Happy New Year!

The BIS FE and Skills Team would like to wish a happy new year to all subscribers to the FE and Skills newsletter. In particular we offer our congratulations to further education colleagues listed below who received honours in the New Year’s Honours List. 2011 will be an important year as the Government implements its plans for sustainable economic growth. The FE sector, working with employers, will have a crucial role in supporting this and delivering the reforms set out in Skills for Sustainable Growth.

Please accept our best wishes for a successful and prosperous 2011.

Skills Minister John Hayes Writes to Colleges and Providers

John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, wrote to colleges and providers in December, following publication of the Skills for Sustainable Growth strategy and the Skills Investment Strategy in November. The letter contained information on funding priorities, future legislation and the consultation on skills conditionality.

To view the letter, please click the link.

For more information on Skills for Sustainable Growth and the Skills Investment Strategy, please visit:
www.bis.gov.uk/policies/further-education-skills

Skills Conditionality Consultation: respond by 3 February

This joint BIS/DWP consultation seeks views to inform the implementation of “Skills Conditionality” – which involves Jobcentre Plus referring claimants to a skills training provider, further education college or Next Step adviser, with potential benefit sanctions for non-participation. The training will include vocational, basic skills, employability training as well as support with softer skills such as motivation and confidence building.

We want the process to be effective, administratively straightforward and non-bureaucratic. We would like to hear from employers, training providers, colleges, Next Step contractors, local authorities, the voluntary sector and other organisations with detailed knowledge and experience of working together to meet the skills needs of unemployed people.

To view the consultation and to respond (by 3 February) please visit:
www.bis.gov.uk/consultations/skills-conditionality

FE Fee Loans

As set out in Skills for Sustainable Growth published in November 2010, the Government will in future make income-contingent loans available to support individuals aged 24 or over studying qualifications at Level 3 or above. The new loan facility will be progressively introduced from the 2013/14 academic year. There will be no up-front costs and repayments will be made on an income-contingent basis.

Consultation on the loan scheme began with the publication of Further Education - New Horizons: Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth which was published alongside the skills strategy in November 2010 and contains further details of the scheme. BIS has agreed to set up a reference group with the further education sector to look at implementation details of FE loans and is currently working with sector representative groups to establish membership of this group, with a view to the first meeting of the group in early February.

If you have any views on the principles of FE loans, please send them by 31 March to FEloans@bis.gsi.gov.uk

Apprenticeship Week is coming: 7-11 February 2011

There are only five weeks to go until Apprenticeship Week 2011. The Week, which runs from Monday 7 to Friday 11 February 2011, aims to highlight the talents and skills of apprentices and celebrate the value of Apprenticeships. Colleges, providers, employers and partners can get involved by visiting the Apprenticeships website which outlines the themes and is full of ideas and suggestions for activities.

http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk

WorldSkills London 2011: Get Involved!

WorldSkills London 2011 is the world’s largest, international skills competition and will be the UK’s biggest international event this side of the Olympics in 2012. Taking place from 5-8 October 2011 at ExCeL London, the event will bring together 1,000 young people from 50 nations to compete in 46 skills areas from six sectors, ranging from creative arts and fashion to transportation and logistics. This will be a unique opportunity to showcase UK skills talent and establish a lasting legacy for vocational skills and Apprenticeships in every local area.

There are some practical and exciting ways colleges and providers can be involved, including:

• Being part of the WorldSkills showcase;
• Organising ‘Have a Go’ skills events for your local community;
• Becoming an exhibitor at the WorldSkills London 2011 event;
• Helping to engage learners in exploring vocational skills and careers;
• Making WorldSkills part of your promotion, curriculum and quality improvement strategies.

To find out more, visit the website, speak to one of your regional skills champions or contact the partnership team at WorldSkills London 2011.

www.worldskillslondon2011.com

Rating information helps learners make informed choices

BIS published the first full set of performance ratings for further education providers last month. The Framework for Excellence results will allow users to check the quality of further education provision and help them make informed choices about their learning.

Skills Minister John Hayes said: "The publication of the Framework for Excellence is an important part of the Government's strategy to put more power in the hands of learners and employers. We are committed to giving learners the information they need to make the right choices to give them a brighter future."

Users can search and compare provider ratings on the Framework for Excellence website for the following indicators:

• success rates
• what learners went on to after studying with a provider
• what learners and employers think about a provider

The publication of the Framework for Excellence brings to life the Government's commitment to transparent information on quality, as set out in Skills for Sustainable Growth.
 

Review of Adult and Community Learning

Skills for Sustainable Growth and Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth set out the vision for informal adult and community learning funded through the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget, confirming that it will:

• help build the Big Society, through learning for personal development, mental/physical health, digital inclusion, civic engagement, social cohesion and support for families
• engage and motivate disadvantaged groups and create progression pathways, including into skills-focused learning and employment.

HM Treasury agreed the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget will be protected, reinvigorated and reformed with a review agenda that

• establishes clear objectives and success measures for public spend on Adult Safeguarded Learning
• ensures that disadvantaged individuals are prioritised for public support
• maximises fee income from those people who can afford to pay in order to increase cross subsidising and ‘reach’ to disadvantaged groups.

BIS will work closely with partners to develop the new model during 2011, starting with six policy roundtables on different aspects of informal adult and community learning. Relevant representative organisations will be invited to take part. There will then be opportunities for wider debate and discussion before publication of the reform model to be implemented in the 12/13 academic year.

Review of Basic Skills Provision

In Skills for Sustainable Growth the Government set out the continued full funding of literacy and numeracy provision for all adults who need it. To maximise economic and personal returns BIS will review the way basic skills are delivered and take steps to ensure this training fully equips individuals and employers with the functional literacy and numeracy skills they need. This reformed programme will move away from targets to focus on equipping individuals with the skills and qualifications they need to get a job, progress in work and play a full part in society. Pages 31 and 32 of the skills strategy contain the full text. The review of basic skills provision will be underpinned by robust research and will draw upon the expertise of a range of stakeholders, partners and practitioners.

Skills Funding Agency issues indicative 2011/12 allocations for the Single Adult Skills Budget and Guidance Note 6

In December, the Skills Funding Agency issued indicative 2011/12 single adult skills budget allocations .These allocations are subject to information on minimum levels of performance and final allocations will be issued by 31st March 2011. The Skills Funding Agency also has issued Guidance Note 6,, setting out the technical and operational details of how the reforms, as set out in both the Skills for Sustainable Growth: Strategy Document (Skills Strategy) and Further Education – New Horizon, Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth will be applied in 2011/12 and the direction of travel over this Spending Review period.

Guidance note 6 is available here: http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/providers/allthelatest/guidancenotes

Sustainable Development Framework for Learning and Skills: provider consultation

Achieving sustainable development is one of the most pressing challenges facing society today. The learning and skills sector has a vital contribution to make, both by fostering knowledge and skills for sustainable development and by embedding sustainability across all areas of practice. The Sustainable Development Framework for learning and skills aims to strengthen the sector’s engagement with this important agenda by co-ordinating strategies and practice and building a shared understanding and commitment to bring about change.

NIACE is developing, on behalf of LSIS, the Framework and resources for sustainable development. Providers are invited to take part in this consultation and to comment on the Sustainable Development Framework by 21 January. Please click on the link below to go to the online consultation:

http://guest.cvent.com/d/qdqt0m

New policy on FE delivery models

Work is being undertaken to develop a revised policy on organisational delivery models within Further Education. The overall aim of the policy will be to encourage a diverse set of providers who have close links with their local community and are able to use new, creative models of training delivery. At the same time, we want to ensure that we respond quickly where colleges are failing, including radical action for total college failures which could encompass new providers and new delivery. The work will be steered by a Project Board made up of sector representatives, alongside BIS, the Skills Funding Agency and Department for Education. It is planned to publish the policy in the spring.

New Year’s Honours: FE & Skills Successes

Congratulations to all those from the FE and Skills sector who were recognised in the New Year’s Honours List. The successful recipients are:

DBE

• Patricia Bacon Principal, St Helen’s College

CBE

• Richard Parker Formerly Principal, Chichester College
• Diane Roberts, Principal, Brockenhurst College
• Ali Hadawi Principal, Southend Adult Community College

OBE

• Richard Brough Managing Director, Jenkins Shipping Ports Services Ltd - services to Learning and Skills in the Humber Region
• Michael Field Chairman of the Corporation, Great Yarmouth College
• Paul Phillips Principal and Chief Executive, Weston College
• Sheila Rosenberg Services to ESOL teaching
• Helen Sexton Formerly Principal and Chief Executive, National Star College
• David Waddington Formerly Principal, Hartlepool College of Further Education
• Sue Rimmer (Jean Wilson) Principal and Chief Executive, South Thames College

MBE

• Teresa Esan Director of Employability and Employer Engagement, City and Islington College
• Helen Sage Lecturer in Electrical Engineering, Castle College Nottingham
• Brian Litherland Formerly Programme Co-ordinator, City of Bristol College
• John Soars Services to teaching English as a foreign language
• Elizabeth Soars Services to teaching English as a foreign language

FE and Skills eNewsletter: edition 35 (January 2011)

You can subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our website: www.bis.gov.uk/site/connect/newsletters/fe-skills