Welcome

Regional Skills Policy and Sector Skills Councils – An LSC Viewpoint19 October

Chris Minett Regional Skills Director

Skills Strategy White Paper – March 2005

‘Skills are fundamental to achieving our ambitions, as individuals, for our families and for our communities. They help business create wealth and they help people realise their potential.’

‘Employers will be given a strong voice in the design and content of vocational qualifications through Sector Skills Councils.’

Sector Skills Councils

Sector Skills Councils

‘If training supply is to respond to employers’ skills priorities, those priorities must be clearly and consistently expressed. The main mechanism for that is the Sector Skills Council.’

Learning and Skills Council Priorities

The highest priorities for funding will be the participation and success of young people aged 16 -18, alongside helping adults gain Skills for Life qualifications and their first full Level 2 qualification.

We want more adults to gain their first full Level 2 qualification to maximise both their individual potential and their economic contribution. More of the provision we fund must deliver full Level 2 learning, particularly where that responds to sector needs.

Learning and Skills Council Priorities

Government resources cannot fully meet the increasing demand for learning. Consequently public money must benefit those who need it most. As individuals and employers benefit from skills development it is reasonable they should contribute a greater amount of the cost of learning and, in some circumstances, the full cost.

Learning and Skills Council Priorities

As employers benefit from skills investment we expect them to contribute more to training costs for workers, especially where the training is highly customised or is required for legislative purposes and is therefore the employers responsibility.

We want to continue changing the way learning is delivered to better meet the needs of employers and individuals. For employers, this means increasing their choice of training that suits their business requirements – at the right time and in the right place.

In local planning discussions with colleges and providers, we will prioritise our investment in learning and skills development that actively meets the priorities identified in Sector Skills Agreements.

LSC – Planning Priorities

Business Cycle – Key Processes

November

Local LSC• Identify key areas for dialogue with providers• Strategic briefing of providers by ED• Annual Planning Review with providers begins

October

National LSC• LSC Annual Statement of Priorities

Providers• Self Assessment

Local LSC • Strategic Analysis• Self Assessment

OngoingMonitoringof Delivery

October / November

National LSC/DfES• Grant Letter • Budgets to Regions

Regional LSC• Agree priorities with Regional Partners • Regional Statement of Priorities• Regional consideration of budgets

December / January

Local LSC• Indicative alloca-tions to providers• Annual Planning Review in progress

April

• Allocations to providers confirmed

Evaluation of the Business Cycle

March

National LSC• Local Annual Plans approved• Local Annual Plans published

FebruaryLocal LSC• Annual Planning Review completed• New provider development plans agreed• Local Council signs off Local Annual Plan• Local Annual Plan presented to Chief Executive

LSC Response to Sector Skills AgreementsThe LSC will respond to the Sector Skills Agreements

tactically through

• Solutions which will support purchasing via local providers• Strategically on broader issues that need resolution before

any solution can be effective

Not all changes required by the Sector Skills Agreement are needed or are deliverable in the first year.

LSC Data

1. Health, Public Services and Care2. Science and Mathematics3. Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care4. Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies5. Construction, Planning and the Built Environment6. Information and Communication Technology7. Retail and Commercial Enterprise8. Leisure, Travel and Tourism9. Arts, Media and Publishing

Potential Planning Changes• Qualifications and provision that does not support SSA

priorities may not attract any LSC funding or may attract less funding, and employer fees will need to fill this gap.

• Stop or reduces provision volumes in qualifications currently being delivered that are no longer identified as fit for purpose or supported by the sector.

Potential Planning Changes• Expand provision volumes in priority areas to prepare for

forecast demand

• Build capacity over a period of time to prepare for or respond to new or priority qualifications or provision

• Align other funding to support capacity building or other changes in support of the response to the SSA

• The regional skills partnership (SWESA) is responsible for developing a partnership approach to the SSAs

• The National Employer Training Programme (NETP) will be implemented nationally in 2006 and will support employer choices in training with an independent and impartial skills brokerage service

• Capacity building funds are available to support NETP

Challenges

How do we ensure employers understand and agree with Sector Skills

Agreements?

Public funding is limited – how do we encourage employers to invest

more in training their employees?

25 Sector Skills Councils with a wide variety of demands – how do we

respond adequately to them all?

How do we identify where public funding is needed for level 3/4 training?

Aligning SSA planning cycles with the LSC business plan.

LSC Response to Sector Skills AgreementsA stepped plan measurable over the relevant timetable could

be agreed and this would be reflected in planning with providers.

The LSC cannot respond equally to all Sector Skills Agreements and the response for each agreement may vary, dependant upon local and regional priorities.