The SCQF – Delivering Skills & Growth to the Scottish Economy Jack Matthews CEO - Improve Ltd 9 February 2011 improve ltd c/o kraft foods ground floor confectionery place bishopthorpe road york YO23 1YE tel fax website improve ltd ground floor providence house 2 innovation close heslington york YO10 5ZF tel fax website SCQF Partnership Forum

3 Questions What benefits does SCQF bring to the Scottish economy? What challenges can we expect from employers? What difference would be made by engaging with the SCQF

From the employers perspective: “What’s the SCQF anyway”? “Qualifications are Dead – long live Accumulative Units”! Its too academic! How can the SCQF help me get the people I need to grow my business? How can the SCQF help a re-balance between academic and vocational routes & status It’s too expensive, especially for SMEs

What benefits does the SCQF bring? It enables the accreditation of formal and non- formal learning allows the portability of qualifications across all sectors of the Scottish economy It allows for recognition of wider learning It helps individual learners build up a record of achievement and prevents duplication It allows clear articulation and progression between and across sectors It supports progression into and from training, Further and Higher Education

What challenges can we expect from employers? There is still lack of awareness of the SCQF by (private sector) employers, particularly the use of the framework How can we embed the framework more into businesses How can we extend its usefulness, e.g. using framework levels in recruitment campaigns Simplify the descriptors There remains the issue of cost (of credit rating)

What difference would be made by engaging with the SCQF? Build up the credibility of a recognised and viable alternative vocational based route Provide the foundation for sectors/occupations/industries to introduce Continuous Personal Development Increase the usage, usability and effectiveness of the Accumulative Unit/Credit based alternative Add real credence to developing a Demand Led system of skills provision Demonstrate the Return on Investment

What else can be done? Extend work with the Alliance of SSCs on 1.Credit rating of employer training 2.Promotion of the use of SCQF – for sector route maps and qualification strategies 3.Contextualised guidance for employers Expand the number of Credit Rating Bodies SCQF? An accurate but not snappy title! Recognise informal learning as inherent to the development of a skilled and knowledgeable society

And if we don’t do this There are alternatives being developed EQCF, Skills are becoming a Global commodity Sector, Industry and Occupational Frameworks QCF, Large employers have sites across the UK

The Vocational Route to Professional Recognition Level Core Requirements Additional Requirements Specialism’s(examples) Food Safety 1. Flavourist2. Fellow Chartered Scientist Member Chartered Technician Level 4 Master Technician Associate Level 3

SCQF - Delivering Skills and Growth to the Scottish Economy We are being watched! The international competition for skills is here! – India has set a target of creating a new Sector based vocational education & training system – 22 SSCs have already been identified & one of the first will be food & drink processing & manufacture – China is already looking to import European and American skills solutions into its manufacturing base e.g. through using the EQCF – Universities Scotland and Scotland’s Colleges are or becoming international in perspective. The future is not simply about an academic answer but a vocational one as well. How can SCQF be best utilised to support this at home and abroad? – A growing and healthy economy and society is dependent upon the skills and knowledge of its people