North West Local Government Skills Award
The Skills Award framework supports authorities in delivering their
Skills Pledge objectives through expanding the successful Get On Award (Skills for Life) criteria to include all areas of skills improvement and enables local authorities to achieve recognition for taking a strategic approach to Workforce Development and to advancing the skills of the whole workforce.
For the first time, this brings the skills for life activity alongside the full range of an authority’s skills development work in one review process.
By signing up to the Skills Pledge an authority will have access to the Skills Award framework, which sets out a clear timetable for producing an action plan (within 9 months) and establishing a sustainable approach to implementation across the whole organisation (within a further 9 months). The action plan will demonstrate how an authority will:
- Encourage and support its employees to gain the skills and qualifications that will meet the needs of the business and will support their future employability.
- Support its employees to acquire literacy and numeracy skills and work towards their first full Level 2 qualification.
- Raise the skills and competencies of its employees to improve organisational performance, through investing in economically valuable training and development and other programmes which enhance the organisation’s skills.
- Achieve measurable impact, which demonstrates effective planning and implementation of learning and development interventions.
Using the criteria, an authority can self assess its progress and apply for an independent peer review to validate this. Practical support for project planning, drawing on guidance and good practice examples is available through Skills Net, North West Employers’ online tool. Further information on how to access the online tool and how to register can be found via the Skills Net page.
Those of you who are familiar with the GO Award will notice the similarities between the Skills Award criteria and those of the GO Award. The most significant difference being that, in most cases, the references to ‘Skills for Life’ have been widened to ‘Skills’ (though not all cases, as Skills for Life is still a bedrock of the new Award). Widening the criteria in this way will provide the opportunity for authorities to gain recognition for good practice in areas such as apprenticeships, work experience, career pathways and other skills-related programmes implemented in support of workforce and business plans.
North West Employers has produced a Skills Award booklet which can be used to promote the Skills Award to Elected Members and manager.
If you would like more information about how to sign up to the new Award or advice on anything related to the Skills agenda, please contact SkillsNet.