Evaluation of National Skills Academies

In 2008 the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) and Ipsos MORI were commissioned to conduct a two-year evaluation of National Skills Academies (NSAs) by the former Learning and Skills Council (LSC), now the Skills Funding Agency. NSAs were first established from 2006 and have been rolled out incrementally over five rounds of development so far, under a competitive bidding process. NSAs were set up to be employer-led centres of excellence in learning and form part of successive government strategies to increase employer engagement with, and leadership in, vocational education and training, and improve the skills available in the working population. This report synthesises evidence gathered over both years of the evaluation across the following strands: a review of documentary evidence including NSA Business Plans, and 3-Year Reviews for the four Round 1 NSAs; three rounds of interviews with NSAs themselves; two rounds of interviews with NSA stakeholders (including major employers on NSA Boards and learning providers involved with NSAs); detailed case studies of NSA activity; qualitative research with employers involved with NSAs; and surveys of employers in NSA sectors and learners registered on NSA-endorsed courses. The report covers the first 10 NSAs to become operational: four approved in Round 1 (Construction, Financial Services, Food and Drink Manufacturing), four in Round 2 (Creative and Cultural Skills, Hospitality, Nuclear, Process Industries), and two from Round 3 (Retail and Sport and Active Leisure). The longest that any of the NSAs had been in operation by the end of the evaluation period was just over three years.

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