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The aim of this review was to advise on the key challenges and opportunities facing further education (FE) colleges in the UK over the next five to 10 years and to suggest ways of maximising their future contribution. This report of the review sets out a vision for FE colleges, a set of values, and key recommendations for the realisation of this vision. Recommendations include: General Further Education Colleges (GFECs) and tertiary colleges should adopt improving employability and supplying economically valuable skills as their primary purpose; there must be a continued drive by colleges to improve quality and achieve excellence; self regulation should be the medium term goal; FE colleges should strive for long term, continuous improvements in teaching and learning based on best practice from across the sector; FE colleges must address more urgently provision which is failing, supported by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) and others; FE colleges should look at what more they need to do to improve their offer to employers both through their primary role in improving the pool of employability and skills and in response to specific employer needs; the Government should articulate a core role for FE colleges, in particular GFECs, in supplying economically valuable skills; and the Government, with the Association of Colleges (AoC) and FE colleges and other key stakeholders, should develop a clear and targeted workforce development plan within the next 12 months which is published and consulted on prior to implementation. The contents are: The vision; The platform for change; The achievement imperatives; Improving management and funding; Improving inspection and information, reducing the qualifications bureaucracy; Improving infrastructure; Implementation; Summary of recommendations. Included as appendices are: The FE landscape; A view from abroad; Overview of how we worked; Foster review: terms of reference; Glossary and qualification level indicator. Show less

The National Employers Skills Survey 2003 (NESS) was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in partnership with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), and involved 72,100 interviews with a representative sample of employers in England. The first part of the report examines recruitment problems, with a breakdown of data by industry and region. Reasons for hard-to-fill vacancies are discussed, with the most prevalent reason being lack of required skills. The second part of the report examines skill gaps, with a breakdown by industrial sector and region, revealing that the greatest proportion of skill gaps are ascribed to employees’ lacking experience. The impact of skill gaps both internally and externally is also discussed. The data show that the most common response to internal skills deficiencies is to provide further training, with four in five employers taking this course of action. Finally, the report looks at employers’ training activities, the extent of and types of training that organisations are providing, and any partnerships that have been established with local further education (FE) colleges. 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?

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This document reports the outcomes of the consultation on the agenda for change technical funding proposals, and identifies the issues to be resolved. It outlines options for addressing the issues, arrangements for trialling, and a timetable with milestones required to implement the agenda for change funding reforms in 2007/08, expressed in terms of the LSC [Learning and Skill Council] Business Cycle.

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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.

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This report presents the findings for 2,441 learners with learning difficulties within the further education (FE) system. These learners were surveyed as part of the 2007 National Learner Satisfaction Survey (NLSS), which was conducted by Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Throughout the report, comparisons are made with findings for learners without learning difficulties, as well as with findings from previous NLSS. The NLSS provides the LSC and partners with a wealth of data on learners' satisfaction with their learning experience, the quality of teaching and learners' attitudes towards future learning. The survey comprises three waves, each dealing with a distinct set of modular questions: (1) pre-entry advice and guidance (wave 12); (2) support for learners (wave 13); and (3) impact of learning (wave 14). The NLSS covers learners in FE (including general FE, sixth form college, adult learning, and other/specialist FE), work-based learning (WBL) and personal and community development learning (PCDL).

Other 2007 NLSS reports are indexed at TD/TNC 95.167 and from TD/TNC 95.169 to TD/TNC 95.174. 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 Lifelong Learning UK, the Lifelong Learning Sector Skills Council. This sector is concerned with the delivery and support of training and education to those undertaking qualifications post-16 years of age. This includes etablishments which provide technical and vocational secondary education, higher education, library and archive activities, and adult and other education. NESS data shows that over 28,000 of these establishments exist across England, and in total 1,013 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. Across all occupations in this sector the top three skills required at higher levels were identified as communication skills, customer handling skills and teamworking skills. The report also considers the extent of recruitment difficulties and skill gaps, and finds that: nine per cent of establishments in the lifelong learning sector face hard-to-fill vacancies; 29 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 professional, associate professional and administrative 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 technical and professional skills, customer handling, and communication skills. Barriers to developing and maintaining a proficient team of staff in the lifelong learning 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

This report summarises the findings of the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2003 for the Skillset Sector Skills Council (SSC), which covers broadcast, film, video, interactive media and photo-imaging. The NESS was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in partnership with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), to provide detailed information about the extent, causes and implications of England's recruitment problems and skill gaps. It also measures employers' training activities. Key findings include: the largest firms are proportionately more likely to have hard-to-fill vacancies, but in terms of actual numbers the largest proportion of hard-to-fill and skill shortage vacancies lie within the smallest firms; larger firms are also more likely to have skill gaps and also have the highest proportion of staff suffering from skill gaps; vacancies and skill gaps are predominantly for higher level occupations, administration and sales and customer service staff; the majority of staff working in the sector are managerial or professional; the main causes of hard-to-fill vacancies are low numbers of applicants with the required skills, attitude, motivation or personality, and work experience; the main causes of skill gaps are the lack of experience of the member of staff and it appears that skill gaps are linked to recruitment activity and, possibly, difficulties; the most common skills lacking in applicants are technical and practical skills, communication skills, customer handling skills and communication skills; the major areas of skill gaps are also in these areas; skills that are in shortage reflect the nature of the job, e.g. sales staff are more likely to have deficiencies in communication and customer handling skills whilst managers and senior officials lack management skills; employers are much more likely to report difficulties in obtaining professional information technology (IT) skills and some specific areas of need identified include web design, interactive media and production and editing skills.

The main report and the report of the key findings of the National Employers Skills Survey 2003 are indexed at TD/TNC 79.281 and TD/TNC 79.599. Individual Sector Skills Council reports are indexed from TD/TNC 79.275 to TD/TNC 79.280. Show less

New Deal is a test of providers’ ability to respond flexibly and effectively to the needs of individuals who are disengaged from the learning process. These guidelines show what can be done to develop and improve the quality of the full-time education and training (FTET) option within the New Deal for 18-24 year olds. They identify features of high quality provision and principles of effective delivery together with case studies and suggestions for further improving practice. These guidelines aim to assist providers of FTET New Deal programs and the partners with which they work to share and develop good practice.

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The Train to Gain service is intended to build upon the experience of Employer Training Pilots, and is available to employers as an independent and impartial brokerage service to diagnose business needs and source appropriate training provision. Brokers are contracted by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to deliver the service, which is presently moving from its pilot phase towards full national roll out. Train to Gain is available to all employers, but brokers will primarily target new, small and 'hard to reach' businesses. This report documents all four waves of evaluation of the pilot phase of the service, and covers employers contacted between April and September 2006. The evaluation is intended to ascertain employer ratings of importance and satisfaction about 11 key measures related to the service. Some comparisons are made between all four waves.

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