Good Practice in Assess-TrainAssess Approaches
to Workforce Development
Linda Miller
Nick Stratton
Jim Hillage
Nick Jagger
Michael Silverman
Prepared by:
INSTITUTE FOR EMPLOYMENT STUDIES
Mantell Building
Falmer
Brighton BN1 9RF
UK
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http://www.employment-studies.co.uk
Copyright © 2004 Institute for Employment Studies
No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form by any means—graphic,
electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or
retrieval systems—without prior permission in writing from the Institute for Employment
Studies.
The Institute for Employment Studies
The Institute for Employment Studies is an independent,
apolitical, international centre of research and consultancy in
human resource issues. It works closely with employers in the
manufacturing, service and public sectors, government
departments, agencies, and professional and employee bodies. For
35 years the Institute has been a focus of knowledge and practical
experience in employment and training policy, the operation of
labour markets and human resource planning and development.
IES is a not-for-profit organisation which has over 60
multidisciplinary staff and international associates. IES expertise
is available to all organisations through research, consultancy,
publications and the Internet.
IES aims to help bring about sustainable improvements in
employment policy and human resource management. IES
achieves this by increasing the understanding and improving the
practice of key decision makers in policy bodies and employing
organisations.
iii
Acknowledgements
The research team would like to thank the following:
Graham Cheetham and all members of the Steering Group for
their help, support and advice throughout this project.
Our colleagues Emma Hart, Denise Hassany, Polly Green and
Andy Davidson for their help in producing this report.
All the individuals who gave their time to be interviewed as
part of this project. The following organisations participated in
the project:
Amersham and Wycombe College
ASSA Training
Bells Stores
Capital Workforce Development
City of Wolverhampton College, the lead partner for
BlackCCAT CoVE
Derby College
Employee Development Forum
Federal Mogul
Key Dimensions
New College Durham
North Devon College’s Manufacturing CoVE
North East Chamber of Commerce
Oxfordshire Skills for Health
Polymer Training Limited (PTL)
Stroud College
Surrey Community Action
Tameside College Workforce Development Unit
Telford College of Art and Technology Business Development
Unit (TCAT)
TQ Training Management Services
iv
Contents
Executive Summary
vii
Background
Method
Findings
Policy issues
vii
viii
ix
xiv
1. Introduction
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1
Background
Why is the Assess-Train-Assess model important?
Identifying the components of good practice in
ATA
Research objectives
Methodology
Report structure
2. Key Findings from the Research: Assessment and
Training Practice
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Initial assessment
Agreeing the learning and assessment plan
Training
Re-assessment
3. Findings from the Research: Context
3.1
3.2
3.3
Funding and the economics of ATA
Resource and organisational implications
Staff training and development needs
4. Discussion
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
6
7
7
10
11
12
22
23
29
34
34
38
42
46
How much does ATA matter?
How much does employer participation help?
The economics of ATA
Developing staff capability in ATA
5. Policy Issues
5.1
5.2
5.3
1
5
46
48
48
49
51
Initial assessment
Training provision
Follow-up assessment
v
51
54
54
5.4
5.5
5.6
Staff development
Auditing of funding for ATA
Summary of policy issues
55
56
58
Appendix 1: References
61
Appendix 2: Points for Good Practice
62
Appendix 3: Case Studies
71
Wolverhampton College, part of the BlackCCAT CoVE
Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT) Business
Development Unit
North Devon College’s Manufacturing CoVE
Stroud College
Oxfordshire Skills for Health
Appendix 4: Discussion Guide
Script for Telephone interview with college/training
organisations re potential ATA models
Appendix 5: Discussion Guide
Script for employer phone interview re potential ATA
models
Appendix 6: ATA Telephone Interviews – Summary of
Contact Outcomes
Appendix 7: Discussion Guide
Representative of senior management team, external
training provider
Appendix 8: Discussion Guide
Representative of senior management team, in-house
training
Appendix 9: Discussion Guide
Assessor-tutor, external training provider
Appendix 10: Discussion Guide
Assessor-tutor, internal training provider
Appendix 11: Discussion Guide
Learners registered with external providers
Appendix 12: Discussion Guide
Employees training with in-house trainers
vi
71
73
76
78
80
82
82
87
87
90
108
108
115
115
122
122
128
128
134
134
137
137
Executive Summary
Background
The term ‘Assess-Train-Assess’ (ATA) refers to the approach
to development in which there is an initial assessment of any
skills gap, followed by training provision to meet the needs
identified in that initial assessment. Lastly, there is a follow-up
assessment to determine the extent to which the training need
has been met.
Anecdotal reports from the Employer Training Pilots (ETP)
had suggested that the ATA model was one of the features of
the pilots that employers found attractive.
The Department for Skills and Education (DfES) gained funding
through the Success for All1 budget for research to explore good
practice in ATA approaches to workforce development, in
order to assist other providers who wished to adopt this model
of provision. In December 2003 the Institute for Employment
Studies was commissioned to undertake the research.
The objectives of the research were to:
1
•
identify good practice in training to fill skill gaps
•
examine the economics of ATA models compared to
conventional approaches to delivery
•
investigate whether the current FE funding model tends to
incentivise or discourage colleges from adopting the ATA
model
•
consider the staff training needs that might arise from a
shift to more work-based training of this kind, including
the suitability of existing staff training and of the NVQ
assessor and verifier units
•
consider the resource and organisational implications for
colleges and other providers of a shift towards ATA for
learners who are not work-based
Success for All (2002), was aimed at encouraging good practice in FE,
including encouraging the FE and training sector to engage more
effectively with local businesses.
vii
•
assemble and disseminate case studies of good practice
•
recommend ways of addressing FE staff training needs.
Method
The method adopted consisted of four main stages:
•
Background research and initial interviews with key
stakeholders
•
A broad trawl for examples of good practice
•
Telephone interviews to gain information on practice from
providers
•
Case study interviews at selected organisations.
Background research included interviews with representatives
of the DfES, LSC, QCA, AoC, TUC and CBI. The purpose of
the interviews was to form an understanding of the ATA
model, current trends in delivery and the likely implications of
current funding models for ATA.
Intermediary organisations were contacted and asked to
identify examples of organisations using the ATA approach.
Intermediary organisations included LLSCs, the LSDA, SSDA,
Business Link offices, RDAs, sector skill pilots, the CBI, the
Basic Skills Agency, Association of Learning Providers,
Association of Colleges, the National Institute for Adult
Continuing Education (NIACE), the Further Education
Research Association and the National Association for Staff
Development.
Organisations identified as offering ATA-based provision
were phoned and questioned regarding the types of subject
and qualification that were delivered; their involvement in
skills audits and initial assessment of individuals; the nature
of the training they provided; and the nature of any final
assessment.
Few providers adopted what might be considered an ‘ideal’
model of ATA, in which each learner would receive one-toone assessment and training. The extent to which provision
was individualised at each stage varied from provider to
provider. This was in keeping with findings from the
evaluation of the ETPs that suggested that overall, only
around one in six ETP learners followed a strict ETP model.
The information was used to select sites for case study visits
with advice from the steering group. A total of 22 sites were
identified and invited to participate in case studies and a total
of 19 agreed to take part.
At the case study sites, senior managers and assessors were
interviewed and, where possible, learners. Where a site
offered a range of awards or subjects, assessors were
viii
interviewed in different subject areas. The interviews focused
on:
•
the way in which assessment is conducted
•
the types of learner who particularly benefit from ATA
•
the various practices adopted within the organisation for
assessment eg on-line assessment
•
the training provided for assessors involved in ATA
•
how training is tailored and whether it is tailored for
groups or individuals
•
provider estimates of costs incurred/funding obtained
from ATA and conventional delivery approaches
•
the organisational and other benefits of adopting an ATA
approach.
Findings
Initial assessment
At the initial assessment phase, providers were involved in
two partially-overlapping types of assessment. These were:
•
the skills audit or training needs assessment
•
assessment of the existing skills of individuals at the outset
of the programme (the individual assessment).
The individual assessment may allow credit to be awarded where
the person is found to be competent.
Some employers identify the groups of workers who require
training and the programme or qualification that is required
within their appraisal, career development pathways and risk
management procedures.
The skills audit process therefore varied from employer-led to
provider-led. A range of approaches were adopted, depending
on the type of skill being assessed.
A variety of approaches was used for the initial assessment of
individuals. In addition to the usual types of assessment
approach found in NVQs (questioning, observation, examples
of products) assessors were using skills scans, (either paper- or
computer-based) tests of reasoning and learning styles and
skill tests. Initial screening was used to identify additional
support for basic needs. Using computer software to assess
basic skill needs was popular.
Younger learners, particularly apprentices, had less opportunity
to accredit vocational skills but they could often gain proxy
exemptions for key skills within the apprenticeship
frameworks.
ix
There were
assessment:
many
reported
benefits
from
the
initial
•
Profiling basic or key skill needs means that tutors can
identify any additional support the learner needs in order
to cope with the vocational programme.
•
Through assessing them, tutors can make sure that
learners are on the correct programme
•
For learners undertaking NVQs, it allows the tutor to
check that the learner’s current job will support the full
range of assessment requirements needed for the NVQ.
•
Where training is to be delivered to a group, it helps the
tutor ensure that the group has similar needs.
•
Basic skill assessments may also allow additional funds to
be drawn down to supply additional support.
In NVQs and apprenticeships, the initial assessment can
provide the opportunity for existing skills to be formally
recognised (through APL), or for exemptions to be gained for
existing key skills (apprenticeships only). However, few
providers reported many learners attaining units through
APL. Some providers appeared unclear on the differences
between APL, credit accumulation and transfer (CATS) and
exemptions.
Training
ATA providers would typically plan a training and
assessment programme to meet the learner’s needs. In terms of
delivery, a very wide range of practice was encountered.
Examples included:
•
delivery of work-place communication skills in ‘bite-sized’
chunks of 10-15 minutes in a hospital.
•
a CoVE helping to multi-skill manufacturing employees
through a combination of on-site, off-the-job training
followed by mentoring by a colleague in the workplace.
Location typically depended on the type of programme or
award; training towards NVQs most typically took place on
the job. Amongst the good practice examples identified were:
•
secondment of tutors to the employer’s premises on a parttime basis.
•
the development of learning centres at the employer’s
premises.
Most providers involved with NVQs were working with
employees one to one while they performed their jobs.
Because of this, employees feel more confident and are better
able to answer questions than they might be in another
context.
x
Follow-up assessment
Following training, ideally there should be some form of
assessment to confirm that the identified skill needs have been
met. This always took place if a qualification was awarded at
the end of the training. In NVQs it is an integral part of the
process and, effectively, an extension of the initial assessment.
Very often, assessment was closely linked to delivery,
especially where training was being delivered one to one, on
the job.
A range of good practice was encountered.
•
In one manufacturing organisation, badges were used to
indicate new skills that employees had gained. The badge
showed the areas where the employee was qualified and
allowed to work safely.
•
One manufacturer was arranging for its workforce to
become multi-skilled. The mentor and a company health
and safety representative signed off a ‘skills passport’ that
indicated the level of work the employee was qualified to
undertake in the new skill areas. This passport then in turn
contributed to the overall package of evidence towards the
NVQ.
Funding
A majority of the CoVEs interviewed during the research had
used the funding available under the CoVE programme to buy
equipment and employ the staff needed to deliver ATA.
Many providers believed that it would be difficult to deliver
an ATA approach under standard time-tabled provision.
While some providers complained about the costs of
diagnostic tools for basic skills, one provider that had
introduced routine initial screening had been able to draw
down additional funding on the basis of extra identified
needs. These funds allowed the employment of a part-time,
peripatetic, basic skill tutor.
Economics
Some providers did feel that ATA was more expensive than
conventional delivery schemes and they suggested ways in
which it could be made more economical. The initial
assessment was costly but this could mean less tutor time was
involved at the delivery stage. Providers cited a range of ways
by which they had sought to make ATA provision more costeffective, including the use of:
xi
•
in-company assessors
•
computers to deliver individualised assessment and
training
•
specialist software such as e-portfolios.
On the whole, NVQs can be delivered in the workplace and do
not need as much classroom-based provision as other courses.
Provider estimates of the minimum numbers of learners
needed to make provision cost-effective ranged from 3 to 16
learners in a group, although some were visiting single
employees. Where it is necessary to form a group for training,
the initial assessment can be used to group individuals of the
same ability level for group tutoring.
Resource and organisational issues
Most of the providers involved with the ATA approach were
in units that were not involved in timetabled provision. The
main exceptions to this were those involved in
apprenticeships, which involved a combination of timetabled
teaching and work-based support and assessment.
Providers servicing rural areas used locally-based tutors to
reduce travel costs and make delivery more cost-effective.
Another approach was to introduce a fully mobile group of
tutors who came into the central offices occasionally to liaise
with other staff.
One provider used tape recorders and video cameras to
capture evidence and reduce the time taken in recording
assessment evidence.
Capacity could also be increased by the use of other
employees in the workplace, either as mentors/coaches,
witnesses or assessors. However, where this takes place, it is
important to have a formal agreement setting out the
arrangements. Otherwise these supplementary activities may
lose out to other workplace tasks.
Staff training and development needs
Often, those involved in work-based learning would hold
assessor or verifier awards. Such people often lacked
experience or development in training or teaching. Where this
was the case, providers believed there was an argument for
development using either training or teaching awards as a
framework.
One suggestion was that a range of ‘mini’ awards be
developed, focused on the guidance and support role, to
recognise the particular skills involved.
xii
In addition, for those involved in delivering training on site,
there was a view that particular skills were required in
negotiating the workplace. One provider was introducing
training to develop these additional skills.
An emerging skill need was vocational tutors or assessors who
were able to provide basic skills support.
Discussion
Does initial assessment matter? The research showed that, while
initial assessment is not always essential, where it is
conducted it brings clearly identified benefits. It allows the
provider to ensure the learner is undertaking the correct
qualification for their current job role, identify any additional
support needs the learner may have and in principle can cut
out any redundancy of training. In the basic skills area, there
were no exceptions. Initial assessment was viewed as essential.
How much is ‘accreditation of prior learning’ (APL) used? Few
providers reported much use of APL, primarily because they
found historic evidence difficult to access. Some providers
were also vague regarding the differences between APL, credit
accumulation and exemptions.
How much does individualised training matter? Learners who
were coached one to one were enthusiastic about this
approach. Because it avoids taking people away from the
workplace, one-to-one training may be of particular value in
small enterprises or where there is high pressure on staff.
How much does employer participation help? Employer
participation and support were seen as essential in facilitating
employee development and assessment, and support for
development by learners once back in the workplace.
The economics of ATA. Providers gave estimates of the lowest
size of group to which training could be delivered costeffectively. This ranged from 3 to 16. Many referred to the use
of technology in making training and assessment more
economic, particularly in basic skills. Providers used part-time
secondment of tutors and networks of locally-based tutors to
reduce the cost of supporting a dispersed client group of
learners.
Developing staff capability in ATA. A series of areas in which
staff development may be required was identified:
•
Developing teaching/training skills was viewed as
important for tutors who had come into the system when
approval requirements focused predominantly on
assessment and verification expertise.
•
Development for the increasing range of support and
guidance roles was viewed as valuable.
xiii
•
Training to reduce the confusion between the use of APL,
exemptions and unit credit transfer would be useful.
•
Developing vocational tutors’ abilities to support learners
with basic skill needs is one approach that could increase
provider capacity, trainer skills and extent of support for
learners.
•
Negotiating the workplace learning environment and coordinating training were also seen as major staff
development issues.
Policy issues
Based on the research findings the following recommendations
were made:
Initial assessment
LSC/ALI to consider making the initial assessment an explicit
component of provider contract approval and inspection.
DfES/LSC should consider making the following available as
a separate component of provider funding
•
funding for an initial assessment phase for all work-based
learners
•
the necessary purchasing costs of basic skill tests.
Awarding bodies to review and re-issue guidance on APL,
credit transfer and unit exemptions and consider the need for
modification of assessment centre approval procedures to
ensure providers are offering appropriate assessment options.
QCA to oversee the awarding body review of guidance to
ensure consistency of policy across awarding bodies.
ALI/LSC to review provider contracts and inspection
guidance to ensure that APL is considered as a specified
component of the provider contract and as a subsequent
component of the inspection process.
Training provision
The LSC should gather together good practice examples of
existing contracts between providers and employers that set
out the level of support to be made available to learners, and
make these, or a framework contract based on good practice
examples, available to providers.
Follow-up assessment
LSC/ALI to:
•
consider whether there should be minimum frequencies
established for provider visits to learners in the workplace
xiv
•
require providers to monitor and report on visit frequency
and assessment rates (units attained per length of time) in
addition to existing data on completion rates.
Staff development
The DfES and QCA should consider whether ability to deliver
training should be made a criterion that all awarding bodies
should be required to include in their approval requirements.
An alternative would be to offer different categories of
approval to those offering full training and assessment
services and to those offering assessment plus guidance/
support for learners. The DfES and QCA should also consider
whether it would be wise to specify the nature of the guidance
or support available, given that there is evidence of learners
receiving advice on portfolio compilation alone, rather than
any help in accessing support for skill development.
DfES/LSC/QCA/the Standards Unit to consider whether it
would be appropriate to specify minimum qualifications in
either training or teaching for those involved in work-based
training activities. Given that it is likely that individuals will
continue to come into the sector from industry, DfES, LSC,
QCA and the Standards Unit may wish to consider
establishing a maximum length of time within which new
tutors/assessors will be required to gain a teaching or training
qualification. It will also be necessary to consider the
maximum length of time to be allowed for up-skilling and
qualification of existing staff, and how such development
would be funded in the future.
DfES/LSC to consider providing funding for any provider
increasing their capacity to respond to basic skill needs by
developing existing staff’s skills in this area.
Auditing of funding for ATA
DfES/LSC/QCA to consider moving to auditing based on
random sampling of provider activity for awards for which
there are component ‘quota’ of funding.
DfES/LSC/QCA/ALI to consider whether any economies to
inspection could be agreed by utilising awarding body
information relating to training and assessment facilities.
xv
1. Introduction
In November 2003 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
invited tenders to conduct research to identify good practice in
‘assess-train-assess’ (ATA) approaches to workforce development.
The DfES selected the Institute for Employment Studies to
undertake the research.
This report sets out the background to the work, the research
findings, recommendations and policy implications arising from
the project, and good practice guidelines and selected case studies.
1.1 Background
This project is one of a suite of projects funded from the Success for
All budget, which aims to encourage good practice in FE. The
project is designed to investigate good practice in the use of the
assess-train-assess approach to development.
1.1.1 What is meant by ‘assess-train-assess’?
ATA refers to the process of, first, identifying skills gaps, then
providing training tailored to meet the identified needs. This is
followed by re-assessment to establish the extent to which the
training need has been met. Use of the term ATA to describe this
type of approach, of training to fill identified gaps, has largely
emerged in recent years during evaluation of the Employer
Training Pilots (ETPs).
The origins of the ATA model can be found in the national
qualifications framework introduced in 1986. The model for
assessment in National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) requires
initial assessment of the individual against the components of the
target award. This is for two reasons: to facilitate the assessment
process and to identify the training that the individual requires
(and thereby avoid providing training for areas in which the
individual is already skilled).
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
1
Figure 1.1: The Assess-Train-Assess process
Assess
•
Recognise
and accredit
existing skills
•
identify skills
gaps
Train
▬►
•
Identify
training
needed
•
Design training
to meet
identify skill
needs
•
Deliver
training
Assess
▬►
•
Measure
progress
•
Accredit
newlyacquired skills
•
Identify any
further
training
needed
Source: IES, 2004
However, research has found that this approach has not been
adopted in many cases. Research conducted as part of the most
recent stage in the evaluation of the ETPs indicated that only
around one in six learners reported following a strictly ATA
model (Hillage, 2004). The main places at which the process falls
down are at initial assessment and in tailoring of the subsequent
training. Hillage and Mitchell (2003), in an earlier stage of the ETP
evaluation, found that the initial stage of assessment is often
omitted from the process. This can lead to providers opting for a
‘train-assess-train-assess’ model (known as TATA).
Where initial assessment is omitted, two things may happen:
Assessment may not be planned so that it makes optimal use
of the individual’s existing skills, which may unnecessarily
delay their attainment of units and, hence, extend the time it
takes for them to achieve an award.
Individuals may find themselves assigned to training courses
in areas in which (for them), training is unnecessary. This can
be frustrating for individual candidates/learners, significantly
slow the assessment process and increase costs.
Evaluation of the ETPs has shown that both employers and
employees appreciate an approach to training that is focused on
skills gaps where this is available. For individuals, initial
assessment of existing skills can also serve as a powerful
motivational tool, especially when combined with training
tailored to meet areas of need. Recent strategy documents have
indicated that the government plans to extend the use of this
approach in future actions to meet national skill needs (National
Skills Strategy, 2003).
For these reasons, the DfES believed it was timely to explore good
practice in ATA models and subsequently to share that good
practice with providers. However, the work is also set against a
more general background of increased interest in learner
achievement and related questions such as how best to encourage
2
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
learner engagement and recognise learner achievement. Because
of this a brief description of recent reports and initiatives that
contribute to this context is given.
1.1.2 Recent initiatives
The document Success for All published by the DfES in 2002 set out
a reform programme for the FE and training sector. Amongst the
concerns raised by the document was the variable standard of
provision across this sector. In addition, the Success for All
initiative aimed to encourage the learning and skills sector to
engage more effectively with local businesses. This was one of the
overarching aims of the current project which was funded
through the Success for All budget.
There are four component strands to the Success for All
programme:
Theme one: meeting needs and improving choice.
Theme two: putting teaching, training and learning at the heart of
what we do.
Theme three: developing the leaders, teachers, trainers and
support staff of the future.
Theme four: developing a framework for quality and success.
In the same year that the Success for All strategy was published,
the Learning and Skills Council published the first national survey
of learner satisfaction (LSC, 2002). The survey found that in the
work-based learning sector there were the highest levels of early
leavers and of learners considering leaving their programme. A
higher than average proportion of work-based learners (ie higher
than that across all learner groups) reported that their employer
was an important influence on choice of course. The strategy
report suggests that more work-based learners are engaged in
learning because they feel they have to, rather than want to, attain
the qualification. Despite indications that work-based learners
have less freedom in their choice of course, quality of teaching
was still the most important factor determining satisfaction.
Therefore, in the research reported here, one of the research
themes explored was the nature of any additional development
needed to support staff involved in ATA delivery.
The National Skills Strategy (NSS) was published in 2003 and
outlines both the government’s concerns regarding skills deficits
and its plans for addressing these deficits. The strategy is
characterised by a focus on employers’ needs, the motivation and
support of learners, and ways to enable colleges and providers to
be more responsive to employers’ and learners’ needs. The NSS
indicates that training programmes, particularly those provided
for employers, should start by assessing people’s existing
knowledge and skills, so that skills gaps can be identified and
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
3
training targeted at filling those gaps. The strategy also noted the
need to improve the assessment of people’s existing skills and
knowledge. In this research therefore participating organisations
were asked about the means they used in order to assess existing
skills and knowledge in learners.
The NSS also observed that the ATA model is ‘well established in
college provision for delivery of NVQs, and… the Employer Training
Pilots’. It is perhaps unsurprising that the Employer Training
Pilots have involved the ATA approach, given that much of the
provision under this scheme has been targeted on attainment of
NVQs. However, it is worth noting that, in the area of nonaccredited learning, there have also been recent developments
looking at very similar issues. A recent LSC-funded project aimed
to produce guidelines for recognising and recording progress and
achievement (RARPA) in adult and community learning (ACL).
The outcome of the work has been the proposal of a staged
process of core elements that in future will be adopted by all
providers in receipt of LSC funding for non-accredited learning.
Figure 1.2 shows the elements of the staged process mapped
against the criteria from the Common Inspection Framework (CIF)
and indicates the types of evidence the LSC will expect providers
operating within the ACL sector to produce in future.1
It can be seen that there are strong parallels between the elements
of good practice identified in the RARPA scheme for the ACL
sector, and the good practice in ATA that was explored in this
project within the work-based learning and FE sectors. The
Figure 1.2: RARPA requirements for ALC providers in receipt of LLSC funding
Element
Evidence
1. Aim(s) appropriate to an individual learner or group of
learners (CIF Q1 and Q5)
Clearly stated aim(s) for all programmes
2. Initial assessment to establish the learner’s starting
point (CIF Q4, 1 and 2)
Record of outcomes of process of establishing learners’
starting points
3. Identification of appropriately challenging learning
objectives: initial, re-negotiated and revised (CIF Q2, Q4
and Q5)
Clearly stated challenging objectives for all programmes
and, wherever feasible, for each learner.
4. Recognition and recording of progress and achievement
during programme (formative assessment): tutor feedback
to learners, learner reflection, progress reviews (CIF Q1
and 4)
Records of learner self-assessment, group and peer
assessment; tutor records of assessment activities and
individual/group progress and achievement. Learners’
files, journals, diaries, portfolios, artwork; videos,
audiotapes, performances, exhibitions and displays;
individual or group learner testimony; artefacts,
photographs and other forms of evidence.
5. End of programme learner self-assessment; tutor
summative assessment; review of overall progress and
achievement. This will be in relation to appropriately
challenging learning objectives identified at the
beginning/during the programme. It may include
recognition of learning outcomes not specified during the
programme (CIF Q1 and Q4).
Records of learner self-assessment, group and peer
assessment; tutor records of assessment activities and
individual/group progress and achievement. Learners’
files, journals, diaries, portfolios, artwork; videos,
audiotapes, performances, exhibitions and displays;
individual or group learner testimony; artefacts,
photographs and other forms of evidence.
1
For full position paper see:
www.lsc.gov.uk/national/partners/quality/default.htm
Source: National Learning and Skills Council
and the Learning and Skills Development Agency
4
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
current project therefore contributes to the much wider current
interest in the ways in which the learning experience may be
improved, irrespective of sector, subject of study or type of award.
1.2 Why is the Assess-Train-Assess model important?
There are several reasons cited in recent policy documents for
encouraging further adoption of the ATA model. The first is that
this approach appears to encourage employers to engage with
training, as it is associated with flexible forms of delivery.
Second, the ATA approach to training is believed to offer an
economical approach to training, as learners avoid ‘wasted
learning’ that repeats what they already know; therefore training
can be delivered more cost-effectively.
Third, ATA is believed to help with motivating and retaining
learners. There are two main routes by which the ATA model of
development can impact on learner motivation:
The front-loading of assessment at the outset means that
learners can gain credit for what they already do and know.
Unit certification at an early stage makes their achievements
visible to them and provides motivation to continue with the
training.
Training can be focused on developing new knowledge and
skills in the learner and avoids duplication of topics with
which learners are familiar.
The previous points highlight the benefits for learners and
employers involved in vocational education and training. The
ATA model could bring benefits to providers too.
Assessment of existing knowledge and skills at the outset could
prevent providers from registering learners for modules that are
not needed, (given their existing experience) and thereby reduce
boredom and dropping out, improving attainment and retention
rates.
Also, adopting such an approach could speed up the process of
attaining qualifications and so reduce costs and improve
attainment rates. Where there is a sum of money attached to
completion of awards (as there is with NVQs in general and in the
ETP scheme arrangements) this means that providers may gain
from an increased throughput of learners within a financial year.
However, given that providers are required to report on both
attainment and retention rates in their self-assessment reports
(SARs) as part of the inspection process using the common
inspection framework, it is likely that any changes to practice that
led to improvements in these rates would lead in turn to
improved inspection reports. This would benefit providers under
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
5
the proposed move to ‘lighter touch’ inspection for those receiving
good inspection reports.
For these reasons, the research inquired about the current use of
data relating to ATA-based programmes in self-assessment
reports.
1.3 Identifying the components of good practice in ATA
In seeking information on good practice in ATA, the following
questions were considered:
1.3.1 Initial assessment
Is there an initial skills audit?
Are skill needs determined for individuals or groups?
Does the assessment
appropriate)?
lead
to
accreditation
(where
Who is involved in a) skills audit; and b) assessment and what
are their qualifications?
1.3.2 Training
Is there an action plan for delivery of training?
To what extent is training designed for, or tailored to meet the
needs of, employers, groups or individuals?
Is the training designed and delivered by individuals qualified
in training design and delivery?
Is there support for learners?
1.3.3 Subsequent assessments
Who is involved in subsequent formative or summative
assessment?
Is there any certification of skills gained?
Is employer satisfaction monitored?
Is impact on business assessed?
There follows a set of issues surrounding with the practicalities of
how assessment is undertaken, how and where training is
delivered and how providers gauge employer satisfaction. As well
as the specific details of the initial assessment, training and
subsequent assessment stages, there are questions about the
broader workforce development context. These issues may also
impact on the efficacy of the ATA process.
6
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
1.3.4 Context
The extent of employer involvement in the process
The extent to which active employer participation helps
The relationship between provider and the employer’s aims
The relationship between employer skill needs and learner
aspirations
Training organisation capacity and deployment of resources.
These issues were all taken into account in designing the research.
1.4 Research objectives
The objectives of the research specified within the invitation to
tender were to:
identify good practice in training to fill skills gaps, from the
ETPs, other investigative projects such as the LSC Sector pilots
and elsewhere, including good practice in work-based
assessment.
examine the economics of offering ATA models compared to
more widely used approaches, including how to achieve
economies while meeting individuals’ needs.
investigate whether the current FE funding model incentivises
or discourages colleges from adopting the ATA model.
consider the staff training needs that might arise from a shift
to more work-based provision of this kind, including the
suitability of existing staff training and of the NVQ assessor
and verifier units.
consider the resource and organisational implications for
colleges, and other providers, of a shift to training to fill
identified gaps for learners who are not work-based.
assemble and disseminate case studies of good practice to
colleges and other providers.
recommend ways of addressing FE staff training needs.
In the following section the methodology adopted to pursue these
objectives is described.
1.5 Methodology
The method adopted consisted of four main stages:
Background research
stakeholders
and
initial
interviews
with
key
A broad trawl for examples of good practice
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
7
Telephone interviews to gain information from providers
Case study interviews at selected organisations.
1.5.1 Background research
The research started with interviews with representatives of the
DfES, LSC, QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority), AoC
(Association of Colleges), TUC and CBI. The purpose of these
interviews was to discuss current trends in training delivery and
to form a clear understanding of the ATA model. The discussions
also considered current funding models and their implications for
ATA.
1.5.2 Initial trawl for examples
The tender specification required examples of current use of ATA
to be drawn from the ETPs, from other investigative projects such
as the LSC Sector pilots, and from elsewhere, including good
practice in work-based assessment. The tender required the
researcher also to look for examples outside the NVQ
environment, for example training tailored to employers’ needs
without the involvement of any award. Examples of good practice
should be sought from FE, from private sector providers and from
employers offering in-house training.
In order to identify examples of current use of ATA by providers,
a range of organisations was contacted and asked if they knew of
any providers or employers currently using this approach to
workforce development. Intermediary organisations contacted
included:
LLSCs
LSDA
Business Link
Regional Development Agencies
Sector Skill Pilots
Chambers of Commerce
CBI
Basic Skills Agency
SSDA
Association of Learning Providers
Association of Colleges
NIACE.
Also, notices about the research that called for examples of good
practice were placed on the websites of the DfES, the Further
8
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Education Research Association (FERA) and the National
Association for Staff Development (NASD).
The trawl resulted in contact details for providers and employers
that intermediary organisations believed were currently adopting
some form of ATA provision.
1.5.3 Identification of case studies
Following this stage, during February and March 2004 the
researchers conducted telephone interviews with providers and
employers to gain further information on their current practice.
The telephone interview schedules were drafted with the
assistance of members of the steering group and can be found at
Appendices 2 and 3. In general, the topics covered included:
The types of qualification delivered
Involvement in skills audits and type of initial assessment
Mode of delivery of training
Nature of final assessment.
The information from the contacted organisations was presented
in anonymised, tabulated form to the steering group. This is
presented at Appendix 4.
1.5.4 Case study research
Using this information, 22 possible case study sites representing a
variety of practice and delivering a wide range of types of training
and qualification were selected as potential case study
organisations. Of these, 19 agreed to participate and visits were
arranged from April to early July. In these organisations,
interviews were conducted, depending on the exact situation at
each one, with a senior manager, trainers/assessors and learners.
In some cases employers also participated in interviews.
Slightly different interview schedules were designed taking into
account both training from external training providers (ie training
companies and colleges) and internal training for companies in
house. The discussion guides were compiled with the help of
input and feedback from members of the steering group and are
shown in full at Appendices 5 and 6. Development of the
discussion guides was informed by the issues outlined in section
1.2 and explored:
the way in which assessment is conducted
the type(s) of learner who particularly benefit from ATA
various practices used within the organisation for assessment,
eg online assessment
the training provided for assessors
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
9
how training is tailored, and whether it is tailored to groups or
individuals
provider estimates of costs incurred / funding obtained by the
different assessment and training models (ATA compared to
more conventional approaches)
provider perceptions of the organisational benefits of adopting
an ATA approach.
1.6 Report structure
In chapters 2 and 3, the main findings from the research are
presented. The report is structured as follows:
ATA in practice
Initial assessment
Training delivery
Follow-up assessment
Funding issues
Resource and organisational issues
Staff development issues
Other issues, such as employer engagement in the ATA
process.
Where appropriate, at points throughout chapters 2 and 3, key
points for good practice are identified based on the information
given by providers.
In chapter 4, the research findings are discussed. In chapter 5
recommendations are made for the various partners involved in
the process based on what supports good practice and what
currently comprises a barrier.
Appendices then follow these main chapters. In Appendix 2, good
practice guidance is suggested based on the experiences of, and
information provided by, the case study organisations. In
Appendix 3, a selection of case studies selected for their innovative
and flexible practices is shown.
10
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
2. Key Findings from the Research: Assessment
and Training Practice
In this chapter, the approaches that providers are taking to the
practicalities of assessing and training are reported. In chapter 3
the context issues of funding, organisational and resourcing of
ATA, and the staff development and qualification issues arising
from this, are considered.
Figure 2.1 shows how the ATA process is part of a wider context
of funding, resourcing and development issues. This should not
be taken as implying that these elements are separate or isolated
aspects of the system as a whole. Rather, they are presented in this
way in the report simply as a way of organising the information
for the reader, and each should be seen in the context of the
whole. There are also issues about the extent of employer
engagement with training and involvement in the ATA process
which overlap or link with each of these stages and issues. Clearly
none of these issues can be viewed as entirely separate; they are
presented in this way solely for clarity of reporting. The context
Figure 2.1: The organisational context of ATA provision
resource organisational
implications
staff training & development
needs & qualifications
assess
train
assess
funding model & economics of delivery
Source: IES, 2004
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
11
and delivery are closely related, in fact, integral to each other, and
this point is returned to in the later conclusions and observations
regarding policy implications.
2.1 Initial assessment
In the initial assessment two partially overlapping types of
analysis are typically engaged in.
First, there may be a stage that is concerned with identifying
what skills and/or qualifications are needed by an employer
within the workforce, or within a group of individuals from
that workforce. This is often known as a ‘training needs
analysis’ or a ‘skills audit’.
Second, there is the assessment of the existing skills and the
training needs of an individual or individuals within that
group.
Sometimes, identification of the individual training needs of all
individuals in a department or company may effectively mean
that a skills audit of the group is obtained while ostensibly
focused on the individual.
In the section that follows the ways in which the case study
organisations had approached these tasks are explored.
2.1.1 Skills audits and identifying training needs
Some employers are able to identify which groups of workers
require what types of training (and in some examples of very
good practice, this was intrinsically linked to organisational
procedures such as appraisal, career development planning and
risk management). However, others may need the training
providers to conduct a training needs analysis/skills audit on
their behalf.
Who identifies training needs?
A spectrum of models for identifying training needs was
encountered, from employer-led to provider-led. Employees may
be included to various extents in this process, for instance,
through the appraisal system. The following extract gives an
example of an employer-led approach:
‘Internal or external recruitment includes a set of assessment exercises;
psychometric tests and skills tests and others. So we have a gap
analysis between what [skills] they have and what the company wants.
The development programme runs for six months with set targets such
as a skill specification or qualification such as ECDL. [For established
staff] the main time at which training needs are [subsequently]
identified is at performance review twice a year. We would discuss how
their job relates to the team and how teams/departments relate together.
12
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
There is an “identification of training need form” that identifies
business needs and their own individual needs. The job matrix (which
TCAT helped us to produce) indicates what qualification is relevant to
each job. Each job description contains a named NVQ for the post.’
Ricoh/TCAT
Providers reported identifying needs through discussion, a
questionnaire, or through assessment against some form of
standard.
‘There is a “training needs analysis questionnaire” that goes to the
companies and candidates to give some idea of where their shortfalls
and strengths lie. And the information from this can be programmed
into the course that they come on. Or it can be used as a basis for
discussion with the employer regarding what the candidate doesn’t
need. In that case we might perhaps suggest bespoke training.’
Polymer Training Ltd
The first assessment of training needs typically sets the scene for
the subsequent initial assessment of the individual learners. In
many cases there is a broad overlap between the skills audit and
initial assessment of individuals. Assessment of all individuals in
a group can be used to provide a profile of the skill needs across a
group or an organisation. This approach is illustrated in the first
good practice example, which also shows how information gained
from employees can help providers to customise assessment.
Good practice example 1: The Business Development Unit,
Tameside College
‘We would conduct a skills audit across the whole organisation and
with groups of staff. We use “mainline directions”, this is a web-based
self-assessment tool for basic skills. It allows you to customise the
questions asked based on the types of activities the individual is
involved in within their job. So the assessors would “walk the job” with
employees, and then use the information they gain through this
process to design the questions that will be asked within mainline eg
“how confident are you taking messages?” We would assess at
individual level but not disclose this information [about the basic skill
needs of individuals] to the employer.’
Where employers have sophisticated arrangements for identifying
training needs, providers can nonetheless benefit from fully
exploring the needs of the individual. In good practice example 2
North Devon College’s Manufacturing CoVE describes how they
work with employers and employees to identify the training
needs of the group and the individual. Individual assessments are
also used to gauge whether learners will need any additional
support.
Good
practice
example
Manufacturing CoVE
2:
North
Devon
College’s
‘Some companies are very strategic and will have built-in benchmarks
or use NVQ levels as progression levels (with progression and reward
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
13
being linked to NVQ level). Some employers identify specific training
needs. But there is always an extensive dialogue between us and the
company representatives (and the staff) to establish needs – we need
to find out what they do on day-to-day basis, and what the individual
needs in order to progress and to identify the appropriate benchmark
for the candidate-group. Plus we always assess basic skills at the
outset to see if they will need extra support to cope with the NVQ.’
Below we summarise the questions that providers may wish to
consider when starting out on this activity.
2.1.2 Good practice
good practice
Key points
Key questions at the initial audit
Providers may wish to consider the following issues in relation to
the initial audit:
How? There are various means by which to conduct a skills audit.
Potential sources of information could include:
managerial input
in-company skill matrix
assessment of the needs of individuals or groups by
discussion, questionnaire or skillscan (these could be in
relation to their job or to support needs ie basic skills)
observation or online assessment.
Also, providers report that techniques such as ‘walking the job’
(accompanying the employee as they go about their work) can
help to further contextualise the assessment information obtained
from other assessment methods.
Who? It is worth considering who is the best person to conduct
the initial audit:
•
Manager
•
HR/training manager
•
Assessor/tutor.
This is an important consideration, particularly in organisations
where appraisal is not linked into identification of training needs.
Some employers clearly have very sophisticated and structured
approaches to identification of requisite skills and the associated
training but others may be less able to identify the training needs
of their employees. This is more likely to be the case for employers
who rely on external training provision.
14
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Providers (and here we primarily mean external providers, rather
than in-house trainers) might wish to consider whether it would
be beneficial to offer assistance to employers in identifying their
staff training needs.
This may provide an opportunity to gain more accurate
information about the extent and depth of training needs.
It may also reveal further development needs of the
supervisors and managers themselves in identifying training
needs. This could lead to the opportunity to offer additional or
improved management development provision.
Why? Some may consider a skills audit to be unnecessary.
However, involvement in the initial skills audit can help ensure:
accurate identification of skill needs (gaps)
accurate identification of skill, so that the correct level and
type of training is provided to meet the employer’s needs
the relevant qualifications are identified for employees
training appropriate to the current capability of the learners is
provided which will help to improve attainment
improved learner success, increasing the likelihood of repeat
business.
Next we consider issues in the initial assessment of the individual
learner.
2.1.3 How is initial assessment of the individual or
group conducted?
The way in which providers initially assess individuals varies
with the nature of the skill being assessed. Accordingly a range of
approaches had been adopted by employers and providers. These
included the use of practical reasoning tests, computer-based and
paper-based basic skill and key skill tests, skillscans based on
occupational standards, interviews and direct observation of the
individual in their job.
‘The initial skills assessment is conducted in two ways: first, the use of
PC-based assessment techniques, namely “key skills builder” which is
used to assess competency in basic literacy and numeracy. Second,
potential learners will be given some sort of practical test, for example,
they may be given a practical exercise to do in a realistic work
environment.’
New College Durham
Typically a combination of methods was being used, and in many
cases one or more of these was computer-based.
Many providers spoke of the benefits of the initial assessment. It
ensures that learners are placed on the correct level of programme
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
15
and the correct area of study or qualification. This process, and the
benefits to the college and learner, are described in some detail by
Derby College.
Good practice example 3: Derby College
‘The process begins with an informal discussion with the candidates
and then they would have a touch screen computerised test, which
assesses their basic skills and determines the appropriate NVQ. This
process is known as “skills review” and establishes the trades they
undertake, and where they are multi-traded it works out the trade for
which they can most easily demonstrate the level of the skills,
although the last part of the process may also be picked up during the
subsequent process of developing an individual action plan to fill the
skills gaps and provide evidence of their skills.
‘Skills-scan works because it makes the candidates more confident. If
the skills-scan tells them that they already have 80 to 90 per cent of
the skills to obtain the qualification, it makes it much easier to get
them to sign up to and complete the remaining 10 to 20 per cent.
Importantly, it gets them to say what they are going to provide in
terms of evidence. This in turn makes the process of developing the
portfolio so much easier. ATA can mean that trainees are put on the
right track, which in turn gives employers more confidence in the
training process.’
The Derby College example shows that the initial assessment
gives both candidate and employer more confidence in the
training and assessment process; a major benefit. A detailed
analysis of learner needs can also reveal a range of useful
information to the employer, as the following example from
Oxfordshire Skills for Health demonstrates.
Good practice example 4: Oxfordshire Skills For Health
‘We did one-to-one interviews with operatives, managers and
supervisors and got a hundred people wanting training. Our original
interview schedule was adapted from one originally produced by the
Workplace Basic Skills Network. But we wanted to get more of an idea
of the employee’s experience of the organisation, so we created an
additional set of questions that touched on IR issues in particular
perceived organisational support. Since then we have used it and
refined it more. Our view is that organisations have needs, individuals
have aspirations. You look for organisational training needs, but offer
the individual learning opportunities.
‘The hospital was enthusiastic because we unearthed a range of
organisational needs that would not have emerged if we had confined
the ITN to narrow basic skill issues. It was very much relevant to the
hospital’s desire to add value to employment and to the whole “skills
escalator” approach that NHS modernisation calls for.’
In this example, the approach was to work from individual
interviews with employees to develop a fuller picture of the
organisational culture as a whole. This in turn gave the provider a
fuller understanding of the context for the work they were
16
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
engaged in and enabled them to contribute more fully to an
analysis of the organisation’s needs. The initial assessment can
therefore be of benefit both to employer and to provider.
2.1.4 Good practice
good practice
Key points
Key questions at the initial assessment
Whether or not there is an initial skills audit, ideally there should
be an assessment of any individual for whom training is being
provided.
How? Again, a wide range of methods was in use and it would
not be appropriate to be prescriptive on this point. Providers will
want to use the approach that is most convenient and makes most
sense in their situation with their particular client group.
However, some general points emerged that providers may wish
to consider.
Providers were using many of the commercial products
available, particularly for basic skills assessments, and found
these useful aids to the initial assessment.
Computers had been used successfully by several providers;
in particular these seem very attractive as an option within the
basic skills area. They may make the learner feel more
comfortable and can also help keep down the cost of
assessment.
While many learners respond well to computers, providers
may wish to check whether potential learners have much
experience with computers, as some people still find them offputting.
Skill Scans, whether paper- or computer-based, were found to
be very useful, particularly in helping ensure the individual
registers for an award it is possible for them to achieve in their
current job.
Who? A range of different personnel could be involved in this
function, and providers might wish to consider who is the bestplaced person — or people — to contribute to this activity.
Typically, assessors and trainers themselves would be
involved in the initial identification of training needs.
Line managers or HR specialists could carry out this
assessment role as part of the organisational appraisal process,
particularly where there are sophisticated HR systems in place
that identify, for example, the required NVQ awards or units
that individuals need for their current job or in order to
progress.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
17
If there is no formal appraisal or assessment within the
organisation, these individuals nonetheless can contribute
useful information towards the initial assessment conducted
by the provider.
Providers can help employers to identify the relevant awards
for their employees, which will help with the subsequent
identification of training needs.
It may be useful in some situations to divide the responsibility
for basic skills assessments and vocational assessment
between different specialist assessors and/or guidance
personnel.
Computers can lend extra credibility to the assessment
process.
Providers should remember that the most important person to
actively involve in the initial assessment is the learner.
Why? The information gained from a thorough initial assessment
is important for many reasons:
Where basic skill needs exist it may be possible to draw down
additional funding to address these.
It can ensure individuals get basic skills support they may
need to cope with another award such as an NVQ.
Thorough assessment of the learner’s current skills allows
providers to place individuals on the correct level programme
thus improving retention and attainment.
Assessment of the individual’s current skill levels allows the
provider to plan or modify the training to meet their needs
and capabilities.
An in-depth assessment can facilitate the early award of credit
for existing competences; this can prove a strong motivating
point for learners, especially those who have not achieved
previously.
2.1.5 Potential difficulties with initial assessment
It would not be appropriate to leave this section without taking
note of some of the potential problems with, and objections to,
initial assessment that were identified by providers. It may be
beneficial to keep such issues in mind whenever assessment is
planned with a new client.
For adult learners, returning to learning may take some courage
(particularly for those who did not have a happy experience at
school). However, the initial assessment can give some the
confidence they need to undertake the qualification.
18
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Providers should perhaps bear in mind, when planning the initial
assessment, that while technology is popular with many, not
everybody is familiar with computers. Many people still work in
areas in which they do not have day-to-day contact with
computers and assessors may need to consider this when
planning their approach to assessment.
Lastly, basic skills can be a difficult subject for some trainers to
broach. Clearly, there is a need for tutors and assessors to tackle
this issue with sensitivity.
2.1.6 Accreditation of prior learning
One of the particular issues that the research explored was the
extent to which individuals could gain full credit for existing skills
within the initial assessment. Accreditation of prior learning
(APL) was viewed as one of the key features of NVQs when they
were introduced. The idea is that, where someone is competent,
they should be able to gain credit without the need for any further
training.
Given the perceived value of the initial assessment, and in
particular the motivational value of early attainment of units, the
research explored the extent to which APL was offered within the
initial assessment. In the case study interviews, providers were
asked whether APL was available as part of their initial
assessment of learners.
For those involved in delivering modern apprenticeships, their
most common response was to consider APL in the context of
exemptions by proxy for key skill units. For basic skill awards,
there is little leeway to arrange formal credit, as the popular
awards in this area are gained through a formal, externally set,
end-test. In NVQs, there is a series of questions regarding APL:
Does the individual have prior learning that renders them
already competent?
Is there existing (prior) evidence of that competence that can
be brought forward?
Is any (prior) evidence of existing competence verified?
Is current assessment of existing competence required, either
because prior evidence is not available, or because it will be a
faster process than collating and verifying prior evidence?
For those involved in delivery of apprenticeships, exemption
from, rather than credit for, key skill units was the main issue,
although prior experience was taken into account. The following
example for the North East Chamber of Commerce describes the
approach taken with their learners.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
19
‘Yes, APL is used at interview stage and all the way through initial
assessment (five weeks). Qualifications and experience to date are
discussed and paperwork is completed in accordance. This gives some
people exemptions. Learners won’t get credits, but they are made aware
of their exemptions. Types of evidence used are the original certificate,
and permission from the assessor. Many learners are often exempt from
various units, it is quite common, even more so now. Up to 75 per cent
of learners have exemption of one or two key skills units.’
North East Chamber of Commerce
The APL outcome here is exemption rather than a claim for credit.
Where they have recent GCSEs or GNVQs these are used as
proxies to exempt young people from relevant key skill units.
However, there are limits on the use of prior awards, and for
providers recruiting young people from school these may not be
available at the time of recruitment to the apprenticeship.
Learners may gain exemption from key skill units through proxies
(providing they meet criteria regarding their currency) or else
through specific key skill assessments. While the former would
count as APL, the latter might more accurately be described as
being part of the overall initial assessment, or confirmation of
starting level.
One of the main difficulties with proving current competence
through APL lies in obtaining evidence of performance in the past.
Many providers, although happy to use APL where possible,
noted the difficulty in practice of obtaining prior evidence:
‘We only use APL when it’s appropriate, the assessor will identify
relevant past experience at induction. At this meeting you would
consider whether or not the evidence is current, and if there is likely to
be any difficulty in providing naturally occurring evidence.’
TCAT
Some providers appeared confused over the difference between
APL and unit exemption:
‘We would do APL if we had verified evidence to hand, resulting in
unit exemption.’
Some providers talked about giving credit for units that have been
fully assessed and verified previously. This is a fairly fundamental
misunderstanding of the APL process. While it is possible to give
automatic credit for units for which an individual has already
been formally assessed and verified, this is simple unit
accumulation and transfer, not APL. APL is the current assessment
of a package of evidence that may, to a greater or lesser extent,
have been generated in the past, or can be generated as a result of
actions taken in the past.
Lastly, it should be noted that some employers were mistrustful of
the value of the APL process. This was linked to their preference
for individuals to demonstrate their competence in the current
setting using the company’s own equipment. Also, employers felt
20
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
readily demonstrated skills could more easily be assessed directly
than via APL.
2.1.7 Good practice points
good practice
Key points
Key questions for accrediting prior learning
As part of the initial assessment the provider should check
whether the individual has any existing skills or certificates that
might contribute towards the overall package of evidence
submitted by the learner against one or more units. While
achievement of a whole unit on the basis of prior evidence is rare,
it can help the provider to plan the training and assessment to
maximise the use of the individual’s existing skills and knowledge
and speed the attainment of units.
How? The APL process has been seen as a largely portfolio-based
approach in the past. APL is essentially the same as any
assessment within NVQs - the process is to compile the evidence
and judge it as a whole against the relevant standards. However,
assessors may wish to bear in mind the following:
APL evidence (particularly documentary or some other form
of tangible evidence) may be used as supplementary evidence
within the overall evidence package. This could largely be
comprised of current assessments (including observation).
APL does not have to be ‘all-or-nothing’.
Where a learner does not have tangible evidence from past
activities but has relevant knowledge and experience,
assessors can nonetheless use the information gained from the
initial assessment (including questions about the learner’s
existing skills and ability to supply any other evidence) to plan
the assessment process so that those activities in which the
learner is already competent are assessed first (where work
schedules and demands allow).
Who? In most of the organisations visited where APL was used
within NVQs or MAs, this was being conducted by the vocational
assessors.
initial assessment should normally be conducted by an
assessor who has gained either D33 or A2 and is confident of
their ability to make judgements about the value of available
existing evidence.
Where an assessor has not yet gained either D33 or A2 it is
advisable to have another, qualified assessor to oversee the
assessment planning process. For new staff or trainers
working towards A2 this support will help ensure the assessor
fully understands the ways in which supplementary evidence
from the past may be incorporated into the evidence package.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
21
Why? As indicated above, one of the more important uses of
information about the individual’s existing skills and knowledge
is to help plan the timing and progression of assessment.
Taking into account what an individual knows at the outset
will help speed progress through the assessment plan.
The early recognition of skills gives individuals more
confidence and the award of unit credit can be a powerful
motivating tool.
Where APL is not used formally as part of assessment, it can
nonetheless be used to inform the individual learning plan
and details of training.
For some organisations, a key consideration may be the cost of
certification of individual units. However, this should be
considered against the gains to be made from motivating and
retaining individuals who then achieve full awards in less
time.
The wishes of employers should be taken into account, and
sometimes they may prefer an individual to take a whole
qualification within their current employment context. It may
therefore be wise to check an employer’s views on this point
before agreeing any assessment plan with an employee.
2.2 Agreeing the learning and assessment plan
Providers generally use the information they gain during the
initial assessment to feed into the learning and assessment plan.
‘All the information gathered is used to inform the individual learning
plan. It is worth noting that the individual learning plan also takes into
account, although not explicitly, information about the employer
regarding the extent to which they equip their learners with
opportunities for applying and practising their learning on the job.
Some organisations are a lot better than others at providing
opportunities for learning and development.’
New College Durham
Tameside College, who were using the ‘mainline directions’
computer-based basic skills assessment package, reported that this
software automatically generates a learning plan as an outcome.
Overall, the information obtained at the initial assessment can be
used to inform future training in many ways:
to identify the training that is needed and the opportunities to
practice and thus consolidate that learning in the workplace
to identify the evidence that will need to be collected, and the
opportunities that are likely to arise within the individual’s
working arrangements in gathering that evidence
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
to structure, devise and arrange the training programme the
individual will receive.
Next, we move on to consider the ways in which providers have
tailored the training they provide for individuals and groups of
learners.
2.3 Training
In this section we consider the ways in which providers have
modified their training provision to take into account the needs of
individuals, groups and employers.
Location at which the training is provided is mainly dictated by
the type of training and the resources potentially available. Where
training is provided on site, a key consideration is the resources
available within the employing organisation. Physical resources
may be permanent (a learning centre) or temporary (laptops
provided for the duration of the training); human resources may
be a company-based mentor or a tutor employed by the training
provider.
2.3.1 Learning centres
Telford College (TCAT) has established learning centres at 12
companies across the West Midlands, using funding from the
local Regional Development Agency.
Good practice example 5: Telford College of Art and Technology
‘We have set up a number of partnerships with companies in the
region such as GKN. The GKN project is a partnership between
Advantage West Midlands (who cannot contract directly with
companies), TCAT (as the preferred training provider), GKN and
partners. Advantage West Midlands has provided a £1 million grant to
set up a Welding and Material Handling training centre to develop skills
within GKN and other Shropshire Companies. All AWM government
funded projects have to be open to other recipients so SMEs, other
companies and college students all have access. GKN has also
committed to working to train their supplier base too. The benefits are
that GKN and partners will get training, and trained suppliers, and a
trained workforce who can operate a very advanced production line
maintaining jobs for the region. TCAT is project-managing the building
and usage of this major new facility. We are providing a similar
training facility with Johnsons Controls and the College CoVE facility.’
TCAT has set up a learning centre within one of their client
companies, Ricoh, equipped with computer terminals that could
offer key skill and computer qualifications free of charge, on site.
The centre activities are co-ordinated by a tutor who is seconded
to the company for two days a week. She also provides support,
guidance and advice to individuals. Publicity materials giving
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
23
information about the centre are provided to ensure that
individuals are aware of the opportunities available to them.
Good practice example 6: TCAT publicity material
An extract from the information leaflet provided about the Learning
Centre by TCAT to Ricoh employees follows.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US
Information – at the beginning of your course the tutor will provide
details of the most effective programme of study for your requirements
and what is involved in order for you to achieve your qualification.
Assessment – an initial assessment is made to ascertain the most
suitable level of programme for you as an individual.
Support – you will be given guidance, advice and support throughout
your qualification. Your tutor is there to ensure that you are able to
reach your goals.
ALL INFORMATION IS CONFIDENTIAL
North Devon College has operated ‘mobile skills centres’ for some
time. These are large articulated trailers similar to mobile libraries
which are equipped with computers and technical engineering
equipment. They are designed to provide high quality training
facilities away from the college main site at factories and in local
communities. The range of technical equipment has been
increased with CoVE capital funding and enables effective
support of an extensive range of work-based learning groups.
Other departments in the college provide IT outreach training to
local communities using smaller vehicles and laptop computers.
2.3.2 Different delivery approaches
Often, different approaches to training input will be more or less
appropriate, depending on the sector and qualifications with
which tutors in different departments are working. Tameside
College provided an example of this; they offer basic skill and
customer service awards, using different types of training
delivery.
The basic skills tutor worked directly with learners to help
develop their skills. This work often took place within temporary
learning centres, set up using laptops loaned to client companies
for the training programme. In customer service, the assessor
typically would advise NVQ candidates on the assessment
process and on compiling a portfolio. While she would guide
learners to appropriate sources of learning materials or
programmes, she would not provide training herself. In the latter
type of approach, the training and assessing roles are completely
separate, with the assessor offering support but no actual training.
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Training providers also varied the training depending on the type
of learner and the subject being tackled:
‘It is different for different programmes, so for some apprenticeships,
the programme is really structured (accounts, lab technicians,
engineering), and it involves very formal delivery, eg chalk and talk.
For others, it is more flexible and people can work at their own pace, it
is more informal. Examples of this type of approach are business
administration, customer service and retail.’
North East Chamber of Commerce
In some cases, trainers worked in partnership with employers to
deliver the various components of the training.
‘The recruits [Modern Apprentices employed by the Army] spend six
months at TQ where they take the technical certificate and key skills.
The individuals are then posted to Army sites, where the NVQ is
delivered on site by TQ assessors, largely one to one but with some
group sessions.’
TQ Training Management Services
In this type of approach, different partners deliver different
components of the scheme. Again, the assessment is, to some
extent, separate from the training delivery.
2.3.3 Timing
Some providers gave training that fitted into, or around, the
schedules and work arrangements of their client organisations.
Both in-house and external training providers had arranged for
assessment and training activities to fit in with shift patterns,
either allowing training to be delivered ahead of, or during, the
shift. Training could be arranged at any time of day, across the
week.
‘Workshops and work-based learning assessor visits are arranged
around the candidates working hours/days. These sessions fall between
6.00am and 11.00 pm daily and cover a seven day a week basis. If a
session is missed, additional sessions are arranged to ensure the
candidate remains on target.’
Bells Stores
Within the health service, Oxfordshire Skills for Health had been
delivering a range of courses and qualifications including basic
skills, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), study skills,
health and safety, food hygiene and a range of NVQs at various
times and locations to fit in with the work patterns of participating
Trusts. In recent months, Oxfordshire Skills for Health had started
to explore an approach they were calling ‘bite-sized’ learning and
which was planned to inject small learning sessions into the
working day.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
25
Good practice example 7: Oxfordshire Skills for Health
Bite-sized learning
For the last year, Oxfordshire Skills for Health had been developing a
“functional syllabus” for “English in the Workplace” pitched at entry 3
level of the adult ESOL core curriculum. The main feature of this latest
phase of Oxfordshire Skills for Health’s work was the development of
‘bite-sized’ programme and delivery format.
Stepping Stones
The team has developed a functional map of workplace language skills
split into 21 different areas to do with communication at work.
Examples of these areas include ‘talking about your job’, ‘what you say
when you need help’, ‘passing on messages’ and ‘talking about health
and safety at work’.
Teaching methods
The team is developing cards to support short guided learning
sessions. The cards will be used as prompts to what is taught. The
tutor will work in the workplace itself, coaching in a corridor, kitchen or
staff room. The sessions are planned to last no longer than 20
minutes, and more likely 10-15 minutes.
Oxfordshire Skills for Health were about to move into the pilot
phase of this new work at the time of the case studies. This new
venture was throwing up new issues in negotiating the workplace
and tutor development needs which are described in section 3.3.
City of Wolverhampton College was working with a local
employer to multiskill their workforce. They identified the main
skills needed in a job and then looked at what additional, or
‘reciprocal’, skills were needed by the individual in order to
undertake various tasks. The college then developed ‘bite-sized
chunks’ of training to develop these additional skills, which were
then consolidated between training sessions.
‘The first stage of the development process is we take the whole team in
and look for where the problems are on a piece of equipment and find
out why it keeps breaking down. The maintenance engineer would say,
“to fix that I would need eg electrical skills”, so then we would
organise electrical training for the maintenance engineer. Similar, need
to know why motors are breaking down? (Provide motor mechanic
skills) or hydraulics (give training in this area). Then you would
develop these skills over a period of time. In the first place there is
training delivered in “bite-sized chunks” focused on these “reciprocal”
skills. We would build these skills up over about three months with
support from a mentor in the workplace.’
City of Wolverhampton College
2.3.4 Pacing and emphasis
Providers who routinely assessed basic skill needs at the outset,
reported that this allowed them to determine if individuals would
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
need any additional support in order to help them cope with the
NVQ.
‘[Training is modified] as much as possible, in order to ensure the pace
is correct, and provide additional learning support where necessary.’
Tameside College
At the other end of the spectrum there may be learners whose
prior experience allows them to skip part of the course.
‘At higher levels we tend to offer exemption for modules or exemption
for assignments. In the classroom, the training is modified as part of the
teaching practice and the delivery of the training.‘
Stroud College
Much of the ETP NVQ delivery was being undertaken with oneto-one coaching and assessment on the job. In contrast, for off-thejob training, small groups were most usually used. Here, the
initial assessment could allow providers to ensure that they
grouped individuals with the same level of knowledge or ability.
‘Training is tailored for different groups and individuals, although it is
more common to modify the training for groups as opposed to
individuals. In terms of how the training is modified, the most common
modification is spending more time on certain parts of the training to
ensure that the correct standards are met.’
New College Durham
2.3.5 Basic skills
This was one area in which providers believed technology to be a
great help. In particular, it could help tutors to spend time
working with individual learners within the context of a group
session.
‘The first part of each session is a traditional teacher-student group
arrangement, then people move onto the technology and it becomes
more individually focused. If people cannot cope, we bring the input
down a level. Friends often will help each other. For learners at higher
levels, they may just need a “brush-up”. Brighter students need less
attention. You would do some work with them as a group, then work
with them individually. Lower levels need more attention and time.
Plus the computers facilitate student-centred learning. You can see
who is struggling, who can be left alone’.
Tameside College
2.3.6 Good practice points
good practice
Key points
Questions for designing and delivering training
Wherever possible, it is wise to take into account the individual’s
skills, as well as their needs and development opportunities at
work when planning training.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
27
How? Trainers should use information about the individual, their
job and the support available to them to plan the programme of
development.
As part of this planning process, and particularly where
individuals were seeking to obtain an NVQ, it is essential to
take into account the capacity of the individual’s current role
to support attainment of that qualification.
The individual’s existing skills and knowledge should be
considered in determining whether sections of a programme
may safely be omitted.
For many NVQs, one-to-one delivery in the workplace was
seen as the best approach, while small groups were viewed as
optimal for issues such as health and safety, and food hygiene.
Where small groups are used, an initial assessment will help
the trainer to ensure that all participants in a group are at the
same level at the outset, avoiding some individuals being left
behind while others become bored.
Where groups are used, it is advisable to use ways of working
that allow the tutor to spend at least some time working with
individuals.
Consider whether technology can be being used to deliver
some of the training. Basic skills is one area in which this has
been found to be a great help.
Who? While it is primarily the responsibility of trainers or
assessors to plan and deliver training programmes, workplace
supervisors or managers could also contribute to this process.
In some cases, a training programme or qualification may best
be delivered through a formal partnership between an
employer and an external provider to deliver different
components of the training.
Mentoring or coaching from a more experienced employee can
help individuals to consolidate skills learnt off-the-job.
For MAs, initial input for key skills or technical certificates can
be followed by some form of developmental support and
assessment in the workplace.
In the majority of cases involving NVQs, the same person
usually provides training input and assesses the individual.
Where an assessor is not able to provide training input for the
individual, the organisation should ensure that, as a
minimum, the assessor is able to provide guidance to the
individual in locating appropriate learning materials or,
possibly, courses offered elsewhere.
Why? In most of the organisations we visited, providers and
employers were designing training that met the needs identified
by their own internal HR procedures or by an initial assessment of
individual learners. In order to:
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
reduce redundant training by building on existing skills.
ensure that employees receive relevant training that meets
their needs.
ensure that training meets safety requirements in their current
jobs.
ensure employees are equipped with skills they can use in the
workplace.
2.4 Re-assessment
The ATA model calls for assessment following training to check
that the identified learning need has been met. It is at this stage
that differences are found between the requirements of the
different types of qualification and also in the approaches taken in
bespoke provision.
2.4.1 NVQs and Modern Apprenticeships
Since NVQs are based on assessment to a specified description of
competence, if training is provided to address a skill or
knowledge gap there always would be, by definition, a reassessment (at least in circumstances where the individual
continues to aim at attaining the award). With NVQs then, there
was little difference in provider views about assessment to
determine skill gain. In those cases where training was delivered
one to one, on the job, assessment was virtually on-going until all
the requirements of a unit had been met. In such circumstances
there is an overlap between formative and summative assessment.
Assessment was in accordance with awarding body guidance, but
was typically a mixture of observation, questioning or materials
gathered into a portfolio of evidence. To assist with the
assessment of some of their learners TCAT has equipped their
assessors with cameras and tape recorders to enable them to
capture evidence as they moved around sites. As with the use of
computers, though, it should be remembered that not all learners
react in the same way to the use of technology in assessment:
‘We have used video evidence, however the candidates’ aversion to
video has tended to put us off this approach.’
Stroud College
With modern apprenticeships, since they consist of key skills, a
technical certificate and an NVQ, to some extent the assessment
required is pre-determined by the award. Typically there would
be a test associated with the technical certificate, while key skills
and NVQs would follow the guidance set by the awarding body.
In some cases the sector skills council requires attainment of a
specified component of the MA before the apprentice can
commence assessment for the NVQ in the workplace. Aside from
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
29
where such restrictions existed, providers made flexible
arrangements for the assessment of the NVQs incorporated within
the MAs.
‘Formative assessment is carried out throughout the course, summative
assessment is done at the end, plus a witness testimony from the
employer. The learner also explains how they have progressed, the
employer also has a chance to say how the learner has progressed in the
workplace.’
North East Chamber of Commerce
Employer co-operation is a key factor in facilitating the training
and assessment process. This is particularly the case where
individuals need to be able to perform certain tasks within the
workplace to allow their assessment. Without the active help of
the employer it may prove difficult for learners to complete the
necessary assessment.
‘The candidates are also given the assessors’ mobile numbers so they
can tell the assessors which site they are working on. Coming to the end
of an NVQ can be difficult, as they are sometimes waiting for the
candidate to do a specific sort of work, and given that observation is the
best and soundest evidence, they sometimes have to wait for the
candidate to be allocated the task.’
Derby College
2.4.2 Basic skills and learndirect
For Basic Skills and learndirect there was little option other than
to take the official tests. For some basic skill tests, learners were
required to go into the college or other provider as the tests
needed to be taken within an official test centre. learndirect
courses are assessed electronically.
2.4.3 Assessment and health and safety
The previous sections concern the attainment of qualifications. For
bespoke training there is a range of approaches to assessment. In
some settings, assessment may become an intrinsic part of the
health and safety system of the company.
‘We have introduced a “badging” system so that the individuals’ badge
states the equipment they are trained [“licensed”] to use and highlights
the jobs/areas they are allowed to work in. The areas they are allowed to
work in are only highlighted on the badge once the “process operators
training instruction” is returned to the training department. The
training form is signed off, and once that is done, then the new area of
work can go on their badge. If a section is not highlighted on the badge
the employee can refuse to work in that area/activity. They can say “I
can’t, I’m not trained”, and point to the badge. It makes a clear
contribution to health and safety.’
Federal Mogul
A similar approach had been taken as part of the work of City of
Wolverhampton College in multiskilling employees in a local
30
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
company. They had designed a ‘skills passport’ to record
employees’ progress in attaining new skills. While the individual
was still consolidating their skills they worked alongside a
‘buddy’ or mentor (who was qualified in the area in which the
learner was developing skills) until they were certified as safe
through the skills passport.
‘We have introduced the idea of “skills passports” — these are booklets
that consist of pages that state the different levels of competence, for
example from changing a fuse through to working with high voltage
power supplies. This is backed up by counter-signatories: the page is
signed by the mentor, the trainer/assessor and also by a company health
and safety manager. The skills passport can then also be used as
evidence against the NVQ.’
City of Wolverhampton College
2.4.4 Other contributors to the assessment process
Competent colleagues can therefore contribute both to training
and to any formative or summative assessments. Some awarding
bodies have started to formally recognise the possible contribution
that could be made by these individuals. Where the person does
not have assessor qualifications there are ways in which their
contribution may be formally recognised:
‘The assessor is supplemented by witness testimony from workplace.
C&G supply resource sheets within their candidate packs for this. This
asks for information on the competence of the witness.’
Tameside College
good practice
Key points
Questions for formative and summative assessment
For learners on NVQ programmes, assessment is typically ongoing. For some bespoke programmes, providers may need to
consider the appropriate type of feedback and assessment to give
to learners.
How? This assessment phase can be integrated into, or contribute
towards, health and safety or appraisal procedures, or can be a
stand-alone process.
Some organisations combine the generation of assessment
evidence with documentation eg for health and safety
requirements.
Other organisations use assessment to formally recognise
individual’s new skills at work, linked to reward systems.
Training providers may find that seconding assessors to a
company for a few days a week to carry out assessments (ie
the assessor is at the employer’s premises full-time during the
days in which they are carrying out assessment) can help
make assessment a more economical process.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
31
Paper free portfolio collation software can help make
assessment less onerous for the candidate and speed up the
process.
Who? In many of the case study organisations, providers were
working with managers, supervisors or colleagues in generating
the evidence needed for summative assessment.
While the provider will most often conduct the summative
assessment, workplace-based assessors can be used to assist in
the evidence-gathering process.
Workplace colleagues can also help in assessment by
contributing statements in the role of ‘competent witness’.
Where workplace personnel are involved, ideally there should
be some formal agreement about the time that is allowed for
these activities within their job requirements.
Why? For NVQs or other formal vocational awards, assessment is
a necessary part of gaining the award. For bespoke training, there
could also be benefits from a formal assessment.
Assessment can be used to demonstrate the company has
sufficient skills to run equipment safely.
Employees are given clear messages about the equipment they
are, and are not, qualified to use, and this avoids situations in
which employees may be pressurised to undertake dangerous
work for which they are not qualified.
Qualifications can fit into company
development and promotion procedures.
appraisal,
career
2.4.5 Who benefits most from ATA?
Providers were fairly evenly split over who benefits from the ATA
approach. Around half felt all learners benefited, while the other
half felt it mainly benefited non-traditional learners.
‘It benefits everyone because it encourages them to measure their own
progress and says to the employer “I am now here”.’
Tameside College
‘Mature learners are more likely to benefit from ATA approaches as
their training can be modified to take account of the skills and
experiences they have already accumulated. In addition, mature
learners are more likely to be interested in their development and more
concerned with improving themselves.’
New College Durham
Providers as well as learners saw a benefit: many reported that
retention had improved.
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
‘As we moved to increased assessment of young people at the start, the
retention rates for young people have improved and in recent years
have been much better.’
Tameside College
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
33
3. Findings from the Research: Context
In this chapter we consider the findings that relate to the context
in which training delivery and assessment takes place. There are
three main sections: funding and economics, organisational and
resource issues, and staff training and development.
3.1 Funding and the economics of ATA
We consider three issues in this section. First, we report on
funding issues raised by providers in relation to ATA. We then
describe some of the actions taken by providers to make ATAbased delivery more cost-effective. Finally, we report on some
issues raised by employers about their ability to pay for training
and their attempts to seek alternative funds to help with this.
3.1.1 Funding assessment and delivery
Providers did not believe that current funding arrangements fully
encouraged ATA-based provision.
‘The current funding arrangements certainly don’t help to promote it
[ATA]. Across the college we cannot get schools to do on-site
assessment as it is more economical to bring people in and assess them
all together. It can be difficult to go below groups of six for learning.’
Tameside College
Also, under the existing funding arrangements, providers that
offered training for just one employer (ie that was not open to
other learners) received a reduced payment from the LSC. It
should be noted though that this reduction (the ‘employers’
premium’) was likely to be abolished under new funding
regulations, about to be introduced by the LSC,1 and providers
welcomed this move.
‘You can lose money on this. Say you get £2K for a L2 qualification.
This is broken down into three chunks. If the training is exclusive to
the company, you lose a third of that (the employers’ premium).’
City of Wolverhampton College
1
34
This change had been flagged up in a consultation on plan-led
funding earlier in the year and was about to be implemented shortly
after this research was completed.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
‘We were financially penalised for six years by the employer discount.
There was a financial cut for taking this approach [to employer
engagement].’
TCAT
Special funding had been available to organisations approved to
establish Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs). Those who
had gained funding through the CoVE initiative reported that
being able to use this money to purchase equipment and recruit
more staff had helped them to introduce the ATA approach. For
example, one CoVE reported how being able to use CoVE funding
to purchase laptop computers had helped them to take assessment
facilities out into the community:
‘The special funding (CoVE) has made a big impact to the college. It
has allowed us to “buy time” in terms of being able to take certain staff
off teaching duties and getting them to go and talk to the employers. In
turn, this means that the programmes are becoming more employer
focused. Current funding does support the use of ATA, the special
funding helps enormously with regard to staffing. We wouldn’t be able
to have as many assessors/tutors without the funding we receive.’
New College Durham
This view, that help with infrastructure would help with
encouraging adoption of the ATA approach, was repeated by
other ATA providers and by one of the providers that mainly
offered non-ATA provision.
‘[What would encourage more use of ATA] would be if funds were
made available for initial assessment and assessor training; this would
make distance learning etc easier to deliver.’
Amersham and Wycombe College
3.1.2 Making ATA more economical
Many of those involved in delivering ATA-based provision
acknowledged that it could be a costly approach. The main costs
were seen as arising from on-site and individualised provision.
Another factor was the cost of assessment instruments. However,
many providers had found ways to balance costs. Providers also
recognised the benefits of ATA in helping with retention and
achievement.
‘Diagnostics are costly but contribute to retention and achievement.’
Capital Workforce Development
‘ATA has funding implications but is desirable in terms of retention
and satisfaction. But it needs special funding; ordinary funding would
not deliver ATA.’
Amersham and Wycombe College
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
35
‘With ATA, the majority of costs are in terms of the daily time and
travel. It’s not a massive amount in terms of materials and
development costs but [that’s because] these costs were absorbed by the
earlier programmes.’
Polymer Training Limited (PTL)
However, one provider, who was involved in ETP provision,
commented that the ETP funding had helped in providing
diagnostic testing for basic skills:
‘The current payment for diagnostic testing (in the ETP) does help.’
Tameside College
Providers reported that, while ATA may be more expensive to
deliver, the costs of any additional time spent in assessment at the
outset were balanced by benefits such as improved retention and
achievement. In addition to this, providers had found ways to
make the delivery and assessment process more economical.
‘Tutor time is the most costly aspect but the costs balance out because
the front-loaded assessment means that tutor input time is saved later.
The costs are about the same but the success rate and achievement and
retention is better. Therefore the outputs against costs are better. It
could work out cheaper in the long run as you only have to address
identified needs rather than everyone having everything. With the basic
skills the initial assessment allows us to target additional learning
support to those that need it. Using learning support officers to reduce
the costs would be one model [by which to reduce costs]. Plus the use of
computers, obviously.’
Tameside College
In previous sections we reported that many providers were using
computer-based packages to make initial assessment and some
training delivery more economical. Several providers were
enthusiastic about the newer, ‘paper-free’ portfolio-collation
software and reported that this could help cut down on
assessment costs:
‘Paper-free portfolios have been trialled and fully implemented since
April. They have freed up assessor-learner contact time by 45 per cent
and there is a positive knock-on effect on the rate of progression.’
TQ Training Management Services
Nonetheless, where an employer wished to purchase customised
training for just one or two individuals, this could prove
expensive. Sometimes they preferred to wait until they had
sufficient individuals to warrant a block booking. However, to
keep costs down for employers requiring training for just one or
two individuals, providers that offered public programmes of
courses could sometimes offer ‘in-fill’ onto these courses. This
helped employers to save money on training and the initial
assessment ensured that the individual was registered for the
correct programme.
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
‘It would be better to take a bespoke course - but that is more expensive
to individual employers, so in many cases they prefer the open courses.’
PTL
Methods mentioned in the earlier sections on assessment and
training also indicate how costs may be reduced: the use of initial
assessments to cluster individuals with similar levels of ability
and training needs, use of in-company assessors and
incorporating work-based elements of training, may all contribute
towards reducing the cost of offering ATA-based provision.
3.1.3 Costs to employers
Some providers were concerned about the ability of local
employers to pay for training, particularly those currently in
receipt of ETP funding. Providers were keen to find out what the
funding situation would be once the ETPs concluded.
‘When the Employer Training Pilots end, if the government withdraws
the funding it will have an enormous impact on companies here. The
health and care sector has high staff turnover. In the manufacturing
industry the international competition has been very fierce. There is a
need to improve production as the situation with the Euro and
international exchange rates means that profit margins are wafer thin.
Our strategic view from the Skills white paper is that L2 entitlement
will be free. But whether this will be through a tariff and whether wage
compensation will continue, is unknown.’
TCAT
The ETPs were welcomed for their impact in allowing employers
who would otherwise be unable to pay for training to develop
their workforces. In general, providers sought to maximise the
employer’s chances of gaining LSC funding for training and
assessment for their employees. Some providers had also looked
for other sources of payment to meet employers’ training needs:
‘When we first go into a company and look at their workforce, we look
at what we’ve got in terms of the skills / employee profile/job
description and look first to see if an appropriate NVQ exists, so we can
look for LSC funding. Alternatively, I would look to see if there are any
units I can “sell” to the company to help them with LLSC funding. If
we can’t do either of these, I would talk to the business development
unit (at the college) to see if there are any bits of eg ESF funding that
might be used to help them out.’
City of Wolverhampton College
However, not all providers agreed that it was wise to fully fund
provision for employers. If an employer does not pay anything for
training there is the possibility that they will neither value, nor
support, the training effort.
‘We are happy with the funding provided [under ETP] at present.
You’ve got to be careful that the funding does not put providers in a
position where the employer thinks that because he is not paying, they
have no responsibility. A provider has to work very hard to get
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
37
employer buy-in to the process of training. Full funding is dangerous.
They do not feel the pain. If you say 50:50 to the employer, and
contractual requirements are placed on him too, you are more likely to
get commitment.’
PTL
Also, one provider observed that reliance on funding could distort
the training that was taken up by employers
‘You can get sent down the wrong route by funding – you want
training in x but are told “think about training in y” because you can
get funding for this, but it wasn’t what we wanted. You end up doing a
course because it’s got full funding you can draw down. They fund
courses instead of funding the companies [to provide the training they
require].’
Federal Mogul
good practice
Key points
Funding and economics of ATA
Although the ATA approach may appear to add to the demands
on providers, taking steps such as a thorough initial assessment
can lead to benefits to providers as well as learners.
If it is not cost-effective to provide training for single
individuals, an initial assessment can be used to identify
groups of individuals with similar needs and make training
delivery more cost-effective.
Identifying additional support needs (eg basic skills) may
allow providers to draw down additional funds which in turn
may allow them to hire additional support staff and provide
an improved service to learners.
Time spent in initial assessment may be recouped through
subsequent savings in time spent in training
It supports projects that help develop a learning culture within
organisations rather than focuses solely on individual learner
attainments.
3.2 Resource and organisational implications
We move on now to consider the resourcing and organisational
issues that arose from the move to more flexible delivery.
3.2.1 Organising flexible delivery
The initial trawl of organisations revealed that the majority of
ATA-based provision in FE colleges was being offered either from
business development units or CoVEs. In the case studies,
interviewees indicated that it was difficult to combine an ATA
approach with timetabled provision. Most of these units had
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
dedicated staff that worked primarily with NVQs, basic skills, or
bespoke courses, using ATA for the majority of this provision.
‘The team is totally dedicated [in terms of time] and this is the only
way it will work. If they’re timetabled to teach a class it doesn’t work.’
TCAT
It could be difficult to customise classroom-based teaching, and
here the optimal approach was to make sure an initial assessment
was carried out prior to recruitment to ensure the learner is in the
right group (although this does not overcome any difficulties of
redundancy of training within individual modules).
‘When someone only needs part of what is offered it is very difficult, if
they are all in the classroom at the same time. So [you need to assess
them] prior to them getting into a classroom and it is about getting
them into the right classroom.’
Tameside College
For providers based in rural areas, or servicing several of the ETP
regions, travel was a major consideration. To avoid spending too
much time in travel, providers were adopting various strategies.
One was to have a team of tutors/assessors located in the regions
in which the provider held contracts; a variant on this was to have
tutors based ‘in the field’ and only returning occasionally to their
central ‘base’.
‘We have a network of trainer/assessors across Derbyshire, Leicester,
Lincolnshire, Greater Manchester, Frome, Shrewsbury. Many are from
Telford. It helps keep the costs down if you use local trainers/assessors.’
PTL
For those providers with either long-term contracts with a
company, or a learning centre located within a company, an
option was to second a member of staff to that location for part, or
all, of the time.
Many of the tutors/assessors to whom we spoke were
enthusiastic about the benefits of being located within the
workplace. However, providers also noted that this type of work
would not necessarily suit everyone, and we turn to consider the
staffing and development issues next.
3.2.2 Staffing and capacity
Involvement in one-to-one delivery, or a high volume of on-site
visits to employers, typically leads to higher tutor-learner ratios.
Several providers spoke of the actions they had taken to make the
ATA process more cost-effective and reduce the time that
assessors would need to spend in assessing individuals at work.
Many had sought to involve employers in the assessment and
development process.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
39
‘The best plan is to have an in-company assessor.’
PTL
‘Train supervisors to become assessors.’
North East Chamber of Commerce
However, where in-company staff are involved in assessment, it is
best to ensure that the employer makes appropriate allowances
within the employee’s time schedule for undertaking the assessor
role, and ensure that this is formally recognised as part of their
role.
One way in which assessment capacity can be increased, but
without needing a formally qualified assessor in the workplace, is
through the competent witness approach.
‘Without competent witnesses, assessors would have to observe 100 per
cent over a period of time – we could not do this within the agreed
funding. The use of competent witnesses helps keep the costs down.’
PTL
Some awarding bodies have produced ‘competent witness’
standard pro-formas. These ask for details of the individual’s job,
qualifications, organisational position in relation to the candidate,
etc. as well as a statement of the performance they have witnessed.
One provider had introduced a training programme to support
the development of competent witnesses as part of their plans to
develop capacity in the ETPs. Another provider noted that they
needed a similar programme:
‘Witness statements are causing confusion at a Health Trust. They
have asked if we could provide an example. And supervisors at another
Trust have asked for support on this too. We need a learning
programme for supervisors to help them with this.’
Oxfordshire Skills for Health
In many of the organisations, employers were encouraged to
become involved in training and development. Similar issues
apply when involving employers as when involving employees in
assessment: the role needs to be formally recognised and there
must be sufficient time in their working day allowed for this,
otherwise the employee may feel pressurised to prioritise work
over support activities:
‘The earlier attempt at consolidation broke down because there was no
mentoring – the employees felt they were being pressurised into this
role and worried about what would happen if the equipment kept
breaking down.’
City of Wolverhampton College
At the time of the research there was a chronic shortage of
assessors across almost all vocational areas, but particularly in
basic skills. The shortage of assessors has been cited as one of the
main constraints to expanding capacity within the ETPs. Some
providers had therefore taken action to increase basic skills
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
capacity. North Devon College’s Manufacturing CoVE was
encouraging their vocational tutor/assessors to attain basic skill
qualifications. Basic skill tutors were supporting vocational tutors
in working towards these awards.
Good practice example 8: North Devon College’s Manufacturing
CoVE
‘The Basic Skills tutor has been instrumental in encouraging tutors and
assessors to acquire basic skills support skills. C&G are currently
developing a new qualification (level 3 Certificate for Adult Learning
Subject Support), which they have been piloting. We now have 34
members of staff going through the level 3 training programme. Three
of these are work-based assessors. The intention is to encourage and
instil a uniform quality across the division to ensure that all those that
need support are identified and supported. For the students, getting
their needs recognised is vital, and the importance of getting workbased assessors [with these skills] who have a much closer contact
with the work-based candidates is tremendous. Therefore we targeted,
but on a voluntary basis, our work-based assessors. Those that have
started are very enthusiastic and are doing the qualification for
themselves rather than just to please the college.’
good practice
Key Points
Providers should consider the development needed by their
staff ahead of introducing ATA systems.
While the responsibility for overseeing training and
assessment remains the responsibility of the provider, other
individuals can contribute to the process and make it more
cost-effective.
Capacity can be increased by providing development in key
skill support for vocational tutor/assessors.
The costs of assessment can be reduced by the use of locallybased assessors and/or assessors seconded to employers.
Providers need to gain the commitment of employers to
training, otherwise they may not give full support to learners.
A written agreement setting out the support and/or agreed
release periods can help ensure that employer obligations are
clear from the outset.
Involving employers in the initial assessment and
development of the programme can help facilitate the initial
assessment and ensure learners gain support at work.
The use of work-based competent witnesses can help facilitate
the assessment process and reduce the time that providers
need to spend in assessment.
Workplace mentors can help learners consolidate their skills
and can also contribute to the assessment process.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
41
3.3 Staff training and development needs
In this section we cover the development needs that might need to
be considered by any organisation planning a move towards an
ATA model of delivery.
3.3.1 Staff development for delivering ATA
Training / teaching skills
Given that occupational competence is a priority for assessors of
vocational awards, it is perhaps not surprising that many staff
come in with industrial experience rather than a traditional
teaching or training background. Staff recruited from this type of
background typically need support in developing training/
teaching skills.
‘Assessors tend to be trained purely as assessors not as trainers.
Sometimes it is very difficult for assessors in-company with bare
minimum qualifications in assessment to transfer these skills into
training role. They are not professional trainers. Additional
development in training design/delivery would be desirable.’
PTL
One of the providers interviewed had started to address this issue
by encouraging staff to work towards teaching qualifications.
‘Only a tiny proportion of the workforce development unit has a
traditional FE background and education. They come in with industry
experience and we develop them in training/ teaching, we are
encouraging all staff to register for the Cert Ed qualification.’
TCAT
Occupational competence and assessment expertise
Conversely, for those moving from teaching into work-based
delivery, development in assessment was needed. All of the
assessors involved in delivery of the work-based learning
programmes had either the old ‘D’ units in assessment and
verification or the new ‘A’ and ‘V’ awards. Some were updating
their assessors to the new awards:
‘All staff, including lecturers and external staff have assessor awards,
originally D32 33 and now all have converted to A1/A2.’
City of Wolverhampton College
One provider suggested that for individuals coming in from a
conventional teaching background, training in how to identify
needs and plan training would beneficial:
‘Tutors would probably need to be developed to be able to identify
training needs and plan training.’
Tameside College
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
In addition to having the appropriate skills in identifying training
needs, assessment and training, those involved in training
delivery also need to keep in touch with their industry in order to
maintain occupational competence.
‘We ensure that all our internal assessors go out for at least one week a
year to work in the sector, to keep them in touch with developments.
The internal assessors were initially very worried about this idea but
now they have come to love it and we find that some go out at least
once a week. The contact with the employers is in itself rewarding, but
it also makes it easier to relate to the candidates. It makes them more
authoritative with the students if they can say that this is how it is
done at ‘XYZ’. At the same time we ensure that the external assessors
come into the college for seminars to keep them up to date. These are
minuted meetings which mean that any non-attendees are also
informed.’
Stroud College
To ensure that it had the appropriate industry experience one
CoVE had recruited an ex-employee of its client company as an
assessor. In the time since being made redundant, he had gained a
teaching qualification. The CoVE then topped up these qualifi–
cations with training and qualifications in assessment.
Developing basic skills support
Throughout the study, the messages have been clear regarding the
importance of identifying basic skills at the outset of any learning
programme. Mostly, providers employed basic skill tutors who
assessed and trained in basic skills. In one example reported
earlier (North Devon College’s Manufacturing CoVE), the
provider had started to develop basic skills support skills within
their team of vocational assessors, with basic skills tutors
providing support for the vocational tutors in gaining
qualifications in this area.
Guidance, mentoring and witnessing competence
For those involved in mentor and competent witness roles,
providers themselves were typically providing training to develop
these individuals. To support development of the competent
witness role one provider (PTL) had developed a training
programme to which several employers were sending staff. For
those who have been mainly performed an assessor role and not
been involved directly in training, there may also be a need for
training to develop the skills to provide adequate advice and
guidance in seeking learning materials and programmes.
Negotiating and co-ordinating workplace learning
activities
One of the difficulties noted by some providers involved in
workplace delivery was the issue of negotiating release for
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
43
individuals to take part in training. In highly pressurised settings,
supervisors could be reluctant to make people available for
training. In response to this, one of the providers had started to
move towards a ‘bite-sized’ programme of English in the
workplace. This was planned to be delivered in very short sessions
— around ten to 15 minutes each. This led the provider to consider
the special skills that would be needed to plan, negotiate and
deliver such training. At the point at which this research was being
conducted, they had just started to provide training for tutors who
would be involved in the pilot of this programme.
‘You are a teacher who roams the corridors and walks into the
workplace and teaches there and then on the spot with the permission of
the supervisor or manager. Ideally you would do a 15 minute session,
possibly a two minute revision session in the corridors. You would
have a caseload of people. The difficult bit is not the content, but the
business of negotiating the workplace. You no longer have the
trappings of teaching. It is fundamentally a ‘low-tech’ approach. The
downside is in tracking it all and recording what individuals are/have
done/ or received. Also tracking the impact on the workplace of their
visits – we will need to keep a log of what happens when we go in –
keep comments from the managers etc. You are teaching them about
professional ways of talking/working and how this impacts on the
workplace. Are we creating a learning culture? Do we get “Gosh it was
really helpful” comments? If so, these should be noted too. In the first
place there will be an hour’s training session with the group to help
develop them on how we would see a 15 minute session going. There is
a fundamental shift away from classroom to the workplace. There are
issues to consider such as how do you create a teaching space, pick your
time, and so on.’
Oxfordshire Skills for Health
3.3.2 The assessor and verifier awards
Given the recognition of this range of sub-roles within the ATA
process, the project sponsors were interested in determining
whether this had led to any perceived need for a change to the
assessor and verifier awards. Largely, the majority of providers
felt that the awards were appropriate.
good practice
Key points
Staff Development
ATA seems to work best where assessment is delivered by the
same individual. It is becoming increasingly clear that the
pure assessment role is disappearing and that, in addition to
assessment skills, assessors must be equipped with either
guidance skills (to assist the learner in seeking learning
support) or, ideally, training or teaching skills (to design and
provide training to the learner).
While skills additional to assessment may be needed,
organisations should nonetheless not overlook the need to
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
keep tutors up to date in assessment, providing bridging
courses to the newer awards where necessary.
Those involved primarily in teaching may also find it useful to
be offered the opportunity to develop skills and gain
qualifications in assessment and verification.
Skills in identifying training needs and planning the delivery
of training also appear to be increasingly important.
Developing basic skills support in vocational tutors/assessors
can help ensure that learners receive appropriate support.
There appears to be an emerging market for mini-awards for
the vocational guidance, mentor and witness roles.
Providers should also consider whether staff need help to
develop skills involved in negotiating and co-ordinating workbased learning.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
45
4. Discussion
We started with a very clear model of what was meant by ATA.
What we explored through the case studies was the extent of
variation on that theme, and perhaps more importantly, how
effective (and cost-effective) those variants were. We now discuss
the issues that arose from the research.
4.1 How much does ATA matter?
A range of practice was uncovered, largely promoted by
providers (in-house as well as external), that in some cases was
cutting-edge, radical in design and of real value to employers and
learners.
4.1.1 Does initial assessment matter?
Initial assessment can be important because of the potential for
early attainment of units, leading to improved or maintained
motivation in learners and enabling providers to plan assessment
so that it mapped onto the individual’s existing skills and the
opportunities presented at work. However, providers also
identified two other important reasons why the initial assessment
was useful that were not considered or identified prior to
conducting the research:
Within NVQs, it allowed the provider to ensure that the
individual’s current job role would support their development
and assessment towards the identified award.
It allowed the provider to check whether the learner had any
additional support needs.
Both of these were reported to be key factors in ensuring learners
were likely to be able to complete the award.
The initial assessment was seen as essential in basic skills to allow
the provider to locate the learner at the appropriate entry point.
Initial assessment was helped by the use of technology, as was the
subsequent training. All trainers involved in this area used one or
more of the standard, commercially available packages available
(examples were mainline directions, key skills and basic skills
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
builder) and there were virtually no complaints about the
software.
4.1.2 How much is APL used?
Linked to considerations of the importance of an initial
assessment, was the issue of the extent to which APL was used to
award credit at the start of the programme. There was less use of
APL than originally anticipated. Providers pointed to the
difficulty in obtaining historic evidence in some cases. In addition,
for those working with apprentices, ie primarily young people
with no previous occupational experience, the general view was
that, while exemptions could be made for key skill units, for the
NVQ units young people had little by way of previous
occupational experience.
On top of this there was some confusion amongst providers on the
question of APL. They appeared to believe that only verified units
could be used in APL, rather drawing on evidence brought
forward as part of a package on which to base a judgement. Some
providers appeared to view APL as a credit accumulation and
transfer system rather than an integral part of the assessment
process. This confusion may be linked to the ‘exemption’ system
operating for key skills within apprenticeships, in which learners
were exempted from assessment if they had one of a specified set
of qualifications (for example, GCSE mathematics would exempt
an individual from ‘application of number’).
This would seem to suggest that some newer, clearer, briefing
materials should be provided by the awarding bodies to ensure
that providers understand the difference between credit,
exemption and APL. Approval criteria for assessment centres may
need to be revised to ensure that providers are able to facilitate
these different processes.
4.1.3 How much does individualised training matter?
Learners were enthusiastic about being coached one to one in
work. However, learners who were going through standard
programmes were asked if they would like to have been able to
‘skip’ parts of the training programme and they said they did not
want this. Learners generally found all of the taught programmes
relevant to their job. It was outside the remit of the research to
investigate this aspect further, but one suggestion for further
research is the extent to which learners feel that a programme
consolidates their existing knowledge into a coherent framework.
In some specific circumstances, avoiding the need to take people
away from the workplace may be of particular value. In more
pressurised circumstances, such as in small businesses or in
hospitals for example, a bite-sized approach that does not remove
people from their jobs, may be especially helpful.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
47
4.1.4 Overall, how much does ATA matter?
It is difficult to gain an objective perspective on this point, given
that the providers interviewed had been, in the main, deliberately
selected on the basis of their innovative practice and extensive
work with employers. This has tended to skew the sample
towards employers that were happy with the training provision
they received. Employers interviewed appeared to be enthusiastic
about all of the different forms of training they had received,
irrespective of whether these were offered via an ATA or largely
non-ATA approach.
However, there were a few situations in which employers of staff
who were going through ATA-based training believed that ATA
was not appropriate. For topics such as health and safety, or food
hygiene, employers were concerned to be seen to be adhering to
the letter of the law. In the event of there being any incident, they
wanted to be able to show that employees had not just passed a
test but had attended a whole course.
4.2 How much does employer participation help?
Employer participation and support was seen as essential by
virtually all the providers. First, their co-operation is vital in order
for employees to be released from work for training. It is also
critical in granting access to people for training and assessment at
work. Where learners need to be able to undertake specific tasks
in order to complete their assessment, the employer may be the
only person who can agree to, and thus facilitate, this. Excellent
examples of employer support through the provision of on-site
learning facilities and agreeing the development of staff as
mentors were reported.
4.3 The economics of ATA
Providers gave estimates of the lowest size of groups to which
they could deliver training cost effectively. This minimum ranged
from around three to 16 people in order for the provider to break
even on cost.
Unsurprisingly, many providers referred to the capacity of
technology to make training (and assessment) more economic.
This was particularly true of basic skills training, where much of
the work consists of carrying out exercises on the computer.
Technology also helps save costs on formative assessment because
the activities can automatically generate a score at the end of each
session.
Clearly, computer-based training is suitable only for some types of
delivery. For other types, hands-on experience is needed.
Delivering NVQs on the job could be made cost effective by
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
training a number of employees at one site so an assessor could
visit them all at once. For large employers, there could be
sufficient numbers to justify effectively seconding an assessor to
the company for two or three days a week. Nonetheless, some
were supporting single learners at a site.
Much of the time consumed in assessment at the workplace is
used in travelling between sites. This was particularly an issue for
providers who operated over large areas (in the case of some ETP
providers, across several counties). One solution to this was to
minimise travel costs by employing locally based tutors and
assessors. Another solution was to use in-company assessors to
contribute towards the assessment process.
4.4 Developing staff capability in ATA
A series of linked issues for staff development emerged from the
findings.
4.4.1 Developing teaching and training skills
Many people involved in delivering NVQs have a background in
industry. The emphasis until recent years has been on the
development of assessment skills. Many of these people have
received no instruction in teaching or training skills. This has been
cited as one of the reasons for the criticism of a very large
proportion of work-based learning provision in recent ALI
reports. One of the providers had put a policy in place of
developing training and tutoring skills in their work-based
assessors, including encouraging staff to take the Certificate of
Education. Given the problems reported elsewhere with workbased learning, perhaps this qualification, or something similar
(such as the City and Guilds awards for trainers) should be
recommended for all individuals who do not have a qualification
in teaching or training delivery.
4.4.2 Emerging roles in delivery
It would appear that there is an emerging spectrum of roles that
feature throughout the work-based learning delivery process.
Staff development to meet these role requirements would be
valuable. This could include, for example help for those in an
assessing (but not training) role on how to guide and assist the
learner in finding appropriate learning materials or programmes.
In order to support work-based learners there seems to be a series
of new support roles emerging, including workplace mentors,
coaches or buddies. Providers had begun to develop training to
support these roles. It may also be appropriate to review the
current suite of TDLB awards to see if they are fit for this purpose.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
49
4.4.3 Use of APL, unit credit transfer and exemption
There was evidently some confusion regarding the various
processes of exemption, unit credit transfer and APL. This is
something that should, under normal circumstances, be checked
in centre approval processes. Ideally, awarding bodies should
review their guidance on these matters to make sure that it is
clear. The employment of a central advisor on these issues within
approved assessment centres, to whom assessors could go for
advice could prove advantageous. Indeed, this could become part
of the internal verifier role.
4.4.4 Developing basic skill support competence in
vocational tutors
One example of vocational tutors receiving development to
improve their skills to support those with basic skill needs was
reported. This seemed a positive way forward in increasing
provider capacity, trainer skills and extent of support for learners.
The intention was for the staff to work towards an award that City
and Guilds is currently developing in recognition of this role.
4.4.5 Negotiating for learning in the workplace
There has been an increasing move towards using the workplace
for training delivery. This trend brings about the challenge of
negotiating and co-ordinating learning in the work setting. One
provider was involved in developing negotiation skills in its team
of tutors and assessors. This seems an eminently sensible
evolution of the role and should be included in future
development programmes.
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
5. Policy Issues
In this section, a series of recommendations is outlined based on
the findings that emerged from the research into good practice in
ATA. These recommendations relate to policy and practice of
several of the parties involved in delivering, funding and quality
assuring vocational training and assessment.
5.1 Initial assessment
The research identified a range of reasons why it is usually a good
idea to assess individuals at the outset of training. These findings
from the work-based learning sector complement work recently
conducted for the ACL sector, which also recommended that
providers assess the learner’s starting point and aims.
5.1.1 Components of initial assessment
A range of approaches to assessment are in use, and it is
inappropriate to try to recommend any one ‘best approach’.
However, one area of assessment — basic skills — emerged
clearly as impacting on ability to cope with, and succeed at,
vocational qualifications. The commercially available tools for
conducting basic skill assessments were viewed as useful, but
costly.
Basic skills assessment
It is recommended that an initial assessment of basic skills should
routinely constitute part of the initial signing-up process for all
vocational candidates. The assessment identifies additional
support needs and has the extra benefit of removing the stigma of
these tests, were they to be a requirement for all candidates. An
obligation of basic skill assessments at the outset of training could
form part of provider contracts with LLSCs. Extra testing would
probably require some additional funding in order to buy test
licences, software or papers and also to train more staff in
assessing basic skills (see section 3.3 for the staff development
implications).
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
51
Action points:
LSC/ALI to consider making initial assessment an explicit
component of provider contract approval and inspection.
DfES/LSC to consider making the necessary costs available (as a
separate component of provider funding) for basic skill test purchase.
Other initial assessments
While providers reported the positive influence of it, at present
there are no objective data regarding the economies and benefits
of the initial assessment (from improved retention/completion
rates, for example). This is because generally, providers were not
able to supply any firm data to support their opinions about the
initial assessment or of ATA. An initial assessment appears to
encourage substantial benefits, and it would be useful to have
some data available to persuade providers of this. DfES or LSC
should consider commissioning further empirical research to
determine the benefits to providers and/or funding bodies (in
terms of improved completion rates) of adopting a systematic
approach to initial assessment.
Action point:
DfES/LSC to consider whether they would wish to investigate
further the improvement to completion rates following a thorough
initial assessment, and the likely costs and benefits of increasing it.
Skillscan
One aspect of assessment appeared to be particularly useful to
providers. This was the ‘skillscan’ approach, which is an initial
mapping of the learner’s skills and job activities to the
occupational standards that comprise a qualification. Skillscan can
be accomplished using a computer or by talking through the
components of the award with the learner. This was helpful both
in terms of planning training and assessment and also in
confirming that the person’s current job role could supply the
range of activities needed for future assessments towards the
award. In particular, this process helped to alert providers when a
learner would not be able to obtain a specified award in their
current job. The computer-based approach appeared to give
particular weight or credibility to this analysis, particularly in the
eyes of employers.
Such analyses are useful, but carry the risk that the outcome will
be loss of the learner, where their job does not support assessment
for the proposed award, if there is no alternative award available
(for instance, during the research we heard of one newlyintroduced level 2 award which was proving difficult for people
to attain, yet there was no ‘feeder’ qualification at level 1). This is
52
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
effectively ‘assess-stop’ rather than ATA but any system
commencing with assessment needs to allow for this possibility.
Providers are more likely to undertake an activity if there is a
payment attached to it, so a discrete payment for initial
assessments, including those that do not lead to the subsequent
registration of learners, would increase the likelihood of providers
conducting them. Some form of audit verifying that such activities
had taken place would be needed, of course. Verification could
take the form of requiring applicants (learners or candidates) to
countersign the assessment document, with an audit that samples
these documents.
Action point:
DfES/LSC to consider separating out funding of the initial
assessment phase for all work-based learners.
APL
The research found that, in general, APL was not much in use.
Few learners may have the range of experience, or access to
sufficient evidence, to allow outright award of a whole unit at the
outset of the assessment programme. Nonetheless, there was little
to indicate that learners were being encouraged to bring forward
previous evidence to contribute towards the total package needed
for the current assessment.
There was some misunderstanding and confusion amongst
providers regarding APL, credit transfer (of previously assessed
and verified units) and proxy exemptions (for prior evidence of
key skills). The ability to offer a full assessment service is a
fundamental requirement of any NVQ and apprenticeship
assessment centre. The evident confusion indicates that awarding
bodies are failing to oversee this aspect of assessment centre
practice.
It is important that all awarding bodies should issue clear
guidance on the use of APL and credit transfer in NVQs, and
proxy exemptions in apprenticeships to make sure that the
difference between these processes clear. It may be helpful to
distinguish accreditation of prior certification (APC) as a different
process, ie separate out experience from awards. Awarding
bodies’ assessment centre approval procedure should focus on the
centre’s ability to, at least, consider and integrate any evidence of
prior learning, where it is available. This might become a specified
component of the internal verifier role. (It should be noted that
this is the case already, by implication, since internal verifiers
normally should hold both assessor units, but this should perhaps
be made an explicit expectation of the internal verifier role).
Ability of the internal verifier to oversee this procedure and
ensure it is appropriately implemented by assessors should be a
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
53
part of the approval process by awarding bodies and the
inspection process by ALI (reporting to LLSCs).
Action points:
Awarding bodies to review and re-issue guidance and consider the
need for modification to assessment centre approval procedures.
QCA to oversee the awarding body review process for this issue in
order to ensure consistency across them.
ALI/ LSC to review inspection guidance to ensure that APL is
considered as a specified component of the provider contract and as a
subsequent component of the inspection process.
QCA may wish to consider whether the internal verifier
qualification needs modifying in order to make this aspect of the
internal verifier role (ie that of overseeing and advising assessors
on APL provision) more explicit.
5.2 Training provision
The way in which support is provided for learners varies with the
type of award and the nature of the skills that are being
developed. However, employers’ support is central to provision of
appropriate opportunities for employees in development and
assessment.
To improve employer co-operation in supporting learners, some
providers had introduced contracts for employers which specified
the time off for training, provision of timely development,
assessment opportunities and other support that employees were
to receive while working towards a qualification. It is suggested
that the LSC requests examples of these provider-employer
contracts and makes a selection of good examples, or a template
based on them, available to providers who are drawing up
agreements. These contracts could be linked to sector skill
agreements.
Action point:
LSC to gather together good practice examples of contracts between
providers and employers that specify the level of support that is to be
made available to learners and make these, or a framework contract
based on good practice examples, available to providers.
5.3 Follow-up assessment
Wide variation was found in the frequency of on-site assessor
visits, from every week, to every three months. Some learners
complained of long gaps between visits, resulting in delays to
development and assessment. When a high proportion of learners
54
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
exceed their expected assessment dates, providers would be
advised to consider the frequency of visits and whether any
modification to practice needs to be made. Visit arrangements are
currently at the provider’s discretion. The ALI might choose to
make visit arrangments the focus of scrutiny in future inspections.
The LSC could consider visiting arragements in future contracting.
Action points:
LSC / ALI to consider whether minimum frequencies should be
established for provider visits to learners in the workplace.
LSC / ALI to require providers to monitor and report on visit
frequency and assessment rates (units attained per length of time) as
well as existing data on completion rates.
5.4 Staff development
The raised profile of, and increased numbers of learners going
through, work-based learning has led to increasing recruitment of
people who, above all, have recent relevant industrial experience.
These people, typically, would be occupationally competent and
most likely hold assessor and/or internal verifier awards.
The major development need of those drawn from theis
background was in the design and delivery of training. Providers
recommended either trainer or teacher awards as appropriate
vehicles for developing these skills in their staff. Some assessors
do not train learners themselves, but instead help direct learners
to sources of training. Developing these assessors’ ability to
provide support and guidance for learners, and ensuring that they
are aware of the full range of sources of materials and support, is
important.
Where trainers had been drawn from a training or teaching
background, the main development concern negotiating with
employers about the workplace learning environment and how to
plan and carry out developmental activities within the workplace.
This is an evolving area of practice that needs further
consideration. However, there is a continuing need for employers
to offer support for teaching staff in order to develop competence
in assessment and/or verification.
Training delivery lies outside of NVQ assessment centre approval
requirements, since these focus, by definition, on the centre’s
ability to assure quality in the assessment process. Nonetheless,
given ALI’s recent concerns about the quality of much work-based
training provision, and the withdrawal of LSC contracts from a
significant proportion of work-based learning providers, it may be
an appropriate time to reconsider the terms under which
awarding bodies operate. At the very least, this would bring the
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
55
concerns of the awarding bodies more closely in alignment with
those of ALI and the LSC.
Action points:
The DfES and QCA to consider whether ability to deliver training
should be made a criterion for all awarding bodies to include in their
approval requirements. An alternative would be to assign different
categories of approval to those offering full training and assessment
services and those providing assessment with guidance / support for
learners. The DfES and QCA should also consider whether it would
be wise to require providers to specify the nature of the guidance or
support available to learners, given the concerns raised in earlier
work such as Cheetham, 1994, and the more recent ETP evaluations,
concerning candidates receiving advice on portfolio compilation
alone, rather than any help in accessing support for skill
development.
DfES/ LSC/ QCA/ the Standards Unit to consider whether it would
be appropriate to specify minimum qualifications in either training
or teaching for those involved in work-based training activities.
Given that it is likely that individuals will continue to come into the
sector from industry, DfES, LSC, QCA and the Standards Unit may
wish to consider establishing a maximum length of time within
which new tutors/assessors will be required to gain a teaching or
training qualification. It will also be necessary to consider the
maximum length of time to be allowed for up-skilling and
qualification of existing staff, and how such development would be
funded in the future.
Some excellent practice was found in developing the skills of
vocational trainers to support basic skill needs in vocational
learners. This appears to be a sensible response to the increasing
evidence of basic skill needs in the working population and the
shortage of basic skill tutors nationally. While it may not be
reasonable to recommend this as a requirement for providers –after all, not every vocational tutor will want to take on this role,
or indeed, be able to — the government might seek to encourage
any provider who does consider this way forward.
Action point:
DfES/ LSC to consider making funding available to any provider
increasing their capacity to respond to basic skill needs by developing
the skills of existing staff.
5.5 Auditing of funding for ATA
To some extent, the issues around the organisational resourcing
have been dealt with under the headings of staff development and
funding. These clearly are key to the introduction of effective
systems to support ATA and work-based learning in general.
56
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
However, there is one further consideration, and this is the
question of the auditing of public funds.
It is the LSC’s intention to move towards a ‘lighter touch’
inspection and auditing regime. Nonetheless, there remains a
need for public institutions to remain fully accountable for their
use of public funds. One requirement of ane auditing system used
in the past was that all tutors were required to account for every
six minutes of their time. This was viewed –- unsurprisingly –- as
an arduous and unreasonable burden on providers, and the LSC is
keen to avoid any return to such difficulties.
One way forward that may minimise the auditing burden for
providers was suggested by the activities of one case study
provider. The provider planned to use a trainer log to keep track
of activities that trainers undertook in delivering ‘bite-sized’
training at work. This would be a combination of (and substitute
for) the lesson/ learning plan, notes of the trainers’ interactions
with learners, the notes of any reactions from learners or their
colleagues, details of time spent in travelling between sites and
notes made by trainers regarding any difficulties they needed to
address later. This activity diary replaces some documents (ie
lesson plans) while other documents (eg learner assessment
records) could be cross-referenced in order to minimise record
keeping.
The tutor’s activity log shows the range of activities and learners
seen in any period of time. Just as verification of candidates’
assessments by awarding bodies involves the random sampling of
assessment records, random sampling of tutor logs could
effectively become the audit instrument.
At present, awarding bodies approve assessment centres while
ALI inspects the learning process. It was suggested that, in the
interests of improving the training experience, it become an
awarding body requirement to approve training provision as well
as assessment. Were this to happen, there might be some overlap
between the verification process undertaken by awarding bodies
and the inspection process. In that case, there is scope for
reduction in both the auditing and the inspection processes.
If awarding bodies included training delivery in their approval
process, the LSC and ALI could explore the amount of information
with them that is sought by both the inspectorate and the
awarding bodies. They could all assess whether any duplication of
time and effort could be cut down if awarding bodies made their
reports available in full to the inspectorate and LSC.
Action point:
DfES/ LSC/ QCA to consider moving to auditing based on a random
sampling of provider activity for awards where there are component
‘quanta’ of funding.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
57
DfES/ LSC/ QCA/ ALI to consider whether it should become a
requirement of awarding bodies that they approve training delivery
arrangements as well as assessment facilities.
DfES/ LSC/ QCA/ ALI to consider whether any economies to
inspection could be agreed by using awarding body information
relating to training and assessment facilities.
5.6 Summary of policy issues
The following table summarises policy issues showing the bodies
that would need to take appropriate actions.
58
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Table 5.1: Policy recommendations for key stakeholders
Policy recommendation
DfES
LSC/ ALI to consider making initial assessment an explicit component of provider contract approval and
inspection.
LSC
QCA
3
DfES/ LSC to consider making the necessary costs available (as a separate component of provider
funding) for basic skill test purchase.
3
3
DfES/ LSC to consider whether they would wish to investigate further the improvements to completion
rates following a thorough initial assessment, and the likely costs and benefits of increasing it.
3
3
DfES/ LSC to consider separating out funding of the initial assessment phase for all work-based learners.
3
3
ALI
Awarding
bodies
3
Awarding bodies to review and re-issue guidance and consider the need for modification of assessment
centre approval procedures.
3
QCA to oversee the awarding body review process for this issue in order to ensure consistency across
them.
3
ALI/ LSC to review inspection guidance to ensure that APL is considered as a specified component of the
provider contract and as a subsequent component of the inspection process.
3
LSC to gather together good practice examples of contracts between providers and employers that
specify the level of support that is to be made available to learners and make these, or a framework
contract based on good practice examples, available to providers.
3
LSC/ ALI to consider whether minimum frequencies should be established for provider visits to learners in
the workplace.
3
3
LSC/ ALI to require providers to monitor and report on visit frequency, assessment rates (units attained
per length of time) as well as existing data on completion rates.
3
3
The DfES and QCA to consider whether ability to deliver training should be made a criterion for all
awarding bodies to include in their approval requirements. An alternative would be to assign different
categories of approval to those providing full training and assessment services and those offering
assessment with guidance/ support for learners. The DfES and QCA should also consider whether it
would be wise to require providers to specify the nature of the guidance or support available to learners.
The
Standards
Unit
3
3
3
Policy recommendation
DfES
LSC
QCA
ALI
DfES/ LSC /QCA /the Standards Unit to consider whether it would be appropriate to specify minimum
qualifications in either training or teaching for those involved in work-based training activities. Given that
it is likely that individuals will continue to come into the sector from industry, DfES, LSC, QCA and the
Standards Unit may wish to consider establishing a maximum length of time within which new
tutors/assessors will be required to gain a teaching or training qualification. It will also be necessary to
consider the maximum length of time to be allowed for up-skilling and qualification of existing staff, and
how such development would be funded in the future.
3
3
3
DfES/ LSC to consider making funding available for any provider increasing their capacity to respond to
basic skill needs, by developing the skills of existing staff.
3
3
DfES/ LSC/ QCA to consider moving to auditing based on a random sampling of provider activity for
awards where there are component ‘quanta’ of funding.
3
3
3
DfES/ LSC/ QCA/ ALI to consider whether it should become a requirement of awarding bodies that they
approve training delivery arrangements as well as assessment facilities.
3
3
3
3
DfES/ LSC/ QCA/ ALI to consider whether any economies to inspection could be agreed by using
awarding body information relating to training and assessment facilities.
3
3
3
3
The
Standards
Unit
3
Awarding
bodies
Appendix 1: References
Cheetham G (1994), The Developmental Effectiveness of the
Management Standards and Associated NVQs: An Examination
of the MCI Approach to Management Development, Report No.
19, Sheffield: DfES
DfES (2002), Success for All: Reforming Further Education and
Training, Sheffield: DfES
DfES (2003) 21st Century Skills: Realising our Potential (the National
Skills Strategy), London: TSO
Hillage J (2004) Employer Training Pilots Quarterly Report, July 2004
(unpublished), Sussex: IES
Hillage J, Mitchell H (2004), Employer Training Pilots: First Year
Evaluation Report, Sheffield: DfES
LSC (2002), Seeking the Views of Learners: Findings from the LSC’s
First National Learner Satisfaction Survey 2001-02, Coventry:
LSC
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
61
Appendix 2: Points for Good Practice
In November 2003 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
invited tenders to conduct research to identify good practice in the
‘Assess-Train-Assess’ (ATA) approach to workforce development.
This name refers to an approach in which there is an initial skillgaps assessment, followed by tailored provision in the delivery of
vocational training, and some follow-up assessment to determine
progress, in many cases leading to a vocational award. This
project is one of a suite of projects funded from the Success for All
budget, which is aimed at encouraging good practice in FE and
work-based learning.
The research was conducted by the Institute for Employment
Studies between December 2003 and July 2004. Providers in the FE
and work-based learning sectors were visited and interviewed
about their approach to, and experience of, using ATA model of
development. In this guide, the findings of the work and
recommendations for good practice of providers are reported.
At the initial audit
Where providers are working with companies to meet their skill
needs it is helpful at the outset to gain an overview of the skills of
the workforce.
Providers may wish to consider the following issues when they
conduct an initial audit.
‘We would conduct a skills audit
using “mainline directions”
across the whole organisation.
Assessors would “walk the job”
with employees, and then use the
information they gain through
this process to design the
questions that will be asked
within mainline, for example,
“how confident are you taking
messages”’?
The Business Development
Unit, Tameside College
62
How? There are two key issues to consider at this stage: what
would be the best means by which to conduct a skills audit, and
the potential sources of information. Sources of information could
include:
Managerial input
In-company skills matrix
Assessment of the needs of individuals or groups by
discussion, questionnaire or skillscan (these could be in
relation to their job or to support needs ie basic skills.)
Observation or online assessment.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Techniques such as ‘walking the job’ (accompanying employees as
they go about their work) can help to further contextualise the
assessment information obtained from other assessment methods.
Who? It is worth considering who would be the best person to
conduct the initial audit.
Manager
HR/training manager
Assessor/tutor.
This is an important consideration, particularly in organisations
where appraisal is not linked to identification of training needs.
While some employers clearly have very sophisticated and
structured approaches to identification of requisite skills and the
associated training, others may be less able to identify the training
needs of their employees. This is more likely to be the case when
employers rely on external training provision.
‘A training needs analysis
questionnaire goes to the
companies and candidates to give
some idea of where their
shortfalls and strengths lie.
Information from this can be
programmed into the course that
they come onto, or can be used as
a basis for discussion with the
employer.’
Polymer Training Ltd
Providers (and we primarily mean external providers, rather than
in-house trainers, here) might wish to consider whether it would
be beneficial to offer assistance to employers in identifying their
staff training needs.
This can provide an opportunity to gain more accurate
information about the extent and depth of training needs.
It may also reveal further development needs of the
supervisors and managers themselves in identifying training
needs. This in turn could lead to the opportunity to offer
additional or improved management development provision.
Why? Some may consider a skills audit to be unnecessary.
However, involvement in the initial skills audit can help to
ensure:
accurate identification of skills needs.
that the correct level and type of training is provided to meet
the employer’s needs.
that the relevant qualifications are identified for employees.
that training appropriate to the current capability of the
learners is provided which will help to improve attainment.
‘Skillscan works because it makes
the candidates more confident. If
the skillscan tells them that they
already have 80 to 90 per cent of
the skills to obtain the
qualification, it makes it much
easier to get them to sign up to
and complete the remaining 10 to
20 per cent.’
Derby College
improved learner success, increasing the likelihood of repeat
business.
At the initial assessment
Whether or not there is an initial skills audit, ideally there should
always be an assessment of any individual for whom training is
being provided.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
63
How? Again, a wide range of methods was in use and it would
not be appropriate to be prescriptive on this point. Providers will
want to use the approach that is most convenient and makes most
sense with a particular client group.
‘PC-based assessment
techniques, such as key skills
builder are used to assess
competency in basic literacy and
numeracy. In addition, potential
learners will be given some sort
of practical test, such as a
practical exercise to do in a
realistic work environment.’
New College Durham
Some general points emerged from the providers interviewed that
readers may wish to consider.
There are many commercial tests available, particularly for
basic skills assessments, and these can be useful aids to the
initial assessment.
Computers had been used successfully by several providers;
in particular these seem very attractive as an option with the
basic skills area. They may make the learner feel more
comfortable and can also help keep down the cost of
assessment.
However, while many learners respond well to computers,
providers may wish to check whether potential learners have
much experience with computers, as some people still find
them off-putting.
Skillscan, whether on paper or computer-based, can be very
useful, particularly in helping ensure the learner registers for
an award that they can achieve in their current job.
Who? A range of different personnel could be involved in this
initial assessment, and providers might wish to consider who is
the best-placed person — or who are the best-placed people — to
contribute to this activity:
Assessors and trainers.
The line manager or HR specialist might already carry out this
assessment role as part of the organisational appraisal process
particularly where there are sophisticated HR systems in place
that identify, for example, the required NVQ awards and/ or
units that individuals need for their current job or in order to
progress.
‘Candidates find it easier to
accept an assessment that
the computer makes. The
computer effectively depersonalises the judgement.
There is a paper-based
version but after a while
even the most computerphobic prefer the computer
version.’
Stroud College
It may be useful in some situations to divide the responsibility
for basic skills assessments and vocational assessment
between different specialist assessors and/or guidance
personnel.
Computers can lend extra credibility to the assessment
process.
Providers should remember that the most important person to
actively involve in the initial assessment is the learner.
Why? The information gained from a thorough initial assessment
is important for many reasons:
64
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Where basic skill needs exist it may be possible to draw down
additional funding to address these.
‘The systematic use of basic
and key skills builder has
probably produced better
retention and has certainly
increased attainment.’
Stroud College
The assessment will make sure that people get the basic skills
support they may need to cope with another award such as an
NVQ.
A thorough assessment of learners’ current skills allows
providers to place them on the correct level programme thus
improving retention and attainment.
Assessment of learners’ current skill levels allows the provider
to plan or modify the training to meet needs and capabilities.
An in-depth assessment can facilitate the early award of credit
for existing competences; this can prove a strong motivating
point for learners, especially those who have not achieved
previously.
Key questions for accrediting prior learning
As part of the initial assessment, providers should check whether
the learners have any existing skills or certificates that might
contribute towards the overall package of evidence submitted
against one or more units. Achievement of a whole unit on the
basis of prior evidence is rare. However, prior evidence can help
providers to plan training and assessment in order to maximise
the use of learners’ existing skills and knowledge, and speed the
attainment of units.
Who? In most of the organisations where APL was used within
NVQs or MAs, vocational assessors were carrying it out.
Initial assessment should normally be conducted by an
assessor who has gained either D33 or A2 and is confident of
their ability to make judgements about the value of available
existing evidence.
Where an assessor has not yet gained either D33 or A2, it is
advisable that another, qualified assessor oversees the
assessment planning process. For new staff or trainers
working towards A2 this support will help to make sure that
the assessor fully understands the ways in which
supplementary evidence from the past may be incorporated
into the evidence package.
How? The APL process has been seen as a largely portfolio-based
approach in the past. APL is essentially the same as any
assessment within NVQs – the process is to compile the evidence
and judge it as a whole against the relevant standards. However,
assessors may wish to bear in mind the following:
APL evidence (particularly when it is documentary or
otherwise tangible) may be used to supplement the overall
evidence package, which could largely be comprised of
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
65
current assessments (including observation). APL does not
have to be ‘all-or-nothing’.
Where a learner does not have tangible evidence from past
activities but has relevant knowledge and experience,
assessors can use the information gained from the initial
assessment (including questions about the learner’s existing
skills and ability to supply any other evidence) to plan the
assessment process so that those activities in which the learner
is already competent are assessed first (where work schedules
and demands allow).
Why? As indicated above, one of the important uses of
information about the learner’s existing skills and knowledge is to
help plan the timing and progression of training and assessment.
Taking into account what an individual knows at the outset
will help speed progress through the assessment plan.
‘All the information
gathered is used to inform
the individual learning
plan… The individual
learning plan also takes into
account… the opportunities
for applying and practising
their learning on the job.’
New College Durham
The early recognition of skills gives people more confidence
and the award of unit credit can be a powerful motivating
tool.
Where APL is not used formally as part of assessment, it can
be used to inform the individual learning plan and details of
training.
For some organisations, a key consideration may be costs of
certification of individual units. However, this should be
considered against the gains to be made from motivating and
retaining individuals who then achieve full awards in less
time.
The wishes of employers should be taken into account.
Sometimes they may prefer an employee to take a whole
qualification within their current work context. It may
therefore be wise to check an employer’s views on this point
before agreeing any assessment plan with an employee.
Designing and delivering training
Wherever possible, it is wise to take into account learners’ skills
along with their needs and development opportunities at work
when planning training.
Why?
To reduce redundant training by building on existing skills
‘The “individual learning
plan” is used to set target
dates and structure the day
release around their job
requirements.’
North East Chamber of
Commerce
66
To ensure that employees receive relevant training that meets
their needs
To ensure that training meets safety requirements in their
current jobs
To ensure employees are equipped with skills they can use in
the workplace.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Who? While it is primarily the responsibility of trainers or
assessors to plan and deliver training programmes, workplace
supervisors or managers can also contribute to this process.
In some cases, a training programme or qualification may best
be delivered through a formal partnership between an
employer and an external provider to deliver different
components of the training.
Mentoring or coaching by a more experienced employee can
help people to consolidate skills learnt off the job.
‘We would build these skills
up over about three months
with support from a mentor
in the workplace.’
City of Wolverhampton
College
For MAs, initial input for key skills or technical certificates can
be followed by some form of developmental support and
assessment in the workplace.
In the majority of cases involving NVQs, the same person
usually provides training input and assesses the individual.
Where an assessor is not able to provide training input for the
learners, the organisation should ensure that, as a minimum,
the assessor is able to provide guidance to them in locating
appropriate learning materials or, possibly, courses offered
elsewhere.
How? Trainers should use information about the individual, their
job and the support available to them to plan the programme of
development.
As part of this planning process, and particularly when people
are seeking to obtain an NVQ, it is essential to take into
account the capacity of the person’s current role to support
attainment of that qualification.
‘Working alongside them
(on the shopfloor) really
helps… The learners are
more at ease, more confident
answering.’
TCAT
Existing skills and knowledge should be considered in
determining whether sections of a programme could safely be
omitted.
For many NVQs, one-to-one delivery in the workplace will be
the best approach, while for issues such as health and safety
and food hygiene, small groups may be optimal.
Where small groups are used, an initial assessment will help
the trainer to ensure that all participants in a group are at the
same level at the outset, helping to prevent leaving some
learners behind while others become bored.
Where groups are used, it is advisable to find ways of working
that allow the tutor to spend at least some time working with
individuals.
Consider whether technology can be used to deliver some of
the training input. Basic skills is one area in which technology
has been found to be a great help.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
67
Formative and summative assessment
For learners on NVQ programmes, assessment is typically ongoing. For some bespoke programmes, providers may need to
consider the appropriate type of feedback and assessment to give
to learners.
How ? This assessment phase can be integrated into, or contribute
towards, health and safety or appraisal procedures, or can be a
stand-alone process.
Some organisations combine the generation of assessment
evidence with documentation eg for health and safety
requirements.
‘Paper-free portfolios have
freed up assessor-learner
contact time by 45 per cent
and had a positive effect on
the rate of progression.’
TQ Training
Management Services
Other organisations use assessment to formally recognise
people’s new skills at work, linked to reward systems.
Training providers may find that seconding assessors to a
company for a few days a week for the purposes of assessment
(ie the assessor is on the employer’s premises full-time during
the days in which they are carrying out assessment) can help
make assessment a more economical process.
Paper-free portfolio collation software can help make
assessment less onerous for the candidate and speed up the
process.
Who? In many of the case study organisations, providers were
working with managers, supervisors or colleagues in generating
the evidence to contribute towards assessment.
‘We have introduced “skills
passports” that state the
different levels of
competence. Each page is
signed off by the mentor, the
trainer/ assessor and the
company health and safety
manager.’
City of Wolverhampton
College
While the provider will most often conduct the summative
assessment, workplace-based assessors can be used to assist in
the evidence-gathering process.
Workplace colleagues can also help in assessment by
contributing statements in the role of ‘competent witness’.
Where workplace personnel are involved, ideally there should
be some formal agreement about the time that is allowed for
these activities within their job requirements.
Why? For NVQs or other formal vocational awards, assessment is
a necessary part of gaining the award. For bespoke training, there
could also be benefits from a formal assessment.
Assessment can be used to demonstrate a company has
sufficient skills to operate equipment safely.
‘We have introduced a
“badging” system so that
the individuals’ badge states
the equipment they are
trained to use.’
Federal Mogul
68
Employees are given clear messages about the equipment they
are, and are not, qualified to use. This prevents employees
from feeling obliged to undertake dangerous work for which
they are not qualified.
Qualifications can fit into company
development and promotion procedures.
appraisal,
career
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Funding and economics of ATA
Although the ATA approach may appear to add to the demands
on them, taking steps such as a thorough initial assessment can
bring benefits to providers as well as learners.
If it is not cost-effective to provide training on an individual
basis, an initial assessment can be used to identify groups of
people with similar needs and make training delivery more
cost-effective.
Identifying additional support needs (eg basic skills) may
allow providers to draw down additional funds which in turn
may allow them to hire additional support staff and provide
an improved service to learners.
The time spent in initial assessment may be recouped through
subsequent savings in the time spent in training.
‘The costs balance out
because the front-loaded
assessment means that tutor
input time is saved later.’
Tameside College
The costs of assessment can be reduced by the use of locallybased assessors and/or assessors seconded to employers.
Staffing and capacity
Involving employers in the development and assessment process
can help increase capacity and be of direct benefit to learners, as
well as helping to make the process more economical.
Involving employers in the initial assessment and
development of the programme can help facilitate the initial
assessment and ensure learners gain support at work.
The use of work-based competent witnesses can help facilitate
the assessment process and reduce the time that providers
need to spend in assessment.
Workplace mentors can help learners consolidate their skills
and can also contribute to the assessment process.
Capacity can be increased by providing development in key
skill support for vocational tutors/ assessors.
Staff development
Providers should consider the development needed by their staff
ahead of introducing ATA systems.
ATA seems to work best where assessment and training is
delivered by the same individual. It is becoming increasingly
clear that the pure assessment role is disappearing and that, as
well as assessment skills, assessors need to be equipped with,
as a minimum, guidance skills (to assist the learner in seeking
learning support) or, ideally, training or teaching skills (to
design and provide training to the learner).
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
69
While skills additional to assessment may be needed,
organisations should nonetheless not overlook the need to
keep tutors up to date in assessment, providing bridging
courses to the newer awards where necessary.
Those involved primarily in teaching may also find it useful to
be offered the opportunity to develop skills and gain
qualifications in assessment and verification.
‘The difficult bit is not the
content, but the business of
negotiating the workplace.’
Oxfordshire Skills for
Health
Skills in identifying training needs and planning the delivery
of training are also increasingly important.
Developing basic skills support in vocational assessors/
trainers can help to make sure that learners receive
appropriate support.
Providers should also consider whether staff need help to
develop the skills involved in negotiating and co-ordinating
work-based learning.
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Appendix 3: Case Studies
Wolverhampton College, part of the BlackCCAT CoVE
Using mentoring to consolidate
newly-learned skills in the workplace
The School of Engineering at Wolverhampton is the lead
institution in the BlackCCAT CoVE. The learning they offer
ranges from 14-16 to degree provision. They are one of the 47
current youth apprenticeship partnerships and also offer
vocational GCSEs, NVQs at levels 2 and 3 across all the
engineering disciplines, partnership arrangements with the
University of Wolverhampton to offer apprenticeships and HNCs,
and a foundation degree in project management. They also
provide bespoke training for employers and in-company training
and assessment. They are currently involved in a scheme to multiskill employees using the ATA approach in a manufacturing
enterprise in the West Midlands, and it is this project that is the
focus of the case study.
Background
The company had gone through difficult times financially, and
had made a sizeable proportion of its workforce redundant. The
downsized company had moved into ‘niche’ production but still
faced difficulties. In an attempt to improve performance of the
company, the CoVE was asked if it could help. The multi-skilling
programme described here was the outcome.
Identifying skill needs
In the initial phase the college was asked to take around 30 people
through the multi-skilling programme. The first step was to
analyse the component essential skills of the individual’s current
job and determine if any upskilling was needed there. All
candidates were interviewed and the company provided the
college with the training records for all participants.
‘We look first at the individual’s primary skills – those they use in their
current job – and ask how can we enhance these? Then we look at the
opportunities to develop them in “reciprocal skills”.’
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
71
As a result of this process, each employee has an individual set of
skills identified for development as an outcome of this initial
analysis stage.
The development process
In the first stage of the development process the tutor asks the
learners to look for the problems with a piece of equipment and to
find out why it keeps breaking down. They then identify the skills
that would be needed to remedy that problem eg electrical skills,
motor mechanical skills or hydraulics.
‘If the person is working as a mechanical fitter we might consider
whether they could be developed in “reciprocal” areas such as hydraulic
pneumatics, electrical engineering, or pipe fitting. An individual
learning plan is developed based on what particular skills it is agreed
they should learn, pneumatics, electrical etc.’
These ‘reciprocal’ skills would be built up over about three
months. The training input is carried out in a purpose-built
training facility built on site. Training sessions usually consist of
some input in the training facility followed by coaching on the
shop floor.
Consolidation and assessment
In the consolidation phase learners need to have a ‘buddy’ or
mentor to oversee them as they start to use these skills in the
workplace. In the early days of this project the consolidation stage
had broken down because of a lack of mentoring. Time pressures
and concern about what would happen if the equipment kept on
breaking down made individuals reluctant to volunteer. But the
mentoring process is seen as vital to consolidation of the newlyacquired skills, and so the college asked the company to formally
agree this role with the employees. The college works to develop
mentoring skills in the volunteer mentors.
As part of the process of tracking skill development they have
introduced the idea of ‘skills passports’ – booklets that consist of
pages that state the different levels of competence attained, for
example from changing a fuse to working with high voltage
power supplies. As the learner progresses through the various
levels of competence, the relevant page is signed-off by the
mentor, the trainer/ assessor and the company health and safety
manager.
The college has mapped the skills acquired against the business
improvement techniques standards. The skills passport is then
used as evidence towards the NVQ.
Despite some difficulties at the outset, the scheme has been a
resounding success. Following on from the initial cohort of 30, the
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
company has now asked the college to take a further 50 people
through the scheme.
Telford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT) Business
Development Unit
Delivering in-company training
TCAT’s Business Development Unit was originally set up by the
principal of the college in response to falling numbers of part-time
students. At the outset, five teaching staff were taken out of
teaching jobs to establish the business development unit. There
are now 120 staff working in the unit and they are the largest
provider currently taking part in the Shropshire LLSC Employer
Training Pilot. The case study focuses on training they are
delivering to two companies in the region: Chequer Foods and
Ricoh Photocopiers.
Chequer Foods
One-to-one training in the workplace
Chequer Foods produces pre-packed food and drink items for the
catering sector.
The company offers its employees a wide range of qualifications
that includes NVQs in food and drink production, warehousing
and distribution, customer service, business administration,
engineering, and teamleader management. Courses in health and
safety, food hygiene and the European computer driving licence
are offered.
The college has been working with Chequer Foods for five years.
For the NVQ in food and drink production TCAT provides a
trainer/assessor who typically would be based at the company for
around two days in every week.
Delivering training on-the-job
The food and drink production work involves working on
production equipment. For this reason, when an employee is first
signed up for an NVQ, the food and drink assessor would work
with a company engineer to discover training needs and identify
practical tasks to form the basis for the training.
Training for the NVQ is exclusively provided on the job and one
to one. Each employee is given training for individual pieces of
production equipment, working with the trainer at the machine.
The training would be provided either by the TCAT tutor or by a
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
73
company employee if there is a particular issue such as how to set
up a specific machine.
‘I like being on the shopfloor, it’s much better. The only time we take the
candidate off [the shopfloor] is if there is a health and safety issue.
Working alongside them really helps, they get the opportunity to identify
what they know that otherwise they would not have, they are often
surprised how much they know. They are more at ease, more confident in
answering questions. [And] diverse evidence1 too is produced on the job.’
TCAT trainer/assessor
The training offered has been expanded following introduction of
the Employer Training Pilots. This has led to some employees
being put forward for training who had never achieved an award
previously.
‘The employees were initially fearful when NVQs were introduced. They
have usually achieved very little previously in terms of qualifications.
But when they saw their colleagues going through they then became very
keen. Feedback indicates they are very proud of their achievement.’
Training Manager, Chequer Foods
The training manager also noted that recent newspaper job
advertisements asking for level 2 NVQs had helped people
become aware that this is becoming an industry standard. This
was helping encourage participation.
Progression from the level 2 awards
TCAT had cross-referenced the food hygiene and health and
safety courses against the underpinning knowledge for food and
drink production. Evidence of competence gathered for level 1 is
often valid for level 2. If this is the case, the assessor and candidate
agree what is to be used when discussing the assessment plan for
level 2. This was the most usual type of APL in use in these
awards. However, some employees had progressed from level 2
food and drink production to taking engineering (online)
maintenance qualifications. A form of APL was used to facilitate
this process.
1
74
ie supplementary evidence such as examples of products produced by
the candidate.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
‘Level 2 food and drink production assesses actual problem-solving
skills, and this is a requirement of the fault finding unit for an
engineering maintenance qualification. We use this to identify key
people who are capable of being trained to work at the level of the
engineering NVQ. The [evidence from the] problem solving
[assessments] is then used as prior evidence towards the engineering
NVQ’.
TCAT tutor
Ricoh Photocopiers
Linking work-based learning to career
development and progression at work
Again, a wide range of training provision was being delivered at
the company: NVQs in management, quality, warehousing,
customer service, business administration and performing
manufacturing operations; a management development progr–
amme, including team mentoring training for all co-ordinators
and team leaders; and IT and basic skills training.
Identifying training needs
The recruitment process includes a set of assessment exercises.
(This applies for both external and internal candidates.) The skills
tests and other components of the assessment at recruitment
provide the company with an analysis that identifies gaps
between what the candidate brings to the job and what the
company wants. After recruitment, the main time at which
training needs are identified is at performance review twice a
year. The ‘identification of training need form’ identifies business
needs and the individual’s own training needs.
Training, development and progression opportunities
Most of the training for NVQs is carried out one to one and on the
job. Every person is allowed one hour a working week to train.
Assessment is carried out by TCAT at the workplace. The assessor
liaises with team leaders to make sure that any disruption is
minimised.
The company has set up an internet site that displays a job matrix,
indicating what qualifications are relevant to each of the jobs in
the company. Each job description contains a named NVQ for the
post,1 and shows what would be involved in undertaking the
award, eg the performance criteria and underpinning knowledge.
The website also shows information on the training that is
available to everyone and the potential career progression routes
available.
1
TCAT helped the company to produce this matrix.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
75
For internal candidates, the company runs a scheme that allows
people who lack the experience to be assessed for an NVQ needed
for progression into a higher level job. Where individuals express
an interest in progressing to a different job, the company offers
development through training either at the college or the
company. They would then have to demonstrate to the assessor
that they can apply those skills vocationally. Once this had been
achieved, the candidate might be considered for promotion. When
the candidate has moved into the new job he/she would work
with the assessor for that area to meet the evidence requirements
for the relevant NVQ.
The development programme also benefits the company, which
has recruitment difficulties for some posts. For example, team
leaders need to have level 3 skills. The development programme,
linked to attainment of the NVQ, helps the company overcome
such recruitment difficulties.
North Devon College’s Manufacturing CoVE
Developing basic skill support skills in
vocational tutors
The majority of provision by North Devon College’s
Manufacturing CoVE is in engineering and manufacturing,
including the packaging and processing industries. The CoVE
uses a variety of delivery modes, including extensive on-site
programmes, day-release and e-learning/ distance learning.
North Devon College has operated ‘mobile skills centres’ for some
time. These are large articulated trailers similar to mobile libraries
which are equipped with computers and technical engineering
equipment. They are designed to provide high quality training
facilities away from the college main site at factories and in local
communities. The range of technical equipment has been
increased with CoVE capital funding and enables effective
support of an extensive range of work-based learning groups.
Other departments in the college provide IT outreach training to
local communities using smaller vehicles and laptop computers.
While most of the vocational delivery takes place in workplaces
around the county, the majority of basic skill support had been
provided centrally within the college. In this case study, the work
of the CoVE in developing basic skill support skills in vocational
tutors is described.
Background
Most vocational learners who are registered with the CoVE
receive training at their workplace. However the majority of basic
skill support services are housed centrally, at the college. The
basic skills section was keen to ensure that the support needs of all
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learners were identified and that all learners had access to
uniform levels of support. To address this issue the basic skills
manager had offered tutors and assessors the opportunity to
acquire basic skills assessment and support skills.
‘Getting their needs recognised is vital, the importance of getting
work-based assessors who have a much closer contact with the
candidates [trained in these skills] is tremendous.’
The college’s work-based tutors and assessors have responded
enthusiastically and are now being supported as they work their
way through a new level 3 qualification being piloted in adult
learning subject support.1 Across the college, 34 members of staff
were going through the level 3 training programme and at the
time of the research, three of these were work-based assessors
from the CoVE. The basic skills manager had found that often in
the past the work-based assessors had spotted the more obvious
basic skills problems themselves. However, these problems
emerged once the training was underway and made it more
difficult to obtain any extra funding and support. This disrupted
assessment plans which were already in place. The aim is to give
the workplace assessors the skills and encouragement to do this at
the start of the training process, and on a more formal basis.
‘The hope is that this will encourage and instil a uniform quality across
the division to ensure that all those who need support are identified and
supported. Getting the support off-site is important as work-based
learners need to receive the same support and to the same standard as
in-college training.’
Mobile assessments of basic and key skills
The college uses the ‘basic and key skills builder’ to assess
candidates initially. This is available in computerised and paperbased forms.2 CoVE capital funding has increased the resources
that staff can use to support their roles. New resources include
laptops and mobile printers, allowing staff to take basic skills
testing off site. At present, the college tries to ensure that all
learners are tested during their first six weeks on a programme,
although this is expected to improve when tutors are able to carry
out these assessments themselves. The ultimate aim of the college
is to embed basic skills support into all training provision. While
this is planned across all types of provision, they believe that the
maximum benefit will be felt amongst their work-based learners,
1
A level 2 qualification is being developed in adult learning subject
support which covers the skills necessary in identifying needs and
signposting the way to support services. The level 3 qualification
focuses primarily on those whose role involves provision of support.
2
It should be noted that several of the organisations visited reported
favourably on use of this particular assessment package.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
77
as this group has the highest levels of unacknowledged and unaddressed basic skills problems.
Stroud College
Using initial assessment to confirm job
development
opportunities,
identify
existing skills and target provision
Stroud College has set up a CoVE in adult care provision. The
main qualifications offered through the CoVE are the care NVQs
at Levels 2, 3 and 4 and the NVQ for registered managers.
However, they also offer the Edexcel national diploma and level 2
first diploma and the CPP first stage award, as well as short
courses in safe handling of medicines and other subjects. Their
main clients are social services and independent care homes but
they also provide some bespoke certificated training for the local
NHS and social services department. In this case study the
approach to initial assessment of work-based learners registered
on NVQ programmes is described.
The initial assessment
The skillscan is an audit of the candidate’s skill and the NVQ
department believes that it is very important that this appraisal is
undertaken by the candidate themselves. It is used to identify
whether the candidate has the appropriate experience and
appropriate work responsibilities for the proposed NVQ. While
learners should be offered any development support needed to
progress in a qualification, without appropriate assessment
opportunities within their current job role, learners are unlikely to
be able to attain the targeted award. The CoVE had found a
relatively large number of candidates either putting themselves
forward, or being put forward by their employers, for the
registered manager qualification for which they had neither the
appropriate experience nor the job responsibilities.
‘This can be rather like the candidate starting and then hitting a brick
wall. It is very important not to sign people up for qualifications that
they won’t be able to achieve. As such the skillscan avoids people
attempting inappropriate qualifications and potentially putting them
off learning altogether.’
The initial skillscan allows the learner, where necessary, to
consider the alternative options or units that they might be more
likely to complete successfully.
The first assessments can take place either in the college or at the
employer’s premises. The college had used CoVE funding to
purchase a laptop computer specifically to allow them to take
computerised assessments out to employers. The tutors have
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
found that candidates find it easier to accept any assessment that
the computer makes than any similar assessment that an assessor
might make.
‘The computer effectively de-personalises the judgement. There is a
paper-based version, but after a while even the most computer-phobic
prefer the computer version. We even find candidates coming into
college and running the skillscan to check their progress towards the
qualification.’
The initial assessment is also used to check whether candidates
have any special needs. Where this is the case the college is able to
draw down extra funding. Using CoVE money and the extra
funding obtained on the basis of the initial basic skill assessment,
the college has been able to generate sufficient funds to employ a
peripatetic special needs tutor who works with the candidates to
help them prepare evidence and develops their basic skills.
This initial assessment process has now been taken up within the
early years qualifications offered by the college, partly because it
is in the same learning (subject) area and partly because the
approach is now beginning to be taken up more widely in the
college as a whole.
The college uses accreditation of prior certification to allow
candidates to claim credit towards part of the knowledge-base of
target awards (where the award is relevant and current). The
college would ask the candidate to write a reflective piece
outlining what they learnt from the previous qualification that is
relevant to their current work and target award.
Where an individual has progressed from a level 2 to a level 3
qualification, some of the units from the previous qualification are
often relevant. In these circumstances, the NVQ department
would ask the candidate to look through the unit and write a
description of how they have moved from level 2 to level 3 in their
work. The department asks the candidate to obtain witness
statements to support this transition. The Level 4 qualification can
be used in an APL process towards the first year of their early
years foundation degree (accredited by the University of
Gloucestershire).
After the assessment
The NVQ Department has found the skillscan useful because, as
well as identifying development needs, it encourages the
candidates to collect the necessary evidence or witness testimony
to show that they are already performing certain functions.
Exemption from modules or from assignments may be offered as
a result of the initial assessment, with the modification of
classroom-based training and the way evidence is collected. Some
candidates are better able to make use of witness evidence. The
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
79
college has tried using video evidence but have found that many
candidates are averse to this means of collecting evidence.
Ensuring that a candidate’s job will allow them the assessment
opportunities to complete their intended award has improved
NVQ completion rates. This process has prevented people finding
out that they are unable to undertake assessments and
withdrawing from the course after having registered.
Oxfordshire Skills for Health
Bite-sized learning in the workplace
The Oxfordshire Skills for Health project is an initiative aimed at
delivering a wide range of learning opportunities. The main
awards include NVQs, basic and related generic skills, English for
speakers of other languages, IT and food hygiene. The group also
does some work with management teams and at one Trust they
are launching a department-wide appraisal system for facilities
staff, first line managers and supervisors. The group is about to
pilot a new initiative to deliver communication skills in the
workplace in ‘bite-sized’ chunks of around 10-15 minute sessions.
Identifying training needs
In 2001, the hospital agreed to a trial in which a full needs analysis
would be conducted for 100 staff, with an offer of 10 hours
learning for anyone who wanted it. In the initial analysis of
training needs, one-to-one interviews were conducted with
operatives, managers and supervisors. The interview covered
basic skills, the employee’s experience of the organisation and
industrial relations issues (perceived organisational support).
‘My view is that organisations have needs, individuals have
aspirations. With basic skills, if you look at needs, you will only get
[recruit] either the very confident, or the browbeaten individuals. So
you should talk instead about learning opportunities. You look for
organisational needs, but you offer the individual learning
opportunities.’
The hospital was enthusiastic after the first analysis unearthed a
range of organisational needs. They felt these would not have
emerged if the initial identification of training needs had been
confined just to basic skills issues.
The training
The team delivers training in sessions organised to fit around staff
shift patterns, including at weekends. Some training is delivered
in the workplace, for instance, one tutor meets with kitchen staff
in the refectory in which they work. The tutors keep records of
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attendance at the sessions and of any particular difficulties such as
staff shortages that prevent people attending training.
A new project in ‘bite-sized learning’
In hospitals, it can be difficult to release people for training. The
group is developing a new, ‘bite-sized’ approach to delivering
English in the workplace, based on entry 3 level of the adult ESOL
core curriculum. The programme has a functional syllabus, with
titles such as ‘getting feedback’, ‘passing on messages’ and ‘health
and safety’. Maps and cards have been devised to prompt on what
is taught.
‘[Tutors will go] into the workplace and teach on the spot with the
permission of the supervisor or manager. Ideally this would be — a 15
minute session, possibly a two minute revision session in the corridor.’
The new approach involves a fundamental shift to training
delivery within the workplace. The group was about to organise
training sessions to help the tutors understand how a 15 minute
session would be planned, and would also be using role plays to
consider how it would feel walking into the workplace, being a
learner, interacting with staff, building relationships.
‘There are issues to consider such as how do you create a teaching
space, pick your time, etc. You need to signal when you start and
finish. And you need to signal when people need to move out of one
mode of thinking (working now) to another (learning now). ‘
Trainers would visit learners three or four times a week. They
were optimistic that the shorter times would mean that release for
training was less of an issue.
Trainers’ work was leading them to consider how to track their
own behaviour/ activities and effectiveness, with the intention
that this will become part of the methodology that is developed.
They were also starting to think about how the methods adopted
could be developed in the future.
‘It is expensive – there are cost implications in any one-to-one work. At
present it is low-tech but in a few years time we might perhaps move to
using palmtops. But there is a need for people to feel they can take the
cards and do it themselves [employees cascading training in the
workplace] but there is the question of how would we track that? With
dyads we can write it up immediately afterwards. It is completely
different from any training we received as teachers. And there is the
trust issue, how do we know what trainers are spending their time on?
[But] the teacher’s log will capture a multitude of info – time details,
absenteeism, the teacher’s own reflections and events such as someone
saying “you’re in the way”.’
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81
Appendix 4: Discussion Guide
Script for Telephone interview with college/training
organisations re potential ATA models
Interviewee:
Organisation:
phone:
substitute:
Hello (name). My name is ______ and I work for the Institute for Employment Studies. We are
currently working on a DfES project concerning good practice in training, in particular,
organisations that have developed effective ways for tackling skills gaps. We were given your
name by [intermediary organisation] who believe that you are involved in good practice in
learning provision to meet skill needs.
Is it convenient for you to speak to me at the moment about practice in your organisation?
If yes, continue; if no, ask when it would be convenient for you to call back.
(assuming they have said yes, they are happy to speak)
Thank you very much. The DfES is particularly interested in finding out about providers who
are involved in the ‘assess-train-assess’ model of assessment and learning provision. The
intention of the work is to develop a set of examples of good practice in the design and delivery of
learning. In this stage of the project we are talking to providers who have adopted the approach
of initially identifying skills gaps in their learners and then providing some sort of planned or
customised training to meet those identified skills gaps. Can I just check that you feel you are
the right person for me to speak to about this in your organisation?……(if no, note details of
colleague to whom they refer you.
Colleague name:
Phone number
I should mention that there is no intention to identify individual organisations to whom we
speak during this early phase of the work in the report we make to the DfES. We might wish to
cite some of the things you mention in the interview but if that was the case then any such
references would be completely anonymous. Are you happy to carry on and talk to me?
1. Could I start by asking whether your organisation most often works with individuals, or
with employers, or with community groups?
EMPLOYERS
INDIVIDUALS
COMMUNITY/OTHER GROUP
Depending on their answer, start with either section A, B or C, then move on or back to C, B or A where
appropriate.
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
SECTION A: EMPLOYERS
2. When you work with employers, would you typically conduct a skills audit across the whole
organisation, or are you usually asked to consider the training needs of specific groups of
staff?
WHOLE ORGN
GROUPS OF STAFF
NO
How would you normally do that?
3. Would you usually assess the training needs of individual employees or of groups of employees
(how do you do that)?
NO
YES GROUPS YES INDIVIDS
4. Do you use any kind of standard or framework for assessing an individual’s skills gaps (eg
occupational standard, in-house competency framework, skills specification etc.)?
YES NO
5. (Depending on answer to 4, possibly skip this) When identifying individual employee’s skills gaps,
would the initial assessment include:
an assessment of their basic skills?
assessment of knowledge (how)?
An assessment of work-related skills/competence (how)
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc. (how)?
(skip if they have indicated the training is not for qualification) is it accredited (APL)?
6
Do you draw up an individual learning or training plan for employees?
YES
NO
How is this done? [If not clear]
Do employees participate in this process?
7
YES
NO
Is progress in closing skills gaps assessed by you or by an independent assessor after the
training has been carried out?
YES
NO
OWN-ASSESSOR
INDEP-ASSESSOR
If so, how do you do this? Is it done at an individual or group level?
SECTION B: COMMUNITY OR OTHER GROUPS
8.
What type of skill needs training do you normally provide for community groups etc. (eg
ABS needs, IT skill needs etc.)?
9.
When you work with community or other groups, do you usually work with the whole
group to identify their skill needs? YES WHOLE GROUP OTHER (describe)
10.
How would you usually conduct such a [community/group] skills audit?
11.
Would you typically identify skills gaps with individuals within the group?
YES NO
How would you do this? Would it be likely to involve:
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
83
an assessment of their basic skills?
assessment of knowledge (how)?
an assessment of work-related skills/competence (how)
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc. (how)?
would it be accredited at this point (APL)?
In those circumstances, would you draw up individual learning/training plans or a
learning plan for the group?
12.
NO
YES INDIVIDUAL
YES GROUP
How do you do this? [If not clear from previous] And do the groups/individuals typically
participate in this process? How?
13.
Is subsequent progress in closing their skills gaps assessed by you (how)? YES
NO
SECTION C: INDIVIDUALS
14.
In cases where an individual registers directly with you for a course or qualification,
would you typically work with the individual learner to identify their skills gaps?
YES
NO
How would you do this?
15.
(Depending on answer to 4, possibly skip this) When identifying individual learner’s skills
gaps, would the initial assessment include:
an assessment of their basic skills?
assessment of knowledge (how)?
nn assessment of work-related skills/competence (how)
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc. (how)?
would it be accredited at this point (APL)?
16.
Do you then use the information to provide customised learning programmes for those
individuals? Or is the information used to decide on which existing modules or level of
course they should register?
17.
Are individual learning/training plans drawn up?
With their participation?
YES
NO
YES
NO
How would you normally do that?
(if get yeses to the questions for ITN, ILPs and post-training assessment for any of these groups,
continue; otherwise say: Thank you, that has been very helpful, I appreciate the time you have given to
answer my questions. Close interview)
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
PART 2: TRAINING
I’d now like to go on to ask you a little more about how you typically would work with
employers/groups/individuals (delete as appropriate) to deliver the training that you have
identified as required. If they work more than one of the client groups, say ‘Could I ask you first about
how you work with employers/ individuals/ groups?’ then move on to the other client group with which
they work.
when you work with employers….
18.
Which occupational sectors or groups do you typically provide training for?
19.
Is training usually delivered at employer’s premises, at your own premises, or a mixture
of the two?
EMPLOYER
OWN PREMISES
MIXTURE
OTHER
20.
Is training usually delivered to all an employer’s staff, to certain selected groups or on
an individual basis?
ALL STAFF
SELECTED GROUPS INDIVIDUAL
21. Do individual action plans include:
on-the-job training
off-the-job training
knowledge sources (eg Trainer/ICT/paper)
other (describe)
22. Does post-training assessment include:
assessment of basic skills
assessment of work-related skills/competence?
assessment of knowledge relevant to competence?
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc?
When you work with community/other groups….
23. Which types of groups do you typically provide training for?
24. Is training delivered at organisation’s premises, at your own premises, or a mixture of the
two?
GROUP PREMISES
OWN PREMISES
MIXTURE
OTHER
25. Is training typically delivered to all the group, to selected (sub-)groups or on an individual
basis? WHOLE GROUP
SUB-GROUPS
INDIVIDUALS
26. Does the training you provide usually lead to an award or qualification?
27. What would individual action plans typically include?
28. What would post-training assessment typically include? Would it include:
evidence of improved basic skills?
evidence of work-related skills/competence?
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
85
assessment of knowledge?
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc?
When you work with individual learners (ie those who register as individuals)….
29. How do you agree their learning programme? Do you start with an assessment of their
skill/knowledge needs? Is this initial assessment taken into account when agreeing the
learning programme they require? How?
30. (If they conduct initial skills assessment for individuals) Would the initial assessment be
likely to involve:
assessment of their basic skills such as literacy or numeracy (how)?
taking account of any work-related skills they have already
assessment of knowledge (how)?
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc.. (how)?
(skip if they have indicated the training is not for qualification) is it accredited (APL)?
31. Would you typically agree an individual action plan for individual learners? What would
these normally include?
32. What would post-training assessment typically include? Would it include:
assessment of their basic skills such as literacy or numeracy (how)?
assessment of work-related Skills/competence
assessment of knowledge (how)?
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc.. (how)?
(skip if they have indicated the training is not for qualification) Would it be accredited?
That’s the end of our questions – thank you for your time/patience. (If doesn’t sound hopeful, close
here.) If looks possible, continue with
As part of this work, we will be looking in depth at some examples of good practice in meeting
employee skills needs. The sorts of things you’ve described to me today make me think that
your training system is the sort of example we might wish to explore further as a case study of
good practice.. I wonder whether you might consider taking part in a further interview? It
would not be for a while, most likely in about a month or so’s time? If sound interested,
33. Might you be willing for us to visit in the next month or so?
Double check contact details. Colleagues? e-mail addresses?
Thank you We will get back to you shortly to discuss making arrangements to visit you at a
time that’s convenient for you. Many thanks again for your help and time.
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
Appendix 5: Discussion Guide
Script for employer phone interview re potential ATA
models
Interviewee:
Organisation:
phone:
Hello (name). My name is ______ and I work for the Institute for Employment Studies. We are
currently working on a DfES project concerning good practice in training, in particular,
organisations that have developed effective ways for tackling skills gaps. We were given your
name by [intermediary organisation] who believed that you were involved in good practice in
employee development.
Is it convenient for you to speak to me at the moment about training practice in your
organisation?
If yes, continue; if no, ask when it would be convenient for you to call back, or, if they do not
sound as if they want to speak (note name and phone number)
(assuming they have said yes, they are happy to speak)
Thank you very much. The DfES is particularly interested in finding out about how
organisations identify skills gaps in their employees and provide training to meet identified
skills gaps. Can I ask if you feel you are the best person for me to speak to……(if no, note details
of colleague to whom they refer you.
Colleague name:
Phone number
I should mention that there is no intention to identify individual organisations to whom we
speak in this early phase of the work in the report we make to the DfES. We might wish to cite
some of the things you mention in the interview but if that was the case then any such
references would be completely anonymous. Are you happy to carry on and talk to me?
1. Can I start by asking you how you would describe the main business of your organisation
[omit if obvious]?
2. And what would you say are the main occupational groups that you employ in your
company? [prompt with engineers, construction, production workers, clerical,
administrative/managers, sales, service, professional, as seems appropriate given the organisation
business]
3. Do you identify your organisation’s skills needs at a strategic level (ie do you have what you
might call a master plan for skills development)?
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
87
4. Do you assess the training that is needed by your employees to be competent to do their
jobs?
5. Is this done for all employees, or just for specific groups of employees (clarify if necessary:
eg managers; engineers; cleaners; production line workers etc.)? Prompt for the groups involved
(and note these) or whether for all employees.
6. Are the training needs of individual employees assessed ? Is this also part of the
organisational skills gap or is it conducted as part of some other process (eg appraisal). If
yes, how do you do this? (if not mentioned, probe: Who typically would do the assessment
(eg individual’s line manager, in-house assessor, external assessor, etc)? Do you use any
kind of standard or framework for assessing an individual’s skills gaps (eg occupational
standard, in-house competency framework, skills specification, etc.)?
7. Are individual training plans drawn up for employees? How is this done? Do employees
participate in this process?
8. Is progress in closing skills gaps assessed? If so, how do you do this? (if not mentioned) And
who typically would do this?
(continue if get ‘yes’ to 5 or 6, AND to 7 and 8)
(otherwise say:
Thank you, that is very helpful, Thank you very much for your time Close interview.)
Could I please ask you a little more about how your training system works?
9.
Is training delivered entirely in-house or by a partner or contractor (who/how/where
Probe for details)?
10.
Is this training available to all staff, to certain selected groups or is it made available on
an individual basis?
11.
Are the decisions about the training that is made available based on the skills audit
(and/or appraisal process) that you mentioned to me a few minutes ago? If yes, go to Q
13; if no, continue with Q12
12.
So how do you usually make decisions about making the various types of training you
provide available to different groups of staff?
13.
Does training lead to awards/qualifications?
14.
When identifying individual’s skills gaps, does the initial assessment include:
assessment of their basic skills such as literacy or numeracy (how)?
taking account of the skills they have already
(skip if they have indicated the training is not for qualification) is it accredited (APL)?
assessment of knowledge (how)?
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork etc.. (how)?
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Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
15.
Are the individual action plans designed to provide training to fill the gaps identified
and not duplicate what they can do already??
16.
What sorts of training methods do you typically use? (If necessary, probe to find out if it
includes any of the following training methods:
on-the-job training (who does the training?)
work-related projects
off-the-job training (what types?)
provision of/signposting to various knowledge sources (eg lectures/ICT/paper)
17.
Does post-training assessment include:
assessment of their basic skills such as literacy or numeracy?
assessment of skills/competence
assessment of knowledge
evidence of skills such as problem-solving, teamwork
That’s the end of our questions – thank you for your time/patience. If doesn’t sound hopeful,
close here. If looks possible, continue with
As part of this work, we will be looking in depth at some examples of good practice in meeting
employee skills needs. The sorts of things you’ve described to me today make me think that
your training system is the sort of example we might wish to explore further as a case study of
good practice.. I wonder whether you might consider taking part in a further interview? It
would not be for a while, most likely in about a month or so’s time? If sound interested,
18.
Might you be willing for us to visit in the next month or so?
Double check contact details. Colleagues? e-mail addresses?
Thank you We will get back to you shortly to discuss making arrangements to visit you at a
time that’s convenient for you. Many thanks again for your time and help.
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
89
Appendix 6: ATA Telephone Interviews – Summary
of Contact Outcomes
90
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
ATA telephone interviews — summary of contact outcomes
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
College
Range of provision. Care,
basic skills, optical
manufacturing
They conduct an initial ‘skills scan’ which
provides information on level and allows
them to accredit if appropriate.
They typically modify training
provision (where eg providing
coaching on site), or else
advise individuals which
modules they need or can skip
(eg if attending course on
supervisory/managerial skills).
Would assess knowledge
without need for learning input
where appropriate.
Yes. Many are doing
NVQs. Some employers
(eg NHS, social services,
care homes) will request
just certain units. May
have their own workbased assessors, in
which case SC provide
support for these.
Range of provision,
some provided at
employer premises,
some at college.
Providing support
for work-based
assessors. Optical
manufacturing new
initiative as part of
SW hub.
Adults typically have
‘spiky profiles’ so may in
some cases suggest
learning input for eg
literacy, assessment for
numeracy. For BS, use
same assessment as at
initial diagnostic. Use
DfES paper-based BS
assessment
Recent involvement
in ESF-funded
borough initiative to
provide ABS training
to unemployed
people in the
borough. Very new
company, ex FE,
keen to offer ATA
approach.
With new employers, would typically
discuss with them the training needs of
groups of workers.
Optical manufacturing relatively
new area, provide tailored
support to meet needs of
employer
Independent
Basic skills and ICT
Training company
Basic skills – yes, definitely, assess at
individual level “it is not possible to do
any training unless you’ve got some
assessment on an individual level”. ICT,
not at the same depth of assessment as
for BS – would interview to see what they
have done. Info used to direct them to
appropriate level and type of course (eg
business uses versus introductory)
They customise existing ‘stock’
programmes for groups such as
lone parents, asylum seekers –
try to make course relevant for
their particular
background/circumstances to
help engage them.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
College
Engineering CoVE
Skills questionnaire sent to 800
employers. Multi-skilling projects based
on needs identified by employers.
Majority of work is MA in WBL
College
Basic skills and NVQ
delivery both in-house and
by setting up learning
centres in-company.
College also offers MAs,
E2E, TU education.
Skills audit across whole organisation and
with groups of staff. Use ‘Mainline
Directions’ web-based self-assessment
tool for basic skills. And assessors would
‘walk the job’ with employees, use
information to design questions within
Mainline eg ‘how confident are you taking
messages?’. Would assess at individual
level but not disclose this information to
employer.
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
Contact believed
they were not really
doing ATA. Have
been involved in
multi-skilling but
largely involved in
‘conventional MA
delivery, so some
element of ATA, but
not because of skills
shortages, just
normal education
and training.
Drawing up learning plan is
automated with Mainline.
Employees do not participate
as such because automated.
Training normally delivered at
employer premises, on
individual basis.
Assessment of basic
skills, work-related
skills/competence and
knowledge relevant to
competence
Use of web-based
assessment tool
customised to take
into account aspects
of work. Can set up
learning centre
within employer
premises if wanted.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
College CoVE
Engineering and
manufacturing. Lately,
packaging and processing
(Pharmaceutics industry)
‘Some companies are very strategic and
will have built-in benchmarks or use NVQ
levels as progression levels (progression
and reward linked to NVQ level).’ Some
employers identify specific training needs.
‘Always dialogue between us and
company representatives (and often staff)
to establish needs – need to find out what
they do on day-to-day basis, what the
individual needs in order to progress and
to identify appropriate benchmark for
candidate-group.’ Plus assess basic skills
at outset to see if they will need extra
support to cope with NVQ.
various options – day release
to the college; e-learning
towards BTEC National (allows
learner to learn on-line at
work); or Tutor/assessors visit
candidates at work (every
week). Also offer bespoke short
courses.
As appropriate to
NVQ/BS. But for
bespoke courses,
sometimes employers
do not require final
assessment. Other
times, test may be
required – employers
sometimes use end-test
to determine who
should be chosen for
further training (eg
multi-skilling)
Variety of delivery
modes, including
on-site visits, dayrelease and elearning/distance
learning.
ILP drawn up for MAs. For
adults, agreed between the
employee and the company.
Issue in delivery is viability in
terms of funding.
Voluntary sector
training provider
Short courses for people
working in the voluntary
sector
No initial assessment because there is no Design balanced programme
contact with learners ahead of the course. for workers in the voluntary
sector, designed and delivered
Assessment might scare them off – they
by contracted trainers.
are trying to encourage people in the
voluntary sector to come back into
education. Need to make them feel
unthreatened and in friendly environment
Small private
provider
Engineering and
manufacturing
Only real use of initial assessment
seemed to be recognition of prior
accredited units and key skill proxy
exemptions
They have produced a training
manual that explains to
apprentices what has to be
achieved during various stages
of the training programme.
Picks up on underpinning
knowledge issues and
contextualises knowledge to
company procedures/ products
Assessment at end of
each unit
Basic skills tutors
are supporting
vocational assessors
to support
vocational
candidates with
basic skill needs.
Vocational assessors
are aiming to
become qualified as
basic skills tutors.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
In-Company
training
Retail, Warehousing,
Distribution, Customer
Service, Accounting, IT
The company has Investors in People
(IIP), which includes a version of skills
audit.
Up to L3 delivered in house
Conventionally assessed Note the in-house
NVQ portfolio.
training arm and
IIP. Also that the co.
Intensive monitoring of
is a chain of small
training outcomes via
stores.
IIP
Training manager
wears both Provider
and Employer hats.
Can bolt on / top up training
beyond work role at college.
All new staff get 13 weeks’ induction and
a LLL plan. Includes Basic Skills and AH4
reasoning test.
Training templates are linked to job roles.
Training is led by changes in technology.
Also annual appraisals and promotions.
Private training
provider
Engineering, Business
Admin.
Have employer’s skills audit questionnaire
for employers.
Works with employers
(groups) and individuals
Initial Assessment uses ALBSU/BS and
other Key Skill assessments. Also own
diagnostics.
Focus on funded groups
On-site delivery of training and
assessment
Assessor meets employee + manager to
agree learning plan which meets LSC
compliance.
College OSAT (On Construction NVQ, Basic
Site Assessment
Skills
and Training)
Using CITB documentation.
Induction starts with skill and knowledge
checklists, completed by individual. No
APL. Identify relevant CITB units
Basic Skills needs apparent from the
completed checklists.
With new employers, would typically
discuss with them the training needs of
groups of workers.
A number of individuals are self
employed.
Conventionally assessed Good range of initial
NVQ portfolio.
assessments.
Tracking system to
collect data to evaluate
schemes at both
employer and employee
level.
4 week assessment period.
Any special
features to note?
Strong on
evaluation.
They also have an
Entrance to
Employment service
for individuals at
pre-vocational level.
College assigns a
Conventionally assessed Tightly bound to
trainer/assessor to work on site NVQ portfolio.
CITB and nature of
with groups (and even for a
construction firms.
single individual if not far from
college).
12 month training programme
based on selected CITB Units
at L2/L3.
Student learning agreements.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
Private training
provider
Supports employers
Employers not know what they want, so
need to lead them. Start where training
has most impact (production).
On-site training.
Includes Basic Skills,
competence, related
knowledge, Key Skills.
Appears to be a
fully-fledged ATA
system.
Food & Drink, Automotive,
Warehousing, Business
Admin.
Initial assessment Includes Basic Skills,
observation at work, NVQ underpinning
knowledge. KS treated as embedded in
NVQS.
NVQ portfolios.
Knowledge supported on-line.
Closure of skills gaps
evaluated on both
individual and companywide basis.
Arrive at action plan, agreed with
individual and supervisor.
In-company
training,
manufacturing
company
Semi-skilled and multiskilled tradesmen
Managers, administrators,
R&D
No skills audit as such, but training policy On-site training conducted by
affected by economic climate – lean times providers (in house delivery is
= more training.
not funded).
No specific initial assessment; rely on
annual appraisals to identify training
needs, based on job descriptions. 80% 0f
staff go through NVQ. Some CPD
Conventionally assessed Conventional but
NVQ portfolio.
thorough.
Use post-training form
Have a training centre with use to evaluate each
programme.
of local university on-line and
learndirect
Basic Skills needs assessed by external
provider.
College
Supports employers and
individuals.
Initial assessment is geared to identifying
relevant vocational modules for groups of
staff, rather than employer skills audit
Sometimes bulk of staff for
large organisations eg NHS, Skills Scan is based on NVQ standards.
LT.
Also Basic Skills levels established. And IT
skills.
Sometimes small groups of
staff at SME’s
APL is possible but not taken up.
Wide range of occupations.
Arrive at learning plan, agreed with
individual and then supervisor.
On-site training and
assessment delivered for
groups of 5 or more.
NVQ portfolios.
Conventional awardbased assessments.
Employers are asked to
evaluate training six
weeks later.
Appears to be a
complete ATA
system, more
individual- focused
than employer-.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
College
Range of provision across
Workforce
13 Schools of the college:
Development Unit construction, care, design,
catering etc. etc. via
Employer Consultative
Groups that meet termly.
Includes provision of NVQs
and basic skills. Employers
most often want
qualifications that are listed
on LSC web-site because
they are looking for
subsidy.
Note: details for the various sectors would
need to be confirmed with school reps.
This provides overview only: they can
either do skills audits or respond to
employer-identified needs. Whether the
skills audits were focused on whole
organisation or groups would depend on
company. May take into account
company’s existing training plans, help
companies to prepare for IiP.
Customise qualification eg
Performing Manufacturing
Operations to the context of
the company.
NVQs assessed largely
in workplace.
College
Initial meeting with company points out
routes and maybe further training
analysis (CITB) Groups of workers are
selected.
Normal NVQ delivery. Assessor
keeps portfolio. (note building
site conditions)
Construction NVQs, Basic
Skills
Large companies (Jarvis,
Bovis etc) and subcontractors, hence many
sites.
Other College departments
handle Business Admin and
IT
Chamber of
Commerce
(training arm)
Individual Skill Match to experience –
identify training programme of L2 Units.
They are an Autodesk
approved trainer (package to
deliver CAD training).
Food manufacturing NVQs are
delivered entirely in workplace
Plan must be flexible to match
work opportunities.
Any special
features to note?
Commented on
sensitive issue
regarding basic skill
Would need to get
needs in learners.
sector-specific details
Estimates 25% of L2
from colleagues in the
learners have BS
various different Schools
needs, notes this
(he has provided further
needs to be handled
contact details)
sensitively. Basic
skills workforce
development tutors
work alongside
training consultant
in eg manufacturing
or Care.
Conventionally assessed CITB system.
NVQ portfolio.
Building sites
Regular updates for
probably the most
employers on candidate challenging locations
status.
for training.
Basic Skills needs may be identified by the
individual or may emerge once NVQ is
under way. Note embarrassment factor
Can APL but rare; eg in Civil Engineering.
NVQs in Engineering, Retail, Free training needs analysis for member
Business Admin, Hospitality, employers, either whole org. or specific
Finance, Accounts, etc
groups.
Practical training is on-site,
knowledge delivered at one of
9 training centres.
Employers (groups and
individuals)
MA’s get initial Basic Skills assessment
and a training plan.
Individuals (Mod.
Apprentices) placed with
employers
Adults do not have BS routinely assessed,
but can if BS difficulties apparent.
Off the job training varies by
occupation, eg chalk and talk
for Accounts, workshops for IT.
Can access learndirect but
little take up.
NVQ Unit progression.
12 weekly reviews with
individual + employer
Includes optional
training need
analysis for
employers.
Easy access to offthe-job provisions at
9 centres.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
College
Self-employment training
Basic Skills diagnostic (numeracy and
literacy) assessment prior to course.
College-based course.
Piloted over 5 months and
about to go college-wide
Follow-up
assessment
National BS Literacy
test.
Training to write a contextbased business plan, including OCN certificate.
discrete (discreet?) BS teaching
methods.
Mapped to core curriculum at
L2
London Borough
training arm
Any special
features to note?
Aimed at the selfemployed.
Focused on BS.
Generic approach
using business
planning.
In-house: all levels from
NVQs to Masters Degrees
Training needs are identified via annual
staff appraisals. No overall skills audit.
On-site training, including
knowledge.
Conventionally assessed Conventional but
NVQ portfolio.
wide-ranging.
External: Education section
for 14-19 community.
Low numbers of Basic Skills needs.
May have own assessors
(preferred) or from local
college
Evaluation feedback
from courses.
Use local college ‘writing skills at work’ as
(Only in-house, NVQ-related Basic Skills indicator
discussed here)
Approach at upper
levels interesting.
NVQs in Customer Care,
Business Admin., Learning &
Development
Leadership course (via
consultants)
Specialised on-site provision Identify whole organisation IT training
for IT
needs. Own framework, also Sector Skills
Cove-IT provision
passport. Take account of training
Marketed to employers and
(has been
manager and trade union. Bespoke
operational for 18 to individuals.
courses possible.
months)
NVQs and one-day courses
For individuals have on-line self-analysis.
for IT applications eg
(Other college
Can APL onto ITQ. Pre-course test to
spreadsheets.
departments
identify Level needed.
offer on-site
Get training plan for ITQ.
training eg
Catering)
Individuals may initiate out of own
interest (eg website design) followed by
business outcome.
College
Basic Skills needs rare.
L1/L2 delivered by MK outreach Plan to visit employer 6
centres.
months after training.
On site provision for L3 (Cove);
assessor sets targets and may
provide 1:1 support.
Knowledge usually via workbook.
One-day courses at college.
Highly focused.
Interesting
combination of
individual and
employer interests.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Private Trainer
Mainly 16-25 Modern
Apprentices. Some 25+
No skills audit as such, but NVQ needs
identified by employer or employee.
Mainly on-site training with
assessor visits.
Conventionally assessed Conventional but
NVQ portfolio. And Basic thorough.
Skills if relevant
Good range of initial
Reviews by assessors
assessments.
every 10 to 12 weeks
and an exit interview
(conveyed to employer)
Hospitality, Sport & Leisure, Init. assess. of learning style and work
Adult Care
style, numeracy & literacy. (And Basic
Skills if appropriate)
APL is possible eg GCSE’s to Key Skills;
NVQ Units if current experience.
Technical certificates and Key
Skills at training centre
Knowledge for Sport & Leisure
and Adult care on-line.
Any special
features to note?
Individual learning plans endorsed by
employer.
College
In collaboration
with GWINTO
(now Energy &
Utility Skills)
Unemployed individuals
placed with firms and
trained up as gas fitters.
Individuals are interviewed by Job Centre, NVQ core + options delivered
prospective employer and College.
by:
Basic Skills tested.
Practical assessment (wiring).
Attitude assessment by employers.
Also Job Centres
and employers
College asks about career aspirations.
[two groups of 16 selected from 100
applicants]
Speciality trainer
for Chemical
sector.
Small operation
(48 employees),
part of larger
multi- national.
Main provision is for
operators (NVQ) ;
otherwise specialist:
technicians, chemists,
supervisors, management.
Via annual appraisal system; also by
watching and asking staff.
Also changes in technology. Refresher
training; legislation eg H&S requirements.
Basic Skills are evaluated when staff are
taken on.
No APL.
6 months full time at college
with work experience. Includes
Key Skills and (rarely) Basic
Skills in context.
+ 6 months (waged) with WBL
(assessor on-site) and day
release to college.
Knowledge by lectures.
On-site delivery.
NVQ assessors visit from
college or training provider;
They run initial workshops and
supply knowledge.
Conventionally assessed Multi-partnership to
NVQ portfolio.
attract, place and
train in a specific
All parties meet (incl.
sector where is a
Employer and trainee
skills shortage and
reps) to review the
need a licence to
course each six weeks.
practice.
Conventional
delivery with
interesting initial
assessment.
Conventionally assessed Small scale.
NVQ portfolio.
Conventional
No formal evaluation.
delivery
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Private Training
co.
Specialises in Retail –
young (16-25) employees.
Focus is whole organisation.
On-site delivery of NVQs – by
assessor/trainer
Conventionally assessed Conventional but
thorough.
NVQ portfolio.
Conventional portfolio with
Learner + employer
questionnaires
throughout, and exit
questionnaire.
NVQs in Retail, Customer
Care, Business Admin.,
Warehousing.
Also H&S certs.
Assessor introduces NVQs fit for role to
employees
Basic Skills diagnostic test.
Workbook covering all 6 Key Skills.
Assessor oral and observation
evidence of knowledge
Any special
features to note?
Doesn’t address
post-25.
APL possible.
Employee and manager involved in
drawing up training plan.
Construction
trainer, private
Construction NVQs – either
modern apprentices or
adults
Interview focused on adult
provision – the CITB & LSC
OSAT pilot scheme for
CSCS card (license to
practice)
Employees nominated my employers. CIB
framework.
Half day induction – assess experience.
Basic Skills explored informally.
Select L2 NVQ core + options.
OSAT Skills match. APL possible.
Training plan agreed with employee +
employer + assessor. Set number of
visits.
On-site trainer / assessor visits. Conventionally assessed
NVQ portfolio.
Assess by observation + oral.
Follow up with employer
Some simulations eg use of
and employee
spraying equipment.
interviews (quality of
service provided).
Conventional but
thorough.
CITB system again.
Pilot scheme ends in
July.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Training co.
School-leavers, modern
apprentices. Some adults.
Induction programme starts with
interview. Indiv. asked to write about
prospective job and how their experience
relates.
Tailored NVQ delivery.
Conventionally assessed Mainly 16-25. Some
adults.
NVQ portfolio.
Various NVQs: Customer
Service, Business Admin.,
Engineering, Construction,
Hairdressing.
Some linkage with FE.
Use a Key Skills diagnostic, then if need
be Basic Skills tests.
Learning style and work style
assessments.
On-site WBL assessments.
Off-the-job at training centre
once a week – lectures,
workshops, portfolio building.
Questionnaires for
employer + apprentice
at stages. Also exit
interviews with both.
Technical materials bought in.
SkillsScan and APL possibility.
Any special
features to note?
Very thorough initial
assessment, serves
both placement and
training programme.
Good range of
NVQs.
Good employer
engagement.
Match to availability of jobs.
Build indiv. profile for prospective
employers.
Training plan agreed with employer,
placed employee (mod apprentice) and
assessor.
Training Centre
Serves engineering industry
Mostly modern apprentices,
Some adults on short
courses, eg H&S, first aid
Potential MAs are recruited from schools.
Out of 550 applicants p.a., eventually
select & place 80.
Aptitude tests (Lit, Num, Spatial, Mech) +
interview with NRA. Key Skills Builder
test.
.
NVQ L2 in 6 to 9 months at
Six-weekly 3-way
training centre. Then match MA reviews with MA,
to employer. Two weeks work
employer, trainer
experience to evaluate the
match
On-site training (Kits assessor)
to NVQ L3.
Day release at college
Conventional and
thorough. Good
initial assessment.
Large scale, wellestablished.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
Health Training
provider
Mainly training for hospital
staff
Cold call employers; discuss overall
training needs; wide-perspective
interviews with all staff (employer may
have a view of training needs, but prefer
voluntary approach)
On-site delivery to small
groups. 2 hrs per week
sessions. Fit in with shift work.
Review indiv. progress
at 10 hour intervals.
BS focused.
Also Cust. Service
Hairdressing, Sport
BS specialists
Tutors have BS Network
qual at L4 (through
Lancaster U)
BS conducted in context.
Training needs analysis form asks about
qualifications, experience, BS
Have regular steering
group meetings with
employers.
Wide ranging occ.
Areas.
Probably represents
ATA good practice.
Make a judgement about level, BS and
relevant NVQ. Conduct initial assessment
(have own BS assessment booklets)
Long term goals established; training plan
with stepping stones.
Employer with
own training
school
Adult foundry workers
(present focus)
Mod. Apprents. (tool
makers)
New adults are inexperienced in foundry
work. They attend training school for 8
weeks; decide after 4 weeks if suited to
the work.
BS not a problem even for those ethnic
groups with little English – they are talked
through instructions and paperwork.
NVQs are to meet company needs – L2 in
Product Manufacture and Product
Engineering.
Induction and NVQs delivered
on-site at training school.
Conventionally assessed Very company-need
NVQ portfolio.
focused; little
individual variation.
No formal evaluation –
hard to say what is
The company is
impact on business.
already the subject
of an LSC case
Recruitment and
study.
training is essential to
counterbalance staff
turnover.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
School
(interviewed as
employer and inhouse training
provider)
Staff training (teachers,
assistants, administrators)
New staff have an appraisal at which
focuses on career progression and
training needs.
BS and NVQs delivered on-site
through WBL.
There is an on-going
review of the impact of
training on the school.
Conventional but
thorough.
Individual – private
feedback, avoiding
embarrassment.
Highly developed
BS/KS delivery –
strong initial
assessment
All staff have 2-weekly 2-way monitoring
opportunities.
Teacher degrees, PGCE’s
delivered either through OU or
on secondment to college.
Initial assessment is informal.
Teaching assistants needs may include BS
(numeracy, IT) and NVQs.
Teachers and assistants may wish to
develop into particular curriculum areas or
BS areas.
Private training
provider
Supports employers and
employees (18+)
Basic Skills, Key Skills,
Management NVQs, IT
NVQs
Some ESF funding
Companies (SMEs) need help with
training needs analysis. Get them to
acknowledge the impact on business of
low BS levels.
Individuals: BSA test of BS and KS to
establish level + diagnostic report (SPIKY
skills profile – ALBSU)
On-site training (includes shift
work)
Individuals: 10 weeks initial
support – assessor visits once a Progress reports to
week
employer.
After that: group support
Get employer to monitor
specific improvements
On-site training conducted by
in-house and by major
insurance product providers.
No formal assessment.
Interview to review experience.
Establish personal short, mid and long
term goals for using BS/KS skills
SME in-house
training
Mainly Financial Planning
certs
Internal staff: 6-monthly appraisals –
personal development and training plans.
Some Management,
Accounting
Agents: induction then 3-monthly updates
Professional quals are out
of date; no NVQs
No statutory competence
yet, but will be soon.
Initial assessment includes observation
test on a dummy sale.
Already have selling background.
Knowledge of new insurance
products
Classroom teaching
Feed-forward into
regular appraisals.
Training-aware SME
+ self-empl.
‘professional’
scope for
development
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
Training broker
for media sector
Visual media (film and TV)
If ‘client’ is a company, they conduct
business development and training needs
analysis and develop training plans.
Training at national centres.
Certificates from
national trainers
Specialist;
Company caters for small
companies and individuals
(adult/graduate freelance)
If NVQ, on-site training
delivered by national centres
If client is individual – establish training
needs and do course-search.
Mostly short courses for updating skills,
eg camera work. Also H&S.
Also employers if
business development
was conducted earlier
Some NVQ, but these are currently being
updated and in abeyance.
Chamber of
Commerce
Management development
Initial assessment utilises a computerprioritising business growth. based assessment tool. Looks at 12 core
management competences (not MCI).
Funded by RDA,
View a series of video scenarios, then
benchmarking and
answer series of 200 questions.
developing skills of 3000
Programme generates information on
managers across region.
management style, communication style
etc. as well as specific competences.
Can be linked to ILM and
Discussed in 1:1 with tutor and used to
CMI awards.
plan development. Learning plan focuses
on what they need to do their job – if
they do not do appraisals then would not
get training in this area – focused on skills
they will use in work. Employer has to
agree to allowing managers access to
minimum amount of training before they
can enter programme.
Graduate level
The company follows up
The company is a
individuals after 6
broker not a trainer
months
Chamber can provide on-site
training but prefer to do offsite to avoid interruptions.
However, for RDA-funded
project they have to act as
broker, so companies can opt
to go to other providers.
Typically assessed again
at around 4-5 months.
Dates for assessment
are identified in learning
plan.
Non-competence
based but linked to
assessment and
qualifications; linked
to business growth
and skills needed in
If aiming at LMI L4
their jobs and
award, typically would
related to business
take around 6-9 months
plan; benchmarked
(as against around 2
against skills profiles
years if going through
for 80,000
without assessment)
managers in 17
countries.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Training
co/school for
army
Mod. Apprenticeships for
Army
Army does recruitment; 14 weeks
induction as soldier + assessment to
identify trade.
Six months at Trade school for
Tech cert + KS (run by training
company instructors)
Individual assigned to an Army Trade
School, eg telecoms.
Individuals then posted to
Army sites; NVQ delivered on
site by training company
assessors and Paperfree
evidence accumulation (very
popular)
Training is supervised
Privatisation of
by a management board training;
(Training co + Army)
Two-stage training
Bi-monthly reports and delivery
quarterly steering group
Paperfree portfolios
meetings
High degree of
Training co internal
monitoring
monitoring + an
external auditor
eg Telecoms (Signals),
Security (Intelligence)
Training co runs initial assessment; self
assessment re skills analysis for
NVQ/Tech cert/KS. Also identify proxies
and prior learning (some have already
had a job). Allocate to telecom strand.
Some group lessons.
Group induction to training process
Group Training
Association CoVE
plus other
provision. The
Group Training
Association has
140 member
organisations.
CoVE part is
mainly offering
management
development plus
engineering; GT
provision across
much wider
range of topics.
Range of provision: training
to industry standards; to
C&G qualns; employeridentified gaps. Outside of
CoVE they cover quality,
safety, world-class
manufacturing.
Typically assess individuals within a
specific staff group, usually identified by
employer. But assessment may have
‘knock-on’ effect, making employer aware
of needs in other staff groups. Typically
assess to industry standards, C&G qualn
criteria etc., but sometimes against need
specified by employer. Just starting to
move into basic/key skills. Competence
assessed against industry skills criteria,
often time limited, scored. Individual
learning plan drawn up.
Training delivery mixture of onsite and at trainer premises.
Currently expanding into elearning eg to meet learning
needs in 24/7 operations.
Any special
features to note?
Tracks stats and issues
(eg retention of
females)
If not C&G, then
individuals complete ILR
and this is signed off by
themselves and tutor
and certificate awarded;
if C&G, assessed against
qualn requirements
(they are approved C&G
centre).
The mainstream
Group Training
Association is
looking to learn
from developments
in CoVE.
Developments in the
CoVE are being used
as model to re-align
all other training
provision in the
GTA. Looking at
how to look for skills
gaps in industry
both now and
identifying likely
future development
needs. They have a
range of courses but
can make these
bespoke where
required.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Industry-specific
training co
NVQs for the plastics and
rubber industries; general
support training;
supervisory, managerial and
instructional training.
Typically, training need is identified by
employer. Individuals then go through
guided self-assessment against criteria
(for NVQs) or other agreed standards for
other training. Assessor then works with
individual to identify individual and group
training requirements based on the
candidate’s assessment. APL used if
sufficient experience to gain credit.
Training most often delivered
in employer premises, but they
do run a regular programme of
training events in their main
training centre.
Learners encouraged to
self-assess throughout
plus regular assessment
by tutors. Employers
involved by having team
of ‘competent witnesses’
(supervisors, line
managers etc..) who
supply witness
testimony towards the
assessment evidence.
Any special
features to note?
Mixture of NVQs and
other provision, APL
is in use. Selfassessment, use of
‘competent
witnesses’ and help
to use APL to move
from noncompetence-based
to competencebased are
interesting features.
General support training
The company is
typically uses an endproviding training as
test, this is often linked
part of the Employer
to NVQs. If the
Training Pilots
individual decides to
continue onto the NVQ,
the assessors will help
them subsequently to
use the end-test
evidence as APL
towards the NVQ
requirements.
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
CoVE, comprises
two colleges plus
Technology
Centre. Aim of
the CoVE is to
develop links
between colleges
and employers
and work to
promote
engineering
NVQ in Business
Improvement Techniques,
bespoke training for
employers in response to
skills need analysis.
Mechanical/electrical
engineering Provision
mainly employer-focused
but if an individual
approached the college and
expressed interest in
engineering they would be
directed to the CoVE.
Initial assessment is of individuals but as
member of staff group. Assessment is
used to enable the group to be split into
further sub-groups to target training at
appropriate starting point/level.
assessment is against occupational
standards. For Business Improvement
Processes (BIP) they would use an oral
exam based on underpinning knowledge.
Despite there being little knowledge
inside the co. on BIP, nonetheless
questioning reveals they often do know
something and thereby indicates starting
point. They produce a skills matrix that
shows what the potential learner can do
and what they would like to be able to do.
Training delivery for BIP is
largely on-the-job, but there is
some delivery of off-the-job
vocational training.
Trainer/assessors assess
employees periodically.
Assessment varies
depending whether is
NVQ or another type of
training (ie could be just
knowledge if not NVQ).
Good employer
engagement, part of
general drive to
upskill in the
midlands, plus
employer-recognised
need to upskill
workforce. Use of
oral assessment to
identify knowledge
that otherwise might
not be recognised in
team of BIP
learners.
Training is typically delivered
over say five days, then trainer
goes away for a month. In the
meantime the employees carry
out exercises, then are
assessed upon trainer’s return,
one module at a time
Type of
organisation
Nature of provision
Initial assessment
Design/delivery of
provision
Follow-up
assessment
Any special
features to note?
CoVE
Engineering, Construction
and land-based sector.
Involved in the Qualifying
the Workforce (CITB)
initiative. ATA mainly used
in the construction context.
QTF pilot has been running
for 18 months now and the
approach will be rolled out
through engineering in next
18 months. Most of current
work aimed at level 2, plus
training needed due to H&S
changes, requirements for
competence on building
sites. They offer advice on
qualifications and industry
regulations, advice to map
individuals to appropriate
quals and courses, and
OSAT for experienced
workers.
Initial ‘Skillscan’ assessment with
individuals against occ. Stds. One of their
assessors is specialist in working with
people with additional needs and eg
assesses if people have dyslexia and need
extra help with paperwork.
They put together a training
plan based on skill needs
identified from the skillscan. If
individual is deemed competent
(in principle on basis of
skillscan) they will put together
assessment plan and
commence assmt. immediately.
Most training is conducted at
employer sites. However, they
are looking at setting up a
construction network of
colleges and training providers
so that individual learners can
be registered. ‘when a Tg need
is id’ed, it can be financially
difficult to provide 1:1 tg, so
looking to have a rapid
response unit for individuals, a
facility to which individuals can
go’.
Assessed every 3-4
weeks on site by
assessors. Little APL
because of difficulty of
obtaining APL evidence
in this line of work.
Majority of learners
working towards L2
Construction
Engineering Services,
but expanding into new
quals in trowel trades,
decorative occs,
masonry, roofing
sheeting and cladding.
OSAT plus use of
skillscan approach,
plus interesting new
plans to set up rapid
response unit.
Commented that
they are expanding
the curriculum to
offer more
opportunities to
individuals and to
satisfy employer
needs. However, the
OSAT facility is a
stand-alone
business unit within
the college and it
was probably easier
for business
development units
to offer ATA
approach than
within timetabled
provision.
Appendix 7: Discussion Guide
Representative of senior management team, external
training provider
As we indicated when we spoke to you on the phone, this project is interested in finding out
about the types of approach to development and training that are currently being used by
providers around the country. In particular, we are exploring the extent to which providers
currently are adopting the procedure that is known as ‘assess-train-assess’, in which providers
identify skill gaps in learners, customise their training to fill those skills gaps and then assess
again at the end of the programme to determine whether these skill needs have been met.
We are interviewing around twenty organisations, and we would like to name those
organisations identified as having the best practice, or having adopted innovative approaches to
training and assessment. If we wished to quote examples from this interview, would you be
willing for your organisation to be named in any future report (subject to your seeing any
intended reference)? YES
NO
I realise that you may feel you have already answered some of these questions when we
originally contacted you, but I hope you realise that we need to make sure we’ve got all the
details for your organisation.
Interviewer: the main details to be obtained in this first section is whether they assess
individually or not (or assess across a group); if it is typically focused on an NVQ/group of
units or tailored to the individual’s career. In each case, the key issue is how they do this.
Following on from this, we need to find out what the information is used for. Is the information
used to devise or decide on training provision? How? Other issues include Questions will need
to be customised depending on responses as you go along as it is likely that all cases will vary.
Bullet points are intended to help you classify (and, if necessary, clarify) their responses.
1. According to the notes we made at the time, you provide training in
___________________________Sector (s)/Basic skills/IT (interviewer to insert details as
appropriate from case note details on summary sheet)
Is that correct?
108
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
2. And my understanding is that the training you provide is mainly in
NVQs
MAs
Bespoke (tailored) training for employers
Basic skills qualifications
Other (describe)
3. Is any of this provision being offered as part of an Employers Training Pilot offer?
YES
NO
If yes, note which LLSC(s) they are contracted with and what provision they are offering
under the ETP)
Is your company involved in any of the Sector Skill Pilots?
YES
NO
If yes, note details, which SSC(s) they are involved with)
4. And can I check, in general, (ie aside from the ETP and/or SSP provision) you would
normally work with:
individuals (ie not necessarily employed) (check age groups: 18-25, 25+)
individual employees (check age groups: 18-25, 25+)
small/large groups of employees (how many to a group typically?)
community groups
other (note details)
5. What qualifications do your assessors hold?
Assessor/verifier awards (‘D’ or ‘A’ units);
subject-specific awards;
C&G 7281/27/28;
Basic skill qualifications;
Other
Interviewers please note any/all qualifications/experience mentioned, including combinations (eg
subject-specific plus D/A units).
6. When you first start to work with a learner or group of learners, would an assessor in your
organisation determine what the training need of that individual or group is?
Yes (go to Q7)
We wouldn’t – individuals voluntarily sign up for our courses (go to Q11)
No, we wouldn’t – the employer typically requires training for their employees ‘from
scratch’ for a specified NVQ/MA or we would agree a bespoke (tailored) training
programme with the employer (go to Q11)
No – other reason (take details then go to Q 11)
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
109
7. And how are individuals’ training needs identified?
employers themselves identify the needs of their employees – explore:
- how do employers identify their staff training needs?
- does training provider check on accuracy of employer assessment?
- do you find that employer assessments of skill needs are normally accurate? How easy is it to
work from employer-identified needs to develop a learning programme?
We would conduct a skills audit of the individual/group of individuals identified as
requiring training (see probes, below)
we would conduct a skills audit across the company for the employer (see probes, below)
if individuals come to us and enquire about training we conduct an assessment of their
current competence/ability (see probes, below)
For second, third and fourth bullet points, probe:
- And how would you normally do that? Note any special practices eg use of on-line or
standard assessment packages; use of packages generating ILP from initial assessment
etc...
- Where would that first assessment typically take place? At the company? At the training
provider? When – before planning training programme? Who is involved in this initial
assessment – the tutor who will be delivering the training, or someone else?
8. Is what you’ve just described to me the case for all courses/qualifications offered by your
college/company
If no, probe for details of how approach varies across courses/qualifications across subject area. Note
we will also be exploring differences between subjects/qualifications with tutor/assessors
- (If no) is there a reason why the other courses/qualifications do not take this approach?
9. (If no to Q 8, frame this question in terms of the courses/qualifications taking the ATA approach)
And so would I be right in thinking that you typically would have an indication of the skill
needs of the individual or of a group of individuals in a company at the start of a contract to
provide training?
YES NO
OTHER (details)
10. And then what happens? How do you use this information?
To develop an individual learning plan?
to devise the training programme according to identified needs?
To identify the parts of the training programme or NVQ that the person requires?
To place the individual on the correct level programme or NVQ?
Other?
Note details
11. Do you use accreditation of prior learning at all?
- If yes, how do you do this? Exemption from parts of training programme and/or
certification? Do they give formal credit during the early stages of the learning plan? What types
of evidence do they use? Do they typically find that individuals can gain exemption from/credit
for whole units, parts of units, or across whole NVQ?
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- Do they ever certificate at or close to the outset of a programme? If not, why not?
- If they do not use APL, why not? (Probe for reasons they do not use: lack of confidence in
APL, lack of staff qualified to use APL; note details.)
12. Would you make any attempt to gauge the starting level of skill/knowledge/competence of
the learners who start on your programmes?
If yes, How do you do this?
If no, do you try to check that they are on correct programme (in terms of level, appropriateness
for job, etc.)?
If no, is there a reason for this (eg they self-select so it’s their decision; the employer always sends
their employees/apprentices here, etc..)
Training delivery
Some of this information is available in summary notes. Modify to take into account existing
information (ie check for accuracy of our accounts of practice instead of asking same question
again). Training delivery likely to be through a very varied range of models. Therefore ask
questions as appropriate to determine:
13.
To what extent is training modified for different learners?
If training is not modified at all, explore reasons why not (eg sign up learners to existing
courses; employers want standard programmes)
If yes, How is training modified/tailored for different individuals/groups (get details)
14. (Omit if answered in response to previous question) How is training delivered, and where:
- individually, in small groups, in large groups
- in employer premises, in trainer premises
Interviewer, check if this varies with different types of programmes eg NVQs level 1–3
versus management awards.
15. Is there formative/summative assessment throughout the programme? If not, is
progress/learning checked at all during the course?
- if so, how?
- if not, is there a reason for that? (details)
If progress is not monitored during course, explore why not (nb may be linked to no wish for
final assessment – see below – if so, explore and note issues behind this)
Final assessment
Interviewer: Again, final assessment will vary depending on whether it is NVQ, specially
designed course for employer, etc.
16. Are learners usually assessed at the end of training? (Note, for NVQs, there may be several
‘ends’ relating to the various units)
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111
- if yes, how is this done?
- who normally carries out that assessment? The tutor? An independent assessor? Somebody
who works for the employer?
- What would normally happen if the learner had not met the required standard?
- Does this vary with type of qualification, with bespoke programmes etc.
- if no end of training assessment, why not? (omit if explained in previous section)
Evaluation and reactions
17. Do you assess employer satisfaction at the end of programmes?
(If yes) How do you do this? How frequently? (at end of every programme? Only at end of first
programme? Annually?)
If interviewing non-ATA provider now go to Q 33
18. Do you monitor or assess how well programmes based on the ATA approach are doing, in
terms of retention rates, learner satisfaction)? Do you use these data in any way? (Check if
they offer any programmes on non-ATA basis) Do you know how the retention rates for ATA
based training compare with those for non-ATA programmes?
19. (Interviewer note: only ask this question to those offering ATA provision) Earlier you explained to
me the types of training and assessment arrangements you offer to learners. Can you tell
me, is there a particular type of learner that benefits from the ATA approach?
-If yes, which type of learner?
- Whether yes or no, is there a reason for this?
20. How do you find your tutors/assessors get on with the ATA approach?
- have you provided any additional training to support them in this?
- if yes, what sort of additional training have you provided?
- Do you think that any changes need to be made to the assessor and verifier units to
help support staff development for those using ATA approaches?
- If no, why not (was no extra training required? Are tutors/assessors confident in using APL?
Do they have specialist assessors to deal with this aspect of provision?)
21. Approximately how long (in years) have you been offering the ATA approach? Check: across
all subject areas/all qualifications? Just NVQs?
22. Was there a particular reason or set of circumstances that prompted you to move towards
offering the ATA approach? What was this/were they? (Interviewer note, CoVEs may refer to
special funding here)
23. When you were considering moving to the ATA approach, did you expect to encounter any
difficulties? If yes, what were these? (eg resources, organisational roles/responsibilities/contracting
arrangements/terms and conditions)
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24. When you moved to the ATA approach did you actually encounter these or any other
difficulties? Interviewer, note if these are the same or different problems to those in 23. Explore
circumstances
- and how did you deal with these issues?
25. Roughly how long did it take you between taking the decision to offer the ATA approach
and introducing it for learners?
26. How do you find the costs of delivering an ATA approach compare with those for
conventional delivery? What in your view is the most costly aspect of the ATA approach?
Are there any ways that the costs of offering an ATA approach can be reduced?
27. (If not mentioned in Q 26) Have you found that any particular approaches or activities help to
make ATA more economical – such as use of computer-based assessment or delivery, incompany trained assessors, the clustering of people with similar skills gaps for training
purposes, etc.)?
28. (possibly skip if answered in response to Qs 23, 24 26 or 27) Do you find that current funding
arrangements support the use of ATA? Explore how/why they feel current funding does/does not
support ATA. Was there any special funding that helped them to introduce ATA? Do they have
any views on whether or how the anticipated changes to funding (‘plan-led funding’) might
impact on their ability to offer ATA?
For those in CoVEs, ask what they think the situation will be when the three-year funding
programme for CoVEs ends. If special funding was to be withdrawn, what would the situation
be regarding delivery of ATA-based provision?
29. (If they have already mentioned retention, add section in brackets) Have you found there are any
particular benefits to ATA (in addition to eg improved retention) ? (eg better student retention;
quicker throughput of learners; higher satisfaction from employers)
- do your ATA activities feature within the self-assessment reports (interviewer: ‘SARs’) you
submit to the LLSC and as part of Inspection? Probe for use of improved retention/achievement
rates in SAR and inspection.
30. (omit if they did not report any particular problems at Q 22) Have you found that any particular
problems remain with using ATA? What are these? (eg funding issues; resourcing issues;
change to training/qualification requirements for tutor/assessors/ change to terms and conditions for
college staff; etc.)
- can you suggest how these problems might be overcome in the future?
31. (Ask this question if they are part of Business Development Unit, CoVE or other stand alone unit
within a college) Do you think it would be more difficult for college departments offering
mainly time-tabled provision to move to an ATA approach? (explore their views on this,
barriers to movements/change within mainstream provision)
32. Do you have any other comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery
of training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
Questions for non-ATA providers
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33. Do you assess learner satisfaction at the end of programmes? How do you do this?
34. The focus of this research is on looking at the use of assess-train-assess methods of
development and training. Has your organisation ever considered trying to assess the
starting skills and competences of learners and modifying the training provided to take into
account the skills they have when they join the programme?
If yes – explore reasons why they considered initial assessment and why they have not pursued
it further
If no, ask, Is there any particular reason why you have not considered carrying out initial
assessments?
35. For some of the providers we have spoken to, carrying out an initial assessment of the
learner allows them to customise the learning programme more closely to the learner’s
needs. Would there be any scope for customising the programmes you deliver?
36. Could you see any benefit from customising training programmes more closely to the needs
of particular individuals or groups?
37. Are there any particular barriers, as far as you can see, to providing customised
programmes based on an initial assessment of learner needs? (Probe for perceived client base,
funding issues, staffing capacity)
38. If there were moves to encourage more providers to move towards the assess-train-assess
methods of development, would anything make your organisation more inclined to move
towards this type of delivery? (probe for issues around funding, assessor capacity, etc.)
39. Do you think your tutors or assessors would need any additional training if they were
required to move to a more ‘ATA’ model of training delivery? What sort of training would
be needed?
40. Do you have any comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery of
training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
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Appendix 8: Discussion Guide
Representative of senior management team, in-house
training
As we indicated when we spoke to you on the phone, this project is interested in finding out
about the types of approach to development and training that are currently being used by
trainers around the country. In particular, we are exploring the extent to which providers
currently are adopting the procedure that is known as ‘assess-train-assess’, in which trainers
identify skill gaps in learners, customise their training to fill those skills gaps and then assess
again at the end of the programme to determine whether these skill needs have been met.
We are interviewing around twenty organisations, and we would like to name those
organisations identified as having the best practice, or having adopted innovative approaches to
training and assessment. If we wished to quote examples from this interview, would you be
willing for your organisation to be named in any future report (subject to your seeing any
intended reference)? YES
NO
I realise that you may feel you have already answered some of these questions when we
originally contacted you, but I hope you realise that we need to make sure we’ve got all the
details for your organisation.
Interviewer: the main details to be obtained in this first section is whether they assess
individually or not (or assess across a group); if it is typically focused on a topic, a whole NVQ
or group of units or tailored to the individual’s career. In each case, the key issue is how they do
this. Following on from this, we need to find out what the information is used for. Is the
information used to devise or decide on training provision? How? Other issues include the
extent to which training is customised to meet the needs of individuals/groups. Questions will
need to be customised depending on the interviewees’ responses as you go along as it is likely
that all cases will vary. Bullet points are intended to help you classify (and, if necessary, clarify)
their responses.
1. According to the notes we made at the time, you provide training in ___________________________Sector (s) / Basic skills / IT (interviewer to insert details as
appropriate from case note details on summary sheet)
Is that correct?
2. And my understanding is that the training you provide is mainly in
Employment-specific training, not externally accredited (go to Q 3)
NVQs
MAs
Basic skills qualifications
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Other (describe)
(Go to Q4)
3. (where non-accredited training) Can you give me a little more detail about the types of
training you provide in-house?
4. Is your company taking part in the Employers Training Pilot at all?
YES
NO
If yes, note details, which LLSC they are contracted with and what provision they are
offering/receiving under the ETP)
Is your company involved in any of the Sector Skill Pilots?
YES
NO
If yes, note details, which SSC(s) they are involved with)
5. And can I check, in general, (ie aside from the ETP and/or SSP provision) the staff
groupings you would normally work with would be (Interviewer, please note details in each
case):
Manual/production staff, typically unskilled/semi-skilled/skilled
Clerical/admin staff, typically unskilled/semi-skilled/skilled
Sales/service
Supervisory staff
Technical/IT/allied professional
Management/professional
Other …………………………………………..
6. And is the training within the company usually designed with the needs of individuals in
mind, or the needs of groups of employees?
7. Do your tutors/assessors hold any qualifications?
No
Assessor/verifier awards (‘D’ or ‘A’ units);
subject-specific awards;
C&G 7281/27/28;
Basic skill qualifications;
Other
Interviewers please note any/all qualifications/experience mentioned, including combinations (eg subjectspecific plus D/A units).
8. When you first start to work with a learner or group of learners, would an assessor in your
organisation determine what the training need of that individual or group is?
Yes (go to Q7)
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We wouldn’t – individuals voluntarily sign up for our courses (go to Q11)
No, we wouldn’t – the company typically requires employees to be trained ‘from
scratch’ for a specified NVQ/MA or to attend a designated training programme (go to
Q11)
No – other reason (go to Q 11)
9. And how are individuals’ (or group’s) training needs identified?
employers themselves identify the needs of their employees – explore:
- how do managers identify their staff training needs?
- does trainer check on accuracy of manager assessment?
- do you find that manager assessments of skill needs are normally accurate? How easy is it to
work from manager-identified needs to develop a learning programme?
We (the training/HR group) would conduct a skills audit of the individual/group of
individuals identified as requiring training (see probes, below)
we (the training/HR group) would conduct a skills audit across the company (see probes,
below)
if individuals enquire about training (either directly or through their manager) we
conduct an assessment of their current competence/ability (see probes, below)
For second, third and fourth bullet points, probe:
- And how would you normally do that? Note any special practices eg use of on-line or
standard assessment packages; use of packages generating ILP from initial assessment
etc...
- Where would that first assessment typically take place? At the company? At the training
provider? When – before planning training programme? Who is involved in this initial
assessment – the tutor who will be delivering the training, or someone else?
10. Is what you’ve just described to me the case for all courses/qualifications you offer?
If no, probe for details of how approach varies across courses/qualifications across subject area. Note
we will also explore differences between subjects/qualifications with tutor/assessors
11. (If no to Q 8, frame this question in terms of the courses/qualifications taking the ATA approach)
And so would I be right in thinking that you typically would have an indication of the skill
needs of the individual or of a group of individuals in a company at the start of a contract to
provide training? YES NO
OTHER (details)
12. And then what happens? How do you use this information?
To develop an individual learning plan?
to devise the training programme according to identified needs?
To identify the parts of the training programme or NVQ that the person requires?
To place the individual on the correct level programme or NVQ?
Other?
Note details
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117
13. Do you use accreditation of prior learning at all?
- If yes, how do you do this? Exemption from parts of training programme and/or certification? Do
they give formal credit during the early stages of the learning plan? What types of evidence do they
use? Do they typically find that individuals can gain exemption from/credit for whole units, parts of
units, or across whole NVQ?
- Do they ever certificate at or close to the outset of a programme? If not, why not?
-
If they do not use APL, why not? (Probe for reasons they do not use: lack of
confidence in APL, lack of staff qualified to use APL; note details.)
14. (Omit if covered in Q 11, above) Would you make any attempt to gauge the starting level of
skill/knowledge/competence of the learners who start on your programmes?
If yes, How do you do this?
If no, do you try to check that they are on correct programme (in terms of level, appropriateness
for job, etc.)?
If no, is there a reason for this (eg employees choose courses they go on; all employees in that
job/apprentices are required to do the NVQ/MA, etc..)
Training delivery
Some of this information is available in summary notes. Modify to take into account existing
information (ie check for accuracy of our accounts of practice instead of asking same question
again). Training delivery likely to be through a very varied range of models. Therefore ask
questions as appropriate to determine:
15. To what extent is training modified for different learners?
If training is not modified at all, explore reasons why not (eg employees sign up to menu of
existing courses; the company wants employees to undertake standard programmes)
If yes, How is training modified/tailored for different individuals/groups (get details)
16. (Omit if answered in response to previous question) How is training delivered, and where:
- individually, in small groups, in large groups
-
in situ, in separate training unit
Interviewer, check if this varies with different types of programme eg NVQs level 1-3 versus
management awards.
17. Is there formative/summative assessment throughout the programme? If not, is
progress/learning checked at all during the course?
- if so, how?
- if not, is there a reason for that? (details)
If progress is not monitored during course, explore why not (nb may be linked to no wish for
final assessment – see below – if so, explore and note issues behind this)
Final assessment
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Interviewer: Again, final assessment will vary depending on whether it is NVQ, specially
designed in-house course, etc.
18. Are learners usually assessed at the end of training? (Note, for NVQs, there may be several
‘ends’ relating to the various units)
-
if yes, how is this done?
-
who normally carries out that assessment? The tutor? An independent assessor? Somebody
who works for the employer?
-
What would normally happen if the learner had not met the required standard?
-
Does this vary with type of qualification, with bespoke programmes etc..
-
if no end of training assessment, why not? (omit if explained in previous section)
Evaluation and reactions
18. Do you assess how satisfied the line managers are with performance of their staff at the end
of programmes?
(If yes) How do you do this? How frequently? (at end of every programme? Only at end of first
programme? Annually?)
If interviewing non-ATA trainer now go to Q 32
19. Do you monitor or assess how well programmes based on the ATA approach are doing, in
terms of retention rates, learner satisfaction)? Do you use these data in any way? (Check if
they offer any programmes on non-ATA basis) Do you know how the retention rates for ATA
based-training compare with those for non-ATA programmes?
20. (Interviewer note: only ask this question to those offering ATA provision) Earlier you explained to
me the types of training and assessment arrangements you offer to learners. Can you tell
me, is there a particular type of learner that benefits from the ATA approach?
-If yes, which type of learner?
-
Whether yes or no, is there a reason for this?
21. How do you find your tutors/assessors get on with the ATA approach?
-
have you provided any additional training to support them in this?
-
if yes, what sort of additional training have you provided?
-
(if they have staff trained to the D/A and V units) Do you think that any changes need to be
made to the assessor and verifier units to help support staff development for those using
ATA approaches?
-
If no, why not (was no extra training required? Are tutors/assessors confident in using APL?
Do they have specialist assessors to deal with this aspect of provision?)
22. Approximately how long (in years) have you been using the ATA approach? Check: across all
subject areas? Just NVQs?
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119
23. Was there a particular reason or set of circumstances that prompted you to move towards
adopting the ATA approach? What was this/were they?
24. When you were considering moving to the ATA approach, did you expect to encounter any
difficulties? If yes, what were these? (eg resources, organisational roles/responsibilities/contracting
arrangements/terms and conditions)
25. When you moved to the ATA approach did you actually encounter these or any other
difficulties? Interviewer, note if these are the same or different problems to those in 23. Explore
circumstances
- and how did you deal with these issues?
26. Roughly how long did it take you between taking the decision to offer the ATA approach
and introducing it for staff training?
27. How do you find the costs of delivering an ATA approach compare with those for
conventional delivery? What in your view is the most costly aspect of the ATA approach?
Are there any ways that the costs of offering an ATA approach can be reduced?
28. (If not mentioned in Q 26) Have you found that any particular approaches or activities help to
make ATA more economical – such as the use of computer-based assessment or delivery, incompany trained assessors, the clustering of people with similar skills gaps for training
purposes, etc.)?
29. (If they have already mentioned retention, add section in brackets) Have you found there
are any particular benefits to ATA (in addition to eg improved retention) ? (eg quicker
throughput of learners; higher satisfaction from managers)
30. (omit if they did not report any particular problems at Q 22) Have you found that any particular
problems remain with using ATA? What are these? (eg funding issues; resourcing issues;
change to training/qualification requirements for tutor/assessors/ change to terms and conditions for
college staff; etc.)
-
can you suggest how these problems might be overcome in the future?
31. Do you have any comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery of
training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
Questions for non-ATA providers
32. Do you assess leaner satisfaction at the end of programmes? How do you do this?
33. The focus of this research is on looking at the use of assess-train-assess methods of
development and training. Has your organisation ever considered trying to assess the
starting skills and competences of learners and modifying the training provided to take into
account their existing skills?
If yes – explore reasons why they considered initial assessment and why they have not pursued
it further
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If no, ask, Is there any particular reason why you have not considered carrying out initial
assessments?
34. For some of the providers we have spoken to, carrying out an initial assessment of the
learner allows them to customise the learning programme more closely to the learner’s
needs. Would there be any scope for customising the programmes you deliver?
35. Could you see any benefit from customising training programmes more closely to the needs
of particular individuals or groups?
36. Are there any particular barriers, as far as you can see, to providing customised
programmes based on an initial assessment of learner needs? (Probe for perceived client base,
funding issues, staffing capacity)
37. If there were moves to encourage more providers to move towards the assess-train-assess
methods of development, would anything make your organisation more inclined to move
towards this type of delivery? (probe for issues around funding, assessor capacity, etc.)
38. Do you think your tutors or assessors would need any additional training if they were
required to move to a more ‘ATA’ model of training delivery? What sort of training would
be needed?
39. Do you have any comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery of
training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
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Appendix 9: Discussion Guide
Assessor-tutor, external training provider
Thank you for agreeing to spare some time to speak to me today. As we have mentioned, this
project is being funded by the DfES who are interested in finding out about the types of
approach to development and training that are currently being used by providers around the
country. In particular, we are exploring the extent to which providers currently are adopting the
procedure that is known as ‘assess-train-assess’, in which providers identify skill gaps in
learners, customise their training to fill those skills gaps and then assess again at the end of the
programme to determine whether these skill needs have been met. We have spoken to ________________________in your organisation who indicated to us that you generally do use
the ATA approach in your training provision. We have interviewed/will be interviewing
him/her, and they suggested your name as one of the people it would be useful for us to speak
to. So that’s generally the main issue I would like to discuss with you today.
Interviewer: the main details to be obtained in this first section is whether they assess
individually or not (or assess across a group); if it is typically focused on an NVQ/group of
units or tailored to the individual’s career. In each case, the key issue is how they do this.
Following on from this, we need to find out what the information is used for. Is the information
used to devise or decide on training provision? How? Other issues include Questions will need
to be customised depending on responses as you go along as it is likely that all cases will vary.
Bullet points are intended to help you classify (and, if necessary, clarify) their responses.
Name of interviewee___________________________________________
1. Can I just start by asking you to describe your role here ? And the area(s) in which you are
involved in providing training?
Role___________________________________________________________
____________________________Sector (s) or subject area / Basic skills / IT
2. And the training and/or assessment you are involved in is mainly for
NVQs
MAs
Basic skills qualifications
Bespoke (tailored) training for employers
Uncertificated courses
Other (describe)
3. And, in general, do you normally work with:
individuals (ie not necessarily employed) (check age groups: 18-25, 25+)
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individual employees (check age groups: 18-25, 25+)
small/large groups of employees (how many to a group typically?)
community groups
other (note details)
4. Can I ask what qualifications you hold (those that you consider relevant to your role as a
tutor/assessor)?
Assessor/verifier awards (‘D’ or ‘A’ units);
subject-specific awards;
C&G 7281/27/28;
Basic skill qualifications;
Other
Interviewers please note any/all qualifications/experience mentioned, including combinations (eg subjectspecific plus D/A units).
5. When you first start to work with a new learner/group of learners, would you usually
determine what the training need of that individual or group is?
Yes (go to Q6)
We wouldn’t – individuals voluntarily sign up for our courses (go to Q10)
We wouldn’t – the employer typically requires training for their employees ‘from
scratch’ for a specified NVQ/MA or we would agree a bespoke (tailored) training
programme with the employer (go to Q10)
No – other reason (go to Q 10)
6. And how do you go about identifying individuals’ training needs?
employers themselves identify the needs of their employees – explore:
- how do employers identify their staff training needs?
- does training provider check on accuracy of employer assessment?
- do you find that employer assessments of skill needs are normally accurate? How easy is it to
work from employer-identified needs to develop a learning programme?
I would conduct a skills audit of the individual/group of individuals identified as
requiring training (see probes, below)
I would conduct a skills audit across the company for the employer (see probes, below)
if individuals come to us and enquire about training we conduct an assessment of their
current competence/ability (see probes, below)
For second, third and fourth bullet points, probe:
And how would you normally do that? Note any special practices eg ‘walking the job’; use of online or standard assessment packages; use of packages generating ILP from initial assessment
etc...
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123
Where would that first assessment typically take place? At the company? At the training
provider? When – before planning training programme? Who is involved in this initial
assessment – the tutor who will be delivering the training, or someone else?
7. Is what you’ve just described to me the case for all courses/qualifications offered in your
subject area?
If no, probe for details of how approach varies across courses/qualifications across subject area.
8. (If no to Q 7, frame this question in terms of the courses/qualifications taking the ATA approach)
And so would I be right in thinking that you typically would have an indication of the skill
needs of the individual or of a group of individuals in a company at the start of a contract to
provide training?
YES NO
OTHER (details)
Do you find that the training needs within a group of learners usually varies very much
between individuals in a group from, say, one employer?
9. And then what happens? How do you use this information about the skill needs?
To develop an individual learning plan?
to devise the training programme according to identified needs?
To identify the parts of the training programme or NVQ that the person requires?
To place the individual on the correct level programme or NVQ?
Other?
Note details
10. Do you use accreditation of prior learning at all?
- If yes, how do you do this? Exemption from parts of training programme and/or certification? Do
they give formal credit during the early stages of the learning plan? What types of evidence do they use?
Do they typically find that individuals can gain exemption from/credit for whole units, parts of units, or
across whole NVQ?
- Do they ever certificate at or close to the outset of a programme? If not, why not?
If they do not use APL, why not? (Probe for reasons they do not use: lack of confidence in APL, lack of
staff qualified to use APL; note details.)
11. Would you make any attempt to gauge the starting level of skill/knowledge/competence of
the learners who start on your programmes?
If yes, How do you do this?
If no, do you try to check that they are on correct programme (in terms of level, appropriateness
for job, etc.)?
If no, is there a reason for this (eg they self-select so it’s their decision; the employer always sends
their employees/apprentices here, etc..)
Training delivery
Some of this information is available in summary notes. Modify to take into account existing
information (ie check for accuracy of our accounts of practice instead of asking same question
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again). Training delivery likely to be through a very varied range of models. Therefore ask
questions as appropriate to determine:
12. To what extent do you modify training for different learners?
If training is not modified at all, explore reasons why not (eg sign up learners to existing courses;
employers want standard programmes)
If yes, How is training modified/tailored for different individuals/groups (get details)
13. (Omit if answered in response to previous question) How is training delivered, and where:
- individually, in small groups, in large groups
- in employer premises, in trainer premises
Interviewer, check if this varies with different types of programme eg NVQs level 1–3 versus
management awards.
14. Is there formative/summative assessment throughout the programme? If not, is
progress/learning checked at all during the course ?
- if so, how?
- if not, is there a reason for that? (details)
If progress is not monitored during course, explore why not (nb may be linked to no wish for final
assessment – see below – if so, explore and note issues behind this)
Final assessment
Interviewer: Again, final assessment will vary depending on whether it is NVQ, specially
designed course for employer, etc.
15. Are learners usually assessed at the end of training? (Note, for NVQs, there may be several
‘ends’ relating to the various units)
-
if yes, how is this done?
-
who normally carries out that assessment? Yourself? An independent assessor? Somebody
who works for the employer?
-
What would normally happen if the learner had not met the required standard?
-
Does this vary with type of qualification, with bespoke programmes etc..
-
if no end of training assessment, why not? (omit if explained in previous section)
Evaluation and reactions
16. Do you assess employer satisfaction at the end of programmes?
(If yes) How do you do this? How frequently? (at end of every programme? Only at end of first
programme? Annually?)
If interviewing non-ATA provider now go to Q 27
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17. Do you monitor or assess how well programmes based on the ATA approach are doing, in
terms of retention rates, learner satisfaction)?
-
Do you use these data in any way? (Check if they offer any programmes on non-ATA basis)
-
Do you know how the retention rates for ATA based training compare with those for
non-ATA programmes?
18. (Interviewer note: only ask this question to those offering ATA provision) Earlier you explained to
me the types of training and assessment arrangements you offer to learners. Can you tell
me, is there a particular type of learner that benefits from the ATA approach?
-If yes, which type of learner?
-
Whether yes or no, is there a reason for this?
19. Have you found the ATA approach easy to adapt to?
-
have you received any additional training to support you in this?
-
if yes, what sort of additional training did you receive?
-
Do you think that any changes need to be made to the assessor and verifier units (A and
V units) to help support staff development for those using ATA approaches?
-
If no, why not (was no extra training required? Are tutors/assessors confident in using APL?
Do they have specialist assessors to deal with this aspect of provision?)
20. Approximately how long (in years) have you been involved in offering the ATA approach?
Check: across all subject areas? Just NVQs?
21. When your organisation first decided to move towards the ATA approach, did you expect
to encounter any difficulties? If yes, what were these? (eg resources, organisational
roles/responsibilities/contracting arrangements/terms and conditions)
22. When you started to offer the ATA approach did you actually encounter these or any other
difficulties? Interviewer, note if these are the same or different problems to those in 19. Explore
circumstances
-
and how did you deal with these issues?
23. (If they have already mentioned retention, add section in brackets) Have you found there are any
particular benefits to ATA (in addition to eg improved retention) ? (eg better student retention;
quicker throughput of learners; higher satisfaction from employers)
- do your ATA activities feature within the self-assessment reports (interviewer: ‘SARs’) you submit to
the LLSC and as part of Inspection? Probe for use of improved retention/achievement rates in SAR
and inspection.
24. (omit if they did not report any particular problems at Q 22) Have you found that any particular
problems remain with using ATA? What are these? (eg funding issues; resourcing issues;
change to training/qualification requirements for tutor/assessors/ change to terms and conditions for
college staff; etc.)
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-
can you suggest how these problems might be overcome in the future?
25. (If not mentioned in Q 24) Have you found that any particular approaches or activities help to
make ATA easier to offer – such as use of computer-based assessment or delivery, incompany trained assessors, the clustering of people with similar skills gaps for training
purposes, etc.)?
26. Do you have any comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery of
training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
Questions for non-ATA providers
27. Do you assess leaner satisfaction at the end of programmes? How do you do this?
28. The focus of this research is on looking at the use of assess-train-assess methods of
development and training. Has your organisation ever considered trying to assess the
starting skills and competences of learners and modifying the training provided to take into
account their existing skills?
If yes – explore reasons why they considered initial assessment and why they have not pursued
it further
If no, ask Is there any particular reason why you have not considered carrying out initial
assessments?
29. For some of the providers we have spoken to, carrying out an initial assessment of the
learner allows them to customise the learning programme more closely to the learner’s
needs. Would there be any scope for customising the programmes you deliver?
30. Could you see any benefit from customising training programmes more closely to the needs
of particular individuals or groups?
31. Are there any particular barriers, as far as you can see, to providing customised
programmes based on an initial assessment of learner needs? (Probe for perceived client base,
funding issues, staffing capacity)
32. If there were moves to encourage more providers to move towards the assess-train-assess
methods of development, would anything make your organisation more inclined to move
towards this type of delivery? (probe for issues around funding, assessor capacity, etc.)
33. Do you think your tutors or assessors would need any additional training if they were
required to move to a more ‘ATA’ model of training delivery? What sort of training would
be needed?
34. Do you have any comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery of
training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
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Appendix 10: Discussion Guide
Assessor-tutor, internal training provider
Thank you for agreeing to spare some time to speak to me today. As we have mentioned, this
project is being funded by the DfES who are interested in finding out about the types of
approach to development and training that are currently being used by trainers around the
country. In particular, we are exploring the extent to which trainers currently are adopting the
procedure that is known as ‘assess-train-assess’, in which trainers identify skill gaps in learners,
customise their training to fill those skills gaps and then assess again at the end of the
programme to determine whether these skill needs have been met. We have spoken to ________________________in your organisation who indicated to us that you generally do use
the ATA approach in your training provision. We have interviewed/will be interviewing
him/her, and they suggested your name as one of the people it would be useful for us to speak
to. So that’s generally the main issue I would like to discuss with you today.
Interviewer: the main details to be obtained in this first section is whether they assess
individually or not (or assess across a group); if it is typically focused on an NVQ/group of
units or tailored to the individual’s career. In each case, the key issue is how they do this.
Following on from this, we need to find out what the information is used for. Is the information
used to devise or decide on training provision? How? Other issues include Questions will need
to be customised depending on responses as you go along as it is likely that all cases will vary.
Bullet points are intended to help you classify (and, if necessary, clarify) their responses.
Name of interviewee___________________________________________
1. Can I just start by asking you to describe your role here ? And the area(s) in which you are
involved in providing training?
Role___________________________________________________________
____________________________Sector (s) or subject area / Basic skills / IT
2. And the training and/or assessment you are involved in is mainly for
NVQs
MAs
Basic skills qualifications
Bespoke (tailored) training for employers
Uncertificated courses
Other (describe)
3.
And, in general, do you normally work with:
individual employees (check age groups: 18-25, 25+)
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small/large groups of employees (how many to a group typically?)
other (note details)
4. Can I ask what qualifications you hold (those that you consider relevant to your role as a
tutor/assessor)?
Assessor/verifier awards (‘D’ or ‘A’ units);
subject-specific awards;
C&G 7281/27/28;
Basic skill qualifications;
Other
Interviewers please note any/all qualifications/experience mentioned, including combinations (eg subjectspecific plus D/A units).
5. When you first start to work with a new learner/group of learners, would you usually
determine what the training need of that individual or group is?
Yes (go to Q6)
We wouldn’t – individuals voluntarily sign up for our courses (go to Q10)
We wouldn’t – the company typically requires training for employees ‘from scratch’
towards a specified NVQ/MA or we would agree a specific (tailored) training
programme with management (go to Q10)
No – other reason (go to Q 10)
6. And how do you go about identifying individuals’ training needs?
managers themselves identify the needs of their employees – explore:
- how do managers identify their staff training needs?
- does trainer check on accuracy of manager assessment?
- do you find that manager assessments of skill needs are normally accurate? How easy is it to
work from manager-identified needs to develop a learning programme?
I would conduct a skills audit of the individual/group of individuals identified as
requiring training (see probes, below)
I would conduct a skills audit across the company when requested (see probes, below)
if individuals come to us and enquire about training we conduct an assessment of their
current competence/ability (see probes, below)
For second, third and fourth bullet points, probe:
And how would you normally do that? Note any special practices eg ‘walking the job’; use of online or standard assessment packages; use of packages generating ILP from initial assessment
etc...
Where would that first assessment typically take place? On the job? At the training centre?
When – before planning training programme? Who is involved in this initial assessment – the
trainer who will be delivering the training, or someone else?
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
129
7. Is what you’ve just described to me the case for all courses/qualifications offered within the
company?
If no, probe for details of how approach varies across courses/qualifications across subject area.
8. (If no to Q 7, frame this question in terms of the courses/qualifications taking the ATA approach)
And so would I be right in thinking that you typically would have an indication of the skill
needs of the individual or of a group of individuals in a company at the start of a contract to
provide training?
YES NO
OTHER (details)
Do you find that the training needs within a group of learners usually varies very much
between individuals within a group that is sent to you for training?
9. And then what happens? How do you use this information about the skill needs of the
group or individual?
To develop an individual learning plan?
to devise the training programme according to identified needs?
To identify the parts of the training programme or NVQ that the person requires?
To place the individual on the correct level programme or NVQ?
Other?
Note details
10. Do you use accreditation of prior learning at all?
- If yes, how do you do this? Exemption from parts of training programme and/or certification?
Do they give formal credit during the early stages of the learning plan? What types of evidence do
they use? Do they typically find that individuals can gain exemption from/credit for whole units,
parts of units, or across whole NVQ?
- Do they ever certificate at or close to the outset of a programme? If not, why not?
-
If they do not use APL, why not? (Probe for reasons they do not use: lack of
confidence in APL, lack of staff qualified to use APL; note details.)
11. Would you make any attempt to gauge the starting level of skill/knowledge/competence of
the learners who start on your programmes?
If yes, How do you do this?
If no, do you try to check that they are on correct programme (in terms of level, appropriateness
for job, etc.)?
If no, is there a reason for this (eg they self-select so it’s their decision; the employer always sends
their employees/apprentices here, etc..)
Training delivery
Some of this information is available in summary notes. Modify to take into account existing
information (ie check for accuracy of our accounts of practice instead of asking same question
again). Training delivery likely to be through a very varied range of models. Therefore ask
questions as appropriate to determine:
12. To what extent do you modify training for different learners?
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If training is not modified at all, explore reasons why not (eg sign up learners to existing courses;
employers want standard programmes)
If yes, How is training modified/tailored for different individuals/groups (get details)
13. (Omit if answered in response to previous question) How is training delivered, and where:
- individually, in small groups, in large groups
-
on the job, in training premises
Interviewer, check if this varies with different types of programme eg NVQs level 1 –3
versus management awards.
17. Is there formative/summative assessment throughout the programme? If not, is
progress/learning checked at all during the course ?
- if so, how?
- if not, is there a reason for that? (details)
If progress is not monitored during course, explore why not (nb may be linked to no wish for final
assessment – see below – if so, explore and note issues behind this)
Final assessment
Interviewer: Again, final assessment will vary depending on whether it is NVQ, specially
designed course for employer, etc.
18. Are learners usually assessed at the end of training? (Note, for NVQs, there may be several
‘ends’ relating to the various units)
-
if yes, how is this done?
-
who normally carries out that assessment? Yourself? An independent assessor? Somebody
who works for the employer?
-
What would normally happen if the learner had not met the required standard?
-
Does this vary with type of qualification, with bespoke programmes etc..
-
if no end of training assessment, why not? (omit if explained in previous section)
Evaluation and reactions
19. Do you assess the manager’s satisfaction with the training provided for their staff at the end
of programmes?
(If yes) How do you do this? How frequently? (at end of every programme? Only at end of first
programme? Annually?)
If interviewing non-ATA provider now go to Q 27
20. Do you monitor or assess how well programmes based on the ATA approach are doing, in
terms of achievement rates, learner satisfaction?
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131
-
Do you use these data in any way? (Check if they offer any programmes on non-ATA basis)
-
Do you know how the achievement rates for ATA based training compare with those for
non-ATA programmes?
21. (Interviewer note: only ask this question to those offering ATA provision) Earlier you explained to
me the types of training and assessment arrangements you offer to learners. Can you tell
me, is there a particular type of learner that benefits from the ATA approach?
-If yes, which type of learner?
-Whether yes or no, is there a reason for this?
22. Have you found the ATA approach easy to adapt to?
- have you received any additional training to support you in this?
- if yes, what sort of additional training did you receive?
- Do you think that any changes need to be made to the assessor and verifier units (A and V
units) to help support staff development for those using ATA approaches?
- If no, why not (was no extra training required? Are tutors/assessors confident in using APL? Do they
have specialist assessors to deal with this aspect of provision?)
23. Approximately how long (in years) have you been involved in offering the ATA approach?
Check: across all subject areas? Just NVQs?
24. When your organisation first decided to move towards the ATA approach, did you expect
to encounter any difficulties? If yes, what were these? (eg resources, organisational
roles/responsibilities/contracting arrangements/terms and conditions)
25. When you started to offer the ATA approach did you actually encounter these or any other
difficulties? Interviewer, note if these are the same or different problems to those in 19. Explore
circumstances
-
and how did you deal with these issues?
26. Have you found there are any particular benefits to ATA? (eg quicker throughput of learners;
higher satisfaction from employers)
-
Is your training activity funded at all through the LLSC?
YES
NO
-
If so, do you have to submit a self-assessment report to your local LLSC? do your ATA activities
feature within the self-assessment reports (interviewer: ‘SARs’) you submit to the LLSC and as
part of Inspection? Probe for use of improved retention/achievement rates in SAR and inspection.
27. (omit if they did not report any particular problems at Q 22) Have you found that any particular
problems remain with using ATA? What are these? (eg funding issues; resourcing issues;
change to training/qualification requirements for tutor/assessors/ change to terms and conditions for
college staff; etc.)
-
132
can you suggest how these problems might be overcome in the future?
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
28. (If not mentioned in Q 24) Have you found that any particular approaches or activities help to
make ATA easier to offer – such as use of computer-based assessment or delivery,
supervisors trained to act as assessors, the clustering of people with similar skills gaps for
training purposes, etc.)?
29. Do you have any other comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery
of training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
Questions for non-ATA providers
30. Do you assess leaner satisfaction at the end of programmes? How do you do this?
31. The focus of this research is on looking at the use of assess-train-assess methods of
development and training. Has your organisation ever considered trying to assess the
starting skills and competences of learners and modifying the training provided to take into
account their existing skills?
If yes – explore reasons why they considered initial assessment and why they have not pursued
it further
If no, ask Is there any particular reason why you have not considered carrying out initial
assessments?
32. For some of the providers we have spoken to, carrying out an initial assessment of the
learner allows them to customise the learning programme more closely to the learner’s
needs. Would there be any scope for customising the programmes you deliver?
33. Could you see any benefit from customising training programmes more closely to the needs
of particular individuals or groups?
34. Are there any particular barriers, as far as you can see, to providing customised
programmes based on an initial assessment of learner needs? (Probe for nature of trainees,
funding issues, staffing capacity)
35. If there were moves to encourage more trainers to move towards the assess-train-assess
methods of development, would anything make your organisation more inclined to move
towards this type of delivery? (probe for issues around funding, assessor capacity, etc.)
36. Do you think your trainers or assessors would need any additional training if they were
required to move to a more ‘ATA’ model of training delivery? What sort of training would
be needed?
37. Do you have any comments you would like to make about current issues in delivery of
training and assessment?
THANK AND CLOSE
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133
Appendix 11: Discussion Guide
Learners registered with external providers
Interviewers: Given that some of the learners may be unemployed it will be best to try to get
some background information about interviewees from training providers, in particular,
whether they are employed/unemployed and whether (if employed) their employer is
resourcing the training (whether by paying for it directly or by allowing time off in the case of
the ETPs). Similarly, if the learner is enrolled on a basic skills programme (and you have
ascertained this from the provider) then you may wish to avoid asking the learner about this to
avoid any potential embarrassment.
Note that I anticipate some of the introductory information about the reason for the interview
(below) being provided to the learners ahead of meeting the interviewer.
Thank you for agreeing to spare some time to speak to me today. I work for the Institute for
Employment Studies and the reason I asked if I could speak to you is because I am involved in a
research project that is looking at the types of approach to development and training that are
currently being used by different training providers around the country. The project is being
funded by the Department for Education and Skills, and they are particularly interested in
finding out whether the training that people receive takes into account what they can already
do and do not need to learn again.
Ask if they would mind telling you their age: 16-18 19-25
26+
1. Are you employed at the moment?
If yes, What job do you do?
If no, did you have a job previously? If so, what was it? (go to Q. 3)
2. How long have you been doing this job?
3.
(Omit if you know they are enrolled for basic skills) What training are you currently signed up
for? Probe for details of course and qualification.
4.
When did you start the course? Do you know how long the training is expected to last?
5.
(If employed) Is your employer
paying for you to do this course/qualification
letting you do it in work time
supporting you in any other way – just generally encouraging you, or encouraging you
to use what you’ve learned at work (details)
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6.
Can you tell me a bit about what happened at the start of the course? Did someone talk to
you to try to find out what training you needed?
If yes, Was this before you signed up for the course/qualification?
- Who did this? (Manager/supervisor? Tutor/assessor? Both?)
- How did they work out what training you needed? Did they ask you some questions? Watch
you perform your job? Give you a test (if yes, what type of test; online? Skills-based?)?
- Was this just for you or for all your colleagues in the same type of job?
- What happened after this? Did they:
- discuss what type/level of qualification you needed?
- Draw up an individual learning plan for you? (If yes, what does this consist of/include?)
- Suggest you did not need to do part of the course/qualification because you already had the
right level of knowledge or the right skills? (if yes, go to question 7)
- Design a course for you (and your colleagues)?
- [interviewer: this next question means did they actually get assessed to give them some sort of credit
towards eg the NVQ, rather than assessed to indicate starting point and what they can skip] Assess you
formally to indicate what you could already do at the start of the course? If yes, did you get any
sort of certificate at this point? (if yes, go to question 7)
If no, how was it decided that you would do this course/qualification?
-
Was it your own decision? If so, what made you decide on this provider, this
course/qualification?
-
advice from training provider
-
your employers’ decision
Go to question 8
7. Approximately how much of the course/qualification have you been able to gain credit
for/skip?
- how do you feel about this? was this an important issue for you?
8. Are there any parts of the course or qualification you feel you may not have needed to do? If
yes, Roughly how much of the course have you felt you did not really need to do? How do
you feel about this?
(If they refer to repetition of things they already know/can do, ask) If there had been the option
to skip parts of the course you already knew, would you have wanted to do that?
9. Can you explain to me how your training is organised? (interviewer: if learner does not have
much idea about this at the outset, move on; otherwise, modify depending on where interview is being
conducted– check and then prompt as appropriate with: do you attend a college or training
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
135
company, does the trainer visit you where you work? How often do you attend/does
trainer visit? How is training and assessment balanced? Are there different ‘phases’ to the
training – eg is knowledge handled first, off-site, then the rest is WBL on-site versus
integrated (where knowledge K and WBL run in parallel either both on-site or K off-site) – ie
probe for both sequence and location – and where in the ‘sequence’ they are just now.
-
and how is that working? Do you feel you are learning useful things and making
progress?
-
(for those registered for NVQs/MAs) have you achieved any full units of the award since
starting the course?
-
Do you have a clear idea of the amount of training you will need to do to achieve the
whole award (interviewer: could substitute, do you have an idea how long the training is
likely to take to complete? if you feel this is more appropriate)
-
Do you feel confident you will complete the qualification/course?
10. Have you undertaken any training or qualifications before this? How do you feel this
compares with your previous experiences? Explore whether use of ATA is a factor in their
comparisons.
11. How well do you think this course/qualification has been tailored to your particular needs
(and (if employed) the needs of your employer).
12. Do you have any other comments you would like to make about the training?
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Appendix 12: Discussion Guide
Employees training with in-house trainers
Thank you for agreeing to spare some time to speak to me today. I work for the Institute for
Employment Studies and the reason I asked if I could speak to you is because I am involved in a
research project that is looking at the types of approach to development and training that are
currently being used by different training providers around the country. The project is being
funded by the Department for Education and Skills, and they are particularly interested in
finding out whether the training that people receive takes into account what they can already
do and do not need to learn again.
Ask if they would mind telling you their age: 16-18 19-25
26+
1. What is your current job?
2. How long have you been doing this job? Did you have any job(s) before this one with this
employer? Previous jobs before coming to this company?
3. (Omit if you know they are enrolled for basic skills) What training are you currently undertaking?
Probe for details of course and qualification. When did you start that?
4. How was it decided that you would do this course/qualification?
5. Can you tell me a bit about what happened at the start of the course? Did someone talk to
you to try to find out what training you needed?
If yes, Was this before you started the course/qualification?
- Who did this? (Manager/supervisor? Trainer/assessor? Both?)
- How did they work out what training you needed? Did they ask you some questions?
Watch you perform your job? Give you a test (if yes, what type of test; online? Skills-based?)?
- Was this just for you, or for all your colleagues in the same type of job?
- What happened after this? Did they:
- discuss what type/level of qualification you needed?
- Draw up an individual learning plan for you? (If yes, what does this consist of/include?)
- Suggest you did not need to do part of the course/qualification because you already had
the right level of knowledge or the right skills? (if yes, go to question 6)
Good Practice in ATA Approaches to Workforce Development
137
-
Design a course for you (and your colleagues)?
-
[interviewer: this next question means did they actually get assessed to give them some sort of
credit towards eg the NVQ, rather than assessed to indicate starting point and what they can
skip] Assess you formally to indicate what you could already do at the start of the
course? If yes, did you get any sort of certificate at this point? (if yes, go to question 6)
If no, how was it decided that you would do this course/qualification?
-
Was it your own decision (from menu of training options)? If so, what made you decide
on this course/qualification?
-
advice from trainer/HR
-
your employers’ decision (without discussing with you)
Go to question 7
6. Approximately how much of the course/qualification have you been able to gain credit
for/skip?
- how do you feel about this? was this an important issue for you?
7. Are there any parts of the course or qualification you feel you may not have needed to do? If
yes, Roughly how much of the course have you felt you did not really need to do? How do
you feel about this?
(If they refer to repetition of things they already know/can do, ask) If there had been the option to
skip parts of the course you already knew, would you have wanted to do that?
8. Can you explain to me how the training is organised? (Interviewer: if learner does not have
much idea about this at the outset, move on; otherwise, modify depending on where interview is being
conducted – check and prompt as appropriate with: do they attend external training unit, does
trainer visit them in their workplace? How frequently? How is training and assessment
balanced? Are there different ‘phases’ to the training – eg knowledge is handled first, offsite, then the rest is WBL on-site versus integrated (where knowledge K and WBL run in
parallel either both on-site or K off-site) – ie probe for both sequence and location – and
where in the ‘sequence’ they are just now.)
-
and how is that working? Do you feel you are learning useful things and making
progress?
-
(for those registered for NVQs/MAs) have you achieved any full units of the award since
starting the course?
-
Do you have a clear idea of the amount of training you will need to do to achieve the
whole award (interviewer: could substitute, do you have an idea how long the training is
likely to take to complete? if you feel this is more appropriate)
-
Do you feel confident you will complete the qualification/course?
9. Have you undertaken any training or qualifications before this? How do you feel this
compares with your previous experiences? Explore whether use of ATA is a factor in their
comparisons.
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10. How well do you think this course/qualification has been tailored to your particular needs
and the needs of your employer?
11. Do you have any other comments you would like to make about the training?
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