Flexible Training Solutions
Key issues and recommendations
Learning theme focus
• Joint project with FSO1 and 3. First phase
in a research programme
• Understand barriers to delivering flexible
training and identify solutions.
• Acknowledge but not dwell on well
rehearsed systemic problems of funding and
qualifications.
• Focus on what is working and why.
Learning theme process
• Discussions with Steering Group on focus
• Literature review
• Facilitated online discussion
• Interviews and case studies
• Workshop
• Final report and recommendations
• Definition of Phase 2 research project
Recommendations
• Funding
• Marketing
• Partnerships/brokerage
• Skills and competencies
• Provision
Maximise flexible funding
sources
• Maximise use of ESF and non college based
funding to support flexible provision
• Build capacity of colleges to access and use
funds flexibly
• Government agencies encouraged to use
flexible funding streams to support
innovative flexible provision
Review and simplify funding
systems
• Reduce and manage bureaucracy
• Longer time horizons
• Funding linked to softer outcomes and those
activities more relevant to flexible provision
• Better understanding of real cost and impact
of courses
Funding to recognise the costs of
relationship building
• Relationship building with employers and
important first step
• Relationships need o be maintained
• Activities have a cost but not recognised in
funding regimes
• Cost of contact, assessment need to be
included
Level playing field for private
providers
• Aspects of GTA funding models are useful
• Find ways of putting purchasing power in
the hands of employers
• Some useful lessons from ILAs
Improve market intelligence
• Providers (particularly colleges) recognised
need to improve market intelligence.
• Improve access to employers not currently
served
• Need up to date business register and
business analysis
Review effectiveness of links
with employers
• Providers need to review organisation of
their business links - are dedicated business
units necessarily the right approach?
• How well are services integrated across the
provider organisations?
• Better knowledge of business cycle and
needs
• Use of honest brokers and relationship
building
Improve marketing techniques
• Build on good practice in the private sector.
• More proactive development work with
clients
• Investment in client focused systems
• Outsourcing marketing to other agencies -
Business Links?
• Improve capacity within colleges
Improve partnership
arrangements
• Establish partnerships between public and
private sector providers
• Enhance signposting services
• Build on best practice
• GTA models are useful
• Use partnerships to promote flexible
funding
Develop and support brokerage
services
• Brokerage services appear to be a
successful models which could be further
replicated.
• Help to share the “contact” process with
employers.
• Better clarity of role of such services and
signposting of services.
Support and encourage business
networking
• Use existing networks to promote learning
services
• Build on emerging SSC network
• Encourage consortia of small business to
support economies of scale and provide
focus for training need
Share best practice
• Raise awareness of regional and local best
practice between training providers and
projects.
• Updated and searchable database of
providers and projects including areas of
expertise.
Skills of staff
• Improve tutor training and CPD to equip to
work with employers
• More use of secondments
• Corp of part time tutors with
business/industry links
• Support training of workplace tutors
Provision
• Modular provision with improved cross
matching of units across awarding bodies
• Complementary progression routes across
providers
• Rurality
• Niche market needs
• Use of college certificates in place of quals