This month in your eBriefing

Would you like to make a contribution?

The CfA is always looking for fresh and new contributions from you, our readers. So in order to make our publications and communications more relevant, up-to-date, interesting and useful for you please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Your contribution could be a case study about one of your apprentices, such as Ben Green in our May eBriefing (pictured), or on the wider work you are doing with apprentices. It could be a new or existing Business & Administration, HR, language or research project you are working on or even relevant industry news.

If you do have any ideas or comments to make, we'd be delighted to feature you in upcoming editions of the eBriefing - so contact us now to get involved. 

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Tackling NEET and worklessness in Hyndburn

The project
Accrington and Rossendale College in Lancashire have been busy setting up a project in the Hyndburn area to reduce the worklessness gap. The project aims to benefit both employers and people wanting to take their first steps back into work, whatever their age, whilst also helping to develop employability and enterprise skills.

Context
In spite of considerable progress made during the last three years, Hyndburn remains an area of significant deprivation. The borough has high levels of workless; young people not in employment, education and training (NEET) and low levels of skills and enterprise within the community.

This proposal aims to tackle these priorities for improvement by creating an innovative programme of apprenticeships and other training opportunities. This engages Hyndburn employers who have little or no previous history of engagement in this type of training. An objective will also be to secure these local jobs for local people.

Following early contact with local employers, a number of Hyndburn employers have expressed an interest in offering places under the proposed scheme.  These include:

• Accrington and Rossendale College

• Elevate East Lancashire

• Hyndburn Borough Council

• Hyndburn Primary Care trust

• Lancashire Police

• Lancashire Fire and Rescue

• Pennine Groundwork

A number of SME/micro employers are also being consulted about the new scheme and are expected to participate.

Click here to find out more about the Hyndburn project.

Hyndburn project

Extension of Key Skills in Apprenticeships

John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, has announced at the ALP conference that Key Skills in Apprenticeship Frameworks will be extended until March 2011. This will allow providers and employers the choice of offering either Functional Skills or Key Skills until 31 March 2011. Please note that this does not include Wales, where Essential Skills will replace Key Skills from September 2010.

Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes, said: "This coalition Government believes the best way to teach the practical skills employers need is through the partnerships between learners, employers and trainers that we know as Apprenticeships.”

The Minister stressed that this is a temporary measure to allow more flexibility for providers and employers whilst they finalise their preparations for delivery of Functional Skills from April 2011. This is not a postponement of Functional Skills but rather a period of dual running alongside Key Skills.

Click here if you would like to know more about the Association of Learning Providers. Also, if you are interested in finding out further information about apprenticeships go to http://apprenticeships.org.uk

Growth Expected for Highly-Skilled Staff

Demand for highly-skilled staff set to grow during the recovery – CBI/EDI survey

Demand for highly-skilled people will intensify during the recovery, and employers fear they will not be able to find people with the skills they need to fill high-level jobs, a new survey revealed.

The new report, called "Ready to grow: business priorities for education and skills", is sponsored by leading qualifications awarding body EDI. The survey was answered by 694 employers, which together employ over 2.4 million people and represent companies of all sizes and sectors.

Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said: "Our survey shows businesses want tomorrow’s workforce to be at the top of the new government’s policy agenda. As we move further into recovery and businesses plan for growth, the demand for people with high-quality skills and qualifications will intensify.”

Read more

CfA Student Handbooks

Thank you for your support in taking part in our survey back in February 2010. We have read and considered all of your comments about our current Student Handbooks, Levels 1, 2 and 3. Your opinions are essential to revising the second edition of the Student Handbooks as we anticipate their arrival onto our bookshelves.

The new and improved Student Handbooks are all currently being updated and will be available soon, including the possible option of downloading chapters separately from the CfA website.

In the meantime, if you can’t wait to get your hands on a copy, you can save a fantastic one third off all Student Handbooks this summer - now available from just £8.66! Whether you are a student or a centre looking to provide texts for candidates this outstanding summer offer shouldn't be missed.
Or to get a taste for the Handbooks you can also simply download a sample chapter from Level 2 directly from the website.

To take a look at the CfA Student Handbooks or to make a purchase, please go to www.cfa.uk.com/handbooks/index.html

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Question of the month

Q: My learner received a grade C in Maths in June 2004 and we have just signed her up to do an apprenticeship in July 2010.  Can she use her GCSE grade as a relaxation for her Communication Key Skill?

A: No the learner will not be able to.  The achievement of the GCSE grade must be no longer than five years before the date of registration on the apprenticeship framework.