WorldSkills London 2011 takes place over an area the size of ten Wembleys

World Skills, the biggest global skills competition, kicks off in London this week. It will be held over four days at the ExCeL exhibition and conference centre in London's Docklands from 5-8 October 2011.

More than 150,000 visitors from across the UK are expected. They will be inspired by competitors from over 50 countries/regions competing in 46 skill areas.

The Prime Minister said: "I’m delighted that we are hosting the next WorldSkills in London which will see 1000 young people from 51 countries competing to be the best of the best."

In addition to four exciting days of competition, visitors will be able to Have a Go at a wide range of skills from robotics and gardening, to fashion design and hairdressing. Experts will also be on hand to share their knowledge and careers advice.

For tickets, visit the World Skills website www.worldskillslondon2011.com

WorldSkills Premiere Experience

4 – 9 October 2011
Excel, London

WorldSkills London 2011, the world’s largest international skills competition, is attracting participants, government ministers and skills experts from all over the world.

This major global event provides a unique opportunity for industry, government and education leaders to take part in a complementary conference, the WorldSkills Premiere Experience. There will be three days of informative presentations, seminars and networking events focusing on inspiring and developing the highly skilled workforce to deliver a sound economic future.

Participants can build their own itinerary from a packed programme that includes a WorldSkills Leaders Forum, the Global Skills Marketplace, focussed specialist sessions, and much more. 

Speakers include the Business Secretary Vince Cable and
Sir Michael Rake, Chairman, BT Group PLC.

For more information or to ask any questions, please contact wspe@worldskills.org or call +44 (0)20 7299 6981

Colleges Week

Colleges Week 2011 is being run by the Association of Colleges between 26th September and 2nd October 2011. Read more at www.collegesweek.org

This year, Colleges Week is teaming up with World Skills London 2011.  There are three areas of activity:

• using “Have a Go at College” events as a tool to support schools liaison, mid-year recruitment, community outreach and/or college open days
• promoting the excellence of college staff and vocational excellence through Team UK and Squad UK profiling and support in the national and regional press

Colleges and other FE partners can support Colleges Week by telling their partners and members about their plans, promoting it on websites etc and issuing a press release or sending the AoC a supporting quote.

For more details contact the Colleges Week team on 01753 827291 or collegesweek@octopuscomms.net

FE Consultation

On 16 August the government launched a consultation on 'New Challenges, New Chances: next steps in implementing the further education reform programme' . It covers: greater freedoms and flexibilities for the sector; improving the quality of teaching and learning; adult literacy and numeracy; informal adult and community learning; FE loans; and more.

Further information can be found in the press notice.

Feedback is invited by 21 October 2011. The consultation documents are available online at www.bis.gov.uk/newchallenges

Lifelong Learning Accounts - now available

Lifelong Learning Accounts, a new service to help adults take greater control of their learning and careers, are now available online.

The new accounts help people manage their working life by providing clear information and advice on skills, careers and financial support. They are fully supported by the Next Step careers service and accessible through its online, telephone and face-to-face channels.

Account holders can make and save their course searches, create and store CVs, skills health checks and personal action plans, and access information on  funding.

Account holders who sign up will get e-mails and text messages encouraging them to look for opportunities to learn, and signposting them towards more information.

To find out more, and to sign up for an account, visit www.direct.gov.uk/lifelonglearningaccount or phone 0800 100 900.

Skills Pledge

The UK Commission has developed a new pledge, building on the lessons from the previous Employer Skills Pledge and the Informal Adult Learning Pledge and consultation with employers, Sector Skills Councils and employer representative organisations.

The new pledge is a tool to help support employers in developing skills solutions for their sector, industry or geographic area and secure visible commitment from them to take action.  It demonstrates where groups of employers are working together for the interests of their businesses and their employees, supporting their ambitions for skills. Each pledge will be tailored to the needs of the specific group of employers. The retail, power, process industries, sport and leisure and engineering and manufacturing sectors have set precedents with industry-led pledges.

Guidance and case studies are available at: http://www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/pledge

Contact:

Gillian Brewin - UKCES
info@ukces.org.uk  or call 01709 774800

New skills support to lift jobless out of unemployment

Skills Minister John Hayes and Employment Minister Chris Grayling visited South London on 7 September to unveil new measures to help jobseekers identify needs and learn new skills to help them back to work. This included the launch of a pilot programme co-locating Next Step/National Careers Service in 22 Jobcentres across England. This is part of the wider package of skills support for those looking for work which launched in August. The Ministers staff from Peckham Jobcentre Plus and Next Step and staff and learners from Lambeth College, as they demonstrated their joint commitment to the new approach to training for the unemployed.

John Hayes said: “We are building a system that will help people acquire the skills they need to get into work and get on with life. Reforming the way that Jobcentre Plus, careers advice, colleges and other training providers and employers interact at a local level is critical to our success.”

National press release

Lambeth College article on the visit

UK/China Bilateral Cooperation on Vocational Education

During his visit to China in July, Skills Minster John Hayes signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Madam Lu Xin, Chinese Vice Minister for Education and Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security.  The MoU deepens collaboration between the two countries on vocational education.  It paves the way for:

• apprenticeships in China drawing on UK models and expertise
• mutual recognition of qualifications and vocational education colleges and providers
• collaborative development on curriculum material and teaching resources
• institutional partnerships based around capacity building, teacher and student exchanges and/or joint course development.

Minister Hayes also met with Vice Minister, Wang Xiaochu, Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Michael Suen, Hong Kong Secretary for Education and represented the UK at the Ministerial Roundtable at the International Conference – “Learning Journey for the Globalised World” - organised by the Hong Kong Education Bureau

The Big Society Awards - have you made a nomination?

The Big Society Award was created by the Prime Minister in November 2010 to recognise individuals, groups or organisations that are exemplifying the Big Society in their work or activities.

The Big Society is about decentralisation and giving back power to people, giving citizens choice and freedom. It is also about working with communities at the grass roots to help them make decisions to improve their lives. It’s about bottom-up, not top-down ways of working.

The award focuses upon three specific areas:

• promoting social action
• empowering communities
• opening up public services

If you know someone or an organisation who are demonstrating the Big Society in their work or activities, we need to know about them. Please nominate them for the Big Society Awards and help us to celebrate and support them further.

More information can be found at:

www.number10.gov.uk/take-part/recognising-others/big-society-awards-2/

Older People' Day

1 October is UK Older People’s Day and the UN International Day of Older Persons. This will be the fifth year the UK Day has been celebrated. Last year, there were over 3000 events registered, which attracted approximately 700,000 people. The Government and others, under the Full of Life banner, highlight the valuable contribution older people make to our society and economy, tackling outdated stereotypes about later life. The theme for this year is getting and staying active in later life, to encourage people to be active and raise awareness of the benefits that physical, social and mental activity brings.

Events, big and small, from digital photography to Zumba dancing in Bolton and Wii sports events in Coventry, are taking place all around the country, on or around 1 October.

Read more at: http://fulloflife.direct.gov.uk/index.html

Stop Selling and Start Listening

'Stop selling and start listening’ is one of the best ways for colleges and training providers to build relationships and reputation with employers, according to new research. FE should become more ‘commercially savvy’, responding to the pressures on business.

Recent research by a leading FE strategy group asked employers and skills experts what influenced their views of the reputation of FE.

Employers said that colleges and providers should develop their profile in the business community and showcase their impressive state-of-the art teaching facilities. New teaching rooms and specialist equipment prove that FE is up to date and relevant to industry.

Dr Alison Birkinshaw chair of the Further Education Reputation Strategy Group (FERSG) which commissioned the research said, “This advice shows what really influences FE’s reputation with businesses. Understanding how FE is perceived by local businesses, what current relationships are like and what barriers need addressing are vital steps to improve reputation.”

Further Education works - What Businesses Really Want  - Simple Strategies for improving employer engagement and reputation

For more information contact Gillian Dyer on 07920710672, e-mail GDyer@yorkcollege.ac.uk or Dr Alison Birkinshaw on 01904770215, e-mail ABirkinshaw@yorkcollege.ac.uk

Inspiring young people for the future

A free service to be launched in October which aims to get 100,000 people from all sectors and professions going into schools and colleges to talk about their jobs, careers and the education route they took. The aim is to give young people a practical insight into jobs, higher education and training including apprenticeships. The initiative was highlighted in the Government’s Social Mobility Strategy as a way to ‘make a difference to raising aspirations and helping people to make informed choices about jobs and careers.’ The Government has committed to encourage all civil servants to participate in the scheme.

Read more about the service at: http://www.educationandemployers.org/taskforcenews6/index.html

Volunteering

The Education and Employers Taskforce  is working with partners to develop a secure website where volunteers can register and be matched with opportunities at schools, colleges and education centres. Through on-line matching, and the Taskforce’s partners, it will also offer a broad range of other volunteering options including mentoring and serving as a school governor. The website will segment by industry, subject area, deprivation and location, and those that find it most challenging to access support will be prioritised.

More information can be found at:

www.inspiringthefuture.org

Forthcoming Events

Partners across the country are working together to organise national events to promote further education and skills. To get involved please see the links below for further information.

Connect with BIS

Stay up to date with what is happening at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

BIS Departmental Newsletter:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/site/connect/newsletters/bis-bulletin

BIS FE & Skills Newsletter: http://www.bis.gov.uk/site/connect/newsletters/fe-skills

BIS Vocational Qualifications Newsletter:
http://www.bis.gov.uk/site/connect/newsletters/vq

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