Fareham College were recently awarded an Association of College’s Beacon Award for their work with the Southern Health at The Leg Care Community Clinic.

The Leg Care Clinic provides a professional learning environment for those studying Health and Social Care and Access to Nursing. This hands-on experience is essential as many universities will not accept students who wish to study a nursing profession or similar degree without this type of experience.
The centre treats 505 patients per month and as a result Fareham College and Southern Health are currently working to expand the centre further by developing more opportunities for students and services for patients.

The project will test a number of models for electing student Sports Council members within colleges in order to stimulate greater participation by students. A regional student council will be formed from the chairs of the individual colleges.

The first training session took place at Chicheste

r College on the 7^th February with 55 students taking part. The morning session was a sports maker workshop followed by 5 activities in the afternoon including team building and a rock climbing activity.

An integral part of the project is for the students to get involved in major event planning and will be working towards putting on a festival at Guildford Sports Park in April 2012 in conjunction with Sport England.

The Skills Show will be between 15th and 17th November, 2012 and will be held at the NEC Birmingham.

The Skills Show brings together skills competitions, top employers, specialist careers, training and Apprenticeship advice, Have a Go activities and some of the biggest names in skills and education all under one roof.

To find out how to get involved visit

www.theskillsshow.com

He confirmed that the review will be chaired by Lord Lingfield, working with an expert panel led by David Sherlock CBE, former head of the Adult Learning Inspectorate.

Mr Hayes said: “As we reform the further education sector to ensure it is fit for the 21^st century, it is right that we also work to raise the status of FE professionals. We want to give the best support to those who teach in the sector.

“I am delighted to announce that the respected educationalist, Lord Lingfield, has accepted my invitation to lead this important work.”

The review, which is due to report in the spring, will undertake a number of tasks:

• Review progress made in professionalising the FE and skills workforce in recent years

• Investigate what lessons can be learnt from the way professional status is facilitated and regulated in other sectors

• Examine the appropriateness and effectiveness of the current regulations

• Examine the role, functions, benefits for members and governance of the Institute for Learning as the sector’s professional membership body

• Consider what is the fairest, most efficient and appropriate way of meeting the costs of facilitating a professionalised FE and Skills workforce

• Make recommendations for any changes and improvements required to continue progress in raising the professional standards and status of the FE and Skills workforce.

As unemployment climbs to 2.6 million, including more than one million young people, colleges are working harder than ever to give people the skills they need to get a job, according to a report published by the Association of Colleges.

‘Back to Work: Colleges Supporting Sustainable Jobs’ was launched at the House of Commons on Tuesday 24^th January and outlines the innovative programmes colleges are developing, often alongside Jobcentre Plus (JCP), and details some of the barriers jobseekers face in getting the training they need.

AoC surveyed 88 member colleges to assess how they are helping unemployed people gain the skills essential to finding work. Colleges have been providing training which results in sustainable employment for decades and can respond swiftly to changes in the employment market. The survey found:

95% of colleges offer provision for the unemployed

64% of colleges have changed their provision to better meet the needs of jobseekers; this has been aided by the Government’s relaxation of a number of rules and regulations

The average college provides training for 1,003 unemployed people a year – 12% of the survey respondents were helping more than 2,000 people annually

This equates to 220,000 unemployed people gaining work-related education and skills at colleges across England

The launch event was hosted by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Lloyd, who co-chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning and sits on the Work and Pensions Select Committee. He said: “This report offers valuable insight into the sterling work that colleges, including Sussex Downs College in my constituency, are doing to help people find jobs.

“It is important in these particularly challenging times, that many colleges report a strong relationship with Jobcentre Plus and are running courses that adapt and respond well to local employers. However, the report also identifies areas where the system can be streamlined and improved to remove barriers to training in order to ensure people are given good access to the skills they need to find employment.”

AoC Chief Executive Martin Doel said: “Colleges are integral to the local communities they serve and are well-placed to provide responsive programmes to help people into employment. Our members are showing real flexibility and initiative in this area and their links with employers and JCP mean that those candidates they put forward for jobs are ready for work. Not only are they providing people with the skills they need, but they are helping increase their confidence with personal advice and tailored support.”

The report includes case studies of the work colleges do and stories from the unemployed people they have helped to find jobs. It also gives examples of – and offers some solutions to – the barriers both colleges and individuals face in getting people into employment.

These include:

• Perhaps unsurprisingly, the key barrier is the lack of job opportunities

• Tracking student progression due to data protection rules; JCP can access progression data but, to date, colleges are unable to do so.

• Skills Funding Agency restrictions on funding can hinder provision – for example, there is very little funding available to support unemployed people below level 1.

• Limited knowledge among some JCP staff about college provision.

• JCP rules which can restrict the offer and its fit to the claimant – for example, job centres report vacancies for heavy goods vehicle drivers but the college can’t get funding to provide the HGV training needed to get a licence.

Martin Doel said: “Colleges have welcomed the greater freedoms provided by Government relating to how they can use their adult skills budgets and in the way that they can teach units, rather than whole qualifications, to meet specific skills gaps.

“But more work needs to be done; many of these barriers are not insurmountable and can be addressed if colleges and job centres work together to share information, develop personal solutions and work with employers in order to more efficiently tackle the scourge of unemployment. All of the colleges featured in this report have a good relationship with JCP, but can see ways in which it can be improved and offer possible solutions.

 www.aoc.co.uk

]]> http://www.aosec.org.uk/2012/01/back-to-workcolleges-supporting-sustainable-jobs/feed/ 0 http://www.aosec.org.uk/2012/01/training-managers-required-for-worldskills-leipzig-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=training-managers-required-for-worldskills-leipzig-2013 http://www.aosec.org.uk/2012/01/training-managers-required-for-worldskills-leipzig-2013/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:55:56 +0000 Gemma Baker (AOSEC) http://www.aosec.org.uk/?p=4348 Could you be a WorldSkills Training Manager to inspire, train and support young people for WorldSkills Leipzig 2013?

Following the outstanding success of Team UK at London 2011, WorldSkills are looking for volunteer Training Managers in a variety of vocational areas to prepare and train the UK competitors to compete against their peers from over 53 countries.

If you think you have what it takes, then please contact gemmabaker@aosec.org.uk for further information on how to apply.

Please note the deadline for applications is Friday 27th January, 2012.

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary for State for Department for Culture, Olympics Media and Sport, outlined plans for a £1 billion five-year youth and community sport strategy. There will be 4,000 new sports clubs and an £10 million investment by Sainsbury’s to inspire a new generation of sporting young people.

£100 million will be used to create the sports clubs with the aim of tackling the decline in sports participation of young people post 16. FE colleges and Universities will see £50 million of this money used to boost sport provision and also provide a full time sports professional within at least 150 Further Education Colleges to drive forward innovative sports provision.

For more information, please visit http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/8760.aspx

Baroness Sharp plans to discuss her final report ‘A Dynamic Nucleus-Colleges at the heart of local communities’ and the implications for colleges in the future.

The AOSEC event named ‘New Freedoms and Flexibilities balanced with Accountability and Responsibility – Implications for Governance’ is only open to Principals, Clerks, Chairs and Governors and is in the morning only.

In the afternoon there is a YPLA Briefing and Funding Update with Mike Pettifer from the YPLA speaking on funding changes from April 2012. This event is only open to Principals and Finance Directors.

If you are not yet signed up for either event, then please contact Lisa Mullock, Network and Events Manager, on lisamullock@aosec.org.uk