Services for young people

Memorandum submitted by Lifelong Learning UK

The impact of public sector spending cuts on funding and commissioning of services, including how available resources can best be maximised, and whether payment by results is desirable and achievable:

1. The size of contract values is likely to mitigate against the involvement particularly of small providers in the voluntary and community sectors who would be unable to deliver contract values of this size (which may result in the loss of their specialist provision).

2. The size of contract values may lead to a limited number of bidders for work as, whatever the size of the organisation, it may not be feasible for organisations within the voluntary and community sector to carry the risks associated with a contract of that value.

3. Public sector cuts may result in the loss of many of the current providers of services as they will no longer be able to maintain the organisational infrastructure required for operation (even where only volunteer workers are used).

4. There may be a similarly negative impact on infrastructure bodies (such as regional youth work units or voluntary bodies such as NCVYS) which provide underpinning knowledge and skills and disseminate that information to their members.

The training and workforce development needs of the sector:

5. We share below the key points from our Sector Skills Assessment (SSA) 2010 which analysed data from a survey of lifelong learning sector employers and other data sources to outline skills shortages, gaps and priorities for the future.

6. Without investment in these priority skills areas of the youth services workforce, our young people will not receive the quality service they deserve.

Skills shortages

7. Overall skills shortages as identified in Lifelong Learning UK’s Sector Skills Assessment 2010 are as follows:

8. Skills in community engagement and development are particularly critical to staff who work in the youth sector. Any cuts to the learning, training and development of these staff will only increase this skills shortage. Partnership working skills have been identified as particularly important by employers in the community learning and development sector – which includes youth work.

9. Other specific skills shortages, listed below, have been identified through additional sources of information.

10. Basic and ICT skills continue to be skills shortages across the lifelong learning sector. Employers participating in Lifelong Learning UK’s 2010 SSA survey highlighted numeracy (18 per cent) and literacy (20 per cent) as skills shortages across England with some evidence of these issues being prominent in most regions.

11. Across the lifelong learning sector, there is a lack of skilled applicants who are experts in delivering effective learning efficiently using new and social media. Sixteen per cent of employers responding to Lifelong Learning UK’s 2010 SSA survey cited management of digital information as a skills shortage, with more library, archive and information service providers reporting this to be an issue when compared to the other sectors.

12. Skills shortages were outlined in the further education sector relating to working with young people in compulsory and post-compulsory education and training. Shortages also related to applicants not possessing the adequate and relevant understanding of the implications of the policy agenda in this area. For example, working with the 14-16 year old group requires a different set of skills from dealing with older or adult learners, such as providing greater pastoral care and behaviour management.

13. Skills shortages relating to community engagement and development were identified among youth related occupations. Applicants for youth work show a lack of skills to assess and deliver to a diverse range of young people.

Skills gaps

14. Skills gaps identified by lifelong learning sector employers are:

15. Other skills gaps identified through additional sources have been grouped into the following broad categories which are listed below.

16. Collaboration and multi agency partnership working skills were reported by 18 per cent of employers in Lifelong Learning UK’s 2010 SSA survey as skills gaps. This relates to the increasing need for employers to develop closer relationships with other parts of the lifelong learning sector as well as other sectors so that services can be delivered more efficiently within limited resources.

17. Community engagement and development were reported by 18 per cent of employers as skills gaps in Lifelong Learning UK’s 2010 SSA survey. The Coalition Government’s agenda emphasises the building of a ‘Big Society’, where "citizens, communities and local government [have] the power and information they need to come together, solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want … a society [where] the families, networks, neighbourhoods and communities…are given more power and take more responsibility…" (Cabinet Office, 2010). Within this context, skills relating to the engagement and development of communities are of immense importance in the future, alongside those of multi agency and partnership working. Furthermore, funding cuts will result in the introduction of more volunteers into the community who will need to be engaged with and supported to meet the demands of their roles.

18. Management skills feature in the top ten skills gaps in Lifelong Learning UK’s 2010 SSA survey and include a diverse set of skills relating to management of:

a. change in the current economic circumstances

b. contracts and projects

c. staff including volunteers

d. behaviour

e. diverse set of customers – be it learners or people visiting a library

f. change related to increased use of e-learning.

19. In the SSA 2010 survey, employers of community learning and development cited fundraising and bid writing skills as parts of management skills gaps. These skills included bid and contract writing, which are required to generate additional funds through competitive bids. Reduction in public funding will result in alternative models of governance and service delivery, which will require skills around commissioning of services as well as the delivery of commissioned services. These skills were highlighted as important skills gaps across most sectors of lifelong learning in the 2010 SSA survey.

20. In such a rapidly changing environment, learner needs are changing too. Staff have to respond to diverse learner and customer needs. This was reported by 16.8 per cent of employers in Lifelong Learning UK’s 2010 SSA survey. Multiculturalism and the digital age have already been mentioned as drivers of skills demand. Both have created new types of learners who have to be supported. For example, those providing information and advice need to build their confidence in interacting with new client groups as well as building the confidence of highly qualified clients. Within the further education sector, behaviour management for those working with the 14-16 age group has also been cited as a skills gap as it requires a different set of skills from dealing with older or adult learners, such as the need to provide greater pastoral care as well as behaviour management.

21. With youth work becoming an increasingly important vehicle for informal learning provision for young people, quality assurance skills are in demand to help increase capacity in the sector to deliver key programmes such as youth work apprenticeships. Training providers have indicated there is a lack of take-up of assessor units and qualifications because they believe that employers are unclear of the key role assessor skills play in capacity building within their workforce. Management staff need to develop skills to understand the importance of assessor skills as reliance on external organisations providing assessment is costly and can prevent employers from developing their workforce. Significantly, 21.6 per cent of employers responding to the Lifelong Learning UK 2010 SSA survey report, indicated that assessing learning and learners was a skills gap, with evidence suggesting that this was a relatively bigger issue for employers providing community learning and development.

Skills priorities

22. Current research undertaken as part of our Sector Skills Assessment identified the following skills priorities for England in 2010 :

23. Collaboration, partnership working including engagement with communities . Public sector funding cuts , a multicultural Britain and the Coalition’s Big Society vision all highlight the need for collaborative working . Therefore there is a need for employees skilled in working in partnership with multiple organisations , the third sector and communities , so that people and organisations can collaborate at every level to ensure the most efficient use of resources .

24. Skills relating to the utilisation of e-technology . This includes skills to deliver learning and information to a diverse audience by making use of e-technology , social media and virtual learning environments ( VLEs ) . For teachers, this is the new world of digital pedagogy where they must learn to use new modes of e-teaching in order to access a vast number of learners who may be from diverse backgrounds and remotely based. Related to this, the demand for advanced ICT skills is also on the rise, with employers demanding that their staff possess knowledge of ICT in relation to web content and using electronic media. The overarching need is for a workforce that is agile enough to learn how to make use of new technology for a variety of purposes in classrooms, libraries, work based training and all other context s .

25. Management skills relat ing to managing change in the current economic circumstances; managing contracts and projects; managing staff including volunteers; managing behaviour; managing a diverse set of customers ( be it learners or people visiting a library ) ;and managing the change into e-learning .

26. Basic skills of literacy and numeracy as well as ICT skills .

27. Transferable skills so that the workforce can adapt to new and changing circumstances. This includes skills of communications, interpersonal skills, and ICT among others .

28. Leadership . T o achieve the above, there is a critical need for strategic and forward thinking leadership : skilled leaders who can plan and guide their organisations , management staff and workforce in a world where public funding is limited and electronic media is far advanced ; l eaders who can think ahead, who can ensure their workforce are producing high quality products by efficiently using limited resources ; and importantly, l eaders who can understand the current policy context a nd plan for the future to ensure that their organisations remain competitive and at the forefront of their sectors in the future.

December 2010
About Lifelong Learning UK

29. Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) is the independent employer-led sector skills council responsible for the professional development of those working in career guidance, community learning and development, further education, higher education, libraries, archives and information services, and work based learning across the UK. We represent the interests of the 2 million+ individuals working in lifelong learning in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and are the voice of employers in this sector on skills issues.

Further information can be found on our website:    www.lluk.org