tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:27:18 +0000good newsfuturewelfare to workageingteam buildingbusinessskillsnewssuccessEmployabilityeconomyretailerssuccessful teamsupskillingemployersteam dynamicsresearch UKCESunemploymentyouthmarketingbenchmarkingmeasurement of successqualificationsrecruitmentIFL membershiptrainingThe Skills People are the employer engagement department of Lewisham College. This blog, featuring posts from different areas of The Skills People, will talk about government policy, our work with our customers and student experiences.http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/noreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)Blogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-6228520620439183057Fri, 20 May 2011 13:13:00 +00002011-05-20T06:13:07.088-07:00http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6082639 Great story in today's TES, increased government support for the apprenticeship programme.http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2011/05/government-may-pay-firms-to-hire.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-8184716601211093460Fri, 06 May 2011 12:21:00 +00002011-05-06T05:21:32.020-07:00measurement of successupskillingbenchmarkingemployersteam buildingnewsmarketingtrainingskillsteam dynamicsbusinessBIS announcement on Training Quality Standard 19/04/11 The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills has taken a decision to withdraw its funding of the Training Quality Standard. The Skills Funding Agency is therefore working with the certification bodies to wind down the accreditation process in light of the withdrawal of funding. COVE and TQS are examples of standards achieved through thehttp://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2011/05/tqs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-654140646236704103Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:55:00 +00002011-04-04T02:55:12.398-07:00good newsupskillingbenchmarkingqualificationsfutureAccording to research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), apprenticeships generate £40 in the economy over a student's lifetime for every £1 spent by the government.http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2011/04/return-on-investment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-1456316470086129457Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:26:00 +00002011-04-04T02:59:20.305-07:00measurement of successupskillingbenchmarkingqualificationsnewsskillssuccessful teamsAs we are all aware, the beginning of April brings forth the changes relating to the Apprenticeship standards. I read this thought provoking article today and wanted to share. Chris Kirk, head of apprenticeships at City & Guilds, says that the issue is with the terminology used in the government documentation for Sase – using the phrase "off the job" to describe guided learning, whereas it http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2011/03/specification-of-apprenticeship.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-8062374951278551738Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:20:00 +00002011-03-28T03:20:28.503-07:00"Osborne creates extra 50,000 apprenticeships". The government will spend £180 million on 40,000 apprenticeships for young unemployed people and 10,000 higher apprenticeships over the next four years, to meet the UK's skills shortage. This is in addition to the extra 75,000 places announced last year. John Hayes, the skills minister, said that this would take the total to more than 430,000, a newhttp://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2011/03/well-done-osborne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-7824923286787691460Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:06:00 +00002011-03-02T05:50:41.114-08:00IFL membershipI would love to hear the views of others with regard to the ongoing debate about IFL membership. I have asked many of my staff their viewpoint as to should we remain members or should we boycott? Many differing points if view all lead into the one key aspect of "what value do we get as members?" £68 per year, why? I wish I had the answer to the question but as it seems to be compulsory, what http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2011/03/ifl-debate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-1041669283488180852Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:51:00 +00002010-04-27T04:51:57.807-07:00skillsEmployabilityresearch UKCESWhat makes one person employable and another not can be very specific set of skills determined by the role and the individual expectations and needs of the organisation, so naturally defining employability skills can be a challenge. One set of competencies, behaviours and skills will fit with one organisation - but when you change the organisation you're moving the goal posts. Of course http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/04/employability-challenge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-3963738933340341522Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:05:00 +00002010-02-26T09:05:48.963-08:00When it comes to training staff the age old adage which tends to pop up begins ‘what happens if I train my staff and they leave?; the response to which goes along the lines of ‘what happens if you don’t train your staff and they stay?’ However posed, the question of return on investment in training is one which is frequently asked. Answers, beyond increased knowledge base, productivity and the http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/02/apprenticeships-whats-it-worth.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-2301360848089945125Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:32:00 +00002010-02-19T15:23:49.843-08:00youthupskillingageingemployerstrainingskillsfutureeconomybusinessI recently stumbled upon this interesting link in which UKCES Chief Executive, Chris Humphries, tips an aging workforce as being the next big policy area to hit businesses. The general premise is that an anticipated drought in younger workers will result in heavier economic reliance upon existing worker. Chris explores the potential impact this may have to working practice, upskilling and HR http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/02/growing-pains-accelerated-ageing-of-uk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-6793287018628762498Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:27:00 +00002010-02-19T15:22:29.969-08:00qualificationsemployersnewsskillsbusinessWith so many qualifications, awarding bodies and course combinations available, getting your head around which qualifications will give your employees the skills and knowledge that best fits the business needs of your company can prove overwhelming. For the learner it's not only about whether the qualification provides the right skills to get on with the job today, but also the currency to http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/02/right-skills-right-qualifications-right.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-1200526530603986200Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:31:00 +00002010-02-15T07:54:23.347-08:00recruitmentmarketingThis a shameless plug for our Recruitment Services at The Skills People but it's a chance to show the campaign we did for it. We're really pleased with how it turned out. We introduced our new service to the world with a series of three films by Manchester creative agency Mango. This is the first: The rest can be found here Find out more about our free recruitment service Contact us on http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/02/recruitment-services.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-5740514241001345785Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:21:00 +00002010-02-15T06:21:10.939-08:00I continually get asked, “How do you get over the barriers to learning?”  The answer seems to be simple, “Know what the barriers are!” Of course it is not so simple: discovering what those barriers are and addressing each one can take time. The rewards of doing so though are immense, for the employer, the training supplier and mostly for the learner.  Since the introduction of Train to Gain many http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/02/barriers-to-learning_15.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-3650786383042142191Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:40:00 +00002010-01-26T01:41:05.638-08:00All too often it’s easy to throw money at something to make it successful or to attract the best candidates for the job. Just as football team managers know that success is not guaranteed simply by paying huge sums of money for the best talent – shouldn’t we be looking at intensive on-the-job training to help realise the talent of individual employees helping them achieve success? What do othershttp://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/01/throwing-good-money-after-bad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-6442339232881263603Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:38:00 +00002010-01-26T01:39:24.029-08:00There must be other managers out there asking who need access to a bigger budget. So here’s 10 simple steps to help you get one. 1. Be solutions focused and solve problems 2. Align your budget to your strategy and priority areas 3. Showing value for £ - this one’s essential 4. Show how your request has a ROI 5. Get the best deal on quotes for expenditure – they are out there so push forhttp://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/01/ten-steps-to-bigger-budget.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-3935804282571167933Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:21:00 +00002010-01-24T03:21:34.036-08:00According to the news last week, Monday 18th January was officially the most downbeat work day of the year - grey skies, dark evenings and empty pockets. Thankfully, I had the good fortune to meet Gemma Watts from the National Skills Academy for Hospitality a couple of days before. Gemma runs their Smiles of Britain project, based on the simple concept of uploading your smile to their website. http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2010/01/cure-for-january-blues.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-3572528718164737062Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:18:00 +00002010-01-11T08:55:51.739-08:00good newswelfare to workunemploymentsuccessDuring a conversation with a colleague today, it became apparent that we are far too modest about our successes and I believe many people fall into that trap. We get so caught up in the day-to-day aspects of our roles and the belief that we are simply "doing our jobs" that we allow opportunities to promote our good work to pass us by.Well, not today... I am taking this opportunity to attach a http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2009/12/modesty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-1066689849527579071Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:49:00 +00002009-12-08T04:43:04.073-08:00em•ploy′•abil′•i•ty (noun) According to Webster’s, employability is defined as the ability to meet the minimum requirements for a specified kind of work or position of employment. Admittedly, not very aspirational. It’s a very generic term, but something of a preoccupation for us here – after all, the ultimate point of The Skills People’s work is to help people progress into work and progress http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2009/12/what-is-employability.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-5240783461694773323Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:37:00 +00002010-01-11T08:55:51.741-08:00employersunemploymentretailersThe work of our employment advisors is a challenge at the best of times. Engaging, motivating and supporting learners that may have been unemployed for years presents a number of obstacles and barriers to be overcome. So when the hard work begins to ease and a learner is ready to re enter the workplace, how do you navigate around the fundamental do's and don'ts that are presented by religious http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2009/10/compromise.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-1715883253612241779Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:50:00 +00002010-01-11T08:53:53.225-08:00measurement of successbenchmarkingsuccessful teamsI was talking about successful teams in an earlier post. So how do we measure success? There are the obvious hard measurable facts: maintaining high percentage rates at an organisational level; timely completions; repeat business from employers and learners progressing; the level of throughput; and the outcome of inspections and awards won. These are all important; they give us a benchmark http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2009/10/how-do-we-measure-success-and-is-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8508661728832265251.post-1477276763530642881Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:46:00 +00002010-01-11T08:53:53.227-08:00team buildingsuccessful teamsteam dynamicsToday I was interviewed briefly to gather information about who the individuals are within The Skills People at Lewisham College and what drives us. The interviewer asked me about my experience within our industry, which until now has been within the private sector and what brought me here. The interview made me realise that one of the satisfactions of the job is working with a great team. It http://theskillspeopleblog.lewisham.ac.uk/2009/10/what-makes-great-team.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Skills People)0