Update from the National Audit Office - December 2008
Site visits for the first tranche of SSCs (Skillset, Cogent, People 1st, Semta and FSSC) have now been completed. Each visit consists of a mixture of interviews, both face-to-face and telephone, and focus groups with staff, employers and stakeholders. These aid in gauging how well an SSC is performing in each of the four key themes: (i) a well run SSC, (ii) SSC core products and services, (iii) SSC sector specific solutions, and (iv) SSC results and impacts. They also provide the opportunity to observe meetings, such as Board meetings and various panel and forum discussions, which provide a useful insight into the governance of SSCs.
The first round of visits to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also taken place to gain feedback about how these SSCs are performing throughout the UK, and feedback is being sought from central stakeholders and government departments on a tranche by tranche basis. A number of these are providing feedback through focus groups, although a feedback questionnaire is up and running for any other responses.
The information and feedback collected from the site visit, Devolved Administrations, central stakeholders are combined with document reviews conducted prior to site visits to enable a triangulation of information to take place to inform the drafting of reports. These reports are constantly checked by the NAO to ensure consistency, and at the end of each tranche a consistency panel will convene to test the robustness of this approach and to demonstrate justifications for findings.
Planning meetings for the second tranche of SSCs have been completed (Asset Skills, SummitSkills, Energy & Utility Skills, Skillfast-UK and e-skills UK), and site visits for these will begin in January 2009. Planning meetings for the third tranche will begin this month and run into January. Further visits to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also take place in the New Year, as will further meetings with central stakeholders and government departments.
The cut-off date for feedback on the SSCs in tranche one was 8 December 2008, but it is still possible to provide information on future tranches, with the deadline for tranche two responses being 23 January 2009 and the remaining three tranches beyond that. Please visit www.nao.org.uk for details of deadlines and how to submit feedback.