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The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and what was previously the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have been working with the FE system (and particularly with FE colleges) to implement the reforms set out in Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances, and to respond to the challenges set out by Lord Leitch in his recent report Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: World Class Skills (published by HM Treasury in December 2006). One of the key issues is the need to improve awareness and understanding of the role of the FE system among stakeholders. To achieve this, the LSC commissioned Ipsos MORI to conduct research among key stakeholders on their understanding and perceptions of the role of the FE system. This research provides a baseline measure of perceptions and attitudes against which future progress can be measured.

Excerpt from published introduction reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

'Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances' is indexed at TD/IRD 88.158 and 'Prosperity for All in the Global Economy: World Class Skills' is indexed at TD/IRD 88.157. Show less

In September 2001, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) established the Distributed and Electronic Learning Group (DELG) to advise on strategies through which distributed and electronic learning (DEL) could be employed to contribute to its mission to equip young people and adults in the UK with world class knowledge and skills by the year 2010. Electronic learning (e-learning) is defined as learning with the assistance of information and communications technology (ICT) tools. DELG’s major task was to provide advice to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) on the delivery of a coordinated strategy for securing delivery of new forms of learning, specifically the innovative use of information technology, locally, regionally and nationally. The inquiry addressed the role of DEL in promoting social inclusion and widening participation in education and in workforce development. It also examined how DEL could be accommodated within funding, accountability and monitoring systems, the appropriate types of learning systems, delivery and content, and how to meet quality and evaluation needs. This report provides an analysis of the implications, challenges and opportunities generated by the increasing use of ICTs in British society and the associated growth of e-learning. The report also contains a number of recommendations as to how the LSC can best provide leadership and influence these developments. The recommendations are intended to facilitate effective LSC support and high quality provision for e-learners in the post-16 educational sector. Show less

The National Learner Satisfaction Survey (NLSS), undertaken by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), provides an overview of delivery and satisfaction with education and training among learners aged 16 or over in England. The NLSS 2004/05, carried out between February and June 2005, looked at a range of programs and interviewed learners about their perceptions of the delivery of education and training and their satisfaction levels in relation to the quality of teaching, management of learning, pre-entry advice and guidance, learner support, benefits and impacts of learning. The focus of this report is on learners with disabilities. Key messages include: 91 per cent of learners with disabilities were satisfied to some extent with their overall learning experience, the same level of satisfaction measured for learners without disabilities; older learners with disabilities tended to show higher levels of satisfaction with the learning experience than their younger counterparts; 33 per cent of learners with disabilities aged 19 or more said they were 'extremely' satisfied; type of disability had a significant impact on levels of satisfaction with the overall learning experience; and health reasons were the most common reason for leaving a course among learners with disabilities. The contents are: Introduction; Satisfaction with the quality of teaching; Information and guidance prior to entry; Support for learners; The impact of learning. Included as appendices are: Confidence limits and effective sample sizes; Ridge regression scores for individual components; The questionnaire: core and modular questions.

Reports from the 2004/05 NLSS are indexed at TD/TNC 86.393 and from TD/TNC 87.439 to TD/TNC 87.443. Show less

The Framework for Excellence (the Framework) is a comprehensive performance assessment framework for the Further Education (FE) system. The main aims of the Framework are to provide a single, unified framework for assessing and reporting achievement in all key areas of performance. The Framework is being developed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), in partnership with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), Ofsted and the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA). From June 2007 to April 2008, the LSC engaged with 100 learning providers to test and trial the Framework as a 'pilot programme' in readiness for the Framework's implementation (Version 1) in the summer of 2008. The aims of this evaluation are to report on whether: a) the pilot met its objectives; b) stakeholders have been engaged effectively; and c) the pilot process has been effective. An independent review of the Framework and its outputs will be undertaken during 2008. The pilot process appears to have been a fairly effective, if time-consuming process. As a result of the pilot, the LSC and its partners are much clearer about the potential issues which may be faced by the sector when the Framework is applied fully. Also, the LSC now has a better understanding of the support needed by stakeholders to ensure the Framework develops into a robust performance assessment tool.

Excerpt from published introduction reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

An overview of the Framework is indexed at TD/TNC 87.507. Show less

This report evaluates 283 projects funded through the Basic Skills and ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) in Local Communities Initiatives in the UK. The aims of the evaluation were to highlight and disseminate examples of good practice, particularly related to the delivery of basic skills and ESOL learning opportunities; to see whether and how projects have encouraged adults with literacy and numeracy and ESOL needs to engage with basic skills provision; and to analyse the opportunities for learners to contribute to the development and evaluation of the projects in which they took part. The results of the study showed that over 12,500 learners were recruited, of whom most were new learners, and that the majority of learners felt that they had made progress and increased their confidence in learning. Of the projects that were most successful, it was found that effective partnerships between providers and local community groups was a key factor in success. A range of recommendations is given on topics such as provision for asylum seekers, the continuing encouragement of learners, and the need for flexible funding arrangements. Show less

The Train to Gain service, run by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), provides impartial, independent advice on training to businesses through a network of Skills Brokers across England. The service was launched nationally in August 2006, and by the end of June 2007, 119,153 learners were registered for Train to Gain on the LSC's Individual Learner Record (ILR). Ipsos MORI and the Institute for Employment Studies were commissioned by the LSC to conduct the learner element of the evaluation of Train to Gain in accordance with an overall evaluation framework. This report covers the findings from the second wave of research that surveys learners involved in workplace training through Train to Gain. The sample is made up of two elements: (1) re-interviews with respondents to the first survey (Wave 1) and referred to in this report as the longitudinal group; and (2) a new sample of learners who had recently started their qualification, termed the new entrant group. Key messages include: learners' awareness of Train to Gain is rising; recent learners are spread more broadly across occupational groups and are less concentrated in personal service jobs than are the earlier starters, suggesting that Train to Gain is reaching a more diverse range of employers and, through them, learners; good practice is spreading as learners engage with the Train to Gain process; half of the learners in the longitudinal group who had completed their qualification reported that they had acquired new skills, and the vast majority of them (92 per cent) said they had used these skills in their current job; almost a fifth (17 per cent) of completers had started further training, and 57 per cent of the rest thought it likely that they would start within the next three years; a quarter of completers got a financial reward (e.g. bonus, promotion or pay rise) as a direct result of gaining their qualification; and over nine learners in 10 (92 per cent) are satisfied with their learning, and the same proportion is satisfied with the quality of teaching they had experienced.

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

The purpose of this paper is to provide members of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) with an historical perspective on how the LSC has implemented the government’s evolving priorities for publicly funded adult (that is, people 19 years and older) learning and skills in England and how it now proposes to take these priorities forward in advance of the creation of the proposed Skills Funding Agency in 2010. Show less

This report provides a way to better understand the impact of volunteering in the further education (FE) sector, its benefits and barriers for learners and providers. The report links learners, staff and provider case studies and maps volunteering within government policy affecting FE. Show less

The National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2003 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. The survey involved 72,100 interviews with a representative sample of employers in England. This report is the main report from the 2003 NESS survey and provides the key initial findings. It covers: workforce structure; recruitment challenges; skill gaps; the implications of skill deficiencies and the actions taken to overcome them; training; and the changing patterns of skill deficiencies. The survey found that there was little variation in the regional profile of employment, although London had a slightly higher proportion of people employed in professional roles and fewer as machine operatives, personal service staff and skilled trades. Other findings included: a third of the employers expected their workforce to grow in the next 12 months; 8 per cent of employers reported they had vacancies they were finding hard to fill, with half of these employers finding it difficult to get suitably skilled applicants to fill at least some of these vacancies; skill-shortage vacancies were harder to fill; 22 per cent of employers reported that at least some of their staff lacked proficiency, but in terms of future proficiency problems, between a quarter and three-tenths of employers didn't foresee any barriers to a fully proficient team of employees; the largest proportion of skill gaps was among sales and customer service and elementary occupations; 39 per cent of employers had a training plan with larger establishments being more likely to engage in business and training planning; and overall, the characteristics of the job role were more likely to determine whether an employee received training or not. The method of measuring skill gaps changed between the 2001 and 2003 surveys and this has made comparisons relatively difficult. However, evidence suggests that patterns of skill gaps have remained broadly the same, but there have been considerable increases in business and training planning.

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

This research is based on a series of 10 focus groups with over 100 learners who are either under-represented in the apprenticeship program as a whole or under-represented in certain sectors. The overall outstanding finding from the focus groups was that issues concerning under-representation in apprenticeships are multiple and complex. However, the evidence of under-representation within apprenticeships was acknowledged by apprentices and potential apprentices alike and [the research] came across individuals who have had to tackle subtle forms of discrimination in order to succeed within a specific sector. It was also apparent to participants that barriers to employment at a national level could continue to be barriers at an apprenticeship level.

Excerpt from publication. Show less