Skills
46 | JULY 2018
Skills
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Applications open for Future Leaders 2019
NEW T LEVELS MARK A REVOLUTION IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Education Secretary names the first 52 colleges and other providers set to teach T Levels.
The first 52 colleges and post-16 providers to teach new T Levels were named today( 27 May) as Education Secretary Damian Hinds set out his vision for a world-class technical education system.
T Levels are courses, which will be on a par with A levels and will provide young people with a choice between technical and academic education post 16.
Courses in construction, digital and education & childcare will be first taught from September 2020. A further 22 courses will be rolled out in stages from 2021, which will cover sectors such as finance & accounting, engineering & manufacturing, and creative & design.
In his response to the T Level consultation, also published today, the Education Secretary committed to working with businesses and learning from our international competitors to ensure these new qualifications lead to a generational shift in technical education.
The consultation response confirms the high-quality nature of these new qualifications – with:
• course content created by expert panels of employers to make sure young people have the knowledge and skills needed;
• 3-month compulsory industry placements that will give young people the experience and wider skills they need to be ready for the world of work;
• standards assured by Ofqual and the Institute for Apprenticeships( IfA) so that T Levels remain high-quality and are valued by employers
The wide-ranging T Levels consultation sought views from across the world of business and education, as well as young people themselves.
Content for the first three T Levels – co-created with employers to make sure young people get the right knowledge and skills needed to get a skilled job – has also been published by the IfA.
T Levels are just one part of a wider programme of work to transform technical education in this country to give people genuine world class choices when they are deciding on an academic or technical route.
https:// www. gov. uk / government / organisations / department-foreducation
Government must be realistic about skills of construction T Level students
The Government must be realistic about the capabilities and work-readiness of students who have completed construction T Levels, according to the Federation of Master Builders( FMB).
Commenting on the Government’ s response to the T Level consultation, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said:“ The idea that a student who has completed a T Level in bricklaying is able to call themselves a qualified bricklayer is not credible. The Government must be realistic about how much can be achieved in two years of largely college-based learning. Although T Levels include a three-month work placement, when the rest of the individual’ s knowledge and skills are acquired in the classroom, in construction they will need more time onsite, post-T Level, before they can and should describe themselves as being qualified in that trade. Small and medium-sized construction firms, which do the bulk of training in our industry, would rather view T Levels as a rich pool of talent through which to find apprentices.”
The UK Green Building Council( UKGBC) has today opened applications for the 2019 cohort of its prestigious Future Leaders programme.
Now in its sixth year, Future Leaders takes a select group of 24 high-potential built environment professionals through a unique programme of leadership and innovation.
Participants develop skills in personal leadership, collaborative thinking, business model development, innovation and storytelling.
The programme kicks off with a two-day residential in January, followed by a two-day workshop on business model development and storytelling, and will culminate in a session of leadership reflection with industry leaders.
Individuals from any discipline within the construction and property industry are encouraged to apply. Applicants are expected to have between 5 and 15 years’ experience in the industry, as well as a drive to challenge thinking and have a positive impact on the future of our built environment. The deadline for applications is Friday 21 September 2018.
Cat Hirst, Director of Learning and Innovation at UKGBC said:
“ In a rapidly changing world, our industry needs tomorrow’ s leaders today”.
www. ukgbc. org
CITB research highlights“ growing need to boost skills transferability” post-Brexit
New CITB research shows that attracting people from other sectors should play a bigger part in meeting construction’ s skills needs.
The report,‘ Construction and Built Environment: Skills Transferability in the UK’, found there will an even bigger need“ to boost skills transferability as recruitment becomes more difficult post Brexit.”
Researchers found that 62 % of employers took no action to encourage employees to transfer between trades. This is despite approximately one in five( 19 %) of construction sector workers having previously worked in another sector. The research, which saw nearly 500 employers surveyed across the UK, highlighted manual occupations such as steel erectors and bricklayers as the roles with the best potential to transfer skills.
Several challenges were found in boosting skills transferability, including:
• Improving the image of the industry
• Changing the way training is delivered to it promotes multi-skilling
• Concerns from employees and unions around multi-skilling Steve Radley, CITB Policy Director, said:“ Our research shows that transferability of skills is a growing issue, particularly with Brexit looming.
“ While many employers are not yet looking at it, it could become a significant way to meet our skills needs in the coming years.
“ CITB clearly has a role to play in this. Our forecasts can help prioritise support for upskilling and ensure training providers are well placed to respond. In addition, we will collaborate with industry to develop top-up courses to enable transition for people with relevant transferable skills.”
https:// www. citb. co. uk /