World Class Skills Events
New events now booking through to March 31st
Book today for new dates and new topics
The WCS events programme presents a great opportunity to access practical support and guidance. Each event is designed to support the changes in demand led funding and the drive towards developing effective employer responsiveness.
Each event lasts a full day and, for Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded providers, there is no charge for attendance.
Click on a course in the table below for information or click here to book now.
| Knowledge Transfer and Business Innovation: Unlocking the potential in further education | Birmingham | 17/03/2010 |
| Effective delivery of pre-employment programmes | London | 17/03/2010 |
To book your place on an event please click here
WCS Events - General Information
The WCS programme of seminars and workshops is open to all LSC funded providers and you can choose to apply for any programme you feel meets your needs and those of your organisation. However, we have suggested here a number of pathways you may wish to consider depending on your primary role or key areas of development for your organisation.
The programme comprises seminars, workshops and consultancies. All of the events and consultancies are fully subsidised by LSIS.
- Seminars provide a high level introduction and overview of the topic. They allow you to gain awareness of a topic overall and begin to identify where actions for change may need to be implemented.
- Workshops are designed for smaller groups and the sessions are more interactive and practical in nature, giving participants the opportunity to work with a range of proven tools and techniques. They support the development of knowledge and skills in order to implement change activities. If the topic area is new to you, you may wish to attend a seminar in a related topic area in order to obtain a high level overview initially.
- Consultancies are individual and customised to meet specific organisational needs. They allow the organisation to explore in depth specific issues and actions in order to achieve significant organisational development. There is a separate application process for organisations wishing to undertake a consultancy programme. Further information may be found here.
Programme Schedule
To provide guidance and to help you ensure that your organisation can successfully meet its goals for employer responsive provision the workshops and seminars have been split into four areas. For more information on the events being held by World Class Skills please use the following page, or the programme information resources available on the website.
The Management Agenda
This area of the programme is aimed at working with CEO’s, principals, directors and the senior management team of further education providers on how to position your organisation in becoming more employer responsive. Through assessment of your current position we can work on developing your high level strategy from development of an action plan, through to the vision and objectives for your organisation.
There are a number of steps that an organisation needs to go through to achieve this. By identifying the knowledge, skills and behaviours required from your employees you can begin to develop an effective HR strategy to ensure the right people are in the right place.
Changes to funding streams and the need to diversify income streams are powerful drivers in refocusing an organisation to work better with employers. The programme covers how you can maximise the opportunities presented by new funding streams and think about how new capital investments will help to assess the facilities and equipment needed to deliver the appropriate training.
Employer Relationships
This aspect of the programme aims to take the learning points from the management agenda to the next level in employer responsiveness. We cover high level strategic advice including identifying your target market, interpreting local market information (LMI), growing and developing relationships and building a strategy to ensuring employers understand how up-skilling their workforce will benefit their business .
Additionally, this area can help identify the gaps and support your organisation in achieving the Training Quality Standard (TQS), which will become more important as the employer responsive funding continues.
Operations
This section of the programme works with providers to ensure they have the right support systems in place within their organisation to effectively deliver employer responsive provision. Being employer focused requires that employer needs are fully accommodated. This includes ensuring the curriculum is designed specifically for employers' requirements, addressing flexible working hours to fit in with their timetables, ensuring the CRM systems complement their needs and that your staff are fully trained in their usage.
Employer responsiveness is not just about the employer but about employees as well. Ensuring that employees have access to good quality advice and support throughout their training is a key element of good practice. In addition, employer and employee responsiveness must take into account the design of the training programme, both from the perspective of the employer who needs it to fit in with the business imperatives and also the employee, who may have a wide range of learning styles.
Sector Skills
This component comprises three sections, which are currently being developed::
- Support providers in achieving Part B of the Training Quality Standard (TQS) through their selection of a sector to target and a guide to achieving accreditation.
- To work with the new Pathfinder Innovation projects to facilitate their research and development.
- Working with the first six National Skills Academies (NSA) to help them identify the development needs for providers in their sector.
If you would like further information then please contact us by email at wcsenquiries@kpmg.co.uk or call us on 0800 32 86 075.