22 September 2009
OCNYHR Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Calendar and New Catalogue for 2009 - 2010
Our 2009-2010 CPD Catalogue is now available and has been sent to all Quality contacts at our member centres. Courses are recruiting well and if you would like to download a full version of the catalogue or to view it online, please follow the following link to access the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Catalogue for 2009 – 2010.
To order further free copies of the catalogue, please email t.shaw@ocnyhr.org.uk.
We also have our 2009-2010 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Calendar available for you to download. We have a variety of new, exciting courses on offer including:
- PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector);
- Principles & Practice of Assessment;
- Good Practice in Information, Advice or Guidance;
- and events specifically aimed at schools.
To book your place on events of your choice, please complete our Booking Form which is available to download or contact our Customer Service Team on 01924 434600 who will be more than happy to help you.
Please return your completed Booking Forms to: Theresa Shaw (t.shaw@ocnyhr.org.uk).
Please email any CPD enquiries to: enquiries@ocnyhr.org.uk
View the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Calendar for 2009 – 2010.
Access to Higher Education Grading Launch and Free Conference Celebrating 20 Years of Access Provision
OCNYHR would like to invite you to attend the FREE Access to HE Grading Launch and Conference at The Circle, Sheffield on Monday 19th October 2009.
Bookings are coming in thick and fast, so act now to secure your free place.
The event will run from 10am to 3pm. Keynote speakers include Kath Dentith, Head of Access at the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and Beej Kaczmarczyk, Sector Training.
Workshops will be led by Access to HE practitioners from across the Yorkshire and Humber region and will available throughout the day. These workshops will include:
- Support for the implementation of grading Access to HE Diplomas
- Everything you need to know about funding, but have run out of people to ask!
- InnovativeRetention Strategies – improve your achievement rates
- Information Literacy
In addition, an exciting selection of work by Access to HE learners from our Regional Art & Design Diploma will be on display, along with other lunch-time drop in sessions.
Meet senior members of the OCNYHR Team and hear abut the quality of the access work taking place in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.
We sincerely hope that you are able to join us and help in Celebrating 20 Years of Access and look forward to accessing a better future with Access to HE.
To view our flyer please follow the following link: Access to HE Flyer
To book your free place, email: t.shaw@ocnyhr.org.uk or phone us more information on: 01924 434600.
Additional Training Available on Grading in Access to HE
If Access to HE providers missed the recent opportunities to hear more about the new requirements for Grading of Access to HE Diplomas (Level 3 only), please contact Julie Knowles at access@ocnyhr.org.uk or telephone 01924 434600 to discuss your requirements. Thank you.
New Access to Higher Education Diplomas
Congratulations to the following three Colleges, who, following recent Validation Panels and subject to final ratification at next month’s Access to HE Committee at OCNYHR, will be offering the following new Diplomas to enable people to move on to study in higher education:
- YorkCollege– Regional Art & Design
- Harrogate College – Regional Art & Design
- Barnsley College – Regional Art & Design; Business & IT; Humanities & Social Sciences;Education, Training & Support
The National Learner Panel is recruiting now
Recruitment is currently taking place for learners to join the National Learner Panel, set up by the Government to influence policy and practice in post-16 learning.
The closing date for applications is Friday 23rd October 2009.
To find out more and to access the application forms, please follow the following links:
- Letter from the NLP chair
- NLP application form 2009-10
- NLP application notes 2009-10
- NLP recruitment flier - learner version
- NLP recruitment flier - sector version
Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Work and Skills Partnership Newsletter
To read the August edition of the Newsletter from the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Work and Skills Partnership, please follow the following link to access:
The Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Work and Skills Partnership Newsletter.
2009 has seen four successful trials of the South Yorkshire Skills Passport.
This badges job-ready skills for employers in the area. Two of these were in Barnsley and two in Doncaster. The Barnsley College course was in connection with L and P Springs Ltd – a company which used the passport to select suitable people for a new factory. Course participants found the Skills Passport motivating and useful.
OCNYHR is now promoting the Skills Passport in different parts of the Yorkshire and Humber region as one of our major contributions to rebuilding the regional economy, post-recession.
To find out more about the Skills Passport and what it could do for you, please contact OCNYHR’s Clare Wigzell, Business Development Manager.
Below is a full case study of OCNYHR’s contribution to the work at L & P Springs.
Case study - L & P Springs, Barnsley
The Skills Passport
When bed spring manufacturer L & P Springs UK was relocating to a new factory in Grimethorpe, it was keen to provide job opportunities for unemployed people in the area.
Thanks to the timing of its move, it became the first company to take advantage of the Skills Passport training programme, a programme designed to boost the job prospects of unemployed people in the region by ensuring they learn the specific skills employers say they need.
Launched in 2009, the Skills Passport has been developed by Open College Network Yorkshire & Humber (OCNYHR) in partnership with local colleges, training providers and employers themselves.
In their regular discussions with OCNYHR, employers had revealed that they would like to recruit people who are ‘job ready’. In other words, employers were looking for people who have the personal and social skills needed in a workplace, such as good timekeeping, personal presentation, communication skills and team-working, as well as the vocational skills to do the work itself.
As a result, the Skills Passport programme offers a wide range of training modules which are delivered by participating colleges and training providers. All the modules are certified by OCNYHR and one of the key features of the programme is that modules can be designed or adapted to suit the precise needs of individual employers.
Everyone who joins the programme is given a ‘Skills Passport’. For each training module completed they receive credits in their Skills Passport, which they can give to employers to show what skills they have learned.
For L & P Springs, OCNYHR worked closely with Barnsley College to put together a bespoke training programme covering skill areas ranging from life skills, including literacy, team-working and communication, through to more vocational skills such as basic manufacturing techniques, use of hand tools and machinery maintenance.
The programme consisted of an intense series of seminars, workshops and practical assessments delivered by Barnsley College two days a week over four weeks.
Working with the local JobCentre Plus, Barnsley College identified 29 suitable candidates from a range of backgrounds and with an age range from 21 to 57 for the programme, from which 15 were chosen to take part. Of those, 13 successfully completed the programme and were given job interviews by L&P Springs, which led to three people being offered jobs.
The candidates that were not successful were offered additional Information, advice and guidance to ensure that the momentum that had built in encouraging them to secure employment was not lost.
Gale Campbell, L & P Springs UK’s HR & Communications Director, said: “I heard about the Skills Passport as a member of Barnsley Work and Skills Board, which has provided invaluable support and funding to get the programme started.
“The real change to normal recruitment and selection programmes is that successful candidates knew what to expect from us as an employer, they had a basic understanding of the system and prt fundamental change has been the positive ocedures we use before they started work.
“As well as getting candidates with the skills we required, the main and mosattitude and approach that the successful candidates have, which they have transferred into the work place.
“Thanks to the success of this first programme, we received funding to undertake a further recruitment campaign using the Skills Passport programme.”
Youthtrain Steps-UP on 1st July 2009
- Youthtrain is a national, non-formal learning programme, accredited by the National Open College Network and designed for young people aged between 14 and 25. It now uses units from the NOCN Step-UP Qualifications and Qualifications in Progression, as well as some non-qualification [Youthtrain] units. This will enable young people who attain credits from these units and accumulate them to achieve a nationally recognised qualification such as an Award, Certificate or Diploma.
- Youthtrain offers young people an accessible and informal pathway into accredited learning, by providing a choice of more than 230 units of accreditation, divided into 11 themed subject areas which cover a wide range of young people's interests and needs. These include Preparation for Work, Health and Wellbeing, Creative and Performing Arts, and Volunteering.
- Step-Up qualifications have been allocated Section 96 Performance Points that contribute towards schools attainment tables. Youthtrain units of accreditation support the five main outcomes of Every Child Matters.
- Youthtrain recognises that young people are individuals and that they require different levels of support and ways to access the programme. With this in mind, Youthtrain offers a varied selection of units of accreditation, from Entry Level to Level Three, which are achievable in 10, 20 or 30 hours of learning.
Contact details:http://www.youthtrain.org.uk/
To ask for a CD with all the Youthtrain units to be sent to your organisation, please email or contact:
julie@youthtrain.org.uk or info@youthtrain.org.uk or telephone 01274 493137 (ask for Julie or Becky).
To ask about joining OCNYHR to deliver accredited units from Youthtrain contact:
Caro Blount-Shah at OCNYHR on 01924 434614 or Email: c.blount-shah@ocnyhr.org.uk
Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Stakeholder Event:
The new Pre and Post 19 Landscape - Meeting regional skills needs
The full Power Point Presentations made by keynote speakers at the recent Machinery of Government Conference hosted by NIACE in Leeds are available here. These presentations include:
- Pre-19 Landscape Design
- New pre-19 landscape and the role of LA with the YPLA and regional structures
- Post-19 landscape design
- Further Education and Skills Model -
A new landscape to support a demand led system - The Skills Funding Agency – Organisational Model
- Regional Sub Regional and Local Perspective
- Skills Activism and the Skills Funding Agency
To access the presentation, by clicking on on the following the link: Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Stakeholder Presentation
The detailed responses from delegates in the Round Table discussions are also available here and they show the kinds of issues that we will all be working on in the region to secure a smooth transition to the new arrangements, subject to them being given Royal approval.
To access the roundtable discussion, by clicking on on the following the link: Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Stakeholder roundtable discussion
Meet the OCNYHR Boss
Open College Network Yorkshire and Humber’s (OCNYHR’s) relatively new Chief Executive Officer, John Lawton has been getting out and about in the region meeting members to discuss OCNYHR’s strategic plans for the coming three years.
If you would like to meet John to discuss OCNYHR’s performance to date and to have a dialogue about what you see as the important issues to address in the learning and skills arena, then please contact John directly at j.lawton@ocnyhr.org.uk
Alternatively to book an appointment with John or a member of the OCNYHR Senior Management Team call Karen Lumb on 01924 434600 or via email : k.lumb@ocnyhr.org.uk.
OCNYHR’s Quality Update for Summer 2009
Just in case you might have missed it, we have provided a link here to OCNYHR’s Quality Update for Summer 2009, which still has some important dates for your diary. Please check out what you might have missed, or might be missing!!
To access the update please click the following link: OCNYHR’s Quality Update for Summer 2009.
Yorkshire and Humber Regional Learners’ Panel Equality and Diversity Event
The Yorkshire and Humber Learners’ Panel have organised an event to discuss Equality and Diversity issues. The event is primarily for learners but education managers or tutors may also wish to attend. It is a free event and transport for learners can be paid for if required. We hope you will be interested in attending and encourage other learners to attend. It will be an interactive, enjoyable and non threatening day.
Please apply by clicking on the following to link to access the form so the Panel can cater for numbers. Equality and Diversity brochure.
NIACE’s Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning Free Seminars
NIACE’s has launched its Inquiry into the Future of Lifelong Learning and a full Press Release with a link to the Inquiry website can be found here.
Please follow the following link to access the IFLL Final Press Release.
OCNYHR is holding a free short seminar for its members to discuss the findings of the Inquiry. This will be held at:
OpenCollege Network Yorkshire and Humber Region (OCNYHR)
OCN House
Lower Warrengate
WAKEFIELD
WF1 1SA
The Seminar will take place between 11:00 am and 1:00pm on Friday 23rd October 2009 and will be addressed by NIACE Programme Director for the Yorkshire and Humber region, Jan Novitzky and John Lawton, OCNYHR’s Chief Executive Officer, formerly a Regional development Officer in the Yorkshire and Humber Region with Jan.
If you would like to attend this seminar to contribute to the debates surrounding the Inquiry, please contact Karen Lumb: k.lumb@ocnyhr.org.uk or telephone Karen on 01924 434600.
If you cannot make the OCNYHR Seminar, NIACE has also offered an earlier chance for regional colleagues to discuss the findings of the inquiry by attending an informal discussion around the key messages. NIACE has booked a room at the Sheffield WEA Centre for Friday October 16th 1.30-3.30pm.
If you would like to attend, please let Jan Novitzky know and she will send you details of the venue. If you can't attend, you may wish to pass on this information to interested colleagues.
Contact: Jan Novitzky
Programme Director
NIACE
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
Mobile: 07917 585 285
Email: jan.novitzky@niace.org.uk
Website: www.niace.org.uk
Address: 21 De Montfort St, Leicester LE1 7GE