by Clair Mooney | Jun 9, 2022 | Skills
With the requirement to demonstrate competency in your workforce being carried into law with the new Building Safety Act, FIS has teamed with MyProPass (MPP) to provide a platform for businesses to manage the competency of their workforce and for individuals to demonstrate their training history.
The benefit of the MyProPass platform to individuals is that it allows them to store all of their certificates in one place and to share their training history with their employer or anyone else they grant access to their account. They can also browse and sign up to hundreds of training, CPD or industry events in the events directory. Employers can link to individuals accounts, with their permission, to view and download their training history. They can also manage any training activity which requires a certificate through the platform, issuing a digital certificate directly to an individual’s account. At a time when the industry is facing intense scrutiny, this new platform will enable companies and individuals to provide evidence of competency.
FIS Chief Executive Iain McIlwee said:
“This is an exciting next step and builds out from core tools like CSCS. It is clear that better consistency is key to competence management, especially in a fast-moving sector like ours with an uber flexible workforce – only around 30% of our trade workforce are in employment.
“MPP provides the ideal platform for us to start building digital competence passports. This is about more than the core qualifications, as it’s also about encouraging and recognising wider training activities and will offer more of a formal approach to developing and hopefully retaining people in our sector. This platform and the work we are doing around it gives us an opportunity to reset and focus not just on how we recruit, train and develop our workforce, but ultimately how we reward and encourage individuals, investing in the future of the people who are building our future.”
MPP CEO and co-founder Pia Osseforth said:
“We are truly delighted to be partnering with FIS who are leading this space of digitisation and unpicking the challenges of the industry. MyProPass is passionate about digitising competency within the construction industry. The power of data has a big role to play, and this can only be truly realised when skills gained through learning and work experience are detailed and captured digitally. As highlighted within the recent Building Safety Act, this is also becoming paramount for regulators in terms of assessing the competency of individuals working on projects. Talent management that focuses on the needs of individuals and enhances their employability can increase employee motivation and productivity and improve the attractiveness of companies as employers – issues that are particularly significant in the digital age for recruiting and retaining staff. Provision of further training, retraining and skills management are all important aspects of Continuous Professional Development. Employees will have to engage in lifelong learning through further training if they are to be capable of responding as rapidly as possible to changes in skills requirements triggered by automation and digitalisation. Working collaboratively with FIS, we look to provide value to both employers and employees and look forward to creating positive change and impact.”
To support FIS members to meet the need to prove competence, FIS has negotiated a discount for organisations wishing to engage with MyProPass. Absolutely everything and anything can be stored digitally by individuals and organisations.
For further information about MyProPass visit www.thefis.org/skills-hub/competency-passport/ or call FIS on 0121 707 0077 or email info@thefis.org
by Clair Mooney | May 31, 2022 | Skills
A number of improvements and simplifications to apprenticeships will come into force from August 2022.
Over the past five years apprenticeships have been transformed into a high-quality skills programme for learners and employers. Employers have created more than 640 standards to meet their skills needs, training is delivered by registered providers which are regularly inspected, and apprentices complete rigorous end-point assessment, so employers know that they are fully competent in their role.
Having reformed the apprenticeships programme, the Department for Education now want to make it simpler to use for employers, training providers and apprentices themselves. To this end, apprenticeships will be further improved from August 2022.
Minister for Skills Alex Burghart said: “We have transformed apprenticeships so they offer a high-quality route into professions as diverse as engineering, healthcare, and digital for young people starting their careers, or adults hoping to retrain and upskill. We now want to focus on making the system as simple and user-friendly as possible, reducing bureaucratic burdens on employers and providers and giving apprentices the best possible experience.”
These improvements include:
- Making it simpler for individuals to accelerate their apprenticeship by placing a greater focus on provider assessment of prior learning and experience. By improving how providers take account of this at the start of their apprenticeship and funding them to do a robust upfront assessment, apprentices will be able to cut out training they do not require and complete their apprenticeship more quickly. This means that they can spend more time in the workplace and will become fully competent sooner, boosting employer productivity and their own earnings potential.
- Introduce a consistent baseline for off-the-job training, specifying the minimum number of hours that a full-time apprentice must spend in training. This will simplify the reporting for providers and create a level-playing field among apprentices who are on the same standard but working different hours. This means that apprentices who work more than 30 hours a week will be able to spend more time on the job delivering for employers, while still getting the vital training they need to complete their apprenticeships.
- Changing English and maths requirements for those Level 2 apprentices who start with the lowest level of prior attainment in English and maths. People who start a L2 apprenticeship without L1 English and maths will no longer need to automatically attempt L2 English and Maths tests to complete their apprenticeship. It will mean that thousands of L2 apprentices can focus on securing a L1 English and Maths qualification with only those who are really ready to take the Level 2 tests attempting them.
- Provide a more efficient payment service for providers by reducing the data needed to make payments and improving Apprenticeship Service financial reports, helping providers understand what they are being paid for each apprenticeship and why. DfE will start testing these improvements towards the end of the year. They will also do more to ensure that all employers promptly receive their £1,000 additional support payment if they take on an eligible young apprentice. Having engaged employers and providers on changing payment profiles, DfE received a clear message that system simplicity is the priority for them, so they are not making changes to our payment profiles.
More details on forthcoming changes
The changes to recognition of prior learning, off-the-job training and English and maths are due to come into effect in August 2022 and are outlined in the draft apprenticeship funding rules for main providers (August 2022 to July 2023), the draft Apprenticeship funding rules for employer-providers (August 2022 to July 2023) and the draft Apprenticeship funding rules and guidance for employers (August 2022 to July 2023) All three documents are available on GOV.UK.
The rules are issued in draft to give providers and employers an opportunity to provide feedback on how we can make them clearer or better understood. Please email any suggestions to fundingrules.comments@education.gov.uk by 24 June 2022. Following a review of feedback, we will then issue a final version of the rules in July.
George Swann FIS Skills and Training Lead says, “Any improvement to simplify the system of qualifying people through apprenticeships is most welcome. FIS are here to help employer members navigate the process from recruiting apprentices to celebrating achievement. Take a look at the FIS Apprentice – Guidance for Employers. Most employers will be eligible for financial support including an extra £2000 grant from CITB. If you would like to chat through the various options give us a call on 0121 707 0077 or email info@thefis.org”.
by Clair Mooney | May 26, 2022 | Skills
The Levy Order 2022 has now been approved by Government, which means the CITB Levy returns to its pre‐pandemic rates of 0.35% for PAYE and 1.25% for Net CIS. CITB has confirmed it will be issuing Levy Assessment Notices in June and the last date for employers to submit their completed 2021 Levy Return is Sunday 22 May.
by Clair Mooney | May 26, 2022 | Skills
CITB has published its Business Plan 2022/23 setting out how it will invest over £233 million to support the industry to address its skills challenges. The plan is focussed on three key areas: responding to the skills demand, developing the capacity and capability of training provision, and addressing future skills needs.
This comes at the same time as the CITB Levy rates are announced to be returning to pre-pandemic levels. The Levy Order 2022 has been approved by Government, which means the CITB Levy rates will revert to 0.35% for PAYE and 1.25% for Net CIS.
FIS Chief Executive Iain McIlwee said:
“Whilst the FIS membership voted against concensus, the wider vote didn’t follow and the organisation now has the statutory support it needs to continue to collect the levy. It is important from here that we work with CITB to ensure, not that we all get our money back, but that our investment in levy is returned in spades to help us to address the profound skills and labour shortages that we have and that we address the challenges that are making recruitment a struggle. The three core pillars in here around attracting and retaining people, focussing on the capacity and capability of training provision and looking at the wider areas of construction management are all fundamental to success for the sector and so FIS will be working with CITB to translate these for our sector and ensure our members are aware of and able to access all the support available in an efficient and that it is better targeted to support the needs of the flexible workforce that is construction. One thing we learned from our recent recruitment interventions is that there is a lot of support out there, some of it excellent, but that we are not consistently using it as a community.”
This plan heralds a new era for CITB, not only through its simplified look and feel, but for how they will approach their role in supporting the construction industry to address the skills challenges it faces. First it addresses the skills demand at a local level by putting training infrastructure in place to meet the changing needs of industry. Second, it explores where the greatest value for the Construction Industry Levy will be placed. And third, it examines where CITB can pull the levers to transformation, so that training is directed at meeting short and long-term industry challenges.
by Clair Mooney | May 19, 2022 | Skills
The recent FIS regional events identified the challenge of retaining people in apprenticeships and training to the point of successful completion, it is estimated approximately 30% of those who start construction apprenticeships do not complete. There are a number of reasons for this, but key is ensuring that we have the management processes and support mechanisms in place to support young people in our businesses. It is widely acknowledged that organisations that have dedicated coaches and mentors experience higher retention rates across all levels of the workforce, but this isn’t easy to implement and there hasn’t been enough support and training to help.
The Strategic Development Network (SDN), a team of leading specialists in apprenticeships, technical education and workforce development has been working with Government and Industry Bodies to address this concern. SDN are hosting a one hour webinar on the role of the line manager and mentor on the 31 May. The focus will be on hosting young people in the workplace who are engaged on government backed schemes that prepare them for work, T-Levels and Traineeships, potentially the finishes and interiors sectors future workforce.
Here are the details:
The role of the line manager and mentor – hosting young people in the workplace – 31 May 2022, 2-3pm
In this 1-hour webinar, SDN will cover:
- The role of line managers throughout the placement
- Creating a mentoring culture and identifying suitable mentors
- Setting up an effective mentoring scheme – supporting young people to succeed in the workplace
- Staff development – mentoring, coaching and interpersonal skills
- Case study insights from those already offering industry placements
- The government support available to help you
There is no charge for this session. You can register your place here
FIS look forward to seeing you online.
by Clair Mooney | May 3, 2022 | Skills
Somewhat in the shadow of the Building Safety Bill, new laws were also passed on Thursday through the Skills and Post-16 Education Act that will help transform the skills and training landscape and level up opportunities across the country.
The Skills and Post-16 Education Act is to level up and drive economic growth across England, making Green skills and careers advice in schools a priority. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) have been tasked to create a unified skills system which is simpler to understand and employers and learners can really trust.
While much attention has been paid to level 3 qualifications and careers advice, the act gives the secretary of state a host of new powers over the FE and skills sector. For example, the secretary of state now has legal powers to designate and remove designation of employer representative bodies (ERBs) responsible for developing local skills improvement plans (LSIPs). They also have powers to introduce “statutory guidance” to tell ERBs who they should consult with and what should go in to their LSIPs.
The lifelong loan entitlement now also has some statutory underpinning. The flagship policy to provide loans with four years of post-18 education for modular and full qualifications at levels 4 to 6 is set to come on stream in 2025 and is currently out for public consultation.
Another of the secretary of state’s new powers is to introduce an official list of approved post-16 training providers along with new conditions for registration and restricting access to funding to providers on that list.
The act introduces new duties on college governing bodies to review and publish how their education and training offer is meeting local skills needs. The secretary of state gains new powers to use the intervention system where providers are failing in this duty.
The Institute for IfATE gets powers to approve and withdraw approval for technical qualifications under the act.
Skills to support the growing green economy will be prioritised to create a workforce for jobs now and in the future, and schools will be required to make sure all children get to meet people that provide technical education routes such as apprenticeships, T Levels or Traineeships, opening their eyes to a wide range of careers.
The legislation will help economic recovery and growth by making it easier for people to train to get the skills they need to secure well-paid jobs in industries with skills gaps, such as construction, health and social care, engineering, digital, clean energy and manufacturing. It will also give more people the opportunity to get jobs in their local areas, by requiring employers and colleges to work together to identify the skills needed within communities.
The Act underpins the government’s transformation of post-16 education and skills as set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper and will help level up and drive growth across the whole country. Minister for Skills Alex Burghart said, “The Skills and Post-16 Education Act will transform the skills, training and post-16 education landscape and level up opportunities across the country. This legislation will make sure everyone can gain the skills they need to progress into a rewarding job, and businesses have access to a pipeline of talented, qualified employees for their workforces, boosting productivity.”
Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of IfATE, which leads with implementing the government’s employer-led technical education reforms, said,
“Following passage of this landmark legislation, we can look forward to creating a unified skills system which is simpler to understand and employers and learners can really trust. IfATE has empowered employers to drive up the quality of apprenticeships and roll out exciting new T Levels. The time is now right to extend the employer-led reforms across technical education.”
Key measures introduced by the Act include:
- supporting the creation of a unified skills system that builds from quality gains achieved with Apprenticeships and T Levels by ensuring all technical qualifications match up to employers’ high standards;
- embedding employers in the heart of the skills system by placing a legal requirement on colleges and other providers to work with employers to develop skills plans, so that the training on offer meets the needs of local areas, and people no longer have to leave their hometowns to find great jobs;
- making sure all pupils meet providers of technical education so that they understand the wide range of career routes and training available to them, such as Apprenticeships, T Levels or Traineeships, not just the traditional academic options;
- prioritising green skills so the training on offer across the country meets the needs of the growing green economy and helps gets more people into jobs;
- supporting the transformation of the current student loans system so from 2025 learners an access a flexible loan for higher-level education and training at university or college, useable at any point in their lives;
- introducing new powers to intervene when colleges are failing to deliver good outcomes for the communities they serve; and
- making it a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise essay mill services for financial gain to students taking a post-16 qualification at institutions in England including colleges, universities and sixth forms.
Employers in eight trailblazer areas across the country have already been working with local training providers to create skills plans that align to what local communities need. These plans are now being rolled out across the country, opening up more opportunities for people to gain the skills they and businesses need to succeed. The new measures build on the work already under way to boost skills and get more people into better jobs, including working with employers to create more Apprenticeship opportunities, establishing a network of Institutes of Technology and rolling out new T Levels.
George Swann FIS Skills and Training Lead said,
“FIS is listed on the directory od professional and employer lead bodies with IfATE to monitor the quality of apprenticeship End Point Assessment for the sector. This puts FIS employers front of house for the initiatives published through the Royal Assent of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act. We will continue to work with IfATE and provide information advice and guidance to FIS members on all things skills”
