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In recent years the UK government, and the devolved administrations for Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland, have all adopted ambitious targets for increasing the qualifications of the UK workforce. In crude terms, one adult in two is going to have to raise their level of qualifications if the various targets are to be reached by 2020.

The ambition of achieving world class skills levels may be desirable – after all, enhancing skills and employability will enable the country to compete effectively in the global marketplace. It will also tackle worklessness and child poverty by helping people to gain better skills and economically valuable qualifications. But a shift on this scale has never been attempted before. And many commentators doubt whether it can be achieved.

Complicating the story is the degree of institutional change currently underway. The learning climate is changing, as a result of policy decisions. The school leaving age is rising from 16 to 18 years. Vocational training is being revitalised, in one of the greatest shifts in decades. Numbers of university students are being steadily increased. Technology is changing the way people learn. From 2010, the learning infrastructure itself will change, leading to the creation of the Skills Funding Agency and other bodies, and an increased role for local authorities in the funding of 16-19 learning in addition to their current remit for schools.

We are also likely to see a continuing focus on the economic dimension of adult learning. This gained in importance following the establishment of the LSC, and especially the introduction of the Skills for Business Network (now the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and the Sector Skills Councils). More recently it has been emphasised in the DCSF/DIUS response to the Foster Review of Further Education: Raising Skills, Improving Life Chances, which aimed at creating a learning system which is demand-led and flexible.

At Consulting Inplace we understand the challenges facing these and other agencies. We are working with many of them to find ways to improve their effectiveness and deliver enhanced value for money. To find out more click on the links on the left, or contact us.

NWDA - London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games: Employment and Skills Framework for Action

We were commissioned by NWDA, and a range of regional partners, to develop a Framework for Action for employment and skills in the North West, in relation to the London 2012 Games. One of the core objectives was to ensure that the 2012 Games were not just for the benefit of east London, and that opportunities from the Games were realised more widely, including for the North West region.

The project looked to guide partners across the North West by aligning current employment and skills activity, to maximise the region’s ability to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Games. We:

• Helped extract the added value that the Games could bring to existing employment and skills activity
• Considered additional employment and skills activity that could be undertaken to take advantage of the Games
• Identified the thread of activity relating to employment and skills which runs through the ‘Big Ideas’, which are a number of proposed projects that have been developed by the North West Steering Group for the 2012 Games
• Identified clear partner roles in leading on actions tailored to opportunities identified.

The project culminated in an action plan which will provide a framework to ensure the Games provide a lasting legacy in the North West region.

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Black Country Consortium Ltd - Organisational Engagement in Worklessness in the Borough of Wolverhampton

Black Country Consortium, the sub-regional strategic partnership for the Black Country, commissioned us to examine how effectively the national agenda on reducing worklessness is being achieved at the local and sub-regional levels. The specific focus was on good practice in addressing the problem of worklessness in Wolverhampton. The aim of the project was to review international, national and local best practice in employment and training provision, and see what lessons could be applied.

We used a range of methodological tools to deliver the evaluation including both quantitative and qualitative techniques to evidence outcomes. Quantitative tools included a full labour market analysis framework using data provided from a variety of sources, both publicly available and from various stakeholders including the LSC and government. Qualitative tools included our in-house knowledge bank of best practice, a review of international, national and local best practice as well as primary research with providers from all sectors and agency stakeholders.

The outcomes of the evaluation were a range of effective provision models to tackle worklessness and the labour market situation with its predicted developments, which are being utilised to shape the planning processes of partners. The evaluation provided strong evidence to underpin future planning for the commissioning of worklessness provision and the partnerships and linkages that could promote employment. It also contributed to the embedding of new knowledge within the agencies and providers as stakeholders – nationally and locally.

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Lifelong Learning UK – Evaluation of the Catalyst Programme

We were commissioned to undertake an ongoing process and outcome evaluation of the Catalyst Programme. The Catalyst programme emerged as a response to the strategic priorities of the Foster Review (2006), which set out to improve the delivery of further education (FE) by aligning it more closely with the demands of business, improving recruitment to the sector (particular developing management and leadership capacity) and to align equality and diversity within the sector more closely to learner populations. Funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and managed by Lifelong Learning UK – the sector skills council for the further education sector - the rationale for the Catalyst Programme is firmly rooted in the present reform of the Further Education Sector and the goal to enhance the quality and diversity of its workforce. Catalyst is made up of a suite of sub-programmes (Make a Difference, Pass on Your Skills and Business Interchange).

The evaluation of the Catalyst Programme includes programme level evaluations at interim (June 2009) and final stages (March 2010) as well as sub-programme evaluations at interim and final stages and the assessment of a number of cross cutting themes (equality and diversity, marketing and sector engagement). Our evaluation methodology focuses on assessing effectiveness, efficiency and impact on the Further Education sector. A range of evaluation tools are employed – stakeholder consultations, surveys of participants and providers, as well as rigorous assessment of performance and financial data.

We used our professional expertise of delivering bespoke evaluation projects to define a customised evaluation framework for Catalyst which is compliant with best-practice IEF approach. The key element in our approach is the development of a Thematic Evaluation Framework (TEF), drawing in recommendations from LLUK, to clearly establish the “who, why, what, how and outputs” of the evaluation process.

The first sub-programme evaluations have proven to be effective instruments in terms of defining what works well, as well as proposing areas for improvement. These outputs are providing valuable feedback to LLUK on the lessons learnt thus far and include practical implementable recommendations for the future delivery of these programmes.

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UK Commission for Employment and Skills– Individual Demand for Skills Development – An Evaluation of Evidence and Policy

Working in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, we were commissioned by UKCES to undertake research into the demand-led nature of skills and learning in the UK. The specific focus of the research was into the factors, barriers and reasons why individuals take-up training and learning opportunities. This research was required by the UKCES in order to provide them with a comprehensive and robust evidence base from which to inform discussion around future policy developments.

The project consisted of two distinct parts. The first was an evidence review, which consisted of a detailed literature search and analysis of any articles containing insights into individual demand for skills and training. Due to the nature of the topic, this review was highly focused to ensure that the lessons learnt were of the highest quality and gave clear messages.

The second part of the research was a policy review, which reviewed a range of evaluations, reviews and assessments of initiatives targeted at boosting individual demand for training. The review of UK policy was accompanied by a review of key international policies, which were used to highlight key insights into the situation in the UK. The international examples were chosen on the basis of a Delphi-style review.

The results of the two elements of the review were used to develop a series of recommendations that were then reported back to the UKCES Advisory Group.

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NWDA – Young People's Under Achievement

To what extent are young people in the North West underachieving? What effect does deprivation have on young people, and are the barriers that they face different in the North West and its sub regions? To help answer these questions, we recently delivered a major qualitative study for the NWDA and North West Employment and Skills Board into the factors affecting youth underachievement.

Our research involved a series of focus groups with young people in school, young people who were NEET, and also young people in further education and work based learning. Our approach was to design appropriate participative techniques to engage each age group, while maintaining some consistency of topics to allow comparison. We explored with the young people their aspirations, definitions of success, perceived barriers and achievements. We also held focus groups with youth workers and college tutors and staff on their perspective of youth underachievement in their area.

It was no surprise that the research found that the causes of young people underachievement are complex and interdependent. Our investigations highlighted the effect of community social norms and expectations on young people, leading to recommendations that a holistic approach be adopted to support aspiration and achievement, leading in turn to social mobility. We also found evidence linking current and historic economic realities to young people’s aspirations and definitions of success, and we drew conclusions regarding joining up policy between the economic and education agencies and departments on both local and sub-regional levels.

A key issue was whether the North West is different to other regions, and whether localities within the region are different to one another. Our work suggested that all the factors involved in youth underachievement are present to a greater or lesser extent throughout the North West, but that the importance of individual factors varies from region to region and locality to locality. So attempts to deliver the 14-19 year old agenda and support young people to achieve their potential must be tailored to the unique mix of challenges and opportunities that young people face in their local environments.

The full report can be found on the North West Regional Intelligence Unit website Click HERE to view a copy.

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SEEDA– ESF Programme Interim Evaluation

Consulting Inplace was appointed by SEEDA to undertake an interim evaluation of the ESF programme 2007-10.  The purpose of the review was to evaluate: the programmes achievement to date towards delivering targets and activities; the extent to which the programme is aligned with domestic employment and skills programmes; and the impact of ESF funding on beneficiaries and providers.  One of the key elements was to evaluate the impact of the programme in the context of changing economic and labour market conditions since the original 2007-11 ESF Framework was written.  The evaluation provided recommendations to inform future activities and to support the development of the ESF Framework in the 2011-13 period.

We were subsequently successful in securing the contract to undertake the final evaluation of the programme.