The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
Careers Advice Line 0800 056 7160
Asset Skills Guide to Vocational Qualifications
Asset Skills has produced a new Guide to Vocational Qualifications in facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking.
The document will help employers navigate their way through the maze of skills training programmes and industry qualifications. There are explanations of what is available in each sector and how vocational qualifications sit in relation to academic qualifications.
The guide will be updated on the website here as and when changes occur. To access a hard copy version contact Tina Pickles by email at tpickles@assetskills.org or call 01604 233 336.
Asset Skills is adding another sector to its expanding academy network. The UK Academy for Housing has been launched and employers are being encouraged to get involved.
The new venture will run along the same lines as the Asset Skills UK Academies for Business Services and Property.
The Academy offers practical assistance to employers in the delivery of skills improvement and vocational qualifications, and help to achieve good quality training through a selected network of learning providers. Where possible, the academies also seek to encourage employer collaboration, resulting in lower training costs through economies of scale.
As part of the new UK Academy for Housing, online forums will be launched to provide a moderated space for employers, students, assessors and tutors to learn, discuss and debate issues. The housing forums will be available on the academy website here www.assetskills.org/HousingGroup/ from the 28 February.
For more information about the forums, please contact us by email at ukacademy@assetskills.org stating 'Housing forums' in the subject line, or call 0844 822 2525 (local rate call).
Work-based assessors in housing required
Demand is growing across England and Wales for qualifications assessors to work with people taking housing qualifications.
Increasing numbers of learning providers are delivering a range of new work-based learning or apprenticeships and are looking for housing professionals to support the coaching and assessment side of the qualifications.
If you are interested in developing your coaching and assessment skills, why not join our register of people interested in becoming housing assessors?
In order to be an effective assessor you need to have worked in housing and be interested in developing and motivating other people.
For more, contact Tom Orton at torton@assetskills.org or call 0844 822 2525.
New industry qualifications in Scotland
Asset Skills Scotland has announced two new vocational qualifications that will benefit employers in facilities management (FM), property management and housing.
The first, a Level 2 Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Facilities Services, is designed for new staff. The second is a Level 3 SVQ in Facilities Management which will support someone who is taking, or preparing to take, their first steps into a supervisory position.
The qualifications are applicable to all types of facilities management work but would be especially useful to a staff member working in "soft" FM where there have been few qualifications available previously.
The Level 2 SVQ in Facilities Services is the first qualification of its type anywhere in the world.
Being SVQs, both qualifications are obtained via the demonstration of competence in the workplace, for example, through the development of a portfolio and other work-based assessment practices rather than through attendance at classes or the sitting of exams.
The qualifications have been accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and Asset Skills is working to deliver them through four colleges: Anniesland College in Glasgow; Forth Valley College in Falkirk; Edinburgh Telford College and Dundee College.
For more information contact Tim Pogson, Head of Asset Skills Scotland, by email at tpogson@assetskills.org or call 0131 667 2448.
Asset Skills is proposing new apprenticeship frameworks in property, caretaking and facilities services (level 2); cleaning supervision (level 3) and higher facilities management (level 4).
When developing frameworks Asset Skills needs to ensure the following conditions are met:
We are encouraging employers to complete online surveys to help us in developing these programmes. You can access the surveys at www.assetskills.org/consultations
Deadline for completion is 18 March. For more information please contact Gill Spatcher at gspatcher@assetskills.org or call 01604 824124.
Property Apprenticeship Framework questionnaire, employers views sought
Asset Skills has received a number of comments from employers and training providers regarding the knowledge element of the property apprenticeships that currently are the NFoPP Technical Awards in either Residential Property Sales or Lettings. As a result we are looking into possible changes to the apprenticeship framework.
Pressures on the funding received by training providers and FE colleges and increasing fees for the Technical Award, are resulting in many training providers considering charging the employer a fee for this part of the apprenticeship. We have received suggestions that perhaps we should alter this part of the framework to an alternative award or a bank of questions that the assessor working with the candidate could complete in the workplace.
We are seeking to gain employers views on this, as we have to have an employer mandate to make any alterations. This will shape how the Property Apprenticeship framework develops.
To express your views please complete our questionnaire, contact Liz Black at lblack@assetskills.org or call 07921 976 815.
Asset Skills considers tenders for energy advice learning in Wales
As part of the Sector Priorities Fund pilot programme, the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), with joint European funding, has commissioned Asset Skills to pilot energy advice qualifications tailored for both domestic and commercial property in Wales.
A tender process to appoint learning providers for the domestic energy advice part of the programme has now closed and Asset Skills will announce the names of the successful applicants shortly.
The domestic programme will be based around the ABBE Level 3 Energy Advice (Home) qualification with additional learning on existing WAG initiatives, such as the Arbed and Fuel Poverty schemes.
The pilot will begin in April with 75 places available on the subsidised course in domestic energy advice. Asset Skills is recruiting learners and if you are interested in attending please contact Philip Stott at pstott@assetskills.org
The commercial side of the pilot is still in development and will offer a higher level of learning (probably at level 4). The pilot will have fewer places and is due to start in autumn 2011.
For more information contact Philip Stott at pstott@assetskills.org or call 01392 456 825.
Asset Skills yn ystyried tendrau gan bobl all ddysgu am gyngor ynni yng Nghymru
Yn rhan o raglen beilot Cronfa Flaenoriaethau'r Sector, mae Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru (LlCC), gydag ariannu Ewropeaidd ar y cyd, wedi comisiynu Asset Skills i roi cynnig ar ddarparu cymwysterau cyngor am ynni sydd wedi'u teilwra ar gyfer eiddo domestig a masnachol yng Nghymru.
Mae proses dendro i benodi darparwyr dysgu ar gyfer y rhan o'r rhaglen sy'n delio â chyngor am ynni domestig wedi cau erbyn hyn a bydd Asset Skills yn datgan enwau'r ymgeiswyr llwyddiannus cyn hir.
Bydd y rhaglen ddomestig wedi'i seilio ar gymhwyster Cyngor am Ynni (Cartref) Lefel 3 ABBE gyda dysgu ychwanegol ar fentrau LlCC cyfredol, megis y cynlluniau Arbed a Thlodi Tanwydd.
Bydd y rhaglen beilot yn cychwyn ym mis Ebrill 2011 a bydd 75 lle ar y cwrs cymorthdaledig i astudio cyngor am ynni domestig. Ar hyn o bryd mae Asset Skills yn recriwtio dysgwyr ac os oes gennych chi ddiddordeb, cysylltwch â Philip Stott ar pstott@assetskills.org
Mae ochr fasnachol y rhaglen beilot yn dal i gael ei datblygu a bydd yn cynnig lefel uwch o ddysgu (lefel 4 mae'n debyg). Bydd gan y rhaglen beilot lai o leoedd a bydd yn cychwyn yn hydref 2011.
I gael rhagor o wybodaeth cysylltwch â Philip Stott ar pstott@assetskills.org neu ffoniwch 01392 456 825.
Continuous Professional Development Training in Renewable Technologies
Asset Skills is coordinating two subsidised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) learning seminars in partnership with Universities South West.
The programme will include:
The training will cost £25 per delegate and will include refreshments. CPD attendance certificates will be available for all delegates.
Please register at http://cpdgenesis.eventbrite.com, email Philip Stott pstott@assetskills.org or call 01392 456 825.
Asset Skills - advising the adviser
A number of careers advisers who wanted to increase their knowledge of jobs in the built environment have attended an Advising the Adviser event organised by Asset Skills in Nottingham.
The delegates came from a range of environments such as colleges, universities, Connexions, Jobcentre staff and training providers.
The next event will be in the South East at Eastleigh College in Hampshire on Wednesday 9 March. The event is free and anyone wishing to attend should contact Cathy Lindsay-Carl for more information at clindsay-carl@assetskills.org or call 01392 456 824.
Careers in the built environment
A sub-group of the Asset Skills Careers Forum met in London to look at working collaboratively to promote careers in the built environment, perhaps under an umbrella brand.
Asset Skills is continuing to consult on whether a new name or brand for the group would be helpful. We are also looking at possible funding sources for creating a portal for careers and employment issues that will suit employers' and other partners' needs.
SmaartSkills
Asset Skills attended the first Smaart Careers Event at Wembley Stadium in order to raise awareness of the many varied and interesting careers across the footprint.
SmaartSkills attracted several thousand young people aged 15-24 years. It was an excellent opportunity to engage with them and promote the huge range of careers, training schemes, apprenticeships, educational options and skills opportunities available.
For more information on careers in facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking contact Cathy Lindsay-Carl by email at clindsay-carl@assetskills.org or call 01392 456 824.
New 360 workplace assessment product
The Asset Skills competency framework for housing has been used as the basis for a new product designed for use by employers working in housing, homelessness and related sectors.
The AQR Housing Sector, a psychometric testing and development company, and Just Housing, a best practice housing consultancy, have launched an online 360 assessment tool developed with employers.
Organisations can create their own 360 assessment - which is a way of assessing competency in companies. The person being assessed is assessed by around ten other people who they work with and this is compared with their own assessment of competence. It is called 360 assessment because peers, managers and subordinates as well as professional partners are usually asked to be 'assessors' so a full-rounded picture of the person is achieved.
At the end of each assessment the online system produces a report in a workbook format which enables an individual and their line manager to jointly develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP). The PDP can be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
AQR's aim is to make 360 available to housing associations, charities, local authorities , homeless and related sectors and this is reflected in a pricing structure which enables one person to undertake the assessment or many thousands, according to the size of the organisation or the area of work to be assessed.
For more information contact AQR Ltd by emailing Monika at monika@aqr.co.uk or call 01244 572 059 or Joanne from Just Housing at Joanne.lewsley@justhousing.net or call 07540 671 443.
Friends and colleagues joined together last week for the funeral of David Froggett, known to many in the cleaning industry.
David was 58. He started working with Wakefield MDC on 1 April 1974 as a Personnel Clerk. When DSO Cleaning was set up in 1989 Dave assisted David Hall (DSO Cleaning, Service Manager) as a personnel advisor and in 1994 transferred from the Personnel Dept. to the cleaning section as Assistant Manager eventually taking on the role as Service Manager after David Hall's retirement in 1996.
During this time, David became a founding member of the Association of Building Cleaning Direct Service Providers - ABCD, and for ten years was its chairman.
For the past five years, David held the External Relations portfolio for the ABCD and was its representative on the boards of Asset Skills, the British Cleaning Council and the Cleaning Industry Liaison Forum.
David Froggett retired from Wakefield Council on 31 January and was looking forward to fulfilling his ambition to visit all of the UK's horse racing tracks. He died of a stroke on 19 February.
David was a strategic thinker, able to cut through the fog of rhetoric and get to point, even when it wasn't always comfortable. Never confrontational, but determined in his views, David was an asset to the ABCD and raised its profile significantly.
He supported Asset Skills over a number of years and will be sadly missed.
Turkish government officials visit Asset Skills
A delegation of Turkish Government officials visited Asset Skills to present and discuss recognition and certification of informal learning in the UK.
The group met Director of Qualifications and Policy David Bell and Director of Research and Development Chris James. David Bell gave an overview of the work of Asset Skills and outlined accreditation of prior and informal learning, while Chris James discussed the work of Asset Skills in promoting employability learning.
Turkey has large numbers of people in skilled trades who have no formal qualifications. The visit was part of the Turkish Government's efforts to get these skills recognised.
Time to Train: regulations delay
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has announced that the Time to Train initiative will not be extended this April to employees of small and medium-sized businesses.
The right for employees to request time for training to improve their skills has been available to employees of large organisations with 250 or more employees since April 2010.
Following a consultation covering a wide range of businesses and employee groups, Ministers are taking further time to examine the potential impact of the regulation on smaller firms.
Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister, John Hayes said:
"It is vital to the economy and individuals that everyone has access to the training they need. That is why we are investing in apprenticeships, protecting adult and community learning, and freeing colleges to respond to local needs.
"But it is vital that the right balance is struck between support for training and the need to minimise the burden of regulation for smaller companies.
"We have delayed implementation to allow further, thorough discussion, scrutiny and evaluation."
Time to Train operates on a similar basis to the right to request flexible working. Employees are entitled to request time to undertake work relevant training, which employers must formally consider. Employers are entitled to refuse the request if one of a number acceptable business reasons applies.
BIS' online newsroom contains the latest press notices, speeches, as well as video and images for download. See www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Qualification success for employees in the North of England
Ten staff at Stockton Borough Council have completed the new Level 2 Skills for Supporting Public Services qualification. The programme helps raise skills among frontline staff in the public sector.
The employees, from the community transport department, work with the public and vulnerable people. It took them three months to complete the training, which was delivered by DCS Training in North East England.
Community Transport Manager Elizabeth Bird reports that staff who did the training are now much more positive and focused in their work.
Another 20 people from the department are also expected to take the qualification.
For more information, contact Senior Regional Manager Lisa Lister on llister@assetskills.org or call 07827 947 524.
On 3 March it is World Book Day and Quick Reads are stepping up their awareness campaign.
The initiative involves short books that are easy and accessible to people who may not be used to reading.
Over a third of the adult population admit to not having the time or inclination to read for pleasure. Many struggle to finish a book or do not have the confidence or skills to think about reading one.
Quick Reads have re-introduced millions of adults to reading since being launched five years ago.
Recent research by NIACE with tutors and employers representing 50,000 new readers shows that 98% of people who improved their skills by reading Quick Reads had seen a positive impact on their lives, increasing their confidence and motivation at home and at work.
Organisations whose employees have improved literacy skills say this has had a positive impact on their bottom line, on employee absenteeism and efficiency.
Quick Reads have kick-started millions of people into reading regularly. If your challenge is engaging adults with books, Quick Reads are the answer.
International profile of the cleaning industry
To gain a clearer picture of how the UK cleaning industry is performing, Asset Skills has been examining the profile of the cleaning sectors of Australia, Singapore, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, Finland and France.
An intelligence paper has been produced looking at a number of key issues, such as the causes of staff turnover; the role of migrant workers; the extent of learning and development provision, and the skills demands these issues have created. The paper can be accessed here.
For more, contact the research department on 0845 678 2888 (local rate call).
An enterprise centre to train offenders for work is launched
MITIE and A4e, two of the UK's leading public services providers, have joined forces to launch the first MITIE Enterprise Centre at Hollesley Bay Prison, Suffolk.
The MITIE Enterprise Centre will offer offenders employability skills training that includes timekeeping, communication and motivation, as well as skills related to building such as plumbing.
On completion of the course, all participants will receive an electronic record of their performance standards and achievements - a MITIE Passport - to ease the transition into work.
The programme, in partnership with HMP & YOI Hollesley Bay and the Skills Funding Agency has strict selection criteria, with each candidate interviewed by both A4e and HMP & YOI Hollesley Bay before being taken on. This ensures that both the provider and learners fully understand the commitment, resources and input required to complete the learning.
For more visit www.mitie.com
