Draft Skills for Life Strategy for Employees - Phase 1 September 2006 to December 2007
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DRAFT
SKILLS FOR LIFE STRATEGY
FOR
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL EMPLOYEES
PHASE 1
September 2006 to December 2007
Human Resources
August 2006
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CONTENTS
1.
Executive Summary
2.
Introduction
2.1 Aims and purpose of the strategy
2.2 Defintion of Skills for Life
3.
Context
3.1 National context of Skills for Life
3.2 Why Skills for Life matters
3.3 The government’s targets, priorities, and approach to Skills for Life
3.4 The local context
4.
Local context
4.1 Salford Statistics
4.2 Internal Drivers and Links to other strategies and plans
4.3 Progress so far
4.4 Key challenges
5.
Making Headway – taking Skills for Life forward
5.1 Statement of commitment
5.2 Vision
5.3 Key objectives of the strategy
5.4 Delivering the strategy
5.5 Resources
5.6 Review and evalusation of the strategy
6.
Appendices
Appendix 1:
References and bibliography
Appendix 2:
Skills for Life and the qualifications framework
Appendix 3:
Skills for Life qualifications
Appendix 4:
Skills for Life pilot
Appendix 5:
Salford City Council Comptency Frameworks and Skills for Life (to
follow)
Appendix 6:
Action Plan
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1.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This strategy sets out the initial approach to Skills for Life (SfL) for all employees of
Salford City Council.
National and Local Context
Skills for Life is the governments strategy for improving the literacy, language and
numeracy skills of the population to the level necessary to function and progress at
work and in society in general as people with poor literacy, language and
numeracy skills are less productive at work, earn less and are more likely to suffer
from ill health and social exclusion. (SfL National Strategy 2003).
The government has a target to improve the Skills for Life of 1.5 million adults by
2007 and public sector workers are identified as a priority group. Salford
contributes, through its LPSA 2 target to the national target
Salford experiences higher than average Skills for Life needs and extrapolation of
the national statistics suggest that there will be approximately 1,000 employees
who are below level 1 (equivalent to GCSE grade D-G) with 4,000 having needs
below level 2 (equivalent to GCSE grade A-C).
Progress so far
There have been a number of Skills for Life activities including

Two pilots, literacy and numeracy have been conducted with employees
gaining the nationally recognised qualifications.

Skills for Life embedded within the NVQ in Social Care for Staff in
Community Health and Social Care.

A joint Skills for Life Strategy for the Health Care Sector.

The appointment of a Skills for Life Project worker within the LSP.

Appointment of Union Learner Representatives

HR staff have undergone Leader ship and Management training in respect
of Skills for Life
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Challenges
There are a number of challenges to be overcome in implementing the strategy

Commitment to Skills for Life

Number of employees with Skills for Life needs

The operational and resources difficulties associated with giving employees
time off for assessment

Overcoming the Stigma attached to Skills for Life needs
Key Objectives of the Strategy
The key objectives of the strategy are to:
1. Establish a corporate model to facilitate Skills for Life improvement for
employees of Salford City Council and achieve LPSA 2 targets
2. Raise awareness of Skills for Life across the organisation
3. Assess the organisation’s overall Skill for Life needs
4. Source and deliver skills for life programmes
5. Set out a framework to monitor and evaluate Skills for Life activity
The action plan sets out how the aims of the strategy will be met
Review and evaluation
A number of qualitative and quantitative approaches will be taken to evaluate the
success of the initiative with progress being reported on a quarterly basis. The
whole strategy will be reviewed in December 2007 and the strategy for phase 2 put
in place.
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2.
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
2.1
AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE DOCUMENT
This strategy sets out the approach to and a framework for Skills for Life for
employees of Salford City Council. The strategy identifies the key activities
needed to improve the literacy, numeracy and IT skills of Salford City Council
employees.
2.2
DEFINTION OF SKILLS FOR LIFE
“Skills for Life” is the national strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy
skills launched by the government in March 2001. Skills for Life are defined as
the fundamental basic skills that all adults need to function and progress at
work and in society generally. ICT was recently added as the third basic skill as
those who cannot access the internet may be as diadvantaged as those who
are unable to read because IT skills are as fundamental in business as literacy
and numeracy skills. (HM White paper 21st Century Skills: Realising our
potential 2003).
3.
CONTEXT
3.1
NATIONAL CONTEXT OF SKILLS FOR LIFE NEEDS
National research conducted in 1999 (Moser) indicated that 7 million adults in
England cannot read or write at the level expected of an 11 year old and even
more have trouble with numbers. The research found that:

90% of jobs require communication and literacy skills;

50% of jobs require numerical ability; and,

50% of those with poor basic skills are employed
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Further research carried out by the DfES in 2003 found that:

56% of adults have literacy skills at or below level 1 (equivalent to GCSE
grade D-G)

75% have of adults have numeracy skills at or below level 1 (equivalent
to GCSE grade D-G)
The local government workforce comprises of 2,309,226 employees and
23,000elected members / councillors (DfES 2003). Of these, the Employers
Organisation, in the Local Government Skills for Life Strategy 2005 -2007,
estimate that:

230,00 local government employees (11% of the workforce) are below
level 1 in literacy (below GCSE English grade G).

780,000 local government employees (40%) of the workforce are below
level 1 in numeracy (below GCSE English grade G).
Other documents referring to the Skills for Life agenda are documented in
Appendix 1.
3.2
WHY SKILLS FOR LIFE MATTERS
Skills for Life matters to the organisation, the individual and the local area in
many ways.
Skills for Life matters to the organisation because:

IT helps to reduce turnover and absenteeism

Health and safety requirements are met and people are not put at risk

Time keeping is improved

Customer communications and relations are improved

Effectiveness and efficiency are improved and there are less errors

Compliance with regulations and policies

There is a need for a workforce that is capable of accepting change,
meeting future challenges and is willing to continuously update their
skills and knowledge.
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Skills for Life matters to employees because:

People can achieve promotion or change their employment/role.

People are able to undertake the job competently and safely

It can improve their confidence, motivation, skills and personal
performance

It enables people to achieve nationally recognised qualifications

People’s ability to understand instructions, including those dealing with
critically important health and safety issues is improved.

It can improve peoples ability to communicate with colleagues and
customers

It enables people to take full advantage of training and development
opportunities

People who do not have skills for life needs are more likely to apply for
promotion

People who do not have Skills for Life needs earn, on average, 11%
more than those who do.
The Local Area
There are also benefits to the local area as improved literacy and numeracy
skills are key to economic regeneration and social inclusion. Improving skills for
life can enable employees to earn more, spend more and thus contribute to the
improvements in the local economy.
3.3 THE GOVERNMENT’S TARGET. PRIORITIES AND APPROACH TO SKILLS
FOR LIFE
The government has a target to improve the literacy, language and numeracy
skills of 1.5 million adults in England (which includes 20,000 public sector
employees with public sector employees and low skilled people in employment
being two of the priority groups to be targeted ((DfES SfL Strategy 2003).
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To deliver their Skills for Life Strategy, the government, through the Department
for Employment and Skills, has put in place a number of initiatives and
programmes which include:

Free basic skills teaching for all adult learners (except for some ESOL
(English for Speakers of other Languages learners)).

National standards for literacy, numeracy and (ESOL) at:

Entry Level 1, 2 and 3

Level 1 (equivalent to GCSE grade D to G)

Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE grade A to C)
How Skills for Life levels map to the national qualification framework is
illustrated in appendix 2.

New qualifications for learners with national tests.
Adult learners can achieve qualifications, awarded by an accredited
awarding body by passing tests in Literacy and /or numeracy. Certificates
are motivator and moral booster for many employees and make progress
easy to track.
Qualifications are available in numeracy, literacy and ICT. Full details of the
qualifications are in appendix 3.

Initiatives and programmes these include
Move On is the strand within Skills for Life that focuses on people at Level 1
and Level 2 who may not consider that they have Skills for Life needs.
Move on provides learners with the opportunity to:

Have a free taster session

Have a free brush up course

Take national tests at level 1 or 2
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Get On at Work is the strand within Skills for Life that focuses on
employees improving their literacy and numeracy skills to level 2.Get On is
essentially move on adapted for the workplace. Get on gives learners the
opportunity to:

Sample the national tests

Take a brush up course through a tailor made programme
Move up is a pilot project aimed at applying the principles of Move On to
Entry Level learners, specifically at Entry 3, where it is felt to be most
appropriate. However, this is not widely available at present.
Test the Company offers a campaign approach to promoting the
improvement of English and Maths across the whole of an organisation (or
in the case of the local authority - directorates) and links in to Move On.
The LSC fund the testing and therefore providers of basic skills / skills for
life courses should be able to undertake the testing.
Train to Gain is a government project (based on the Employer Training
Pilot) to develop the skills of employees. As part of this initiative, funding is
available for people to gain their first full level 2 qualifications and their first
numeracy and literacy qualification. This project is due to be finalised and
launched late summer 2006.
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4.
THE LOCAL CONTEXT
4.1
SALFORD STATISTICS
Salford is the 12th most deprived local authority in the country (Partners In
Salford 2005) and experiences the problems associated with social exclusion
such as low skilled and limited employment opportunities, low levels of
qualifications, and estimated higher than average levels of literacy and
numeracy as set out below (DfES: Read Write Plus 2005).

35% of people in Salford have no qualifications, compared to 32.7% for
Greater Manchester and 28.9% for England

28.1% of people in Salford have poor literacy, compared to 26.2% for
Greater Manchester and 24.2% for England

29.7% of people in Salford have poor numeracy, compared to 27.5 for
Greater Manchester and 25.1% for England.
Salford City Council is the largest employer in the borough and has 11,500
employees, across a range of grades and pay bands. Approximately 5,000
employees live in Salford, with two thirds of local people employed at the lower
grades.
Extrapolation of the national statistics for the local government workforce
suggests that in Salford there would be approximately 1000 employees who are
below Level 1 in Literacy and 4000 that are below Level 1 in numeracy. (SCC
Employment Plan 2005/06).
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4.2
INTERNAL DRIVERS AND LINKS TO OTHER STRATEGIES AND PLANS
In particular, this strategy links to:
Salford’s Skills for Life Strategy 2003 – 2007
The Salford Lifelong Learning Partnership (SLLP) has responsibility for raising
the basic skills of adults and the Skills for Life agenda across the whole of the
City and has developed the Salford Skills for life Strategy (2003 – 2007). One of
the key strategic aims of the strategy (strategic aim 6) is “To secure the
commitment of employers to raising the skills for life levels of their employees”
LPSA2: target 5
Children’s Services has the lead for improving the basic skills of adults. Need to
The LPSA2 enhanced target is to achieve a minimum of 2500 employees
raising their qualification level by 1 level by 2011.
Salford’s Community Plan 2006 – 2016
The Local Strategic Partnership has also produced Salford’s Community Plan
(2006 – 2016), which identifies improving the skills for Life of Adults in Salford
as a priority and states, as one if it’s objectives, the need to, “Engage with
employers to encourage the provision of learning opportunities for employees to
improve their skills for life and gain qualifications up to level 2”.
It also identifies, as a one of the priority groups, low skilled people in work, and
has two targets (for the whole of the City – people who live or work in Salford):
1. Increasing the number of adults gaining at least one Skills for Life
qualification at entry level 3, level 1 and level 2.
2. To close the gap between skills for life levels in Salford and the North
West average.
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The Corporate Employment, Learning and Skills Action Plan 2006 – 2007.
The Salford Employment Plan, produced by the Economic Development Team,
has a strategic action to encourage public sector employers to act as exemplar
organisations. It also identifies target groups as being those in employment but
with low skills, and local employers.
A target of achieving a minimum of 2,500 employees raising their qualification
in literacy and numeracy by one level by 2011 has been set. This will contribute
30% of Salford’s enhanced LPSA 2 targets by July 2009.
The Balanced Scorecard
The Skills for Life Strategy will ensure that Skills for Life issues are addressed
in the workforce and contributes to the learning and growth perspective of the
balanced scorecard, which establishes priorities of:
o Create effective leadership at all levels
o People skilled to meet customer needs
o A continuously learning and growing organisation
o Right people, right place, right time
4.3
PROGRESS SO FAR
Within Salford City Council, the Skills for Life Agenda is managed through the
Economic Development and Skills Partnership and a Skills for Life Co-ordinator
and small team are in place to deal with Skills for Life across the City. An
additional, 3-year fixed term post has been created to co-ordinate Skills for Life
for employers within the City. Within the council, the Human Resources
Division leads the Skills for Life agenda for employees of Salford City Council.
The Skills for Life developments regarding employees of Salford City Council so
far are described below.
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Embedded Skills for Life in Vocational Training
The Community Health and Social Care directorate (CHSC) has worked in
partnership to embed Skills for Life within vocational NVQs for social care staff.
CHSC has developed a strategy in partnership with PCT and the health
economy sector to develop skills for life across the whole of the health and
social care sector.
Skills for Life Pilots
Two pilots (numeracy and literacy) at level 1 have taken place with 16 staff from
Environment and Urban Vision. Back fill money was available to provide cover
when the employees were off site on their training through the Employer
Training Pilots fund. Details of the qualifications gained are in Appendix 4.
Training and Development
Two officers from Human Resources have undertaken Basic Skills Quality
Initiative Leadership and Management training and, Learning and Skills Council
Employer Toolkit Training.
Union Learner Representatives
A small network of Union Learner Representatives (ULRs) is in place with most
of the representatives being concentrated in the directorates where the pilots
have taken place. ULRs are not in place across the whole of the organisation.
The URLs attend the Lifelong Learning Joint Consultative Group
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Qualifications
Employees undertaking NVQs in Care have had their basic skills addressed as
skills for life are embedded in the Care NVQ process.
Other employees in other parts of the council, for example, grounds
maintenance, also undertake basic skills as part of their vocational qualification.
Salford City Council Competency Frameworks
The revised Salford Competency Frameworks are based on the revised
national standards for management and the Generic Skills for Local
Government Framework. Basic skills underpin the competency frameworks
(see Appendix 5).
4.4
KEY CHALLENGES
There are a number of challenges that are likely to impact upon the skills for life
agenda, with the main ones being:
Commitment to Skills for life
Awareness raising will play a crucial part in convincing managers of the
business benefits and gaining commitment to Skills for Life as some managers
do not see the need of basic skills and often cannot see the business benefits
(NAO report 2003). It is estimated that unmet skills for life needs cost business
in the UK £6 billion a year (Campaign for learning).
Staff at all levels need to be informed and committed.
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Numbers involved
Extrapolation of the national statistics for the local government workforce
suggests that in Salford there would be approximately 1000 employees who are
below Level 1 in Literacy and 4000 that are below Level 1 in numeracy. (SCC
Employment Plan 2005/06).
There may also be additional skills for life needs for staff who are at level 2 as
skills for life issues can affect everyone in some way, such as difficulty with
spelling or working out percentages and therefore it could be said that nearly all
employees may need or want to “brush up” on such skills.
Such a breadth of potential needs makes it difficult to accurately determine the
take up of any Skills for Life initiative, as there is both the potential for low take
up due to factors such as embarrassment, or a high demand if people with
smaller “brush up” needs come forward. However, demand could be influenced
by approach.
Resources and organisational support for Skills for Life
A 3-year post, funded through the LPSA2 pump priming money and Children’s
Services Directorate has been created to assist all public sector organisations
across Salford to develop the Skills for Life of employees and will assist Salford
City Council. However, there remains a resource gap in terms of implementing
the strategy and co-ordinating activity within Salford City Council.
Within Human Resources, resources have been allocated for Management
Development, Skills training to support the Core Competency Framework,
Elected Member Development, and E-learning
There would also be a resource in terms of directorate support and coordination.
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Time off to attend assessment, training, and tests
In all services there may be operational difficulties in being able to release
people and many of the employees who will have Skills for Life needs at entry
level will potentially be employed in front-line services. The ability of services to
be able to release staff from their role could affect the numbers accessing Skills
for Life training and programmes. Therefore, there needs to be a planned
approach with cover for their absence from the workplace to attend Skills for
Life training will need to be resourced.
Stigma attached to poor literacy and numeracy
People may not wish to confront their skill levels due to a number of factors
such as lack of confidence and embarrassment (Read Write Plus 2005 and
Skills and Education Network 2005) and this may prevent programmes from
being fully effective in engaging staff with the idea of gaining skills and
qualifications. However, adopting a positive approach can go some way to
overcoming this, as can establishing contact points through ULRs and Learning
Champions.
Being unable to recognise basic skills needs
Some managers may have a lack of awareness in how to identify if someone
has skills for life needs. Training for managers needs to take place to ensure
that they are able to identify the Skills for Life needs of their staff.
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5.
MAKING HEADWAY – taking Skills for Life forward
5.1
STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
Salford City Council recognises the business benefits of Skills for Life and has
documented its commitment to Skills for Life in both Salford’s Strategy for Adult
Basic Skills and the Community Plan, and is committed to the principle of
developing the “Skills for Life” of its own employees (including those on
temporary contracts).
5.2
VISION
The vision of Salford City Council is to aspire to have a confident workforce who
are skilled to level 2, achieving their potential and contributing to the effective
delivery of council services and local targets. We will do this by:

Ensuring that our staff are encouraged to reach their full potential within the
workplace and develop their skills for life needs as part of their personal
development plan

Assessing the literacy, numeracy and ICT skills of staff in a way that avoids
discrimination against those who have less than level 2 skills

Enabling all staff at all levels to engage in flexible Skills for Life provision,
both on and off site, with access to the national qualifications

Developing the capacity of officers to enable them to assess skills for Life
needs and provision

Achieving the quality award (GO) for Skills for Life

Moving towards job descriptions that have basic skills levels requirements
built in

As an employer, recognise the national qualifications
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5.3
KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE STRATEGY
The key objectives of the strategy, to achieve the vision, are to:
6. Establish a corporate model to facilitate Skills for Life improvement for
employees of Salford City Council and achieve LPSA 2 targets
7. Raise awareness of Skills for Life across the organisation
8. Assess the organisation’s overall Skill for Life needs
9. Source and deliver skills for life programmes
10. Set out a framework to monitor and evaluate Skills for Life activity
The action plan, in appendix 6, sets out how the aims of the strategy will be met
5.4
DELIVERING THE STRATEGY
The delivery of the Skills for Life Strategy for employees will be the
responsibility of Human Resources who will work in partnership with others to
implement the strategy.
The roles of others are outlined below:

Directors and Senior Managers are responsible for demonstrating a
commitment to Skills for Life by incorporating it into their strategic and
operational plans and ensuring that employees’ needs are identified and
addressed. They are also responsible for contributing to the LPSA2
target.
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
Line Managers are responsible for identifying Skills for Life needs of
employees through their day-to-day management and the appraisal
scheme.

Employees are responsible for identifying their own Skills for Life needs

Union Learning Reps (ULRs) help to analyse learning or training
needs, provide information and advice about learning and training,
promote the value of learning or training and consult the employer about
carrying out these activities.

Learning Champions are responsible for encouraging people to access
Skills for Life courses and programmes and can include ULRs.
5.5
RESOURCES
Assessment of Skills for Life needs and programmes of study are currently
financed by the LSC and are free at the point of delivery, through approved
providers. Also, there are a number of funded Level 2 qualification places (300
for the Salford area) free to those who have not already got a qualification at
least level 2.
However, there are implications in terms of resources for time off for
assessment and courses as services, especially “front-facing” services need to
obtain cover to replace any absences from the workplace to ensure service
delivery is maintained. A typical Level 1 course is 30 hours.
A newly appointed Project Officer, on a fixed 3-year contract, will be in place
within the Skills for Life Team within the Local Strategic Partnership. However,
there will be resource implications, both centrally, predominately within HR and
within directorates.
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To take full advantage of the on-line assessments, resources and tests, all staff
need to have access to IT.
Sustainability of the current arrangements is an issue.
5.6
REVIEW AND EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGY
In order to successfully monitor and evaluate the success of the Skills for Life
Strategy a number of approaches both qualitative and quantative will be taken:

Robust monitoring and reporting systems are put in place to capture key
information such as: numbers assessed, numbers taking part in
programmes/ initiatives, number of web hits/ enquiries, numbers taking
qualifications at each level, qualification pass rates, drop out rates.

The impact of the training in the workplace will take place through evaluation

Progress of the strategy and action plan will be monitored Human
Resources and reported to the HR Cabinet Working Group, the Economic
Development and Skills Partnership, directors and other partners.

The whole strategy will be formally reviewed annually.
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Appendix 1
REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adult Learning Inspectorate, (2005). The impact of the Employer Training Pilots among
employers and employees. HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills, London
Adult Learning Inspectorate, (2005). Adult Learning Inspectorate Employer Training Pilot
Survey. HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills, London
Basic Skills Agency, (2000). Getting better basic skills - what motivates adults. Available on
line at www.basicskillsagency.gov.uk
Basic Skills Agency, (2003). Basic Skills and Local Government. Available on line at
www.basicskillsagency.gov.uk
Campaign for Learning, (2005). Baseline Local Authority Skills for Life Survey for Employers
Organisation.
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, (2005). Employers must rethink basic
skills. Available on line at www.cipd.co.uk
Employers Organisation ( 2005). Get On Local Government: the local government Skills for
Life Strategy in England 2005 – 200. Available on line at www.www.idea.gov.uk
DfES, (2003). Skills for Life, The National Strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy
skills – Focus on delivery to 2007. Available on line at www.dfes.gov.uk
DfES, (2003). Skills for Life Survey: A National needs and impact survey of literacy,
numeracy, and ICT skills – Research Brief RB490. Available on line at www.dfes.gov.uk
DfES, (2003). Union Learner Representatives: An Employer’s Guide. Available on line at
www.dfes.gov.uk
DfES Skills for Life, (2001). The National Strategy for improving adult literacy and numeracy
skills. Available on line at www.dfes.gov.uk
DFES, (2003). 21st Century Skills - Realising Our Potential. Available on line at
www.dfes.gov.uk
Employers Organisation, (2004). Generic Skills in Local Government. Available on line at
www.improvementnetwork.gov.uk
Employers Organisation, (2005). Get On local government. Available on line at
www.improvementnetwork.gov.uk
HM Government, (2035). 21st Century Skills: Realising our potential.
HM Government, (2005). Skills White paper 'Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at
work'.
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Moser, (1999). A Fresh Start – improving literacy and Numeracy. Available on line at
www.dfes.gov.uk
National Audit Office, (2005). Employers’ Perspectives on Improving Skills for Employment.
Available on line at www.nao.org.uk
ODPM and the Local Government Association, (2005). Transforming the Organisation,
Improving Performance: the local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy 2005. Available
on line at www.odpm.gov.uk
Parsons, S., and Bynner, J, (2002). Basic skills and social exclusion, Centre for Longitudinal
Studies, Institute of Education for the Basic Skills Agency.
Payne, J., (2002). Basic Skills in the Workplace. A research review. Learning and Skills
Development Agency
Read Write Plus, (2005). Skills for life in the Workplace. Department for Education and Skills
Skills and Education Network, (2005) Guide to Basic Skills. Learning and Skills Council.
Available on line at www.senet.lsc.gov.uk.
TUC Learning Services North West, (2006). Skills for Life. Available on line at
www.TUC.co.uk
Unison Open College (2005). Basic Skills in Local Authorities Project. Available on line at
www.unision.co.uk
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Appendix 2
Skills for Life and the Qualifications Framework
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Appendix 3
Skills for Life Qualifications
Entry Level

Entry Level Certificate in Adult Numeracy awarded at one of the three sublevels: entry 1, 2, or 3.

Entry Level Certificate in Adult Literacy awarded at one of the three sub-levels
entry 1, 2, or 3.
Level 1 (equivalent to GCSE grade D to G)

Level 1 Certificate in Adult Literacy

Level 1 certificate in Adult Numeracy
Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE grade A to C)

Level 2 Certificate in Adult Literacy

Level 2 certificate in Adult Numeracy
These qualifications are provided by a range of accredited providers including: City and
Guilds, Edexcel, NCFE, NOCN, and OCR.
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Appendix 4
Summary of the Skills for Life Pilot
Literacy pilot – June to August 2005
Nos.
No. signed up to the programme (Environment)
8
No. withdrawing
3
No. requiring alternative programme for dyslexia support
1
No. completing programme
4
No. successfully passing national certificate
1
No. not yet passed
2
No. absent for test
1
No. requesting re-sit
3
Numeracy pilot – January to March 2006
Nos
No. expressing interest (Environment and Urban Vision)
12
No. signed up to the programme
8
No withdrawing after initial assessment revealed that their abilities
were not up to the minimum standard
2
No achieving the City and Guilds Entry level qualification
2
No achieving level 1 qualification
No achieving level 2 qualification
4
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Appendix 5
Skills for Life and Salford Competency Frameworks
Core competency Framework
for non-managerial staff
Generic Skills Framework for
Local Government
Management Competency
Framework
First Line Managers
National Management Standards
Management Competency
Framework
Middle Managers
Management Competency
Framework
Senior Managers
Leadership
Leadership
Leadership
Leadership
Quality improvement
Quality Improvement
Quality Improvement
Quality Improvement
Quality Improvement
Health and Safety
Health and Safety
Health and Safety
Health and Safety
Health and Safety
Customer Services
Customer Service
Customer Service
Customer Service
Customer Service
Equality and diversity
Equality and Diversity
Equality and Diversity
Equality and Diversity
Equality and Diversity
Improving own learning and
performance
Improving own Learning and
Performance
Improving own Learning and
Performance
Improving own Learning and
Performance
Improving own Learning and
Performance
Working with others
Working with Others
Working with Others
Working with Others
Working with Others
Communication
Communication
Skills for Life
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Appendix 6
KEY STRATEGIC AIM 1: Establish an organisational model to facilitate Skills for Life for employees of Salford City Council
No
Action
Outcomes
End
Date
Sept 06
Lead
1.1
Gain commitment from Councillors, the
Chief Executive, Strategic Directors, Trade
Unions and Managers to Skills for Life.
Skills for Life included in the Corporate
Balanced Scorecard, Directorate Balanced
scorecards
Skills for Life Strategy approved
Sept 06
HR
Each directorate has a named individual with
responsibility for skills for life
Sept 06
Directors
Salford City Council signed up GO Award for
Skills for Life
Mar 07
HR/CE
Sufficient financial and human resources
secured to enable to strategy to be
implemented and staff to be released to
partake in the training (back fill money).
Sept 06
HR
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Directors
Progress
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No
Action
Outcomes
1.2
Establish a corporate, council wide Skills for
Life steering group to:
Group established and functioning
End
Date
Ongoing
Lead
HR
 Co-ordinate activity
 Link in to the wider skills for life agenda
for the council (service users) and City
 Develop a shared understanding off the
issues
 Help to implement the Skills for Life
Strategy for the Salford City Council
workforce.
1.3
Keep abreast of developments in initiatives, All available initiatives, resources and funding
resources and funding by attending relevant accessed and maximised
meetings and maintaining links with
Economic Development and Skills
Partnership, Salford Family and Adult
Learning Service, Salford Plait, LSC etc.
Ongoing
HR
1.4
Recruit Skills for Life Learning Champions
to encourage people to take part in Skills
for Life activities and provide signposting
More union learner reps in place
De 06
Unions
At least 2 Skills for Life Champions recruited
per directorate
Dec 06
Directors
ULR / SfL Learning Champions SfL training
organised and delivered
Dec 06
LSP Skills for Life
Co-ordinator
Priority needs/ services identified and agreed
Oct 06
HR/Directors
1.5
Identify the priority needs and / or service
areas for Skills for Life
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No
Action
Outcomes
End
Date
Mar 07
Lead
1.6
Review all corporate policies to ensure that
relevant policies refer to skills for Life
including the Corporate Training Policy,
Capability Procedures, Equality and
Diversity Policies, Recruitment and
Selection Policy (Options)
All policies reviewed and amended as
necessary and Skills for Life embedded
1.7
Include Skills for Life as part of induction for
all new staff
On line screening to be part of induction
Dec 06
Ensure that Skills for Life is considered as
part of the review of recruitment
Skills for Life is integrated into recruitment
processes
Dec 06
HR to set up and
then Managers to
deliver
HR
1.8
1.9
Skills for Life training should be in all
directorate training plans and as
appropriate in personal development plans
Where appropriate Skills for Life are included in
individual personal development plans
Jun 07
Managers
All directorate training plans make reference to
Skills for Life needs
Aug 07
Directors
Skills for Life embedded as part of all NVQs
-
All directorates
IT qualifications reviewed
Mar 07
Yvonne Charnock
1.10 Ensure Skills for Life is embedded in all
NVQ programmes
1.12 Review the IT qualifications currently
offered by Salford City Council IT Services
as ECDL is no longer recognised in the
National Qualifications framework and
consider introducing BCS qualifications for
IT users at level 1 and level 2 and Equal
Skills
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HR - SMG
Progress
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KEY STRATEGIC AIM 2: Raise awareness of Skills for Life
No
Action
Outcomes
2.1
Deliver a range of awareness raising
sessions with Councillors, Strategic
Directors, Heads of Service Managers, staff
members, staff in directorates with
responsibility for training and/or Skills for
Life to promote understanding and gain
commitment to Skills for Life
Develop appropriate communication and
marketing strategies for employees to
encourage participation
Awareness sessions held
2.2
End
Date
Dec 06
Lead
An appropriately named campaign (Brush up
your skills!)
Sep 06
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Free promotional materials accessed
Sep 06
SfL web pages developed on the intranet
Sep 06
Case studies from corporate pilots and CHSC
used
Sep 06
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Skills for Life Project
Worker
SfL newsletter for staff produced and
distributed
Dec 06
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Contact points for staff established
Oct 06
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Mechanism for sharing good practice
established
Dec 06
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Success is celebrated
Ongoing
Skills for Life Project
Worker HR/CE/ED&S
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Progress
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Call centre
established for
citizens
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KEY STRATEGIC AIM 3:
Identify the organisations Skill for Life needs
No
Action
Outcomes
End
Date
Dec 06
Lead
3.1
Decide and put in place appropriate needs
identification methods including which could
include:
 Quick screening through Union
Learner Reps
 Management screening - induction,
appraisal, job changes
 Self assessment as part of Move on
 Initial assessment by expert by an
assessment
 Full diagnostic assessment by a
qualified assessor
All staff / services identified as priority groups
take part in appropriate screening methods.
3.2
Provide training for managers on how to
identify skills for Life needs as part of the
awareness raising and appraisal training
All managers trained in how to identify Skills for
Life needs
Mar 07
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
3.3
Establish a baseline of Skills for Life needs
of employees
Baseline profile established
Dec 07
HR
3.4
Incorporate Skills for Life Screening in the
recruitment processes
Recruitment processes address Skills for Life
issues
Dec 06
HR
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Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR /
Consortium
Progress
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KEY STRATEGIC AIM 4: Deliver skills for life programmes
No
Action
Outcomes
4.1
Identify the priority groups for programme
delivery (directorate, service, or other
grouping)
Identify appropriate models of programme
delivery including, but not exclusively:
 E learning – in-house and Learn
Direct
 Taster sessions
 Embedded learning through NVQ
 Embedded learning through in
house programmes
 Work based learning programmes
 Get on at work short courses
 Local training providers
 National Tests
Priority groups / services to go through first are
identified and a plan put in place for roll out.
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
End
Date
Dec 06
Lead
Appropriate programmes are sourced,
delivered and evaluated
Dec 07
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR /
Consortium
Identify and secure funding to deliver
sustainable programmes
Develop a partnership approach to
programme delivery to include other public
sector, the private sector, the voluntary
sector and internal teams
Funding obtained and programmes delivered
Dec 07
HR
Partnerships established
Dec 06
HR
Put in place a signposting process for
learners, which incorporates the role of
ULRs and Learning Champions.
Learners have access to information about
programme options and can access
programmes is in place
Dec 06
Skills for Life Project
Worker
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Progress
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KEY STRATEGIC AIM 5: Set out a framework for monitoring and evaluation
No
Action
Outcomes
5.1
Develop systems and processes to monitor
the number of people participating and
achieving in SfL programmes
All participation, irrespective of method of
delivery, in SfL activities are recorded.
5.2
5.3
Develop an evaluation model to measure
the impact of the SfL programmes
Share the Learning internally and externally
End
Date
Oct 06
Lead
Accurate figures are available to feed in to the
LPSA2 target
Dec 07
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Progress from the baseline position is tracked
Dec 07
SAP is kept up to date
Dec 07
Progress and achievement (including soft
outcomes) is evidenced
Dec 07
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Delivery methods amended if necessary
Dec 07
Reports on impact are provided to key
stakeholder groups
Dec 06
Good practice is shared both inside and
outside of the council
Dec 07
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Contributions to Salford’s LPSA 2 identified
Dec 07
Use Skills for Life networks and groups
including, Economic Development and Skills
Group and the NW Employers Organisation.
Dec 07
Skills for Life Project
Worker
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
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Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Skills for Life Project
Worker / HR
Progress