This report is for the second assignment in the Human Resource Development module of the BTEC HNC Business course. The report coincides with the assignment criteria and will be handed in to John Burke at TCAT College no later than 18 June 2009. The information for this report will be founded from the extracts taken from the budget reports given with the assignment and from personal research. Questions will be answered and justified based upon this.
Identify and explain a range of contemporary training initiatives that have been introduced by the UK government Learn Direct This initiative is a government sponsored network of online learning set up in 1998, it provides an opportunity for individuals to up-grade or improve their by taking various courses online in there own time. They do not have to attend college for example in education nor do they have an assessor such as with NVQ’s come out and visit them. The courses range from all kinds of areas including Maths, English, IT and Management skills.
Basic Numeracy and Literacy courses are free of charge and others range from i?? 19. 99. The intensity of the courses can be basic up to university level. They have centres local to where people live, not only in major cities where help and advice can be sought and on the telephone. The downside to these courses however is that they often are not recognised qualifications so although they may teach you new skills, if they are not recognisable employers will be unaware of the individuals competence and thus they may have to go on and complete an NVQ or similar.
They also have areas to help businesses with training employees and helping to meet organisational objectives as well as assessing whether any funding could be sought. Modern Apprenticeships This initiative was introduced in 1994; they were re-branded to ‘Apprenticeships in 2004. It is aimed at individuals over 16. The aim is to develop skills with hands on experience by joining employers and apprentices together. Originally these were only in trades such as plumbing and carpentry but now in a range of areas from hairdressing to administration.
A recent campaign from the government during February and March for Apprenticeships has included TV, radio, press and online advertising to raise awareness using Sir Alan Sugar as the brand face, he says apprentices “Make Things Happen”. Apprenticeships allow the trainee to learn and gain nationally recognised qualifications whilst earning a wage of at least i?? 80/week but most employers pay more. Typically an apprenticeship can last between 1-2 years but some can go up to 5. There are no fixed entry requirements for most Apprenticeships.
However, for some more technical Apprenticeships such as Electrical Installations GCSE grades A*- C in Maths, English and science are usually required. These apprenticeships are widely known throughout the UK, however are more suited to school leavers wanting to get into a trade, I say this because if an older person is on an Apprenticeship, the minimum wage rule does not apply and they are given a ‘Training Allowance’ most adults with mortgages and other typical outgoings could not manage on these wages alone but would struggle to find a second job that would supplement their income enough. Train to Gain
This initiative is designed to develop the skills of employees already in the workplace by providing a number of funding methods to assist businesses. They offer free impartial advice to companies and match any training needs identified with training providers. The idea is to help businesses improve their productivity and competitiveness by ensuring that staff have the right skills to do the best job, for example a stores man receiving forklift training. The Learning and Skills Council deal with Train to Gain and they contract out if you like to ‘Business Brokers’ and learning providers who organise the training and advise of funding etc.
Often NVQ’s (National Vocational Qualifications) are a typical training type although they can come in all areas studying at work, college, or as part of an Apprenticeship. They are It is a ‘competence-based’ qualifications meaning what you learn is designed to develop the skills and knowledge to do a job effectively. They are a national standard which says what a competent person in a job could be expected to do. NVQs are at levels 1 to 5 on the National Qualifications Framework, as with Learn Direct courses, level 1 would be very basic whereas level 5 would be at university level. New Deal
This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to get people off benefits and into work. It offers support and guidance for people in need of extra help to find work. The Job Centre help with this and the programmes are split between young people, over 25’s, disabled etc depending on requirements. For example for young people, if they are aged between 18 to 24 and have been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for 6 months or more, they must take part in New Deal for young people. The idea is New to give the individual a chance to train, learn and do work experience so that they can learn skills, increase confidence and find and keep work.
It is also supposed to be beneficial to employers as it helps them to find employees who are willing to learn only if the initiative is compulsory after a certain time, then this may mean that people still out of work after the 6 months are not really interested in finding work. It is however a good initiative to help people who really do want work who may be originally turned down by an employer due to lack of skills, no recent track history of work so no one to approach for a reference, thus people who have been long term ill or have taken a break to have children.
Unfortunately there are a lot of people who abuse the system and this seems to be where the government are stepping in to regulate these people. 3. 2 What are the government trying to achieve by these and other methods? The Learning and Skills Council are responsible for funding and planning all education and training for over 16’s in England other than people in university. It states on there website “We have a single goal: to improve the skills of England’s young people and adults to ensure we have a workforce of world-class standard”
The government are trying to bring us up to the same levels of education and have the same skilled workforce as competing countries. They are also trying to decrease the level of unemployment and give everybody the same opportunities for example allowing poorer families funding for their children to go to university, whereas in previous years this may have only been for the wealthier families.
