In line with a schedule of work agreed by UKCES and government sponsors, the transfer of functions will be limited to:

UK-wide work that is funded and in hand relating to:

• apprenticeship frameworks
• qualifications
• national occupational standards.

UK-wide functions that, due to identified activity in 2011-12, need a transitional home, while options for permanent transfer are concluded:

• careers guidance
• community learning and development (including Youth Work)
• libraries, archives and information services

Further Education in England (including Work Based Learning and Adult and Community Learning), where capacity is to be retained on a permanent basis. This will maintain a high degree of continuity in the development of standards and qualifications, collection and analysis of LMI, specialist information and advice service and the SIR data collection

LSIS as sector led body will consult on the long term future of all the work that is transferring with all relevant stakeholders including through the relevant panels and committees, professional and sector representative bodies.

Whilst LLUK has worked closely with partners in Higher Education, including unions, to support workforce development no activity is currently being undertaken that is within the remit of the transfer agreement.

During this transition period LSIS will build on the work of LLUK to ensure coherence in standards, qualifications and frameworks across the constituencies that make up the lifelong learning sector.

By doing so, this will strengthen LSIS as a sector-led body and provide synergy with its existing programmes on continuing professional development (CPD), standards and workforce support.

In addition, LSIS welcomes the ongoing support and expertise of LLUK’s constituency panels and nations committees, and will work with them to agree the long term destination of the footprint.

A small team from LLUK will be transferring with the functions indicated, and this team’s expertise, insight and networks will be invaluable to, and warmly welcomed by, their new colleagues in LSIS.

LSIS will work on teaching and learning standards and qualifications with and through the Institute for Learning, as the professional body for teachers and trainers across the further education and skills sector.

It will inevitably take time for new arrangements to settle and all parties are encouraged to display patience and tact when dealing with staff who have been through considerable turmoil. Nevertheless, as LSIS takes over this critical work please be assured that the commitment to making the UK lifelong learning workforce the best in the world remains unshakeable.

LLUK legacy products will be available in electronic form from a dedicated website, www.lluklegacy.org. This site will hold a wide range of reports, case studies, factsheets, guides and other documents that LLUK produced, and which it is hoped will still be of value to sector employers and partner organisations, researchers and policy makers. The site will be live from the second week of April.

For more information please contact:

Susan Dakin on 02476 627964

susan.dakin@lsis.org.uk

Equality Act 2010 factsheet – Marriage and civil partnership

During 2010, we gathered the views of career guidance professionals across the UK.  This involved focus groups, an online feedback form and the collection of job descriptions and specifications.  The aim of this work was to develop fit-for-purpose NOS for the sector to enhance and support the skills of the advice and guidance workforce.

NOS are practical resource tools with the ability to support staff at every level of the workforce. They can be used to support the full range of human resource development activities including performance management, training and development, and recruitment and selection. Long term benefits include increased effectiveness, reduced workloads, and a reduction in resource expenditure.

Scope of the work

The new NOS and associated materials are relevant to anyone in the UK lifelong learning sector providing information, advice and guidance, including:

• Advisors in dedicated career guidance organisations
• Advisors in guidance services within sector organisations, such as university or college careers services
• Tutors, coaches, mentors and others who offer educational information, career, or employability related advice and guidance as part of their role.

What has been produced?

The project team have developed:

• New NOS for Career Development in the lifelong learning sector
• A map of functions for the sector (which is included in the NOS document)
• Example job profiles.

A brand new NOS User Guide for the lifelong learning sector will also be available at the end of March.

Download the new Career Development NOS

Download an example job profile for Careers Adviser roles

Download an example job profile for Employability Adviser roles

Download an example job profile for First Contact Adviser roles

Download an example job profile for Key Worker roles

Download an example job profile for Union Learning Representative roles

Further information

If you have any questions about the new NOS, please contact us at NOSproject@lluk.org

About the new NOS

The new suite of NOS replaces two older suites which were produced for this part of the lifelong learning sector (one suite was aimed at managers and practitioners and a second which was applicable to staff in operational roles).

The NOS are intended as a high level strategic overview of the competences required to fulfill the tasks required of the LARIMS workforce.  These standards are for anybody responsible for planning, developing and delivering any aspect of a library, archives, records management or other information management service within the public or private sector.  They apply at service, organisation, departmental or individual levels.

What does this mean for the libraries, archives and record management sectors?

Because the new NOS reflect the current skills required by library, archive, record and information management roles, they are a rich resource which can enable organisations to support the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of employees at every level.

NOS can be used to support the full range of human resource development activities including performance management, training and development, and recruitment and selection.  Long term benefits include increased effectiveness, more balanced workloads, and a reduction in resource expenditure.

Where can they be accessed?
All NOS are freely accessible online.

Download the new LARIMS National Occupational Standards.

To access other NOS suites, see the UK Standards website:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110414152025/http://www.ukstandards.org.uk/

We commissioned the International Centre for Guidance Studies to undertake this work in 2010/11.  They developed the following, in consultation with potential clients and existing service users:

“As a user of adult careers services in the UK I am entitled to a service:

1.      Which is responsive to the needs of all users

2.      Where staff are well-trained, knowledgeable and suitably qualified to do their jobs

3.      Which motivates me and inspires me to consider all opportunities open to me

4.      Which is personal to me

5.      Which helps me to gain the skills I need to make my career goals a reality

6.      Which provides the support I need to be successful

7.      Which helps me access any additional support I need

8.      Where I am safe and where my personal information is respected and protected.”

This list of eight statements is accompanied by guidance which provides useful examples of good practice and activities.  Career guidance organisations can use these to assess the extent to which they are currently meeting the Statement, and to develop strategies to enhance their service provision.

Download the full Client Entitlement Statement guidance document

Download the Client Entitlement Statement

This is one of several resources we have developed to support the continuing professional development (CPD) of those working in adult career guidance.  Read more about our work with the career guidance sector.

The Association of Colleges will host their third annual conference on Equality and Diversity in the FE Workforce, on 10th March this year. This year, the event will be widened in scope to incorporate student issues as well as the workforce. The event is designed to support Colleges in meeting their duties and furthering equality and diversity in their workforce and student services. LLUK will be in attendance, with Min Rodriguez hosting a workshop to launch our new Equality Framework and its key components. The Equality Framework is an exciting new tool to assist colleges to enhance organisational performance through equality and diversity. The framework is comprehensive, in that it covers all the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, concentrates on the whole organisation (staff, learners, community engagement) and is based upon self assessment, evidence gathering and peer review. We have been piloting the framework since January with a number of colleges in England. The pilot has so far proved extremely successful and we have demonstrated there is a great need for a tool of this type to address equality and diversity in our sector. As well as college, learning providers so far on the pilot represent NATSPEC, work based learning, adult and community learning and advice and guidance. The workshop will provide an overview of what the framework is, how to use it and will highlight the key benefits of its use.

If you would like any further information regarding the framework, please contact Min Rodriguez for further details. Or if you would like to know more about the event itself, please visit the AoC event website.

This was so successful that The Guardian asked Lifelong Learning UK to participate in another live session on Tuesday 8 February. This covered the subject of returning to work after a career break and again Aidan joined the panel of experts helping to answer people’s questions. Both question and answer sessions were very well received; you can log on to the careers section of The Guardian website to see the questions asked alongside the expert responses: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110414152025/http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/work-based-learning

For more information visit the CLD Upskilling Training page on the Lifelong Learning UK website to find out more and to book onto courses.

Areas covered by the survey included:

• workforce size
• proportion of paid staff and volunteers
• workforce diversity
• workforce qualifications
• recruitment, retention and training issues

To view the Workforce Survey report click here

All Sector Skills Councils produce an annual Sector Skills Assessment (SSA) for the whole of the UK as well as each of the four nations. They provide employers with intelligence on future skills needs so that skills development can be prioritised for the short, medium and long terms.

The SSA identifies four key elements:

• Drivers of skills demand
• Current skills needs including skills gaps and shortages
• Future skills
• Four nation perspective

The SSA Skills priorities identified for the UK wide lifelong learning sector are similar to those identified in 2009 SSA (LLUK 2010), even though they have to be viewed in the changing economic and political climate. The priorities are:

• Collaboration, partnership working, including engagement with communities
• Skills relating to the utilisation of e-technology
• Management skills
• Basic skills of literacy and numeracy as well as ICT skills
• Welsh language skills across Wales
• Transferable skills, including communications, interpersonal and ICT skills
• Skills relating to strategic leadership and planning

To download one of the reports go to www.lluk.org/research/ssa/