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This publication presents a number of case studies where technology has been used as a means of improving learner outcomes. It shares what was done, why and, most importantly, the improvements that were secured as a result. The illustrative case studies share how technology can be used to good effect to bring about improvement to, for example, value-added, and tracking and target setting. The case studies signal the way forward to other providers across the sector seeking similar developments, and provide food for thought as well as some practical solutions. The projects described focus on raising retention and achievement and learner outcomes more widely, where technology per se was not the main aim but more the vehicle for securing that improvement. As such, the spotlight is on the direction and journey undertaken by the providers as they focused on improving their learners’ outcomes using technology as the means of securing that improvement.

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This report summarises the findings of the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2003 for the SkillsActive Sector Skills Council, which covers sport, recreation, children's play, health and fitness, outdoor education, caravan parks, recreation and adventure. 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 are predominantly for elementary staff and personal service staff; skill gaps are most likely to affect elementary and sales and customer service staff; the main causes of hard-to-fill vacancies are poor terms and conditions offered for the job and the lack of people interested in doing the type of work in the sector; 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 difficulties; the most common skills lacking in applicants are team working skills, communication skills, technical and practical skills and customer handling skills; the major area of skill gaps are in the same 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 and managers and senior officials lack management 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

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

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 Summitskills Sector Skills Council. This sector covers the building services engineering trade which, for the purposes of this report, have been grouped into the sub-sectors of manufacturing and construction and retail. NESS data shows that over 46,000 of these establishments exist across England, and in total 1,753 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 and customer handling skills are identified as being most important in administrative occupations, while in the case of skilled metal or electrical trades staff, employers highlighted the importance of problem solving and technical and practical skills. The report also considers the extent of recruitment difficulties and skill gaps, and finds that: nine per cent of establishments in the asset skills sector face hard-to-fill vacancies; 21 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 skilled trades occupations, with skill gaps especially concentrated upon machine operation 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, a low number of applicants with the required skills, and a lack of the qualifications demanded by the company; and the most common skills lacking in applicants are technical and practical skills, problem solving skills and teamworking skills. Barriers to developing and maintaining a proficient team of staff in the Summitskills 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

An action research project or development project is a short-term, focused piece of development work linked to quality improvement. Projects can be used to design and refine new, often experimental, approaches within an organisation, test out new ways of working, address identified weaknesses, enhance performance and introduce more systematic practice. Such projects also provide the opportunity to develop understanding, among staff, learners and all involved, how quality processes can lead to real improvement. This publication draws on the experience of those involved in managing and working on development projects in the Adult and Community Learning Quality Support Programme (ACLQSP) and on the views of consultants who have supported them. Using case studies of projects undertaken during the three years of the programme, this guide illustrates the benefits which can derive from such small-scale interventions; in particular it shows how an action research approach adds value to quality improvement projects.

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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

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

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

This report summarises the findings of the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2003 for the ConstructionSkills Sector Skills Council, which covers a wide range of sectors in the development and maintenance of the built environment. 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: vacancies and skill gaps in the ConstructionSkills SSC area are predominantly for skilled trades occupations and, to a lesser extent, professional occupations; the main causes of hard-to-fill vacancies are low numbers of applicants with the required skills, attitude, a lack of people interested in doing this sort of work and a low number of applicants generally; the most common skills lacking in applicants are technical and practical skills, communication skills, and problem solving skills; the major area of skill gaps are in technical and practical skills, communication skills and problem solving skills; and skills that are in shortage reflect the nature of the job, e.g. skilled trades staff are more likely to have deficiencies in technical and practical skills whilst managers and senior officials lack management 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