This month in your eBriefing

Apprenticeships are changing

Update

As many of you will know, from 1st August 2010 the Business & Administration and Customer Service Apprenticeship frameworks* are being revised in England, Northern Ireland and Wales to include qualifications from the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). The Team Leading and Management Apprenticeship frameworks are similarly being revised from 1st September 2010. Awarding organisations are continuing to develop materials for training centres and employers that outline the new qualifications and what the changes will mean to those involved in apprenticeships. These materials will be distributed as soon as they are available. The frameworks themselves remain unchanged and will continue to include an NVQ, a technical certificate and key skills/functional skills. The qualifications contained within the frameworks will be new qualifications now sitting on the QCF.

Review

Later this year, we will be undertaking a full review of these frameworks, (including consultations) with stakeholders, to ensure they are in line with the new Apprenticeship Framework requirements coming into effect in 2011. (*Apprenticeships are referred to differently in each of the four nations).
Further details of the new Apprenticeship Specifications for England and Wales can be found by clicking on the following links:

• England
• Wales

A summary of all changes occurring within all the pan sector frameworks now overseen by the CfA can be found on our website, by clicking here.

Read more

CfA events

The CfA have returned from another successful events season. With workshops held across the UK, we had the opportunity to meet and network with delegates in London, Leeds, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, and Glasgow during our full-day sessions that looked in detail at the New Business & Administration Standards.

The in-depth sessions were very well received and provided the ideal forum to have queries answered and points of confusion clarified. Delegates commented that it was "an excellent day which made the QCF very clear and easy to understand" and that it was a "very informative and enjoyable session".

The events also served as the perfect networking opportunity and encouraged the sharing of best practice between delegates. Many delegates commented that they would continue this trend when they returned to work, with raising points for discussion and sharing new ideas with their colleagues being top of their agendas.

Further details of upcoming events will be advertised in future eBriefings so stay in touch to find out more.

New NVQs are here!

As detailed in the Apprenticeship article above, new NVQs for Business & Administration, Customer Service, Team Leading and Management have now been developed. These NVQs will form part of the apprenticeship frameworks, as well as being a great way to undertake recognised competence based qualifications in a variety of pan sector areas.

Further information on the structure of the qualifications can be found on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications, here: www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk.

NVQs exist at levels 1-4 for Business & Administration, at levels 1-4 for Customer Service, at level 2 for Team Leading, and at levels 3, 5 and 7 for Management.

Functional Skills Support Programme

The Functional Skills Support Programme (FSSP) is designed to prepare practitioners, leaders and managers to successfully deliver functional skills.
Functional skills are practical skills in English, mathematics and ICT that help learners to overcome issues and challenges they face. By having better Functional skills, individuals will be able to work both effectively and confidently in their day-to-day lives, by making well-informed choices about whether something they want to purchase is of good value, or about how to put together a covering letter to support a job application, for example.

Having good Functional skills is key to success. They are valued and desired by both employers and further education establishments. To help improve Functional skills, free of charge support from FSSP is now available. All schools and post-16 education and training centres may access this support, which also counts towards continuing professional development (CPD).

National Strategies provide support for schools whilst the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) offers their support for the post-16 sector, independent training organisations, the secure estate and adult and community settings.

To find out more about the FSSC Programme visit www.fssupport.org

Question of the month

Q: What will be the layout of the QCF framework from August 2010?

A: The new QCF framework will consist of the below:

Level 2:
Level 2 NVQ Certificate in Business & Administration (QCF version)
Level 2 Certificate in Principles of Business & Administration (QCF version)
Key Skills/Functional Skills as they currently exist (functional skills only from September 2010)

Level 3:
Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Business & Administration (QCF version)
Level 3 Certificate in Principles of Business & Administration (QCF version)
Key Skills/Functional Skills as they currently exist (functional skills only from September 2010)

A number of awarding organisations now have the qualifications accredited, so these (and the QCF units and qualification structures) can be viewed on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications (www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk)

www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk