnerships and networks to galvanise action on skills in line with national industrial strategies
Industrial partnerships
System of embedding skills in industrial strategies based on social partnerships driven by employers, employees and unions producing end-to-end strategies for skills development – some Sector Skills Organisations are key delivery partners in industrial partnerships.
Sector Skills Organisations
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• Sector Skills Councils, Sector Skills Bodies and National Skills Academies are
independent, sector-based, employer-owned organisations working across defined
industry sectors
• Sector Skills Councils were originally funded by government, but are now self sustaining
organisations, generating their income from commercial sources and government-led
projects.
• Sector Skills Councils engage with employers to understand their needs and translate
these into occupational standards and skills competences, which are then used by
training providers and awarding organisations.
• They use their skills, expertise and experience as sector representatives to inform
innovative approaches to secure employer engagement and investment to support skills
challenges, such as Industrial Partnerships
Sector Skills Organisations• Aim to identify and reduce skills gaps/shortages, improve training, and increase
employer ambition and investment in skills by:
• Publishing labour market intelligence about skills needs and skills gaps in a
sector
• Agreeing skills solutions with employers and other partners and planning
delivery
• Developing National Occupational Standards, Apprenticeship Frameworks
and qualification requirements (with funding from UKCES)
• Working with suppliers to ensure qualifications and learning programmes are
aligned to demand
• Identifying high quality training providers
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Employer engagement and learning delivery
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Apprenticeships
• Long history – a keystone of UK strategy for work-based learning
• Paid jobs with on and off job training
• Primary mechanism for engaging employers in learning delivery
• Success of apprenticeships has led to significant expansion of programme
• Trailblazer Apprenticeships in England have been introduced led by large employers, supported by Sector Skills Organisations
• Apprenticeship training agencies (ATAs) have emerged to support SME’s in taking on apprentices
“Career progression is excellent for apprentices, and over the course of their careers, those with an Apprenticeship tend to earn, on average, £100,000 more than those without” (Source: National Apprenticeships Service)
Work experience at the heart of other learning programmes
Employers complain that young people lack workplace experience and yet only 30% of them offered work experience to people in education in 2014. Therefore:
• Drive to get more employers involved in design and delivery of programmes
• Greater emphasis on work experience and making programmes more relevant to needs of young people
In England: Studio Schools, University Technical Colleges, Traineeships, 16-19 learning programmes and Career Colleges
In Scotland: focus on employability and employment outcomes via partnerships between colleges and industry
FundingIn the UK, Government funding...
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follows the individual student
is withdrawn if targets are not met
is used as a policy lever to deliver educational strategy
There are different organisations that inspect and regulate the quality of learning provision, all adopting a similar approach.
INSPECTION:
In England, for example, OFSTED inspects learning providers and makes a judgment under 4 grades.
• Outstanding – model of good practice
• Good – requiring improvement in some areas
• Requires improvement – requiring improvement in most areas
• Inadequate – requiring intervention
If a training provider is deemed to be inadequate there is a ‘commissioner’ who is empowered to intervene and effectively take over the running of the organisation.
In Scotland, Education Scotland are responsible for inspection; in Wales Estyn and in Northern Ireland, the Education and Training Inspectorate.
REGULATION:
There is a different regulatory body in each of the four nations:• England – Ofqual • Wales – Welsh Government• Scotland – SQA Accreditation• Northern Ireland – CCEA, Ofqual
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Inspection and Regulation
There are a range of organisations that both support and inform the TVET sector in the UK.
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ASSOCIATIONS / FOUNDATIONS• Association of Colleges• CollegesWales• Colleges Northern Ireland• Colleges Scotland• Association of National Specialist
Colleges• Association of Employment and
Learning Providers• National Training Federation for
Wales• College Development Network• Scottish Training Federation• Education and Training Foundation• The Edge Foundation • The UK Skills Federation
EMPLOYERS
Employers are strongly encouraged to get involved in informing the design and delivery of TVET. They do this in a variety of ways and some examples are shown below.
Employer influence within the system through:• Sector Skills Organisations• Industrial Partnerships• Reform to apprenticeships through trailblazer
apprenticeships
Employer influence on institutions through:• Further Education College Governance• Sponsorship of University Technical Colleges• Management of Career Colleges
Employer involvement in delivery through:Input into the curriculum in, for example, • Studio Schools• Providing work experience• Providing mentoring
Supporting and Informing
Employer Partnerships
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EMPLOYERS:
Drive the skills agenda and engage in the design and
delivery of learning solutions
UKCES
Work with employers and government to identify national skills issues and determine policy and strategy
DIRECT INVOLVEMENT:
e.g. Work experience, University Technical Colleges, Studio Schools, Career Colleges, Trailblazer Apprenticeships, partnerships with colleges
SECTOR SKILLS COUNCILS AND
OTHER ORGANISATIONS
Design, development and delivery of skills solutions
Employer partnerships
Industrial partnerships
Apprenticeship trailblazers (England)
Qualifications
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VOCATIONAL/PROFESSIONAL WORK
• 16 – 19 study programmes
• Technical Baccalaureate
• Welsh Baccalaureate
• Scottish Vocational Qualifications
APPRENTICESHIPsWORK• Apprenticeships
• Modern Apprenticeships
• Trailblazer Apprenticeships
Traineeships
• High Level
Apprenticeships
ACADEMIC
WORK• GCE A Level
• Scottish Highers
AGE 16
• GCSE Examination• Scottish National Qualifications
• Degrees
• Foundation degrees
AGE 18
• Higher National Certificates (HNCs)
• Higher National Diplomas (HNDs)
Enterprise and Innovation
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ENTERPRISE INNOVATION
‘Developing entrepreneurial attributes throughout education is
the most important step any society can take to support youth
employment and promote economic growth and social value.’
Gazelle Group
‘Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship.
The act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth’
Peter Drucker
New Technology
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• Technology is becoming an enabler of growth in education and training
• Blended approaches (e-learning, virtual classrooms, webinars and e-assessments) are all becoming more common
• UK has been among the most innovative in developing and promoting digital learning resources
o ‘learndirect’ established in late 1990s to embed e-learning into mainstream provision and make learning more accessible
o UK hosts the British Education Training and Technology (BETT) exhibition to showcase cutting edge technology drawing on an international audience
o UK Government is committed to ensure further development of education technology is supported
• Development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in USA has been met with new developments in the UK, i.e. FutureLearn – the first UK MOOC platform
British Council and Collaboration
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SYSTEMS REFORMBUSINESS SUPPORTCURRICULUM DESIGN
ENTERPRISE
EMPLOYERENGAGEMENT
ACCREDITATIONTEACHER TRAINING
QUALIFICATIONFRAMEWORKS
WORK EXPERIENCE
FUNDINGQUALITY ASSURANCE SOCIAL MEDIA
ADVICE & GUIDANCE
STANDARDS VERIFICATION
LEADERSHIP
CAREERS
WORK
POLICY CHANGE
COMPETANCY ASSESSMENTMANAGEMENT
STANDARDS