Skills for Employability Julia Smith Regional Adviser Education & Society

Why focus on skills? A global debate, where British Council is at the forefront…. Skills for Employability addresses the demand for skills in a global economy so that national educational and training systems are better able to respond to labour market demands and learner needs It focuses on building strong relationships with industry, employers, and training providers, using the UK’s expertise on standards, innovation and creativity in the field of skills training where the UK is a market leader We work with governments, sector experts and senior practitioners to promote the exchange of knowledge, good practice and innovation, building collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships between organisations We bring international agencies and governments together to share the skills challenges and solutions for their education and training systems

Activities cover thematic and sector specific projects and innovation through…. Policy Dialogue Addressing the core issues of skills education and training reform with Ministries, educational institutions, skills agencies and other relevant organisations. Facilitated through: conferences, seminars, workshops, study visits to UK, consultancy Partnerships for Skills Development Collaboration between UK VET providers, VET agencies and employers to foster professional links, leadership and management development, student and staff exchanges and the development of materials and curriculum etc. Enterprise Competitions aimed at young people highlighting achievement in enterprise, innovation and technology. These awards emphasise entrepreneurial and innovative approaches International Network Offers a range of benefits including password-protected access to intelligence on Skills in over 25 countries, updates on the work of the Skills for Employability programme and early invitations to international events within the programme.

Focus Building strong relationships with industry and employers, governments and training providers across a number of regions Associate the UK with expertise on standards, innovation and creativity in the field of skills training where the UK is a market leader Strengthening the quality of intelligence which stakeholders, customers and partners have access to Build standards and increase awareness of new markets and working together to examine and apply innovative approaches to skills reform Promoting English products and services for professional development and as a skill for employability

Example – Building Effective Employer Engagement in Egypt British Council and the EU-Egyptian TVET Reform initiative brought together 180 senior policy makers, employers, consultants and leading representatives from vocational education and training from Egypt, the UK, and the wider Arabic region Amongst the contributors were three Egyptian Ministers of State - Minister of Education, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Minister of State for Administrative Development Highly successful and agreed a series of authoritative and potentially far- reaching recommendations including an endorsement of the UK system of employer engagement by the Egyptian government, which intends to adapt the UK system to meet the country’s requirements in this area. As well as the British Council, different UK Sector Skills Councils will be involved in helping to take this forward British Council Egypt acknowledged: 'This was an exciting new departure. For the first time in Egypt, a proactive programme was designed, to forge working relationships and interdependencies between businesses/ employers and TVET educationalists.

Supporting Skills Olympics in Vietnam Skills for Employability supported skills development for competitors for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November This has been the first in a series of activities carried out under the Memorandum of Collaboration in Vocational Training signed between the British Council and Ministry of Labour Vietnam National, regional and global skills competitions are an excellent way of helping to drive up a country’s skills standards. This enables countries to keep pace with the latest developments in industry as well as standards and benchmarks attained by other countries In preparation for the ASEAN competition and as a longer term partnership for the London World Skills Olympics in 2011, British Council Vietnam brought four specialists from UK Skills to Vietnam. The specialists worked with Vocational Colleges to develop the capacity of trainers and provided training for Vietnamese competitors, preparing them for excellence for future skills competitions London World Skills Olympics in 2011

Where we do this work In selected countries in: Near East and North Africa ( forthcoming International Conference: Changing Perceptions of Skills, Tripoli, Libya, February Call for Papers and Booking Information skills-for-employability-policy-dialogue-changing-perceptions-of-skills-libya.htm ) skills-for-employability-policy-dialogue-changing-perceptions-of-skills-libya.htm South East Europe Central & South Asia Middle East East Asia China & Hong Kong

British Council and wider vocational partnerships: 1. UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh recently announced the extension of the successful UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). The new phase of the programme will be funded by both Governments and will start in 2011 in four key strands: Building a new generation of leaders - leadership development across Higher and Further Education, and Schools The strand aims to work with key partners/stakeholders in both countries in providing opportunities to teachers, faculty and senior staff from universities, colleges, other institutions and schools for capacity building. Innovation Partnerships - education links between India and the UK are long-standing and go far beyond student recruitment. These links are growing as the Indian Government implements its plans for expansion of further and higher education. This strand will aim to provide opportunities for UK FE colleges and universities to collaborate with new institutions on thematic partnerships and collaborations. Skills development - a wider high-impact skills development programme across higher/further education and schools has been identified as a priority area by both countries. This strand will aim to help equip young people and adults with the skills required to gain employment or start up in business, enhance skills of employed people through relevant re-training through formal and non formal channels and provide opportunities for partnerships Building harmony, enhancing mobility - aims to work towards the transferability and equivalence of qualifications of UK and Indian students. It will also seek to promote UK-India student mobility through a ‘Destination India’ Programme which will lead to a significant increase in the number of UK students studying in India.

A composite fund administered by BIS. Awards were open to the whole of the UK for activity in China/Hong Kong, India, Gulf Region, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UAE, USA and Vietnam. In excess of GBP 2.5 million allocated over five years (126 grants) to support the development of strategic international partnerships for the FE sector. The PMI2 FE Partnerships Fund is managed jointly by the British Council and Association of Colleges (AoC). However, at operational level: Measure 1 - managed by AoC: provided pump-priming for a variety of entrepreneurial partnership activities. These either have short or medium term commercial outcomes. In all cases, applicants are required to demonstrate that the activities would be sustained/sustainable after the PMI2 grant period. Measure 2 - managed by British Council: provides grants to support the contribution of international partnerships (between UK colleges and colleges or other relevant agencies overseas) to education development and reform agendas in a discrete number of PMI2 countries. 2. PMI2 Connect - 5 year strategy launched April 2006

3. Education Partnerships with Africa (EPA) FE sector a key and distinctive feature. EPA is generally considered a success story however, faced a challenge to involve major employers in Africa and there is evidence to indicate this may have been more limited (to local employers) Lessons learnt: The formulation period prior to bidding, during which concepts can be fully developed and agreements on the nature of the work established, is an important element The project needs to be of direct and tangible benefit to both partners Longer-term outcomes, which require higher levels of funding over a longer period to achieve meaningful success, may be less likely to benefit from pump-priming models Transferring UK models for qualification to an African context may be difficult to achieve, project plans need to take account of the significant adjustments and local input to develop relevance The nature of employer involvement with institutions needs to be considered carefully. This should be direct if possible and not through intermediaries.

What is Erasmus? Largest organised mobility programme in the world Forms part of the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme Managed in the UK by the British Council since 2007 Over 4,000 Higher Education institutions in 33 countries participate Introduced in 1987 to encourage student and staff mobility in the EU

What is Lecturers International Professional Development? The Lecturers’ International Professional Development programme offers a unique opportunity for Further Education (FE) staff to participate in world- wide professional development programmes outside of their everyday professional environment. LIPD offers international professional development opportunities linked to key academic themes. It bridges a gap in staff development provision within Wales. LIPD is aimed exclusively at lecturers and managers at FE colleges or institutes in Wales.

Activity:  Structured Training Courses (language or non-language)  Job-shadowing an European colleague  European conference or seminar Who’s Eligible?  Teachers  School Staff  Educational Advisors (LA)  Educational Experts  Trainers Comenius In-Service Training

Further Information: (training database) (our website) Comenius In-Service Training

Joining the Education UK Partnership What benefits the Partnership can offer you