The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
Careers Advice Line 0800 056 7160
Property firms, professional bodies and universities offering courses in surveying and planning have come together to investigate how vocational learning can best meet the needs of today's workplace.
Employers such as Jones Lang LaSalle and DTZ are part of a new forum of businesses and higher education institutions seeking to address issues such as:
The group was set up by Asset Skills, in an effort to avoid future staff and skills shortages in these professions. It aimed to open up previously unavailable channels of communication.
There is concern that the downturn and lack of job opportunities for graduates will present a serious skills shortfall in surveying and town planning when the recession is over.
Asset Skills believes one way of ensuring graduates are prepared for the job as soon as they arrive in the workplace is for more work placements to be made available for trainees.
For more information, please contact Liz Black by emailing lblack@assetskills.org or calling 07921 976 815.
Asset Skills has been working with employers, professional bodies and training providers to develop National Occupational Standards and qualifications.
The following projects are now entering a crucial development stage where wider consultation with the industry is required. This stage will provide vital information on both sets of draft standards and proposed qualification structures.
We value your feedback on the draft NOS and qualification structures – you can take part through an online consultation on the Asset Skills website, where both projects are available along with background information and questionnaires to gather feedback.
National Occupational Standards - Property and Caretaking
The NOS and qualifications for property and caretaking are designed for operatives and managers
This represents a significant development for the sector and the first suite of standards to be produced, from scratch, for operatives at level 2. The work will also bring the existing standards for managers at level 3, last reviewed in 2006/7, fully up to date.
There are also two consultation workshops: London on 17 November and Birmingham on 18 November, when the consultation ends. For more, contact Clare Vokes at c.vokes@pyetait.com
National Occupational Standards - Local Environmental Services
The NOS and qualifications for Local Environmental Services are designed for those working in roles which require some horticulture activities as well as street cleansing. They are designed for operatives at level 2. Details of the proposed content are available along with the online questionnaire.
National Occupational Standards - Residential Property Letting and Management Agency
The NOS and qualifications for Residential Property Letting and Management Agency are designed for front office staff at level 2 and Lettings Negotiators at level 3. Details of the proposed content are available along with the online questionnaire. Consultation workshops will be held on the following dates:
If you would like to attend a workshop or for more information please contact Vikki Williams by emailing vwilliams@assetskills.org or calling 01392 456806.
Asset Skills is trying to identify learning partnerships in housing across the UK, no matter how big, small, formal or informal.
These partnerships could be set up to buy in-house training, to provide a range of learning opportunities across a wide area or simply to provide informal networking and information sharing. As long as there is an element of training, learning and skills development we are interested.
We are also keen to hear from learning providers with funding for housing apprenticeships or National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). We have employers interested in both these qualifications – please let us know if you have places and funding so we can pass your details on.
Please contact Catharine Hinton by emailing chinton@assetskills.org.uk or calling 07554 452 286.
New Charter has become the first housing association in England to sponsor a school academy.
It is the first academy to be built as part of the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme without using the private finance initiative and is based in the North West.
Academies are all-ability, state-funded schools established and managed by sponsors from a wide range of backgrounds.
New Charter is one of the largest Registered Social Landlords (RSL) with a workforce of more than 800. It is also the first RSL to sponsor an academy.
For further details visit: www.newcharteracademy.org.uk/ or contact Christine Amyes, Group Director of Organisational Development by emailing christine.amyes@newcharter.co.uk
A new course aimed at enhancing the skills of middle managers working in local authorities, housing associations, government agencies and the voluntary sector is now available at de Montford University.
For more information, contact Karen Wallace-Jones by emailing kwallace-jones@dmu.ac.uk or phoning 0116 250 7376.
European funding for schemes to help employers in Northern Ireland train and develop their workforce has been launched by Euro MP Jim Nicholson.
Asset Skills will now explore the best way forward in harnessing the INTERREG funding to help address skills shortages in our sector.
One option is to develop new programmes of learning to focus on specific areas currently not being catered for with local provision, for example apprenticeships in housing, cleaning or programmes in facilities management.
For more information, please contact Adrian Watson, Asset Skills Northern Ireland Manager, by emailing awatson@assetskills.org or calling 07843 211 488.
(Photo shows, L-R: MEP Jim Nicholson, Sir Reg Empey, Department of Employment and Learning and Asset Skills Northern Ireland Manager Adrian Watson meeting local employers at Stormont)
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has been presented with one of Britain's top business awards in Britain.
The UK Excellence Award, presented by the British Quality Foundation, recognises that all aspects of an organisation's business are effective, including its service to customers.
"The Executive's efforts to invest in staff development and training have paid big dividends as this award for the quality of our service shows," says the Executive's Director of Personnel and Management Maureen Taggart, who also chairs the Asset Skills Northern Ireland board.
"Our loyal and motivated workforce has been key to helping achieve this accolade and every one of our employees is proud to have played a part."
(Photo shows the Executive's Chair and Chief Executive receiving the award from the Princess Royal)
The Alliance of Sector Skills Councils in Scotland has published its second report on how the recession is affecting Scottish employers in the Asset Skills footprint.
The property industry has been hard hit, particularly estate agents. In local authority planning and housing, an increasing number of roles are being filled by people from the private sector who have been made redundant or are moving to what they perceive to be a more secure working environment.
Much of the sector operates on a contract basis, for example, in facilities management. These sectors seem to be bucking the downward trend, or at least achieving standstill, as their clients seek to realise cost savings through outsourcing more internal functions. This is especially true in the 'soft' facilities management functions such as security, cleaning and mailroom functions.
Much of the sector is experiencing, at best, a recruitment freeze rather than programmes of redundancy. Some employers, for example in property, are considering whether a sustainable level of downsized operation is likely to be the norm for future operations rather than returning to the boom.
In most cases, employers have tried, where possible, to protect training and development budgets due to the increased costs associated with having to begin from 'scratch' training staff post recession and an acceptance that the way to survive the recession and emerge healthy is by investing in staff development.
Some employers feel that funding for Modern Apprenticeships should be increased, which would allow more school leavers to be funnelled into careers within the Asset Skills sectors.
Our sector has a massive role to play in delivering increased energy efficiency. This will be a huge area of growing importance in terms of education, development and recruitment in Scotland.
Two lunch events are taking place in Scotland to help women studying construction and the built environment.
They are being organised by Interconnect, a network that aims to help women students meet built environment professionals, trade bodies and universities.
The events are on 18 November in Glasgow and 25 November in Edinburgh. For more information please email src@napier.ac.uk or call 0131 455 5137.
Asset Skills hosted a forum in North Wales for employers and training providers to hear about how our work can be of benefit.
People from North Wales down to Aberystwyth attended the meeting, which it is hoped can be continued online in the future.
Such a move would ensure this significant gathering could be extended across the whole of Wales - we will keep you informed on progress in this newsletter.
Elsewhere, a workshop took place as part of the Asset Skills Cymru Housing Association Basic Skills project.
This initiative promotes basic skills learning in housing associations and encourages employers to sign up to the Employer Pledge which enables them to apply for funding to develop basic skills among staff. The workshop was attended by ten housing associations and several showed interest in signing the Pledge. It was the first of three workshops – the second will be held in North Wales later this year and a third in South West Wales in early 2010.
Any organisation involved in housing is welcome. For more information, contact Jan Holdaway, Head of Asset Skills Cymru by emailing jholdaway@assetskills.org or phoning on 07734 981 376.
Cynhaliodd Asset Skills fforwm yng Ngogledd Cymru ar gyfer cyflogwyr a darparwyr hyfforddiant er mwyn clywed am y modd y gall ein gwaith fod o gymorth.
Mynychwyd y cyfarfod gan bobl o Ogledd Cymru hyd at Aberystwyth, a gobeithir y bydd modd parhau gyda'r drafodaeth yn y dyfodol ar-lein.
Byddai'r fath ddatblygiad yn sicrhau y gallai'r casgliad sylweddol hwn o gysylltiadau gael ei ledu ar draws Cymru gyfan – byddwn yn rhoi gwybodaeth bellach am gynnydd yn y cylchlythyr hwn.
Mewn man arall, cynhaliwyd gweithdy fel rhan o brosiect Sgiliau Sylfaenol Cymdeithasau Tai Asset Skills Cymru.
Mae'r fenter hon yn hyrwyddo dysgu sgiliau sylfaenol mewn cymdeithasau tai ac yn annog cyflogwyr i arwyddo Adduned Cyflogwyr sy'n eu galluogi i wneud cais am gyllid i ddatblygu sgiliau sylfaenol ymhlith eu staff. Mynychwyd y gweithdy gan ddeg cymdeithas tai a mynegodd llawer ddiddordeb mewn arwyddo'r Adduned. Dyma'r cyntaf o dri gweithdy – bydd yr ail yn cael ei gynnal yng Ngogledd Cymru yn ddiweddarach eleni, a'r trydydd yn Ne Orllewin Cymru yn gynnar yn 2010.
Mae croeso i bob sefydliad sy'n ymwneud â thai i fynychu. Am ragor o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â Jan Holdaway, Pennaeth Asset Skills Cymru trwy e-bostio jholdaway@assetskills.org neu drwy ffonio ar 07734 981 376.
Asset Skills is running a literacy & numeracy workshop as part of a Skills for Life conference in Leeds in November.
As the Sector Skills Council with responsibility to promote literacy and numeracy across all sectors, we will be using the opportunity to help training providers work more effectively with employers to deliver learning programmes in the workplace.
The event, organised by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), is being held in Leeds on 18 November.
For more information, contact Sharon Simpson at Asset Skills by emailing ssimpson@assetskills.org or calling 0845 678 2888 or to register for the event please visit https://register.livegroup.co.uk/Events/
The government has produced a new information leaflet for employers about changes to the vocational qualifications system.
It's part of efforts to keep business up to date with key developments on the reform of vocational training. Copies are available to download at www.dius.gov.uk/skills/vq_reform/vq_reform_explained/~/media/publications/V/VQ-Employers
A survey is underway on equalities in the new Diploma. It is being conducted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Authority (QCDA).
It aims to get feedback about how the Diploma can better promote equality and diversity and covers a range of factors that may affect learner participation including learning difficulties, ethnic/racial background, disengagement and disability.
To take part visit www.diploma-support.org/qcdadirect
Achievements in facilities management were recognised at the ninth FM Awards ceremony organised by British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM).
More than 1,200 of the industry's key decision makers and influencers gathered to celebrate the event.
Meanwhile, the first candidate has been awarded with a brand new FM qualification being offered by BIFM in conjunction with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).
This year, BIFM Training became the first approved provider of the new ILM Level 3 Award in Facilities Management – a QCA recognised qualification.
Paul Cartwright (pictured), Contract Manager at Powerminster Gleeson Services, attended the three day FM foundation course "Understanding FM" and successfully completed his online study and work based assignments to achieve the qualification in just four months.
He says his organisation will definitely look to enrol more candidates on this FM award.
For more information, please contact BIFM Training on 020 7404 4440 or visit http://www.bifm-training.com/understanding_FMFS.htm
The UK's first dedicated Parking Summit has been attended by more than 30 organisations representing Government, motorists and the parking profession.
The event heard Transport Minister Sadiq Khan call on the parking industry to join the Government in tackling the unacceptable behaviour of rogue parking companies.
The debate also covered issues on both regulated and unregulated parking (on private property) including the need for an independent appeals body and for clear legislation in the private parking sector; compliance, uniformity, accountability and reporting, and education across both sectors.
Two new courses are available through the online learning centre of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA).
The Letting for Landlords course aims to explain to landlords their obligations in relation to their tenants and any agents they use, and vice-versa.
And the Property Inventory course outlines all you need to know about inventories including discussions on inspections and how to quantify loss.
For more information, please visit www.rla.org.uk
A "place-making" recognition scheme has been launched to mark good practice among organisations that work towards creating high quality living environments.
The project, by the Homes and Communities Agency Academy, aims to set up a list of recognised products including training courses, guides, events or workshops.
The recognition scheme logo will demonstrate best practice and good quality. For more, contact Kelly Brewell on 0113 394 9387 or email recognition@hcaacademy.co.uk
