Local Government Association’s Post

Growth and Skills Levy consultation (engagement) For those that have not spotted it yet, Skills England have added some more information about the stakeholder engagement that was referenced in their policy paper https://lnkd.in/eXSQCnTA They will be consulting with employers and other key organisations, as detailed on their webpage https://lnkd.in/eN-9x4NP : "The initial engagement exercise will take place in November and December 2024 and feed into DfE’s consideration of the priorities for the Growth and Skills offer. Skills England will prioritise 10 sectors in this initial engagement: - the 8 growth-driving sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy - construction and health and social care which are essential to the government’s missions" Possibly linked to this you may or may not have spotted that MAKE UK has launched its Industrial Strategy Skills Commission which is co chaired by Co-chaired by former Minster for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon, and is designed to find a solution to the growing skills deficit in manufacturing and engineering

Just a reminder to those FPA Australia members that voting for the board elections is still open until October 17th. I’m seeking your support and vote in my nomination for the board. I have listed below the current challenges I hear from member companies around Australia, which I will be focusing on if elected: 1.     Accessing Australian Standards at a cost-effective price 2.     Development of a new AS1851 and training material to support its introduction. 3.     Creating pathways for entry into the fire industry by traineeships, cadets, and apprenticeship programs. 4.     Closer relationships with government to influence accreditation or licensing schemes that reflect the tasks that our members perform. Make them understand that the Fire Industry has its own identity and specific skillsets 5.     Membership benefits that can be used to reduce the cost of running a small or medium sized fire company.

FPA Australia members that voting for the board elections is still open until October 17th. I’m seeking your support and vote for John Lynch ‘s nomination for the board. Listed below the current challenges from member companies around Australia, which John will be focusing on if elected: 1.     Accessing Australian Standards at a cost-effective price 2.     Development of a new AS1851 and training material to support its introduction. 3.     Creating pathways for entry into the fire industry by traineeships, cadets, and apprenticeship programs. 4.     Closer relationships with government to influence accreditation or licensing schemes that reflect the tasks that our members perform. Make them understand that the Fire Industry has its own identity and specific skillsets 5.     Membership benefits that can be used to reduce the cost of running a small or medium sized fire company.

Next stop Slovenia - for an exciting project that highlights the opportunities for #CareersInColour! Eight apprentices who entered the PDA’s 2024 Apprentice of the Year competition are heading to Ljubljana for an all-expenses paid trip to transform a school in need of repair, over a day. They are joining a team of more than 100 other tradespeople and trainees from across Europe for the project, with lots of opportunities to share good practice - and even visit the city’s picturesque Christmas Market. Speaking from the PDA’s stand at the N P & D Show, CEO Neil Ogilvie, who is donning overalls to take part in the project too, talks in this video about the visit. The project is supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia.

Another set of swift, strong decisions by #Departmentforeducation. Setting up a shadow Skills England to begin establishing its role while the legislation goes through, is a great move. Richard Pennycook will have strong connections to join the dots across the system and lay the ground for the permanent team in due course. He will want to get things moving, as shown on the DFE board, and to keep the skills agenda front and centre as it should be. Being in a position to influence key upcoming decisions including the spending review, industrial strategy and future devo deals is critical to the future of Skills England - having a shadow body in place prevents it being left to play catch up.. This move suggests the changes to the levy could come quickly. Lots to think about and prepare for in the sector in advance of that... MH&A #skills #skillsengland #newgovernment

I may be biased but I think this pathway into the environmental health profession or broader local government space is a great programme for all involved. Apprentices, trainees and cadets can be an investment for the business and part of the knowledge retention strategy. We are enticed by employment, tertiary level qualifications, professional mentoring, and hopefully a related passion, while the industry is delivered technically qualified and experienced professionals, who know whether they can and importantly want to do this job. I also modestly think the surrounding qualified professionals are benefitted as the studying employees of all types provide a unique opportunity to be mentored. By teaching your skills and knowledge to another person you are revising and reinforcing your own knowledge, as well as being slightly challenged to consider your understandings, and help guide another person to come to a similar place. I’m sure most people reading this know I ask a lot of questions, and I go down rabbit holes of research before putting my name to any work, standard template or otherwise. By doing this I ensure I have grasped the full extent of the determination, I pick up on areas for improvement, and I reinforce clear understandings of the various functions and pieces of legislation we are delegated. It’s a mutualistic relationship, and I strongly encourage all council staff to rally for onboarding of apprentices, trainees and cadets in the teams.

MY CONTINUED OUTRAGE WITH THE EDUCATIONAL LADERSHIP AND OFSTED   My followers will recall my outrage that OFSTED has continued its Inspections without any apparent deep review of its aims, objectives and negative effects on the quality of education for everyone n this country. Last night I saw on TV that there is another drive to get more teachers in schools to ‘Inspire’ our children. This is in addition to trying to get more part-timers from industry into FE to ‘give back and make a difference’.   After my 30 years in the Armed Forces, I can tell everyone now that you cannot get an ‘inspired’ front-line without inspired leadership to back everyone up. This is particularly true in the Royal Navy where everyone fights, wins, sinks or dies under the direct leadership of the captain of the ship. Nelson very much understood this and totally trusted his captains as individuals to fight their ships as hard as possible and win. As an experienced member of a NATO Battlestaff I am still in awe of his overall battle order at Trafalgar: "No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy" – Nelson had every confidence that the consequence this single sentence would be the complete annihilation, or preferably, surrender of the enemy. Unfortunately, having now been in Further Education for the last 15 years I have absolutely no confidence that the Educational Leadership is unselfishly dedicated to the ensuring that every single child, young person, vulnerable adult and adult student is given the best possible educational opportunities and support in their lives. As far as I am concerned, beyond the primacy of safeguarding every learner, if you are an educational leader and you are not absolutely driven by this aim you should f**k off somewhere else where you can do less damage!   Having failed to establish any of my new teaching and learning initiatives at Exeter College, I have now moved to the Cornwall Colleges Group to have another go – and this time the signs are good that I might have more success, particularly in enabling the Group to deliver the essential modules to underpin the Engineering Apprenticeship and Higher Apprenticeship programmes. I’ll keep you informed what’s happening –FYI - I’d like to be invited back to the ETF as a Technical Expert Panel Member or as an advisor to OFSTED on how to deliver the Apprenticeship programmes, but that would mean numerous people in higher leadership positions would have to back down from their egos.

Mike Holland, our Director of Workforce Development Strategy, recently spoke with the Boston Neighborhood Network Media about the latest developments in the Chamber Foundation’s Massachusetts Apprentice Network. Mike highlighted a key finding from employers: 92% of the Network’s apprentices are retained as full-time employees after completing their apprenticeships, demonstrating their hard work and loyalty to the organizations that invested in them. Learn more about the benefits of the apprenticeship model: https://lnkd.in/e-dwqjJw

As the Conservative Party publishes its election manifesto, AELP's Ben Rowland has responded by saying: “We welcome the Conservative Party backing up its previous policy announcement on apprenticeships with a focus on skills in its manifesto. The introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2025, and proposals for an expansion of bootcamps and other adult skills programmes, alongside a nuclear skills package worth £763 million by 2030 is promising. However, we are disappointed to see staff at independent training providers would miss out on the promise of a teaching bonus. “We are concerned that the manifesto lacks the step forward we need for skills. There should have been a commitment to develop a National Skills Strategy, which would help to ensure a holistic approach is taken to skills to help deliver sustainable economic growth; and we still lack sufficient funding and ideas to improve achievement rates, support small and medium sized employers, and address the decline of young people taking on an apprenticeship.” You can find the full Conservative Party manifesto here: https://lnkd.in/eTyzqkeE

The Pennsylvania Apprentice Coordinators Association encourages anyone who is graduating high school or college, changing careers or leaving the military to contact us in order to get started on building a career to better your future for yourself and your family. More details at 🌐apprentice.org #apprenticeship #apprentice #paca #trade #tradesman #debtfreeeducation #buildingtrades #careeropportunities #paapprenticeship #careerchange