Wednesday, 20 June 2012: 47th Edition
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In this issue: |
Queen’s Birthday Honours 2012 - FE & Skills successes |
Congratulations to all those from the FE and Skills sector who were recognised in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Successful recipients are: Knight
CBE
OBE
MBE
British Empire Medal (BEM)
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New interim Chief Executive of Skills Funding Agency announced |
Skills Minister John Hayes has announced that Kim Thorneywork has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive of the Skills Funding Agency. John Hayes said: “I am delighted that Kim Thorneywork has accepted the position of interim Chief Executive. Her wealth of experience in the sector and extensive knowledge of the Skills Funding Agency will be a valuable asset in this role. I would also like to thank Geoff Russell for his hard work and commitment in the role and wish him well in his retirement.” Read the full press release. |
24+ Advanced Learning Loans - Latest Briefing |
The latest briefing on loans in Further Education is available. This month’s update includes:
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Doug Richard to lead government apprenticeships review |
Entrepreneur and founder of School for Startups, Doug Richard, is to lead an independent review into the future of apprenticeships for the Government. The review, which will report in autumn 2012, will look at how to build upon recent success by:
Mr Richard was appointed for his strong reputation in both business and business education, enabling him to provide an independent analysis. His commercial expertise is matched by hands-on experience in the teaching of business skills (in 2009 he received the Enterprise Educator of the Year award for his School for Startups). Skills Minister John Hayes said: “The government has built the biggest and best apprenticeships programme of modern times…However, if we are to ensure that apprenticeships continue to meet the skills needs of our constantly evolving economy then we must take every opportunity…to ensure they are equipping learners and employers for the future.” |
New proposals to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities |
Too many young people, who are disabled or have special educational needs (SEN), do less well than their peers at school and college. They are also more likely to be out of education, training and employment at 18. On 15 May the Government published Next Steps setting out the progress made and plans for taking forward the reforms in the 2011 Green Paper, Support and aspiration: A new approach to SEN and Disability. Of significance for the FE sector are proposals to introduce statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education, comparable to those currently associated with having a statement of SEN. Next Steps proposals also include bringing together clusters of Further Education colleges, independent specialist providers and special schools across England to share their practice, knowledge and skills in this area. |
Launch of national register for career development professionals |
The Careers Profession Alliance (CPA) launched the new national Register of Career Development Professionals on 1 May 2012. The register is important to CPA’s mission to raise the professional standards of all career development professionals and assure quality and public confidence in career development activities. You can join the register if you are a member of one of the four professional associations in the alliance by signing up to the CPA and then the register. Registration is voluntary and is currently open to careers advisers with a QCF Level 6 and above qualification. Practitioners with NVQ Level 4 in a specified career development qualification can be conditionally registered provided they achieve a QCF Level 6 equivalent within two years. This will soon be broadened to include all career development professionals. Details about the bodies that make up CPA and registration requirements can be found on the CPA website. |
Skills Minister appoints the chair of the new National Council for Careers |
Skills Minister John Hayes has appointed careers expert Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE as the chair of the new National Council for Careers. The council will be a driving force for excellence in careers guidance and will provide independent, expert advice to the Government on the future development of the National Careers Service launched at the beginning of April. |
Skills Minister unveils new investment in skills in key industries |
Skills Minister John Hayes has announced funds over £2.4m from the Growth Innovation Fund (GIF) to the nuclear and creative and cultural sectors. The GIF was set up to help employers overcome barriers to growth within their sectors and industries. So far the Government has committed over £15 million. Support for nuclear skills: The National Skills Academy (NSA) for Nuclear Manufacturing will receive more than £920K to support the new nuclear build programme. It will also collaborate with SEMTA and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to boost companies’ capability to develop skills. Support for creative and cultural skills: The National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural will receive around £1.5 million to support more than 1,200 new apprenticeships and craft training for young people across the jewellery, design and cultural heritage sectors. It also plans to reach around 1.2 million young people through careers information and guidance over the next five years. It will work with leading organisations and employers including the Goldsmiths’ Company, Holts Academy and the British Jewellers’ Association. Press Notice: Skills Minister unveils new investment in skills for key industries About the Growth Innovation Fund from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) |
Armed forces recruits have career prospects boosted by intensive literacy and numeracy training |
A report out today shows that the armed forces have put numeracy and literacy skills at the heart of their development programme for new recruits. Recruits who get the intensive training improve their long term career prospects. They are engaged and motivated by the job-related training and high expectations of success demanded by the services, including those who had poor experiences of learning at school. Key points from the Armed Forces Longitudinal Study include:
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Launch of Craftworks toolkit |
On 11 May FE and Skills Minister John Hayes launched the new craftworks toolkit at the largest craft fair in Europe held annually at Hatfield House. The toolkit is a collaboration between NIACE and the readers of Craft and Design Magazine, who provided a range of inspirational case studies about their entry to the craft sector, which is characterised by small businesses and sole traders. It is designed for those seeking to turn their ‘passion into profit’ and make a living from craft and for tutors and curriculum managers of craft courses. The toolkit seeks to inspire, reassure and offer practical advice. Information on professional bodies, business skills and development opportunities are contained in an easy-to-use format where the stories of people working in the sector provide a common thread from which the other information flows. |
Hundreds of employers bid for £250m skills training pilot |
The Government has received 269 bids from employers across England and the sectors, including small businesses to take part in a pilot to design and develop their own vocational training programmes. The winners of the bids will be announced later in the year. The Employer Ownership pilot invited the first round of bids earlier in the year for a share of the £250 million fund over the next two years to route public investment directly to employers – enabling them to invest in the training and skills development they need to grow their business. Skills Minister John Hayes said: “…because we know the skills system must be demand driven, we're determined to put employers in the driving seat. With unprecedented focus and funding we'll match and beat competitor nations who have always valued vocational education. “This pilot fund will give employers the space and opportunity for greater ownership of the vocational skills agenda encouraging innovation and new thinking as we provide the platform for sustainable growth.” The vision of greater employer ownership has been championed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. |
UKCES Report Publication: UK Employer Skills Survey 2011 |
The UK Commission’s Employer Skills Survey 2011 is the key UK data source on employer demand for and investment in skills. It is the first UK-wide employer skills survey, and is one of the largest employer skills surveys undertaken in the world, involving over 87,500 interviews with employers across all sectors and covering all sizes of employer. The Commission’s press release commented: “Parts of the UK economy have developed skills “potholes”, with deep and persistent skills gaps damaging business performance in key areas and sectors”. |
FE and Skills eNewsletter: edition 47 (June 2012) |
You can subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our website: www.bis.gov.uk/site/connect/newsletters/fe-skills
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BIS Office of Life Sciences Exhibition
From 18 to 28 June, the BIS Office for Life Sciences will showcase the best of British innovation in the thriving healthcare and life sciences industry in the foyer of its London offices (1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET). This sector is highly innovative and dynamic and, with an annual turnover of £50 billion, is growing faster than the UK economy as a whole.
The exhibition theme is ‘Building a UK life sciences ecosystem’, one of the three pillars of the Government’s Strategy for UK Life Sciences announced by the Prime Minister in December 2011.
This aspect of the strategy will:
- make it easier for researchers to commercialise academic research
- place clinical research at the heart of the NHS, and
- empower patients in research
Visitors to BIS will see how research, industry, patients and clinicians all contribute to improved patient health and to the UK’s economy and growth.
The LSIS National Teaching and Learning Fair
The LSIS National Teaching and Learning Fair 2012 will
take place on Friday 29 June 2012 at the QEII Conference Centre in London, where we will look at the neuroscience of learning and explore the latest thinking on pedagogy, what constitutes excellence in teaching and learning and the use of technology.
This interactive one day fair is aimed at leaders, senior managers, change agents (Subject Learning Coaches, E-Guides, Professional Development Advisers, etc), plus anybody in the sector with an interest in teaching and learning.