September 07 - CfA eBriefing

Welcome

If you have just returned to work after the summer holidays, welcome back! Hopefully you haven't got the 'back to work' blues but if you have, I think this month's eBriefing will help to cheer you up.

This month's edition sees the launch of the revised Level 2 student Handbook and we also celebrate the achievement of all the London Young Apprentice's who successfully completed their Young Apprenticeship. In addition, we had a very interesting visit from a delegation from China. Read on to find out more...

In this month's issue
NEW Student Handbooks - Second Edition!	New faces at CfA
London Young Apprentice's receive final certificates	Young Apprenticeship events
Chinese delegation visit CfA	Contribute to new PA handbook
Become a Network member	Updated ERR Workbook now available
Don't miss out on a free City & Guilds consultation	Question of the Month
forward showcases new features at demo events

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NEW Student Handbooks - Second Edition!

The Second Edition of the CfA’s Level 2 Student Handbook is now available to pre-order.

Full of useful information, the Level 2 Second Edition Student Handbook covers ALL units at Level 2 from the Business & Administration Standards and incorporates the 2007 Incremental Change modifications.

The Handbook clarifies the skills that candidates will be expected to develop for each unit and demonstrates real life examples of working situations which will enable candidates to generate evidence. The user-friendly assessment exercises ensure that candidates are fully conversant with life in the office environment.

The Level 2 Student Handbook is now available for pre-order through the CfA online shop. To reserve your copy, go to http://www.cfa.uk.com/shop_online.html.

This Second Edition will be available for despatch in October 2007 with the Level 3 Second Edition coming soon.

Go to the CfA online shop

London Young Apprentices receive final certificates

This week, Young Apprentices from Camden ITeC and Stockwell Park High School were awarded their final certificates after completing a two year Young Apprenticeship (YA) programme.

This is the second year for Young Apprentices graduating from the YA programme, following its implementation in 2004. Since then, the programme has gone from strength to strength with record numbers of pupils involved in this year's cohort 4.

Kelly Saliba, Qualifications Manager at CfA said that, "The CfA are tremendously proud of all the Young Apprentices who have achieved their final certificates. It is a challenging programme for young people that really sets them up for the future. I am pleased to see that more and more pupils are opting to take this vocational route."

Go to YA website

Chinese delegation visit CfA

The CfA recently welcomed a delegation from the Government of the People's Republic of China.

The delegation, from the Ministry of Water Resources, was here on a fact finding tour to learn more about administration skills in general and specifically, how large UK organisations are administered. CfA Chief Executive, Jenny Hewell welcomed Deputy Director-General Yang Zhencun and his colleagues to Graphite Square where a presentation was delivered by Jenny and members of the CfA's development team.

Jenny Hewell said, "This was a very interesting experience for all concerned. We were pleasantly surprised to see that there are many similarities between the UK and China in the field of vocational education. The Chinese people are encouraged to learn as they work and better their career options in a very similar way to employees here. We are pleased to see that the Chinese government is looking for ways to further this development and encourage links between our two countries."

The meeting was a great experience for both parties and the CfA hopes to maintain links with the delegation in the hope that we can learn more from each other.

Become a Network member

The CfA Network is the leading advice and information service for all those involved in the delivery and development of Business & Administration skills.

By joining the CfA Network, you will become part of a network of learning centres across the UK who are already benefiting from access to our experience and knowledge. It offers you a comprehensive information service and the opportunity to share good practice, benchmark your performance and keep abreast of industry and sector news. Other benefits include:

- 10% discount on CfA events & publications
- Free annual copies of Business & Administration Standards
- Monthly Network eBriefing
- Network Extra: Best Practice, NVQ & Apps updates, Expert Opinion…
- Free company listing on CfA websites
- Dedicated Network website

And all this for an annual fee of only £85 + VAT!

To become a member, please visit the CfA online shop or to find out more, contact Tracie Jaiswal.

Don't miss out on a FREE City & Guilds consultation

Which came first - the Manager or the Administrator? And which one could you do without and still keep your business running?... I think we all know the answer to that; it’s the everyday hero, the business administrator.

City & Guilds, in celebration of the everyday hero, the business administrator, are offering new centres/employers a free consultation from one of their Business & Administration technical experts.

The Technical Expert will discuss ideas on how you can use their suite of Business Skills Qualifications to boost skills, grow business and get the job done.

This special offer is open to the first ten new centres/employers to email City & Guilds’ own everyday hero, their Business Skills Team Administrator, who will contact you to arrange for a consultant to visit at a time convenient to you.

Please email – joanna.weatherley@cityandguilds.com

This offer closes on 30th November 2007

Go to City & Guilds website

forward showcases new features at forthcoming events

In response to your feedback, we have added some new features to forward ePortfolio PLUS and will be showcasing them to you at a series of forthcoming demo events.

You told us that you would like to see a number of new features, including 'at a glance' reports that show when and which units have been verified and assessed, and reports which show range and type of evidence submitted at unit level.

These reports have now been created and to find out more about them, make sure you don't miss our Autumn events.

Free demo events will be taking place in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bristol beginning late October. Exact dates and venue details will be published soon.

To secure your place, please email events@cfa.uk.com

New faces at CfA

The CfA would like to give a big welcome to Tennille Balaz and Steven Owen, who both recently joined the CfA team.

Tennille (pictured left) joins us as Marketing & Communications Officer and is your first port of call for all events enquiries. She is also responsible for the development of the new Student Handbooks, which are available this month.

On joining, Tennille said, "I am really excited about working with the CfA and learning more about the many aspects of vocational education - there are also lots of exciting new projects to look forward to!"

Steven (pictured right) is working with the development team on an important project, researching into the supply and demand of administration skills in the UK. Steven said, "This is an interesting project and I am really looking forward to the next few months at CfA."

Good luck to them both!

Who's Who at the CfA

Young Apprenticeship Events

Next month, Anna Lemmon will be holding a series of events for YA (Young Apprenticeship) partnerships, providing all the latest information on PLTS (Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills) and CT (Critical Thinking). Special events will also be held for new, cohort 4 partnerships.

The events will take place on the following dates:

PLTS/CT update in London – 15th Nov 2007
PLTS/CT update in Leeds – 22nd Nov 2007
New partnerships - London – 25th Oct 2007
New partnerships - Leeds - 23rd Oct 2007

For further information regarding these events, please contact Sara Vanderheld on 020 7091 9626.

Go to YA website

Contribute to new PA handbook

Sue France, the Times Crème/DHL PA of the Year 2006, is currently working on a new book, which is due for publication in 2008. The book will be titled "PA Training: The Definitive Secretarial Handbook - including Confessions of a PA/Secretary."

Sue is appealing to PAs/Secretaries everywhere to get involved. So if you have some interesting stories and are keen to make a contribution to this new book, please download, fill in the questionnaire below and return to Sue.

Please be assured that your answers will be used anonymously at your request.

Download questionnaire Word or pdf

Updated ERR workbook now available

The ERR (Employers Rights & Responsibilities) Workbook has now been updated inline with all the latest workplace legislation.

To download your copy, please visit the CfA website at: www.cfa.uk.com or click here.

Download ERR Workbook

Question of the Month

Q: Is it possible to register with one Awarding Body (AB) to deliver the Business & Administration NVQ and separately register with different ABs to deliver the Technical Certificate and Key Skills?

A: Yes, you are not restricted to deliver the mandatory framework requirements with one AB. (Relevant to England & Wales only)

Go to FAQs

To subscribe to the CfA eBriefing, please email tracie.jaiswal@cfa.uk.com

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In this month's issue