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This report documents the conclusions and recommendations of the 'end to end' review of the delivery of Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) in the UK that was undertaken between October and December 2003. The report outlines how the review was conducted and the assessment of the strengths of the current delivery system, barriers to effective delivery, and the likely impact of changes in the pipeline. The review, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), examined the delivery chain for MAs and three 'cross cutting' themes: electronic government; equal opportunities; and the burden of bureaucracy. The formal objectives were to: review the effectiveness, flexibility, agility and robustness of processes used to promote and deliver MAs against the policy objectives set by government; make recommendations, as appropriate, for a change program to ensure that delivery processes are well attuned to achieving policy objectives; and report to DfES and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The review process involved extensive analysis of existing documentation, interviews with people engaged in delivering MAs, four local case studies, and discussions about emerging conclusions and recommendations with a wide range of stakeholders. The review identified significant strengths in the delivery system, which provides real benefits to employers and learners, and a strong base on which to build further improvements. It is suggested that action is required on branding, relevance to individual employers and trainees, product development, quality improvement and impact on the economy. The recommendations of the review will inform the 2004 Spending Review. Show less

This document reports on the progress being made towards the vision set out in the Green Paper, 'Reducing re-offending through skills and employment' [indexed at TD/TNC 84.240], and proposes an agenda of reform for the next decade. It contains proposals for implementing three priorities: (1) engaging employers through the Reducing Re-offending Corporate Alliance; (2) building on the new Offender Learning and Skills Service, especially through the campus model; and (3) reinforcing the emphasis on skills and jobs in prison and probation.

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The purpose of this offender's learning journey document is to: set out the requirements and expectations that the Offenders' Learning and Skills Unit, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the Prison Service and the Probation Service (together, in future, the National Offender Management Service, NOMS) have of learning and skills provision for offenders, that is, what the provision will look like; describe the policy environment in which offenders' learning and skills provision is being developed; and describe the role that offenders' learning and skills provision is expected to play in achieving the Government's policy objectives for criminal justice. It describes the components of a high quality learning and skills service at all stages of a learner's journey including during his or her sentence (served in custody or community) and whilst under supervision in the community following release. This new service will be delivered by learning providers who can demonstrate their commitment to the five elements of: meeting needs; improving choice; putting teaching, training and learning at the heart of what we do; developing the leaders, teachers, lecturers, trainers and support staff of the future; and developing a framework for quality and success. We need to see a transformational change in teaching practices that takes account of the individual needs of offenders, and offers a wide range of methods to stimulate and encourage participation.

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

This report, based on the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), describes the work-based training received by young people who left school at the age of 16. Findings include: government-supported training (GST) is still an important option for many people; in jobs outside the GST framework, half of full-time workers and three-fifths of part-time workers had been given no training at all; standards of training in other GST did not match standards in Advanced Modern Apprenticeships (AMAs); there was evidence of inequalities in access to high quality training by sex and ethnicity; young people's satisfaction with their training depended on the nature of the training rather than on the trainee's personal characteristics; there are high dropout rates from GST; and early leavers were more likely to have poor General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results and to have played truant at school than those who stayed in GST. The contents of the report are: Introduction; Young people on work-based routes; Off-the-job and on-the-job training; Changes over one year; Study for qualifications; Conclusions. Also included is a list of recent reports based on the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. 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 the Skillsmart Sector Skills Council, which covers the retail trade. NESS data shows that over 250,000 of these establishments exist across England, and in total 9,991 interviews were conducted with establishments in this sector. Employers were asked about specific skills they require now and skills they expected to be required in three years time. Communication skills, customer handling skills and teamworking skills are identified as being most important for all staff regardless of position, while problem solving was also a requirement for managers, and literacy and numeracy high in relevance for sales and customer service occupations. The report also considers the extent of recruitment difficulties and skill gaps, and finds that: seven per cent of establishments in the asset skills sector face hard-to-fill vacancies; 26 per cent of establishments suffer from internal skill gaps, with staff being regarded as less than fully proficient; the highest densities of vacancies lie within smaller firms; vacancies and skill gaps are most common amongst sales and customer service staff; 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 customer handling, communication and teamworking skills. Barriers to developing and maintaining a proficient team of staff in the Skillsmart 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

In 2000, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) launched an initiative aimed at providing basic information and communications technology (ICT) skills to unemployed and economically inactive people. The initiative, 'UK online computer training', delivered courses through existing training providers from both the private and public sectors in a range of locations throughout the UK. This document reports on research used to evaluate the initiative, particularly its effectiveness in providing basic ICT training to the 'information poor' and the extent to which the training helped recipients to come off social security benefits and onto positive outcomes such as employment. The specific objectives were to: (a) identify all individuals participating in the training and their resulting outcomes; (b) identify the extent to which individual and other factors were related to participation and course completion; (c) identify and assess the factors which contributed toward coming off benefits and entering employment; (d) identify the extent to which courses have facilitated employment in comparison to the results of not participating in such courses. The report presents explanatory notes and summarised findings in relation to online participants, courses from the perspective of participants, training providers, and the impact of courses. Qualitative and quantitative research was undertaken and the appendices contain further information on the research method and the participants. Show less

Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) were introduced as a key element of the United Kingdom (UK) government’s lifelong learning agenda with the objective of providing a vehicle for funding continuous learning. The national ILA framework was introduced in September 2000. The strategy was designed to empower individuals to invest in their own learning through individual accounts combined with complementary government incentives. In November 2001, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned SQW and NOP Research Group to review the effectiveness of promoting ILAs through community-based organisations. Earlier in the same year, five community organisations were provided with funding by the DfES to promote ILAs within the local community. The national ILA program was suspended in November 2001 and so the ILA Community Projects also came to an end. DfES commissioned the evaluation to assess: (1) how far each project developed an innovative approach; (2) how effectively community projects encourage the take-up of ILAs and ILA supported learning among people with low skills and qualifications levels; and (3) the impact of the community projects on those taking part in learning. The report contains the following sections: (1) introduction; (2) methodology; (3) an overview of each community project in the form of a case study, highlighting the successes and challenges experienced by the projects; (4) the results of the key findings of the NOP telephone survey of ILA holders, and focus group and one-to-one sessions with project beneficiaries; and (5) a conclusion drawing together the key findings in two groups detailing the key achievements of the community projects and the issues raised in their implementation. The evaluation revealed that over 3,000 people have been encouraged to open an ILA through the community projects and that, once engaged with ILAs, a large percentage found ILAs easy to understand and learner satisfaction was high amongst those who accessed ILAs and training through the community project. It is suggested that the results of this evaluation could inform the debate about a replacement scheme.

Other reports on Individual Learning Accounts are indexed at TD/TNC 69.213, TD/TNC 69.215 and TD/TNC 70.245. Show less

The Neighbourhood Support Fund (NSF), launched as a pilot in 1999 and funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), aims to re-engage hard-to-reach young people with education, training or employment through becoming involved in voluntary and community sector projects. The pilot, which lasted for three years and ended in 2003, delivered 650 voluntary and community sector (VCS) projects at neighbourhood level in 40 of the most deprived areas in England. This report presents findings of the evaluation of the project commissioned by DfES. The evaluation aimed to provide: an evidence-based and objective assessment of the extent to which NSF has achieved its stated aims and objectives; and an assessment of the three different management and delivery models employed by the Managing Agents. Key findings indicate that: the NSF had consistently achieved its two main aims; NSF participants were from the target group of hard-to-reach young people; the success of the project in finding and engaging hard-to-reach young people was due to outreach work; clients from ethnic minority groups were more likely than white clients to have moved on to education, training or employment with training; the majority of young people progressed on to a positive outcome; NSF provides a flexible and locally responsive offering for hard-to-reach young people; and the role of the Managing Agent was significant in providing the necessary focus on delivery and for providing training, support and guidance to projects at neighbourhood level and for ensuring appropriate systems are in place for managing finance and performance within projects. The contents are: Introduction; Engaging young people in the NSF; Supporting young people's progression to positive outcomes; Working in partnership; Management of NSF; Conclusions and further developments. Show less

Skills Dialogues constitute a series of consultations with all major industrial and business sectors in the UK, generating high quality authoritative skills assessments for each of these broad sectors. Their purpose is to improve the quality of information available on skills at sector level and to provide an effective means for national training organisations (NTOs) and employers to contribute to the planning and implementation of education and training provision in their sector. This report is the result of the Land-based Industries Sector Skills Dialogue and provides an assessment of trends in employment and skill needs and associated issues in this sector. The industry coverage includes agricultural crops, livestock and machinery (including garden machinery), animal care, environmental conservation, equine activities, fencing, fish farming, floristry, forestry, game conservation, landscaping, production horticulture, and professions allied to veterinary science (animal technologists, farriery, veterinary nurses). Section one presents key findings; section two provides the executive summary; section three presents introductory and background information; section four identifies common elements across land-based industries and highlights generic issues relating to skill needs; section five examines changing skill demands; section six investigates skills supply; section seven discusses skills demand/supply balance; and section eight contains individual industry analyses. The key messages to emerge present a challenge to the sector in the future. A major development program is needed to correct the imbalance between supply and demand for workers at higher skill levels. In agriculture, a third of the workforce is aged 55 and over and better management and business skills are required, particularly for the high number of owner/managers in the sector. Finally, better information and communications technology (ICT), key skills, initiative and problem solving skills are needed by all who work in land-based industries. Show less

This report presents the findings of a survey of early leavers from further education (FE) and work-based learning (WBL) courses. Findings are based on a telephone survey of 2,180 learners recorded as having withdrawn from a FE or WBL course before completion, during the academic year 2004/05. Most learners provided just one reason for leaving their course early. When grouped, course-related reasons such as being unhappy with course choice or with the quality of the teaching/training were the most common (32 per cent), followed by circumstantial reasons (28 per cent) and time/workload issues (20 per cent). The most common single reason for leaving was finding that the course was not what they wanted to do after all/changing their mind about it part-way through, cited by 14 per cent of early leavers. Poor quality teaching, and the course not being at the right level, were the next most common reasons (each cited by 11 per cent).

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