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The 2003 National Employers Skills Survey (NESS) [the main report is available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 79.599] revealed severe skills shortages and gaps at all levels of employment in the UK, with employers regarding one in 10 employees as being incompetent. This guide offers practical advice on how employers can tackle the critical issues highlighted by the NESS survey. Its key message is that businesses need to acknowledge the skills shortages or gaps and adopt a systematic approach to upskilling their workforce. The contents are: Mind the gap; How did we get there?; Aligning skills to business strategy; Carrying out a skills audit; Developing a skills strategy; Upskilling your existing workforce; Attracting new talent; Trouble at the top?; Measuring progress; Giving as well as receiving; Where do we go from here? Show less

The National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) is the largest of its kind ever commissioned, and aims to investigate the extent, causes and implications of England's recruitment problems and skills gaps, and at the same time measure employers' training activities. The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) commissioned reports from a number of Sector Skills Councils, and this report summarises the NESS 2003 for Lantra, the Sector Skills Council for the environmental and land-based sector. This sector has a broad coverage, but for the purposes of this report only three broad clusters are focused upon: environmental industries, animal health and welfare, and land management and production. The overwhelming majority of establishments in this field are micro-businesses, with 94% employing fewer than five people. Due to survey restrictions, self-employed sole-proprietors were not included in the data, though many exist in the Lantra field, and 445 interviews were conducted in total. Employers were asked about specific skills they require now and skills they expected to be required in three years time. The two main occupations in this sector are identified as managers or proprieters in agriculture, and skilled agricultural tradespeople. For the former, communication, customer handling, numeracy, literacy and teamworking skills were all identified as important, while in the case of skilled trades, technical and practical skills are needed at an advanced level. The report also considers the extent of recruitment difficulties and skill gaps, and finds that: 56 per cent of establishments in the lifelong learning sector face hard-to-fill vacancies; 27 per cent of establishments suffer from internal skill gaps, with staff being regarded as less than fully proficient; vacancies and skill gaps are most common amongst skilled trades and elementary occupations, reflecting the importance of technical skills to this sector; the main causes of skill gaps are primarily perceived to be due to staff having a lack of experience; the main causes of hard-to-fill vacancies are a lack of interest in this type of work, and a low number of applicants with the required skills; and the most common skills lacking in applicants are technical and practical skills, communication skills, management skills and problem solving skills. Barriers to developing and maintaining a proficient team of staff in the Lantra sector are identified as including: lack of time for training for those with skill gaps; a lack of cover for training; and a lack of funds for training. The report also considers issues associated with employer engagement in developing their workforce. Show less

Skills in England 2007 provides an up-to-date assessment of the skills arena. It highlights the key skills issues facing the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and its partners, based on a comprehensive review of developments and of the evidence that has emerged over the past year. The report highlights that collectively, the LSC and its partners must continue to find ways to increase the demand for skills from employers and ensure that everyone, whether an employer or an individual, is able to access the learning opportunities that are suitable for them.

Four volumes have been produced: 1. Key Messages: outlining key findings and policy implications; 2. Research Report: providing in-depth analysis; 3. Sectoral Perspectives: providing insights across industry; 4. Regional/Local Perspectives: summarising the geographical situation.

Volume 1: Key Messages sets out the main findings and broad policy implications stemming from the research undertaken and reviewed for Skills in England 2007. It highlights the key issues facing the LSC and its partners, with a view to helping identify the key priorities for skills.

Excerpt from publication reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

Volumes 2-4 are indexed from TD/TNC 91.283 to TD/TNC 91.285. Show less

The ‘LSC Corporate Plan 2004’ (indexed at TD/TNC 71.535) sets out LSC’s vision of young people and adults in England having knowledge and productive skills matching the best in the world by 2010. This draft strategy, covering three years to 2005, is intended to show how LSC, both locally and nationally, will achieve this. It is a consultative document which outlines the consultation process, sets the context, and describes the structural changes to be achieved. These are: creating a demand-led system; improving supply and capacity; establishing the framework; and measuring progress. Also included is the consultation response form.

The Learning and Skills Development Agency’s (LSDA’s) response to this strategy is indexed at TD/TNC 71.351. Show less

Pick up any learning and skills sector policy document and you will find an emphasis on the partnership. Sharing resources, know-how and the ideas offers the possibility of finding new ways to engage learners and get the provision right for them. Partnership is not easy - with the opportunity comes the challenge of working well with difference. This publication explores the nature of partnership working within the sector and how partnership can add value for more and different adult learners. It draws on the practical examples from the sector to show how the rhetoric becomes reality. A number of questions will be discussed: Why work in partnership? What is partnership, in practice? What makes partnership and collaboration work best? How can we translate good will and good intentions into effective partnership that makes a difference for learners, and for partners too?

Published extract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

There is a growing consensus that the only means by which the advanced economies can compete in the era of globalisation is by building on their comparative advantage in education, knowledge and skills, especially at higher levels (Levels 4 and above in the National Qualifications Framework). Since the Dearing report of 1996/97, it has also been increasingly recognised that the further education (FE) sector is ideally placed to improve the accessibility and scope of higher education (HE) at a time when this is a growing economic and political priority. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) are the two bodies that share responsibility for this level of provision. They have therefore been co-operating to establish a co-ordinated strategy for action in this area. In the course of this, the LSC has become aware that, though there is a large corpus of literature relevant to the delivery of higher-level qualifications through further education colleges (FECs), there is currently no coherent, up-to-date overview of the subject. In particular, there is a lack of current information on provision classed as 'non-prescribed' HE, which consists mainly of professional and technical qualifications offered by professional bodies. The present study was therefore commissioned to fill those gaps by consolidating existing data and adding to it, wherever possible. [The research found that] FECs make a highly significant contribution to higher-level provision, especially for learners who might otherwise find HE difficult to access because of lack of prior academic attainment, inadequate funding, geographical location, or lack of confidence.

Excerpts from executive summary reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

The voluntary and community sector has a crucial role to play in helping the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) meet the education and training needs of individuals, communities and employers. The purpose of this draft strategy is to create the conditions for voluntary and community organisations and the LSC to work more effectively together to improve the services they provide. It is divided into five main sections: (1) The aims and rationale of the strategy; (2) The voluntary and community sector as a provider of learning opportunities; (3) The voluntary and community sector as an employer; (4) The voluntary and community sector as a source of expertise and intelligence; and (5) The voluntary and community sector as a channel of networking and communication. Show less

'Skills in England 2005', produced by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), summarises the key developments in England's skill base over the last 12 months by pulling together the latest evidence on the supply of, and demand for, skills. It is presented in three volumes. This volume contains a set of regional and local profiles that summarise the economic and labour market context for each locality. A summary table showing comparable information on demographic characteristics, employment indicators, sectoral structure, indicators of skill deficiencies, and unemployment rate is presented for each regional development agency (RDA) and local LSC area.

The three volumes are indexed from TD/TNC 87.477 to TD/TNC 87.449. Show less

'Skills in England 2004', the fourth annual national skills assessment produced by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), provides a synthesis of the latest evidence that is available on the demand for, and supply of, skills in England. Its main aims and objectives are to identify current and future skills problems and deficiencies. It is presented in four volumes: volume one contains the key messages and provides an overview of the research findings in the other three volumes; volume two, the main research report, contains information on the demand for, and supply of, skills as well as mismatches between demand and supply; and volumes three and four provide evidence related to industrial sector, and regional and local trends respectively. This document is the index to the four volumes.

The four volumes are indexed from TD/TNC 82.395 to TD/TNC 82.398. Show less

This review of existing research evidence pulls together information from four Learning and Skills Council reports on issues surrounding migrant workers and the labour market. The review also includes some references to work on the subject by other organisations. The paper covers the key issues of labour market participation, skills and skills provision, but it also covers contextual information such as stocks and flows, drivers of migration and the provision of education and training.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less