48 | APRIL 2022
Skills
Proud sponsor of the PRO Skills feature
BOS ’ S INSPIRING THE FUTURE CAMPAGIN GAINS MORE SUPPORT
The Inspiring The Future campaign of Building Our Skills - Making Fenestration , Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice is going from strength to strength . Among the latest organisations to support the initiative is Strata Windows , the Staffordshire domestic and commercial window and door installer .
Underlining the goal it shares with Building Our Skills of bringing more youngsters into the fenestration , glass and glazing sectors , Strata has agreed to help in the delivery of the Inspiring The Future Campaign . Sharon Parkes , CMIOSH , Strata ’ s Director of Health , Safety & Compliance and now an Inspiring The Future volunteer explains :
“ Here at Strata we care very much about addressing the skills gap that is unfortunately a feature of our industry . A key part of this process is encouraging youngsters to join it , teach them about the variety of roles the fenestration industry can offer and to help nurture new recruits . That ’ s why when I heard about Building Our Skills ’ Inspiring The Future campaign I knew we had to be part of it , and I was delighted to be accepted as a volunteer .
“ I believe we in the industry can help build confidence in school children and young workers , and really help to inspire them with the opportunities that are to be found in the world of fenestration , glass and glazing . I think Building Our Skills is a fantastic initiative and I ’ d encourage other companies ’ members of staff to get involved too . Volunteering for the campaign ’ s programme is very satisfying . Broadening the horizons of young people is so rewarding .”
The idea behind the Inspiring the Future campaign is to use industry employees to help inspire the school children who will become the industry ’ s future workforce .
For industry employees such as Sharon Parkes of Strata Windows who are willing to volunteer to deliver the Inspiring The Future campaign to school children simply visit www . buildingourskills . co . uk and click on ‘ campaigns ’ or for more information and to sign up .
GQA Passes Open Awards Audit for IfATE
GQA ’ s processes and documentation have been given the thumbs up by the Institute for Apprentices and Technical Education ( IfATE ). The fenestration industry ’ s leading awarding and qualifications-writing organisation has undergone an end point assessment audit , carried out by Open Awards , the external quality assurance provider appointed by IfATE , which resulted in a positive report .
Commenting on the audit , GQA ’ s Operations Manager , Sean Hayes said :
“ While we are not allowed to divulge the specific content of the report , I am able to say that we are extremely pleased that Open Awards ’ very robust auditing process has resulted in positive feedback .
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we look forward to continuing to provide this high standard
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“ The end point assessment audit covered how GQA appraises students at the end of a training period to prepare them for the end point assessment activities . It scrutinised how we liaise with training providers ; the methods we use to ensure fairness , consistency and thoroughness ; our programme of training from end to end ; how past assessments have been carried out ; our intentions regarding future assessments ; the general expertise of our staff ; and the feedback received from stakeholders .
“ The comments we received from Open Awards gave us great assurance that GQA meets the requirements of IfATE , and we look forward to continuing to provide this high standard of provision in both apprenticeships and vocational learning in all our sectors .”
www . gqaqualifications . com