Historically the welfare-to-work industry, which employs in the region of 20,000 people, has had no occupational standards or designated Sector Skills Council, no required entry qualifications or recognised professional qualifications. Very little of the training for the employability sector’s workforce that has been delivered has been externally accredited.

Various pieces of research highlighted the need to improve the industry’s approach to training and developing its people. It was recognised that the ability of welfare to work providers in the independent and college sectors to attract and retain the best people, who were able to work at a confident and competent level, providing personalised and expert support was going to be critical to the success of the Work Programme. To achieve this, it was vital that the status of practitioners such as the personal advisor role was enhanced through the provision of a framework of professional qualifications and clear career pathways.

In 2010 the sector agreed to address what professional standards and qualifications were required within a flexible framework, which focused on improved productivity, reduced attrition and the attraction of high calibre people into the sector. Sector employers came together to create the PoWER (Professionalisation of Welfare to Work Expert Reference) Group. The PoWER group, chaired by Janette Faherty OBE of Avanta, consisted of AELP, DWP prime contractors, subcontractors, private and voluntary sector employers, plus Inclusion and ERSA.

PoWER created a project group, funded by PoWER members, specifically to look at the qualifications and the creation of an overarching professional body for the industry. Working closely with the awarding body EDI, the project team were able to use the flexibilities of the QCF to design and develop a flexible and accessible framework of qualifications closely aligned to job roles across the sector.

Too often the processes involved in bringing qualifications to market is unwieldy and time consuming.”

Many of the units came from existing QCF qualifications in customer service, recruitment, sales and information advice and guidance with the addition of two new sector specific units, Understanding the Employment Related Services Sector and Sustaining an Employment Outcome, which were written by members of the project group.

The level 3 award, Certificate and Diploma in Employment Related Services, which together with an Advanced Apprenticeship make up the Employment Related Services Qualification Framework, has been developed for people working with the unemployed, supporting them to progress into sustainable employment. The suite of qualifications allows the industry to set the bar on the high standards expected from employees and the quality service they provide, whilst giving individuals an opportunity to be able to accredit the skills, knowledge and experience they have gained against national standards. By offering clear career paths with greater opportunities for progression, the industry expects to enhance performance and motivation amongst its workforce leading to greater productivity and uplifts in the number of sustained job outcomes achieved.

The take-up of new qualifications for those working in the employability industry is gathering momentum. Over 25 providers have now been approved to offer the qualifications and the first candidate to complete the Diploma is waiting to be awarded their certificate.

The whole of the FE and skills sector can learn from the success of the PoWER group. They have demonstrated how effectively employers can work together to develop standards and qualifications that really meet the needs of their businesses. A shared drive and passion enabled the new suite of qualifications and Advanced Apprenticeship framework to be developed from scratch in less than six months which is a remarkable achievement.

Too often the processes involved in bringing qualifications to market is unwieldy and time consuming, but by having a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve and working closely with both EDI and Skills for Justice, the PoWER group has been able to overcome barriers and found ways of fast tracking the accreditation process.

The journey is not over. Partner organisations working together generated a successful bid to UKCES for funding to support the establishment of the Institute for Employability Professionals and secured further success in a tender to NAS for Higher Apprenticeship Funding; the latter was led by AELP member and leading Higher Apprentice training provider Babington Business College.

Stella Turner is AELP’s qualifications and curriculum manager and a member of the PoWER project group

Learners like them, teachers like them, employers like them. This is the message we are hearing from the field. Of course, not all teachers and not all providers are on board, but those that have grasped that the Functional Skills qualifications offer learners a better deal are beginning to develop a sense of excitement. But, there are a number of issues blocking the successful implementation of the strategy.

Ten years after the launch of the Skills for Life strategy, NIACE embarked on its Inquiry into adult numeracy, and subsequently the Inquiry into adult literacy. We were pleased that our Inquiry fed directly into the Department’s own Review of Skills for Life.

One of the major areas of discussion in this closed group was the difficulties with the ‘old’ Skills for Life qualifications and the gradual emergence of the GCSE as the ‘gold standard’ and Functional Skills as the English and Maths element.

Over the past couple of weeks, it has been made clear that enrolments for standalone Skills for Life (Level 1 – Level 2) qualifications, will cease after August 31. New Functional Skills (English and maths) and GCSE equivalents will be the qualifications for adult learners with literacy and numeracy needs, alongside ‘standalone, unitised awards’ which are still being scoped, while Skills for Life Entry Level qualifications will stay in the short term.

Let’s get out there, with some real voices of some real learners and teachers, and promote all the positive aspects of Functional Skills.”

Functional Skills provide a single ladder of achievement from Entry Level to Level 2, for all learners in all sectors. They are a compulsory element in the three qualification routes for young people from 14 to 19; in Diploma and Foundation Learning Tier, and an option to GCSEs, within apprenticeships. They are also offered as stand-alone qualifications at Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2.

NIACE believes that Functional Skills will support adults to undertake the realistic basic skills demands of everyday life, developing, as we believe they do, the ability to apply skills to other settings. With some more work to address the needs of those learners with the poorest skills, at Entry Level, they will offer better quality literacy and numeracy skills to adults.

Training providers developing their ability to offer Functional Skills within apprenticeships and employers taking on the apprentices tell us that they fit well as an embedded element of vocational courses; the emphasis on transferability was valued by providers.

There are challenges – it may take longer for learners to achieve and Functional Skills will be more challenging for all learners and especially at lower levels. The assessment is more rigorous and includes writing as well as speaking and listening – this will come as very good news to teachers who have been unhappy with the partial nature of the Skills for Life qualifications, with its lack of emphasis on speaking and listening, and on writing.

We cannot ignore the challenges and we are hopeful all the agencies supporting adult learners will work together to make the transition as effective as possible. We need a strategic CPD offer; we need a clear idea of which resources are helpful and have proven worth and impact rather than those that have just been brought (too) hastily to the market to address a perceived need; we need to consider if we require Functional Skills-specific Initial and Diagnostic Assessment tools. And we need clear guidance on how we manage the additional time and resources that delivering Functional Skills will require.

But most of all, the message coming out loud and clear is – why aren’t Functional Skills being sold to employers, providers, teachers and learners?  Let’s get out there, with some real voices of some real learners and teachers, and promote all the positive aspects of Functional Skills.

We recognise that Functional Skills provide learners with the ability to think and act independently at home and in the workplace – but we have to grasp the nettle right now if we really want this to work.

By Carol Taylor