Education - Just how will North-East train to gain?

Sep 14 2006 By Anastasia Weiner, North East Vision

With a £500m budget and a new structure, the Learning and Skills Council is keen to show the benefits of its transformation. Anastasia Weiner looks at how a streamlined LSC will meet the educational needs of the North-East.

It's been a long and controversial transformation, but the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has emerged from its restructuring as a sleeker and more efficient animal. On face value, the changes aren't immediately obvious.

The agency will continue to manage adult training initiatives such as Train to Gain and Nextstep, act as the funding body for further education institutions, and approve contracts for private sector education/training provision.

But what provision there is, and how it will be delivered, has altered.

There is a noticeable shift towards greater vocational training, with the introduction of five diplomas - health and social care, engineering, construction, creative media, and IT - which will begin in schools with the option to continue studies into further/higher education or the workplace.

And for the first time, under-25s can train for a level three (A-level equivalent) qualification while in work, with flexibility in course times to suit employers.

In fact, quality and flexibility are core to the LSC's transformation.

But Chris Roberts, LSC regional director for the North-East, knows that winning the battle is only half the fight.

Despite criticisms following the re-organisation, he remains resolute that a streamlined LSC will be of benefit to the region and its economic future.

Across the region, the total number of roles has reduced from around 280 to 260, although there have been no compulsory redundancies.

However, the LSC says that the number of outward facing roles has in fact increased.

"It's important to get across that we have not just changed to save money," says Mr Roberts adamantly.

"We've sought to listen to the needs of employers and are adapting to those needs.

"Businesses have long complained that colleges don't provide them with the courses they need, but we intend to improve the performance of the sector to ensure it offers the skills, individuals and employers need here."

Currently around 11% of employees nationally use FE colleges to train their workforce.

The LSC is determined to increase that by offering better designed courses at times to suit every type of business.

A quality mark is also being developed to recognise excellence in the delivery of workforce skills development.

Mr Roberts admits that a lot of shoe leather has been worn engaging with employers and college leaders on reforms.

"We have garnered a lot of support from colleges and business leaders," he says.

"Our future strategic direction will also be based on better information and data, allowing us to make more informed decisions."

Achieving its ambition, however, will mean an increased reliance on the private sector.

Publicly-funded colleges and commercial training providers will in effect compete against each other, or partner, to provide "services".

"It's a similar model to the NHS," agrees Mr Roberts.

"There are some great challenges ahead, I agree, but this does not mean colleges will be forced to shut.

"Quite the opposite. We will see it as a failure on our part if, under extreme circumstances, an institution has no choice but to close.

"Neither will we allow any provider to just coast."

Colleges will also be helped to run their businesses better, including greater emphasis on partnering, sharing administrative costs, and "reduction of back-office resources".

A newly-formed Quality Improvement Agency will ensure all providers meet minimum acceptable standards.

Moreover, a new rating assessment system, measuring performance across seven key areas, including responsiveness to learners and employers, effectiveness and financial health, has been developed to recognise excellence.

The Framework for Excellence, due to become operational in September 2007, has been produced in response to the Government's FE White Paper, and is intended to help minimise bureaucracy and increase self-regulation.

However, a recent survey shows that the North-East is already doing well in the satisfaction stakes.

According to the National Learner Satisfaction Survey some 90% of post-16 learners in Further Education are satisfied with their overall learning experience and quality of teaching, and of these, 66% said they were "extremely" or "very" satisfied.

With all that said, the LSC has an agreement with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) that poor quality providers will not be funded beyond September 2008.

But Mr Roberts is confident that the North-East is more than capable of rising to the challenge. "I am very positive about the changes and what they mean for the North-East," he says.