All images © Mat Wright The UK Skills System An Introduction

All images © Mat Wright

www.britishcouncil.org 1

The UK Skills SystemAn Introduction


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?


SKILLS

DELIVERY

Schools

Private Training

Providers

Non-traditional

settings

Further education

colleges

UniversitiesEmployers

Does the UK have only one system?


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


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


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)


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


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


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


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


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


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


* 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.

http://www.britishcouncil.org/

Industrial Partnerships (England)


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


• 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


Employer engagement and learning delivery


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...


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


Inspection and Regulation

There are a range of organisations that both support and inform the TVET sector in the UK.


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


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


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


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


• 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


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

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All images © Mat Wright The UK Skills System An Introduction