The Sector Skills Council for the places where we live and work
Careers Advice Line 0800 056 7160
Government funded property apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are set to play a key role in the country's economic recovery. The Property Services Apprenticeship is growing in popularity as more and more estate agents are recognising how it can benefit their workforce and business, particularly as the government funding make this a really cost effective option.
Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council for property, is holding a series of free apprenticeship registration events as part of its new UK Academy for Property. These events are being held in partnership with the training provider Bloom Training and are taking place in London, Birmingham and Manchester.
They will outline how Bloom Training will deliver the programme and provide information on other property qualifications and available funding that can make the training you need more accessible.
The apprenticeship offers a career pathway into the industry and Bloom Training can help in recruiting and training an apprentice for your business. The apprenticeship programme takes advantage of government funding to make this a cost-effective way of increasing your staffing levels. It also enables existing property professionals of all ages to extend their skills and knowledge, at a time when every employee's contribution is crucial to enabling organisations to do more with less.
Watch out for further messages from us, with full details of the event and a link to our online registration for the location of your choice -
• Birmingham, Thursday 09 June
• London, Thursday 16 June
• Manchester, Thursday 23 June
To register for the event of your choice, click here - www.assetskills.org/propertyevents - and follow the simple online steps.
For more information, contact Tom Orton, Asset Skills UK Academy Coordinator, at ukacademy@assetskills.org or call 0844 822 2525.
New apprenticeship leaflets available
Asset Skills has updated its apprenticeship information in a range of new leaflets. They cover vocational qualifications and apprenticeships in facilities management, housing, property and cleaning.
Apprenticeships are nationally recognised training programmes that offer an excellent way of mastering practical skills in the workplace, while gaining a formal qualification.
They give new or existing employees the chance to train as they work and earn money and are increasingly recognised as the gold standard for work-based training.
The new leaflets can be accessed here: http://www.assetskills.org/ApprenticeshipGuides/
Green Deal energy advice in Wales and England
Asset Skills is recruiting candidates for funded Home Energy Advice training in Wales and South West England.
All the training is based around the level 3 Energy Advice (Home) certificate, offered by the Awarding Body of the Built Environment (ABBE), and provides a significant amount of the learning required to deliver Energy Advice as part of the Green Deal (due to go live in autumn 2012).
In South West England, as part of the government's Joint Investment Programme, Somerset College has 15 subsidised places for people working as domestic energy assessors (or equivalent) to take the level 3 qualification.
The course will cost £1,011.50 for organisations with less than 250 employees and £1,264.38 for organisations with over 250 employees.
Furthermore, Cornwall based learners are now eligible for an additional £500 funding upon successful completion of the course.
This programme is due to start towards the end of June.
In Wales there are 75 part-funded places available as part of the domestic energy advice pilot, commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government's (WAG) Sector Priorities Fund Pilot.
This programme includes additional learning on low carbon WAG initiatives, such as Fuel Poverty and Arbed.
The course is available at Neath Port Talbot College, University of Glamorgan and Coleg Llandrillo Cymru and will start in June.
The funding covers between 50% to 70% of the course cost and interested learners/employers have until 31st May 2011 to confirm their place.
If you would like to register, or need further information on costs and delivery, contact Philip Stott at pstott@assetskills.org or call 01392 456 825.
Extension to Low Carbon Skills Fund in Scotland
Since October 2010, Asset Skills has been assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in its sector to access the Scottish Government's Low Carbon Skills Fund to subsidise their staffs' attendance at training events that contribute to carbon reduction.
The fund was so successful that it's now been extended until June 2012.
The fund has been used in really diverse ways. Subsidised courses have covered renewable energy management, feed-in tariffs, solar panels, retrofitting, required CPD for energy assessors and energy awareness. Some staff have used the opportunity to attend relevant conferences. Even in-house events delivered by external trainers are eligible.
All types of employers within the Asset Skills footprint have already taken advantage of the opportunity - property companies, energy advisers, facilities management companies, community groups and especially, housing associations.
Through the Low Carbon Skills Fund, employers with fewer than 250 staff can claim a 50% refund of the course fees for up to 25 of their staff to attend any training event that contributes towards carbon reduction.
To find out whether your organisation could benefit, and for more information about the Low Carbon Skills Fund, contact Tim Pogson, Head of Asset Skills Scotland at tpogson@assetskills.org or call 0131 667 2448.
Annual Charities Facilities Management Conference
The Diocese of London will be speaking about its ambitious plans to "green" its buildings at the Annual Charities Facilities Management Conference on June 29th.
The event is the main opportunity for people looking after buildings and facilities in the voluntary sector to get together and discuss the challenges they face.
The Diocese of London has 479 churches and 149 schools, and reaches out to a community of 3.6 million people. It plans to reduce the carbon footprint of its property by 20% by 2012, by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, relative to 2005.
The campaign is part of the Anglican Church's "Shrinking the Footprint" campaign. The Chair of the Campaign, the Bishop of London says: "In an interconnected world, practising love of neighbours means that we are committed to mitigate the effects of climate change, which will fall disproportionately on the poor and vulnerable in the world and those least able to adapt to rising temperatures and flooding."
The conference presentation will look at how the Diocese of London is working towards these ambitious goals. Steps they have been taking include:
Delegates at the conference will also hear a presentation from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) about the new Renewable Heat Incentive. The RHI will reward businesses that install technologies such as biomass, solar thermal, and ground source heating by paying a system of tariffs. This is the first financial support scheme for renewable heat of its kind in the world.
The conference is being organised by the Charities Facilities Management Group, the national network for people who look after property and facilities in the voluntary sector. The Group has 239 member-charities, ranging from large organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children, through churches, hospices and through to small voluntary groups.
The network promotes good practice in facilities management by sharing information on good practice, resources and skills.
The Charities FM Group is run on a pro bono basis by the charity Upkeep. For more details, visit Upkeep's website and follow the links to Charities Facilities Management. www.upkeep.org.uk
New research from Asset Skills has found customer service in the social housing sector is shifting towards tenant-focused service provision with more emphasis being placed on providing services that meet the needs of tenants and reviewing or removing those that do not.
The new paper examines the value of customer service in the sector across the UK and discusses issues such as the importance of understanding the customer, how a customer service culture is formed in social housing and the skills needed for this approach.
Follow the link to view/download intelligence paper issue 13 - Customer service and the housing sector: http://www.assetskills.org/Research/LabourMarketInformation/IntelligencePapers.aspx?#Intelligencepaper13
Built environment business booster event in East Midlands
An event to help employers from the built environment understand how best to use social media to benefit their business is being held in the East Midlands.
The Built Environment Higher Education Partnership, which comprises Asset Skills, is organising the event which aims to show that, even in these difficult economic times, there is still a wide range of support available and opportunities to increase skills and bottom line.
It will take place on 7 June at the iCon Environmental Innovation Centre in Daventry. The programme will:
Find out how to give your business an extra boost and network with like-minded professionals from the built environment. All free of charge.
For more contact louise.saxton@emcbe.com or call 01509 225805.
Asset Skills promotes careers in the built environment
Asset Skills has been working with Aim Higher and students in Leicestershire to investigate careers in town planning.
The aim is to try to encourage students to think about attending university and to see it as a viable option.
During the workshop, students learnt about good and bad planning decisions and were given a design brief and models so they could demonstrate their own planning ideas.
As well as town planning there were similar workshops designed around other graduate careers such as surveying. The event will be repeated again in June 2011.
We continue to host 'Advising the adviser' regional events and have recently visited the East of England and the North East.
The events are proving to be a successful model for demonstrating the breadth of careers within the built environment.
The London event will be held on Thursday 9 June at the NCVO Offices, Regents Wharf, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RL. Anyone wishing to attend this free event should contact Cathy Lindsay-Carl at clindsay-carl@assetskills.org to reserve a space.
A number of Gateshead Council employees have been awarded a new NVQ qualification.
The level 2 Local Environmental Services NVQ was developed by the council and Asset Skills to fulfil the exact needs of the Neighbourhood Services team.
It offers a bespoke literacy and numeracy training package to complement the vocational training.
The assessors, tutors and the internal verifier all gained individual qualifications to deliver the programme and have done so as volunteers in addition to their normal duties within neighbourhood services and grounds maintenance.
The first group of employees to complete the programme attended a special presentation event.
Group Director of Local Environmental Services, John Robinson, presented the candidates with their certificates. For more contact Graham Pointer, Training Manager, Gateshead Council at grahampointer@gateshead.gov.uk or call 0191433 7345.
Leadership and management in North East England
If you're and employer in North East England and need support in developing the leadership skills of your staff you could be eligible for up to £1,000 in funding.
Northumberland Business Services Ltd (NBSL) has secured the Leadership and Management contract for the North East region and has set up the North East Leadership & Management Advisory Service.
To check if you are eligible and how to access the service visit www.nbsl.org.uk or call 01670 813322.
