Training delivery models Linda Miller Senior Research Fellow Institute for Employment Studies

Changes to delivery models Review of policy background Overview of national developments IES evaluation and emerging findings

Policy background In demand: Adult skills for the 21st century (Cabinet Office) 21st Century skills: realising our potential (White paper on national skills strategy)

‘In Demand’ ‘A relatively high proportion of UK working population…lacks basic and intermediate skills’ ‘A particular problem is the large number of low-skilled adults in the workforce’ ‘Tackling basic skills must be the top priority’

‘In Demand’ conclusions Change must focus on raising demand for WFD from both employers and individuals Action plan included breaking down barriers to participation, reform of funding, building capacity and reform of qualifications

Introduction of the ETPs Employer Training Pilots (ETPs)  Announced in April 2002 budget; 6 pilots commenced September 2002; extended in 2003 with further 6; extended again in April 2004 budget Aim ‘to increase demand for training by reducing barriers which prevent people - particularly those with lower skills - from training’

Employer Training Pilots To explore impact on demand for training up to L2 of providing a package of support that includes:  free training programmes  support for employers to meet costs of giving staff paid time off to train  brokerage of training and ensuring training provided in way that suits needs  IAG (and now includes initial ITN)

Employer Training Pilots Now in second year Pilot design: offer varies by area to determine impact of  number of hours training funded (2 levels)  level of wage compensation (3 levels) Outcomes measured include  uptake, completions, qualifications  employer and employee perceptions

The ETP training process Training is workplace oriented Takes around 100 hours to complete (over 7 to 8 months) Learners spend about half the time in contact with trainers (on assessment, training and portfolio building)

IES evaluation of ETPs Over 9,000 employers and 50,000 learners involved Take-up faster than in the first year Original pilots still recruiting strongly Participant profile largely unchanged Continued need to focus on hard to reach

5,000 learners now at level 2 42 per cent of early starters have completed Low drop-out, high satisfaction some learners say they learn little new, but do tend to gain both UK and confidence in their ability; and most want to do further training - mainly at level 3

‘Assess Train Assess’ in ETPs Emerging feature of around 50% of ETPs is use of ‘ATA’ approach initial assessment, identify skills gaps, deliver appropriate training, re-assess

21st Century Skills ‘skills gaps remain stubbornly persistent’ ‘market failures inhibit take up of training by those with few or no qualifications’ ‘We are learning important lessons from the [ETPs] about the key factors motivating employers and learners’

Second major national initiative LSC Sector Skill Pilots Second major initiative aimed at addressing:  specific learning and skills gaps  failure to reach certain groups; and  testing range of delivery and funding models

LSC Sector skill pilots Local evaluations to IES framework IES meta-analysis of SSP outcomes

Sector skill pilot coverage Range of pilots (28 at present, more in development) include cleaning, care, school support, ITQ Pilots test various models for developing skills in sectors Around 30,000 learners Over 4500 employers involved

Interim SSP findings Findings vary with nature of sector pilots, but across sectors, findings are:  high achievement rates (anecdotal)  some difficulty in engaging employers  importance of ‘up-front learner assessment to determine learning needs in general and basic skill needs in particular’

The emergence of assess- train-assess 21st Century skills:  ‘Training programmes, particularly those provided for employers, should start by assessing people’s existing knowledge and skills, so that skills gaps can be identified and training targeted at filling those gaps’ ETP ‘embodies best practice...in training to the gaps using ATA’ SSP outcomes emphasise this also

The ATA project DfES-funded project to look at good practice in assess-train-assess models of staff development  identify good practice and draw out guidance  identify staff development & other issues IES with Nick Stratton (FERA) December 03 - August 04

ATA project method Trawl for potential ATA contacts via FERA, AOC, TUC, CBI, LLSCs, RDAs, ALI, LSDA, SSCs…… Phone contact and interview Set of questions to determine what organisations are doing Case study visits to range of organisations

ATA project progress What have we found?  Trawl generated ~ 80 potential examples  More than 40 contacted  Identified range of practice in colleges, private training providers & employers  Around quarter way through visits (plan on case studies)

Findings? ATA most frequently encountered in context of NVQs COVEs and Business Development Units Variations in practice at A, at T and at A!

Emerging findings Initial assessment  sensitivity/clients  inappropriate with ‘menu/volunteerism’  can be unwieldy to offer full APL system, hence little accreditation of ‘experience’ Training easiest to modify when working 1:1 or bespoke training (>6), but computers help

Next steps Draw out good practice guidance - but likely to be ‘horses for courses’ Publication later this year Would appreciate views from participants on implications of attempts to widen use of ATA