News: Insider
Licence to practise: Professional standards for all
No one questions the need for a lawyer or a doctor to be qualified when they hire them, is it less important for our traindrivers to be trained? Read more about the licence to practise debate.
Leadership techniques: Walking with wolves
ILM have developed a course to help you get in touch with your inner-wolf. Read more about one of the most innovative leadership training programmes around.
Training in China: Olympic vocation
City & Guilds are to train 70,000 vocational workers in China. Read more about how City & Guilds are training China for the Olympics.
Laying tracks with the prison
The prison service are recognising the benefits of having training structures in place, and we're all benefitting from the tracks their laying.
Comment: Profile raiser
Keith Brooker, Director of the City & Guilds Institute, reveals why young people and adults urgently require easy access to independent advice in order to close the widening skills gap.
Workplace evolution: UK managers struggling to accept the new era of flexible working
The Tommorrow's Leaders study reveals poor management is blocking the UK's path to productivity. Read more about how remote workers are challenging managers.
Technology: Learning computers
Increased productivity, improved customer relationships, training your staff in IT can make a real difference to your business.
Going global: Turning up the heat
City & Guilds student is trained to a world class standard, read more about Simon Mercer's participation in WorldSkills.
The debate about the value of accredited learning has once again reared its head with a spate of recent articles on so-called ‘superfluous’ qualifications. It is limiting us all to have to continually justify the existence of qualifications at any level.
No one questions the need for a lawyer or a doctor to be qualified when they hire them – you expect them to be able to perform at the highest level and to have the certificates that prove it. Is it any less important that the same be true of the train driver who takes us to work, or the plumber who comes to fix our boiler or the chef who cooks our food?
Most qualifications are developed when there is a recognised industry need for workers to be able to perform specific skills to a certain standard. They are devised in conjunction with sector skills councils, standards setting bodies, leading employers and other industry stakeholders. Training equips learners with the relevant information, skills, experience and confidence to meet these needs. Accrediting this training provides both learners and employers with a credible and standardised benchmark that signals the level of competency attained.
The annual debate on the validity of lower-level qualifications needs to move on to a platform where continuing professional development (CPD) is seen as the norm, not the aspiration. Awarding bodies, colleges, employers and training providers have a responsibility to steer this shift in emphasis.
The mechanism that could bring about this change is licence to practise (LTP). Varying from sector to sector, LTP can be mandatory or voluntary, and there are different levels of licensing between occupations. Specific formal qualifications are often LTP requirements, as in the case of electricians and wiring regulations, but it is often extended to include non-training elements, such as criminal records checks and agreeing to a code of conduct.
From a skills viewpoint there are clear advantages to an LTP scheme. For example, many programmes stipulate CPD as either a mandatory or desirable element for members. And this encouragement to periodically refresh and update skills instils a sense of personal responsibility, if not desire, towards gaining more professional knowledge and qualifications.
It also embeds the notion of training as a direct, empowering, positive correlation linked to employability. Furthermore, Government research indicates that an emphasis on CPD raises the level of basic skills across industries, reducing sectoral skills gaps and boosting employee productivity. All of which is great news for employers, industry and the economy as a whole.
The UK is still lagging some way behind its European and American counterparts when it comes to the adoption of LTP. However, if we are to influence perceptions and values, as well as improving basic skills across industries, then serious consideration should be given to LTP. Further research is now needed into the cross-sector standardisation of schemes and the possible challenges facing implementation.
Chris Humphries
Director-General, City & Guilds
Further insight
To find out more about the latest thinking on licence to practise
Innovative ILM-accredited management training expert Ingram De Havilland (IDH) has unleashed a unique leadership training programme where delegates get to walk with real wolves.
The Walking With Wolves programme is the brainchild of IDH managing director Pauline Stewart. It is an intensive two-day course, covering a wide range of topics, including the challenges faced by women in leadership, emotional intelligence, self-confidence and assertiveness, and changing behaviour and perceptions. Delegates receive an ILM Level 5 Development Award upon completion, but the highlight for many delegates is undoubtedly when they get the chance to walk with wolves in rural north Bedfordshire.
Stewart explains: ‘As part of the course we match the alpha female behaviour within a wolf pack to the behavioural characteristics of today’s successful business women. Thanks to Phil Watson at the Anglia Wolf Society we have access to a real pack of wolves.’
According to Watson, the alpha female plays a pivotal role in every pack of wolves. Along with the alpha male, they control access to resources, exploit other pack members’ strengths and weaknesses, and can expertly manipulate situations and individuals. As leaders they are confident, socially independent and good at turning a situation to their advantage. ‘Although survival in the wild demands cruel actions that aren’t seen in the workplace, examination of the alpha wolf’s strategies provide real food for thought about the way we can usefully assert ourselves when it matters,’ adds Stewart.
Trish Palmer, Focus Residential ChildCare Services, has been on the programme. ‘This has been one of the best leadership training courses I have been on,’ she said. ‘I have learnt new skills and approaches to leadership that I was able to implement straight away. It has already made a difference to me as a manager and a person, and I feel I have grown in confidence. This course has enabled me to deal with difficult situations in my working environment – I will use these new skills throughout my career as I have found them invaluable.’
The Institute of Leadership & Management is the UK’s largest awarding body for management qualifications – for more information go to http://www.i-l-m.com/
City & Guilds and the Occupational Skills Testing Authority (OSTA) in Beijing signed a collaborative agreement in September to train 70,000 vocational workers in China over the next two years. The contract with China’s leading government authority on vocational skills accreditation allows students to take a range of City & Guilds’ International Vocational Qualifications (IVQs) in Chinese. These cover retailing, telecommunication systems, international tourism, and hospitality and catering – areas where China is experiencing a severe shortage of qualified professionals as it prepares for the Beijing Olympic Games and World Expo.
Both organisations will work together to support workforce development for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and develop joint programmes in catering and hospitality for the Olympics Training Committee, Beijing City Tourism Bureau and Beijing Tourism Group.
According to Calvin Tan, Asia Hub Manager of City & Guilds: ‘China is a great economic success story and needs to be bolstered by the right level of highly skilled and competent workers in growth areas. The Olympic Games and other key milestone events taking place in Beijing will require a cohort of highly skilled technicians and professionals at all levels to support the whole infrastructure.’
Tan confirms that City & Guilds is well placed to assist the Chinese Government. With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, City & Guilds has been offering joint certification of awards in retailing, tourism and telecommunications with the Ministry of Labour over the past 10 years. City & Guilds was also the first awarding body in China to be given a licence to practise in the country.
City & Guilds works with various Chinese organisations including Youyi Shopping City Co, Lufthansa Centre Beijing and Telecommunication Occupational Skills Testing Authority of Beijing, advising them on standard setting, assessment and customised solutions.
From modest beginnings in 1976, Trackwork has undergone continuous steady growth to emerge as a significant contributor in the specialist railway engineering sector. In 2004 the company took the initiative to enhance existing industry-based qualifications and created an NVQ course geared around industry and employer requirements based on the City & Guilds Rail Engineering NVQ.
Working with partners, a framework of training and assessment was created to make learners instantly employable on completion of the course and simultaneously increase their skills in literacy and numeracy. While the initial aim was to progress around 100 learners per annum, the success of the course prompted more courses to be run at Trackwork’s base in Doncaster. After running this course for 18 months, Trackwork was approached by the Prison Service in 2006 with a view to conducting this programme within the prison system. A groundbreaking scheme was created at the Wolds prison, which included a substantial installation of track to main line specification.
The investment has had tangible outcomes with over 90% achievement rate and 80% of learners moving on to employment, which includes ex-offenders and prisoners in the open prison system. The Prison Service has been quick to recognise the benefits of having a training structure with solid employment opportunities and Linholme, Wheelstun and Ranby prisons have expressed an interest in similar schemes.
Keith Brooker, Director of the City & Guilds Institute, reveals why young people and adults urgently require easy access to independent advice in order to close the widening skills gap
Countries around the world are waking up to skills imbalances that have huge social and economic consequences. A research study across nine countries conducted by the City & Guilds Institute has found that business and education leaders across both emerging and established economies are having what can best be described as Leitch-like moments.
An independent research and development body, the Institute is dedicated to improving economic and social prosperity through vocational skills, sharing knowledge, raising the profile of skills, and improving policy and practice. Due to launch in the first quarter of 2008 and currently in its project phase, the Institute is undertaking an extensive international consultation to build a comprehensive understanding of current issues faced by those with a stake in skills training around the world.
Baby boom
Initial findings from the survey reveal that established economies such as the UK, Canada and Australia are suffering from ageing workforces, with the imminent retirement of the baby boom generation. There is an urgent need to recognise the skills that immigrants bring to these countries that may help mitigate the widening skills gaps. This is easier for some than others – the legacy of the Alberta oil boom in Canada means that acceptance and recognition of skilled immigrants is more established there.
Emerging economies such as India are finding that the speed of economic change and growth, as well as competition from other rapidly developing economies such as China, is fuelling staff attrition and creating skills gaps in key industries like IT, financial services, entertainment and engineering. Policymakers are being forced to focus on how to bridge gaps through investment in schools, colleges and training organisations.
Surprisingly, all the countries the Institute is surveying have a lack of esteem for vocational education and training. Rather than a British problem derived from snobbishness towards non-academic routes, esteem for vocational education is waning in Germany, a country that has been traditionally held up as a model of vocational success.
These trends have created a pressing need for an independent research and development body that helps turn research into practice and informs better policies. The City & Guilds Institute will use research and ongoing consultation to improve the design, delivery and recognition of skills. In particular, it will encourage dialogue across the wider skills community, from learners through to vocational education practitioners, as well as those in the wider research community.
Benefits of remote employees inhibited by outdated management
Poor management is blocking the UK’s path to productivity, according to a new report commissioned by City & Guilds and the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM). The Tomorrow’s Leaders study, undertaken by Henley Management College, shows that managers are struggling to reinvent their working patterns to get the best from a growing army of remote workers, with visibility still used to judge performance.
According to today’s findings, remote working is on the rise. Three quarters (73%) of managers say flexible working is common in their organisation, and, more strikingly, 37% of all managers now look after teams who are either entirely or predominantly based away from the office. However, although the majority of managers are working with teams that include remote workers, nearly half (44%) of respondents say managers are unprepared for the supervision of remote teams, and only 25% had received any training on how to manage such a team.
While nearly 75% of managers believe remote workers are more productive, and 90% say they trust their remote employees, a third also confess to wanting to monitor their employees closely – just to make sure. Chris Humphries, Director-General of City & Guilds, comments: ‘A quiet revolution is taking place in offices across the UK. With the introduction of flexible working legislation, a growing awareness of the environmental impacts of travel, and a realisation among the business community of the cost benefits of flexible working, employment away from the office has never been so popular. However, managers are finding it less comfortable to lead and motivate flexible teams.’
The survey highlights particular skills gaps around communication and team bonding, as well as appropriate use of emerging technologies. Long distance, virtual relationships with staff members can be demanding, and one third of the managers participating in the study confessed that they needed to improve the way they communicated with their teams.
Peter Thomson, Director of the Future Work Forum, Henley Management College, continued: ‘Businesses will begin to look for leaders rather than micro-managers – inspiring from a distance rather than giving hands-on direction. There are some clear skills around this that can be taught, but managers have to accept that much of what they’ve learnt in the first stages of their careers will evolve as the workplace changes.’
>> For further information and to download the Tomorrow’s Leaders report visit www.cityandguilds.com/tomorrowsleaders
Does training your staff in computer skills really make a difference to your business?
With companies paying the bills for staff to go on Word and Excel training courses, is this really a good use of money and time? According to Ben Knight, Sector General Manager for Business, ICT and Employment Skills at City & Guilds, the answer is ‘yes’ if you know what you want. ‘Improving your employees’ skills on a computer can make a big difference to your business, but you have to do more than just choose a course,’ he says. ‘You have to link the training to the business improvements you want, and you have to back that up in your day-to-day management.’
According to Knight, raising employee IT skills can make a company look more professional, giving customers confidence to spend or invest their money. ‘You can improve the presentation of letters – better lay-out, fewer errors, wider range of formatting. You can create attractive newsletters and brochures that look good and you can create a better designed website,’ he says. ‘Your PowerPoint presentations can also look more dynamic and professional through better use of designs, animations and images.’
Improved productivity can come from staff finding quicker ways of doing things and spending less time asking for technical support. Knight explains that businesses can also improve their relationships with customers with better IT skills. ‘Databases of customer information are invaluable, but your staff need to know how to keep them up-to-date and how to make use of them.’
IT can also help businesses get better information on their customers, competitors and the markets they work in. This can be through effective searches for information through the internet, or it can be through the use of a database. ‘You can improve your information on your own performance, analysing sales performance and expenditure,’ says Knight. ‘IT can make it much easier to create future-looking analyses, giving you the reports you need to compare different scenarios.’
So learning IT skills is not just about Word or PowerPoint, it can be about improving business. But before signing another cheque for IT training, Knight urges businesses to ask themselves what they want to change about the business or team. ‘You need to ask yourself whether better use of computers can help that, which trainer will help you get these improvements in skills and how to make sure employees are using the skills they get.’
City & Guilds has launched a new suite of IT qualifications called e-Quals 07. Visit cityandguilds.com for more information
After gaining a gold medal in the cookery skill category at the SkillEX 2006 National Finals Competition last year, New Zealander Simon Mercer is being sponsored by City & Guilds to participate in the WorldSkills Competition to be held in Shizuoka, Japan, in November this year. Completing his training in 2004 at Aoraki Polytechnic in Timaru, where he gained City & Guilds Diplomas in Pastry, Food Preparation and Cookery, Simon meets the criteria and high performance standards required for WorldSkills. He currently works at the Intercontinental Hotel in Wellington and enjoys the daily challenge that comes from working with food in a busy kitchen.
Simon admits to being surprised at the high standard of skill at the SkillEX National Competition and sees his competing at the WorldSkills Finals as a fantastic chance to match his skills against others his age.
‘Sponsoring members of the New Zealand WorldSkills team is an excellent way of recognising the contribution City & Guilds-qualified people make worldwide,’ says Michael Osbaldeston, Group Brand Manager at City & Guilds. ‘We are keen to support City & Guilds-qualified competitors. As Premier Partners of UK Skills, we aim to bring together competitors from across the world who have City & Guilds qualifications as part of the WorldSkills London 2011 event.’
Worldskills 2007
WorldSkills is the highlight of the international skills calendar. The biennial event brings together member countries from across the world to pit the skills of their young people against the best the world has to offer.