Project: Employer Responsive Skills Development Levels 2 and 3 in the Built Environment

This project is a South East Regional project involving a number of delivery partners experienced in the built environment across the South East, and is managed by Chichester College, which has a second-to-none record of managing successful ESF projects. Participants are supported to gain Level 2 and 3 NVQ qualifications within the built environment.

Project feature

Chrissie went to meet Terri Baldwin, ESF Coordinator for Chichester College Workforce Skills, to find out why this project was so successful.

Terri explained that all trades were covered, including wood, brick, plant, shopfitting, maintenance and cleaning. Terri manages the project and the quality of provision through regular meetings within the college and delivery partners, and widely dispersed providers in the South East region.

All partners are OSAT (On-Site Assessment & Training) accredited, some have MATRIX accreditation. Some have been Ofsted inspected in their own right, and have T2G contracts through the LSC. Partners have a network of consultants who assess and develop links with employers throughout the South East. They have a reputation for being the providers that tradespeople would contact: they are well known in the industry and have a good track record.

I asked Terri how Chichester College had assembled such a widely dispersed group of quality partners. 'Chichester College has run 4 or 5 construction projects over the years, and they have built up good relationships with top performing providers who have demonstrated that their delivery methods are the preferred models in the industry.'

Chichester College has its own bespoke construction training facility, so training for the local area is delivered by them at Chichester and Brinsbury campus. Six delivery partners across the South East are involved, and each one covers all trades. They are highly thought-of in the trade, reputable, and have extensive contacts, mainly because they are still in the trade themselves. In this way they can break into the SME built environment market. All providers have training facilities, but most assessment is carried out on site.

'The key is being flexible to the employer,' explained Terri. 'We don't have to stop training through the summer break, we don't have to stick to a curriculum, and are able to provide other options if adult learners don't or are not able to come to a college. Our partners all have extensive local knowledge and can be highly responsive to employer needs.'

Participants tend to be tradespeople who are already skilled at their trade but lack formal qualifications. There are a significant number of self-employed, one-man or -woman bands enrolled on the project. Some participants have experienced a fall-off in trade since the recession started to bite, and want to diversify. For example, a self-employed tradesperson can gain a Construction Certificate which qualifies them to work on a building site as they have reached the required health and safety standards. The feedback is that participants want their qualifications to be as good as they can be, and to recession-proof their chances of employment by being as flexible as they can, in the work they can do. There has not been one single drop-out, which Terri admits to being amazed at, given the economic climate.

There are some women participants enrolled on the project, but Terri has noticed that there are relatively few foreign workers enrolled; this may be a reflection of the current economic environment for these workers in the South East.

A significant success for the project is the number of older workers recruited who want NVQs. 'In the past they have been quite resistant,' says Terri. 'But now they are thinking that they might need them!'

The message to SME's is carefully worded, the project does not emphasise that the training is free, but stresses that the cost will be met by the project: the contribution required by the employer is the time required to release the employee to train. Terri explained that the reputation of the delivery partner and word of mouth works much better than fliers and letters, most of which go in the bin with SMEs as they are often overwhelmed with bits of paper, not including their own mandatory paperwork. Participants are made aware of where the funding comes from at induction, and as all partners are experienced in working with ESF, this has not been a problem.

Delivery partners are tasked with induction, training, mid-point assessment and completion, and Terri checks the quality of this. Portfolios are made up 'on site' with the assessor offering guidance where required and setting the NVQ standards.

In summary, this is a fascinating and successful project with many points of good practice in tackling a difficult market.

Contact details

Terri Baldwin, ESF Project Coordinator
Chichester College
Westgate Fields, Chichester, PO19 1SB
(01243) 786321 x2554
E-mail not available