APPENDIX 11
Memorandum by Ros Wollen
I raised these issues at the Women's National
Commission All Partners Day in December, I have sent this paper
to the EOC and Women's Equality Committee, and Anne Hope the WNC
Commissioner. I feel there are some serious omissions and changes
needed with the Government training, work and skills programme
in order to make it have gender equality and parity.
21 January 2005
GOVERNMENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING POLICY
"YOU MAY
BE ABLE
TO DO
IT! IF
YOU CAN
NVQ 2 IT!" IS
THIS POSSIBLE
FOR WOMEN?
For the purpose of this paper, as a community
education worker and prior to this someone who delivered NVQs
and City and Guilds vocational subjects in FE for 11 years, I
am primarily looking at the situation as it is for women who have
children, are ex-offenders or who have caring responsibilities.
Women have considerable institutional barriers, but as facilitator
of learning we rightly have to demonstrate and suggest realistic
progression routes.
It is clear from the guidelines demonstrated
that NVQs and New Deal were designed for young men and have never
been gender proofed. We will not upskill women and make them
a fully skilled part of the work force until these issues are
addressed. Women will continue to be in unskilled, low paid jobs
unless we address work life balance in Government Training Schemes.
"New Deal" is the name of the Governments
Lone Parent scheme and is also the name for the Governments Job
Training and Job Creation Scheme there is lot of confusion in
thinking that they both have the same guidelines. They do not!
New Deal for Lone Parents and the "signing
on" situation for women
For this benefit you do not sign on but receive
income support. A woman on income support is reasonably "safe"
on benefits and can earn up to £20 a week before her benefits
are affected. She will also have a "New Deal for Lone Parent"
advisor. You are obliged to be interviewed by your advisor annually,
but not obliged to undertake training. You are not eligible for
New Deal Training or New Deal Job schemes. A lot of women who
are registered as lone parents access community first step provision.
It would appear that a logical progression route for first step
training in the Community would be to the New Deal for Lone Parent
training. This progression is not straight forward.
Advantages of undertaking recommended training
through a Lone Parent scheme
— Will get 70% childcare costs.
— Will get 70% transport costs.
— The parent is eligible for new clothes
for job interviews.
— Training can be done on a part-time
basis.
Disadvantages of receiving training through Lone
Parent Training
— Training must be NVQ 2. Nothing less.
So it is not aimed at first step learners or realistically even
2nd step learners.
— Must achieve NVQ 2 in a year.
— Nearly all NVQ 2s in vocational areas
are designed by lead bodies to be undertaken in a year and done
fulltime, ie 33 hours a week. The number of competencies required
would need to be done in two years if done on a part-time basis.
This makes a mockery of the reduced hours for caring responsibilities
so you have to work twice as hard in a shortened NVQ achievement
time.
— A parent can only have the transport
and childcare once. One bite of the "cherry" ie childcare
and subsidy. Money will stop after one year even if NVQ 2 is not
completed.
Eligibility of New Deal Training
Need to be on Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) for
18 months before a parent is eligible for New Deal Training schemes.
JSA status means that you attend the job centre for signing on,
and will be regularly approached by the job centre for interviews.
Many women wish to stay on Lone Parent benefit even if they are
thinking of returning to work when children are less dependent,
ie over 13 years for example.
New Deal Training
All New Deal schemes are for 33 plus hours,
some schemes are up to 37 hours. All are designed around NVQ 2s.
This means that women are unlikely to find a NVQ 2 scheme that
she is capable of achieving through a New Deal for Lone Parent
scheme on reduced (for example 16 hours a week).
If there is a New Deal Training scheme that
a parent wishes to undertake then she can be fast tracked
to JSA but she must be convinced she wants to go for it, that
she will get on it and can do it "fulltime" ie 33 hours
upwards. Once she goes for New Deal status she will have to take
work on training schemes offered and can make her feel insecure
if she is a lone parent with school age children or dependents.
However, most New Deal for Lone Parent advisors will ensure that
there is place on a training scheme before they advise a woman
to sign off and to go to JSA.
New Deal Job Creation Schemes
Lone Parents woman cannot be fast tracked. They
have to be on JSA for 18 months before they can apply for one
of these jobs. Ex-offenders, Refugees, and people with disabilities
can be fast tracked. Many Job Creation schemes like this are a
natural progression for a woman to return to work who may have
been in the job market and wish to return to work as a way of
getting confidence and skills back. All these schemes are for
33 hours upwards.
Modern Apprenticeships
Until recently Modern Apprenticeships had to
be completed by 25 years of age. They had to start by 23. However,
some lead bodies are now changing this qualification but it is
not universal. This means that many women who may want to access
trades which would not be possible at 16-19 eg construction, due
to peer group pressure but now feel more confident cannot undertake
a Modern Apprenticeship. "Plugging the Skills gap" recommendations
has gone some way to changing this. All modern apprenticeships
are upwards of 33 hours.
WHAT NEEDS
CHANGING!
— All government training schemes,
Modern Apprenticeships, New Deal Training and New Deal Jobs need
"work life balance". This means that there are opportunities
for women/men with caring responsibilities to undertake training
for 16 hours upwards. The time allowed to achieve an NVQ should
be extended proportional to the hours worked.
— All parents on New Deal for Lone
Parents should be able to achieve an NVQ 2 in a longer space of
time, proportional to the number of hours training they are doing.
— All parents on New Deal for Lone
Parents should be eligible for New Deal Job Creation programmes
with out having to go onto JSA for 18 months.
| 
