MindLeaders Functional Skills Forum a success

London (1/30/2012)

MindLeaders held their second Functional Skills Forum on 19^th January 2012 at the British Library in London. The forum featured speakers spanning the entire field of delivery, from the National Apprenticeships Service and Sector Skills Councils to employers, training providers, curriculum development and educational training providers.

The theme for the day was Functional Skills journeys. Speakers were invited to outline the journeys they’d taken with the new qualifications so far and anticipate what the future might bring, and delegates included representatives from McDonalds, British Gas, Boots Opticians, The Restaurant Group, West Cornwall Pasty Company, Voyage and Barchester Healthcare.

Functional Skills the future for Apprenticeships and adult learners

Maureen Emmett of QCDA talked through how the qualifications had evolved to their current form and the future plans for skills qualifications. Functional Skills are set to fill the gap left by the end of Adult Literacy and Adult Numeracy Qualifications and also to support progress towards GCSE for those who can’t access grades A*- C. Following Maureen, Jonathan Wells of Guroo pointed out that the demise of diplomas in schools and removal of the GCSE hurdle has diluted the impact of Functional Skills in schools. Responding to the challenge is likely to remain largely with FE colleges and employers.

Ruth Asker-Browne explored the journey that People1st, the sector skills council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism, had taken. People1st has adopted a two pronged approach of lobbying with other key stakeholders such as the Association of Employers and Learning Providers (AELP) and running a working group of Awarding Organisations, employers and providers including MindLeaders. Ruth finished with a plea for other employers and sectors to share their experiences with the working group.

David Smale of the National Apprenticeship Service spoke of the passion he had for helping young people who might have been written off or left behind earlier in life before they were of the right mindset to learn. He put success with Functional Skills at the heart of good Apprenticeship delivery and championed the benefits of a technology led, blended approach.

The MindLeaders solution

Roger Francis, MindLeaders director of HR and learning services, outlined the MindLeaders blended approach to delivery, which includes dedicated Functional Skills elearning to provide underpinning knowledge, an ePortfolio to set tasks and track progress and Learning Support Managers (LSMs) for support and feedback.

Lorna Tyrtania, senior product manager, presented the MindLeaders elearning solution, talking delegates through the differences between Skills for Life/Key Skills and Functional Skills qualifications and key new features required for Functional Skills including video content and action time screens. Marie-Claire Wyndham-Ayres then demonstrated how the ePortfolio part of the MindLeaders blended solution enabled one-on-one interaction between a LSM and the learner for true personalised support.

Successful programmes already underway

Sandra Kelly, head of learning and development at Whitbread, gave an employer’s perspective on Functional Skills in action. Delegates learned that Apprenticeships sit right at the centre of Whitbread’s learning culture. Sandra Kelly outlined how a robust pilot of Functional Skills qualifications yielded a 93% exam completion rate and feedback including “I felt in charge of my learning” and “the tasks were real, like writing a letter of complaint”. Having seen a dramatic improvement in the skills and confidence of learners with the new Functional Skills qualifications and feedback that learners really enjoyed the programme, Whitbread are now widening the pilot.

The overwhelming message of the forum was that Functional Skills are here to stay and that whilst challenges around delivery remain, there are successful programmes already underway of real benefit to both learners and employers.

For more information on the MindLeaders solution for Functional Skills, please contact workbasedlearning@mindleaders.com