Section 1: Project Title
Please give the title of your project in the space below in not more than 100 characters
Unlocking Potential
Enabling blue collar staff to join the learning revolution and develop key transferable skills.
Section 2: Please indicate which strand this proposal is submitted under:
Strand 2
Strand 3
Strand 4
Section 3: Partnership Details
Name and address of partner organisation Contact name and tel.
Blue Sky Coaching & Consultancy
Focus Central London, London, WC1A 1DR
Goldsmiths College, London, SE14 6NW
Institute of Education, London, WC1H 0AL
King's College London, Strand, WC2R 2LS
Learning Resources International Ltd
London School of Economics and Political Science, London, WC2A 2AE
Richmond The American International University in London, TW10 6JP
THETO (The HE Training Organisation), Sheffield, S10 2GJ
Unison Education & Training
University of East London, London, E15 4LZ
University of Surrey Roehampton, London, SW15 5PU
University College London, London, WC1E 6BT
Workbase Training
Section 4: Project Summary
Please give a description of your project including the rationale, aims and objectives in the space below, in not more than 500 words.
The increasing computerisation within all job roles within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has excluded those with a lack of basic C&IT skills. This lack of key skills has proved a barrier to effective communication within organisations as electronic and web-based communications become the norm.
By not addressing the needs of those without basic C&IT skills, employers are in danger of creating a marginalised section of workers, whose effectiveness will be diminished and whose ability to progress either within or outside the organisation will be inhibited.
The target groups are slightly different at each institution, but include a mix of age, gender and ethnic constituencies. They are all generally defined by evidence of traditionally low educational attainment, measured by qualification routes and limited visibility within an organisational staff learning environment. They also have no IT background from within their work experience. Their earnings place them among those more likely to be excluded from PC ownership in the home (confirmed by the training needs analysis referred to below), reinforcing their potential for social exclusion. As the target group in this project, the partnership would intend to assist the least advantaged amongst our staff to accept the idea that they too can embrace C&IT and become lifelong learners.
The provision proposed would be in addition to the work-related C&IT training which is already on offer to employees using computers. However, we obviously need to generate a different type of provision - and one which addresses the substantive work required on C&IT type issues alongside issues of confidence, guidance and support for those returning to learn after long periods out.
A comprehensive training needs analysis was carried out (in April 2000) with manual, craft and ancillary staff working in the central University of London. The results showed that the majority of staff felt excluded from current staff development activities which were on offer. The feeling of exclusion came from lack of information, because the courses did not seem appropriate to their work, they were held at a time which would be inconvenient for them to attend or the perception that manual, craft and ancillary workers were not expected to apply.
When asked about training they would like to undertake which was not job-related, the majority identified key skills and said that they felt at a distinct disadvantage without them. They were aware of the importance of these skills within the organisation and the increasing computerisation which would render them unable to remain an effective employee, or develop further. As the organisation's Intranet was developed and management information was disseminated electronically, they were very aware that they could not access information which was readily available to other workers. Written skills and maths skills were also identified as areas they would like to develop.
The results from this TNA were communicated to other HEIs in the Greater London region and it was acknowledged that similar training needs would be likely to be identified in other HE institutions. A number of other partners in this bid are therefore employers who have also identified this category of staff as lacking in basic C&IT skills.
The numbers of staff who could potentially benefit from this project are in the region of 2,500. They are a diverse mix of age, gender and ethnic origin.
Section 5: Project Aims and Objectives
Please outline below how your project address the particular category selected in no more than 500 words.
The project aims to provide a framework that takes a holistic approach, to the person, work and career development needs of the target group. It will offer a wide range of activities, support and services to include: C&IT training, communication skills, literacy, numeracy and English as an additional language support, one-to-one coaching, peer mentoring, open and interactive learning and the possibility of pursuing a number of accreditation routes. Different host institutions will adopt their own interpretations of most appropriate provision within the broad palette.
The project will address longstanding issues of equality of access to training and development and in so doing will enhance employees' individual skills and levels of engagement. This in turn ensures the partner organisations have a more fully developed staff resource and are more able to fulfil the inclusiveness criteria required for external quality assessments like Investors in People. Additionally, it ensures that the sector is addressing learning and skills issues for traditionally disadvantaged staff groups.
The project will enable the provision of the hardware and networking infrastructure which will enable the staff to access computer, email and internet facilities in the workplace. This will be achieved either by installing new equipment in staff areas which are easily accessible to the target group, or by dedicating appropriate time on existing equipment. Additionally, interactive Development Zones will be considered as a complementary provision allowing learning, and the application of learning, to take place electronically in the workplace, at a time of convenience for the workgroup.
A possible provider of the training could be Workbase Training. They have over 18 years' experience in assisting organisations to develop their employees' potential, including basic and key skills. These are obviously the building blocks for further learning and the provision will provide a springboard to other forms of learning.
One of the Partners, Unison Education & Training, has developed a raft of modular return to learn and communication skills programmes with embedded IT, which fully support the bid objectives.
The key skills and therefore the employment prospects of the target group will be enhanced and appropriate qualifications gained. Although not compulsory, staff will be encouraged to work towards appropriate NVQs at level 1 and 2 and the European Computer Driving Licence. If staff follow these routes, assessment and examination fees will be paid.
This will provide each employer with a pool of talent that could be promoted within the organisation. The upskilling and promotion of this group of staff would lead on to a continuing selection of manual vacancies. These could be filled by bringing in unskilled people from the local community who, in turn, could benefit from the ongoing training programme. For this to happen, each institution will be embedding the acquisition of key skills within this section of the workgroup. HEIs would expect to build on the good practice developed by this project and embed this training into their formal staff development projects, ensuring some form of sustainability.
Section 6: Project Milestone, Outputs and Outcomes
Please outline below the key milestone, outputs, and outcomes your project will provide in not more that 500 words. The outputs should be specific and quantifiable.
To provide a carefully designed format (using a learner-centred approach) within which members of the staff group:
In addition, the employers will have created a competent workforce, able to cope with increased computerisation. It is also expected that the target group will become a potential pool of workers able to be considered for internal promotion.
Dedicated teaching sessions will be provided for the staff, taking account of working patterns. Staff will also be encouraged to use the facilities outside of these sessions to practise their newly learnt skills.
Once the first pilot groups have been successful in achieving their learning targets, the process will be embedded into the annual cycle of training which will continue to be offered in tandem with the existing IT provision.
Section 7: Labour Market Information
Please describe below what labour market gaps or shortages this project will help to address and how it will do so. Indicate which source of Labour Market Information this is based upon. (Please refer to the list of helpful publications in section 10)
In the London Skills Survey (published in December 1999), participants identify C&IT skills as important for their career development. This shows a foresight on behalf of employees and an appreciation of the requirements of an increasingly knowledge-driven economy.
The HE NTO (THETO) noted in its Labour Market Information Project December 1999, "Whilst considerable resources have been dedicated to Communication & Information Technology (C&IT) in HE, there is growing concern about its effectiveness in particular areas." Additionally, the report recommends "In order to allow traditionally more disadvantaged staff to participate in the new learning and skills agenda, HEIs should consider the introduction of 'work-based' employee development schemes, with the aim of extending life-long learning opportunities to all staff within the HE sector."
An independent review of Higher Education, published in June 1999, revealed that 14% of all HE staff were located in manual grades; across the UK sector this amounts to 41,000 staff.
As long ago as May 1994, a Universities Staff Development Unit (USDU) occasional Green Paper on support/allied staff development noted: "Very little resource has been invested in the professional and vocational development of support/allied staff, despite the interest and efforts of the appropriate trade unions."
The proposed project is thus addressing an identified skills gap which applies, to a greater or lesser extent, to ancillary staff working in all HEIs.
Section 8 Existing Provision
Please describe how this project will complement local Learning Plans or how it will fill a gap in existing provision of education and training.
C&IT training has traditionally been offered to those categories of staff who use computers and electronic communication on a daily basis. Amongst the employer organisations in the partnership bid, this has been offered in a variety of formats: internal tutor-led courses, internal interactive CD-Rom courses, as well as by outside attendance on public courses. The Project will, for the first time, offer opportunities to categories of staff who have been denied training which was not perceived as being directly relevant to their current job roles.
Additionally, the provision of mentoring and coaching schemes are available in some HEIs, but are traditionally pitched at academic and/or professional staffs, thus reinforcing their advantage. This project's uniqueness lies in its attempt to extend the boundaries of such individual provision to staff groups whose members might be seen as having most to gain, and most need of structured support.
The delivery of key skills training is not currently undertaken for staff within the Partnership institutions, and another benefit of the Project would be to build the capacity of trainers to deliver this type of training in the future.
Section 9: Project Management and Partnership Arrangements
Please indicate who will be carrying out management of your project.
Contact:
Organisation:
Please describe the management structure for the project and the success indicators you will be applying
The Project Manager would be located in Senate House, working 2 days a week initially, to get the project up and running. The Project Manager will report to the Staff Development and Personnel Officer of the central University of London on a day-to-day basis. The Steering Committee, made up of all employers involved, will give overall policy direction.
We will be expecting the project to have a full intake during the Autumn term, after marketing and briefings over the summer months.
Section 10 Project Costs
Please indicate the estimated project costs in the table below, ensuring that partner contributions are indicated. Contributions in kind should be given an estimated value. If the table is insufficient, please prepare your own table in the same format and enclose it with your application.
Project Management and Delivery
Totals
£646,500
£3,000
£11,400
£660,900
Section 11: Other sources of Funding
Please give details below if you are planning to use any other source of funding, including public, private or European funding, to support this project.
There are no immediate plans to access any other sources of funding to assist in piloting this project. However, if this bid is successful, additional funding to further the project will be sought from European Union sources, the New Opportunities Fund or Lottery Board.
Section 12: Evaluation
Please describe how the project will be monitored and evaluated.
Participants in the first pilot schemes will be attached to a mentor to monitor their progress and provide feedback for the evaluation process.
The Staff Development Manager in the Lead Organisation will be monitoring the progress of staff within the central University and similarly named officers in other HEIs will be doing the same. The criteria for monitoring include:
Initial take up
Targets for qualifications
Numbers achieving qualifications
Feedback from managers on performance
Progression and promotion of staff involved
Take up of training opportunities
Take up of other learning opportunities
A working group representing the Partners and some users will also be meeting to evaluate and monitor progress.
THETO (The Higher Education Training Organisation) will carry out an independent evaluation of the Project, either directly or by employing a consultant within the London region to do so.
Section 13: Dissemination
Please outline how the project will be disseminated.
THETO will also disseminate the findings of the evaluation process to other HEIs within the UK. This will be done by publishing the details of the project and its outcomes on their WWW site and in a briefing paper which would be distributed to all its member institutions.
Additionally a conference will be planned to discuss the findings and encourage the embedding of good practice within the London region. The conference would be open to other employers working in environments where significant organisational learning is not currently the norm and where feedback on the success of this integrated provision may well prove interesting, relevant and economically beneficial. This could lead to a significant London-wide impact.
The members of the Partnership who are operating outside of HEIs will additionally commit to feeding back through their professional networks. Unison in particular will be keen to exploit the relationship between this bid and its national system of workplace learning advisers.
Focus do of course already provide a skills digest service and labour market information. They will therefore feedback information about this project throughout the London area to all employer groups.