U-skills for Functional Skills

Is your Apprenticeship scheme ready for Functional Skills?

Functional Skills are the basic skills in English and Maths that enable people to communicate and operate with confidence in life and at work. The new qualifications replace Key Skills and Skills for Life as a mandatory component of Apprenticeships from September 2012. They are tougher because:

• Final assessments require written tasks rather than relying on multiple choice questions
• Speaking and listening skills are taught and assessed for the first time
• Probabilities are included for the first time
• Learners are required to apply their skills and demonstrate mastery

U-skills is an exceptional blended learning model for Functional Skills designed with your Apprenticeship scheme in mind. Our pilots saw U-skills deliver first time pass rates upwards of 90% and enabled employers to deliver on Functional Skills within 8 – 12 weeks. Click here to walk-through the solution in an online presentation or read on to see how we worked out U-Skills for Functional Skills:

Our outstanding elearning content

personalised learning journeys and context focused content

Fully mapped to the new Functional Skills syllabus for English and Maths and delivered through our online portal, U-skills elearning content is based on real-world scenarios and completely learner-centric. Here’s what a personalised learning journey looks like:

1. Find your level with the Adaptive Screener
2. Focus your learning with the Diagnostic Assessment
3. Set out on your learning journey with the automated Individual Learning Plan
4. Engage with the content through our interactive, scenario based elearning:

Action time screens develop functionality and true mastery of Functional skills by requiring learners to transfer and apply their new skills to the real world.

Video scenarios are used to deliver the speaking and listening Functional English component both for formal and informal situations.

+ a pioneering blended learning model

U-skills for Functional Skills is elearning with a human face

Fully trained teaching professionals, our team of Learning Support Managers (LSMs) enhance MindLeaders elearning with one-on-on support, providing all the help and guidance learners need to succeed in final exams:

• Help learners apply and master new skills by organising practical tasks through the ePortfolio system, signposting learners to additional resources and setting regular mock exams.
• Continually support learners through elearning with face to face visits and remote support via text, phone, email and social media
• Invigilate informal and formal presentations that learners need to deliver for the speaking and listening elements of the qualifications along with final exams

= the perfect partner for your Apprenticeship scheme

why our partners choose MindLeaders to support Apprenticeships and deliver on Functional Skills

We’re highly experienced in delivering Apprenticeships for large employers throughout the care, retail and hospitality sectors. No matter how ambitious your Apprenticeship programme, our team ensure success with additional services including pre-sales consultancy and help identifying funding, on-site training and technical implementation support. Our administration services also provide full support for OFSTED inspections.

Do you have a challenge for us? Contact us to speak with one of our learning consultants about how U-skills fits into your Apprenticeship scheme.

Our thoughts on Functional Skills

• Apprenticeships – The other side of the story
• Is the UK literacy crisis getting worse?
• Functional Skills – Positive News Starts To Grow
• Making Apprenticeships Work

Show me the detail

See course screenshots, get introduced to ePortfolios and understand how each stage of the MindLeaders blended learning model works.

Download the “U-skills for Functional Skills” brochure now

Read the brochure as an online flipbook

White Paper

See how our Functional Skills pilot with Whitbread and Barchester Healthcare achieved over 90% first time pass rates within 8 – 12 weeks.

Download the Success with
Functional Skills Whitepaper now

Learn More

Do you need to deliver Functional Skills as part of your Apprenticeship programme? Get in touch today!