The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
Careers Advice Line 0800 056 7160
New guide to highlight benefits of daytime cleaning
Asset Skills has launched a good practice guide to daytime cleaning for employers thinking of moving away from cleaning only at night.
Daytime cleaning is an important development. Perceptions that cleaners are low skilled can be significantly reduced by making it a more visible profession.
As the Sector Skills Council for cleaning, it is our job to work with industry to support good practice, encourage training and promote a positive image of cleaning. The guide has been produced in partnership with employers and professional bodies.
It is split into three parts. You can find it at www.assetskills.org/Cleaning/Projects/CleaningGuides.asp
Guides detailing the content in each National Vocational Qualification in facilities management, cleaning, property and housing have been produced by Asset Skills.
They can be found on our website at www.assetskills.org under individual industry categories.
Consultations on occupational standards
Consultations on two sets of National Occupational Standards are underway in:
Online questionnaires are available on the Asset Skills website.
A number of workshops to review the full content of the standards will also be held in October and November at several locations across the UK.
These standards form the basis of vocational qualifications. Your input is vital if we are to generate qualifications that are relevant and achievable.
For more information please email Vikki Williams at vwilliams@assetskills.org or call 01392 423 399 or 0845 678 2 888.
Promoting the FM apprenticeship
Asset Skills will be promoting the new apprenticeship in facilities management at an event attended by senior FM directors and Heads of Estates.
The FM & Property event will be held at the Belfry near Sutton Coldfield on 20 and 21 October. Chief Executive of Asset Skills, Richard Beamish, will host a workshop to outline the new framework and the level 3 National Vocational Qualification that sits within it.
We will also highlight the work Asset Skills is undertaking to ensure there is adequate training provision in the market.
Housing Apprenticeship - employer briefings
A series of ten half-day, employer briefings on apprenticeships in housing will outline all that is involved in taking on and training an apprentice.
Apprenticeships are available at Level 2 and Advanced Apprenticeships at Level 3. The scheme is open to anyone aged between 16 and 24 years.
The events are organised by the Centre for Housing and Support and are taking place in:
For more information please email apprentice@chs.ac.uk or fax 01905 727 299.
Scottish forums to achieve greater understanding
Asset Skills Scotland will be holding its second Higher and Further Education Providers Forum in October.
The group was formed in response to significant policy changes in this area and will discuss recent moves by the Scottish Government to understand why its well qualified and skilled workforce is not more productive.
Asset Skills wants to ensure that providers and employers are fully aware of the changes and well-positioned to take advantage.
The forum is scheduled for October 13 and is open to training providers from across the Asset Skills footprint – please contact Tim Pogson (details below) for more.
We are also launching a new Highlands Employer Forum in an attempt to reach out to those in remote Scottish locations.
These organisations face a number of problems not encountered by employers elsewhere, not least in accessing learning provision for their staff.
The first meeting will take place in Inverness on November 12 and we are calling on employers and partners to get involved.
For more information, please email Tim Pogson at tpogson@assetskills.org or call 01887 829 171.
New training for Northern Ireland's property industry
Asset Skills is preparing to launch a new programme that will pay half the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP) Technical Award training fee for property staff.
It follows funding by the Northern Ireland Assembly that will help staff undertake the industry's qualification of choice offered by NFOPP.
Asset Skills is already running this programme in Wales where most candidates have chosen to train in lettings, a new demand area.
The course is being officially launched on 1 October and we will bring you more details in our next newsletter. To register, please email Gail Fleming at gfleming@assetskills.org or call 01887 829 171.
Asset Skills Cymru
Asset Skills Cymru is delighted to invite you to a meeting on Tuesday, 20 October, at The Oriel Country Hotel, Denbighshire (11 am).
We work with business, public and professional bodies, and learning providers to ensure the training employers need is available to meet their current and future skills requirements.
Asset Skills Cymru has a Welsh board of employers, professional body representatives and training providers, and this is an opportunity to meet members of Asset Skills, hear about our work in Wales and input into the skills agenda in Wales across the industries we cover.
Work that Asset Skills Cymru has been involved in includes:
If you work in the sectors we cover then your views and input are important to us.
To register please contact Tina Pickles, Events co-ordinator, by 9 October by emailing tpickles@assetskills.org or calling 01604 233 336.
For more information please contact Jan Holdaway, Head of Asset Skills Cymru, by emailing jholdaway@assetskills.org or calling 07734 981 376.
Asset Skills Cymru
Asset Skills yw'r Cyngor Sgiliau Sector ar gyfer y diwydiannau rheoli cyfleusterau, tai, eiddo, cynllunio, glanhau a pharcio.
Mae'n bleser gan Asset Skills eich gwahodd i gyfarfod ar ddydd Mawrth, Hydref 20,11 y bore, yn The Oriel Country Hotel, Sir Ddinbych.
Rydym yn gweithio gyda chyrff cyhoeddus a phroffesiynol ynghyd â darparwyr addysg er mwyn sicrhau bod yr hyfforddiant sydd ei angen ar gyflogwyr ar gael er mwyn cwrdd â'r gofynion sgiliau sydd ganddynt nawr ac yn y dyfodol.
Mae gan Asset Skills Cymru fwrdd Cymreig o gyflogwyr, cynrychiolwyr o blith cyrff proffesiynol a darparwyr hyfforddiant ac mae hwn yn gyfle i gwrdd ag aelodau o Asset Skills, i glywed am ein gwaith ac i gyfranogi.
Mae ein cyraeddiadau'n cynnwys:
Os ydych yn gweithio ym maes rheoli cyfleusterau, tai, eiddo, cynllunio, glanhau neu barcio, mae eich barn a'ch mewnbwn yn bwysig i ni.
Er mwyn cofrestru ar gyfer y digwyddiad, cysylltwch â Tina Pickles erbyn Hydref 9 trwy e-bostio tpickles@assetskills.org neu drwy ffonio 01604 233 336.
Am ragor o wybodaeth, cysylltwch â Jan Holdaway, Pennaeth Asset Skills Cymru, trwy e-bostio jholdaway@assetskills.org neu drwy ffonio 07734 981 376.
English language training for migrant workers
Do you employ migrant workers in the south west who need to learn English?
A new project could help by offering training for one or more migrant members of staff in basic English. Funded by the European Social Fund, it is free to employers.
The ICEBreakers scheme will help these workers integrate into the workplace and improve communications with customers.
For more, please email ice@kmc.ac.uk or call Catherine Breward 01305 215 004.
Further details can be found at www.kmc.ac.uk/ice
Events for the East Midlands
A number of events will be taking place to ensure employers in the East Midlands are fully aware of the training opportunities and funding that are available for them.
They include the Aimhigher 'What Next…' careers fair, which takes place in Nottingham in October. This is a two-day event promoting careers across the Asset Skills footprint to students, their parents and teachers.
The Business Benefit & Graduate Recruitment event takes place in November in Derby and targets the construction & built environment sectors.
For more information, please email Sam Lacey, Regional Manager for the Midlands, on slacey@assetskills.org or call 07827 947 528.
BIFM updates position on energy and skills
The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) has issued updated position papers on skills and energy.
On skills, BIFM understands that education, training and skills are vital to professional and career development, and believes strongly that the Government should continue to facilitate further training and career development wherever possible.
However, it says if the country's skills base is to be improved, further work is needed on communication, access and flexibility.
The Institute continues to work closely with Asset Skills - a productive relationship that has included development of National Occupational Standards in FM, the 14 to 19 Diploma in the Built Environment, and FM apprenticeships.
The launch of a new suite of qualifications in 2010 and the creation (in alliance with the Institute of Leadership and Management) of a new Level 3 qualification in FM will mean that a diverse range of options for learners, studying and working at all levels is finally available
BIFM's membership is, for the most part, not able to benefit from the priority areas of the Government's skills and training agenda; namely securing opportunities for young people, the unemployed and the under-qualified. However, BIFM welcomes the investment and policy development in work-based learning.
The Energy Position Paper updates the previous paper issued in January 2007. Since then the UK Government has enshrined its response to the threat of climate change in law. The 2008 Climate Change Act requires at least an 80% reduction (on 1990 levels) in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Facilities managers are on the frontline when it comes to operating buildings more efficiently. They can combine whole lifecycle thinking with a practical understanding of how buildings are used.
For more information, please contact Richard Byatt, BIFM Corporate & Public Affairs Director, on 0845 058 1356 or email richard.byatt@bifm.org.uk
Meanwhile, the first ever World FM Day has been hailed a success with events taking place across the globe to mark the importance of this essential industry.
Delegates from more than 45 FM companies gathered at Google's London office to hear speeches from key FM professionals.
The event, organised by BIFM, also featured a video of short film clips about FM.
