John Hayes, Minister for Further Education, Skills & Lifelong Learning announced at the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) conference held recently that the use of Key Skills in Apprenticeships will be extended until March 2011 in England.

The Government had originally planned to replace Key Skills with a new Functional Skills element (covering practical skills in English, Mathematics and ICT), from September 2010.

This announcement will give providers a short term choice of these two alternatives. Mr Hayes stressed, however that this was a "temporary measure to allow more flexibility for providers and more time for us to work together to get the implementation right."

The Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DCELLS, Welsh Assembly Government) Qualifications and Learning Division has confirmed that this extension does not apply to Wales. In Wales, the position regarding the final dates for Key Skills in Apprenticeship frameworks remains as follows

• The last date for the registration of candidates on to Key Skills qualification is on/before 31st August 2010
  
• Candidates undertaking Key Skills must complete their Key Skills qualifications before 31st August 2011

The full speech delivered can be found on the Department for Business Innovation and Skills website.

Information on our new membership schemes for employers and learning providers is now available, including pricing details.

Subscribe to success - is our membership scheme for employers, providing access to a range of products and services to help employers develop the skills of their people.

Provide for success - is a brand new membership scheme for learning providers, giving them access to a whole new market of people with wide-ranging skills and development needs.

In order to enable voluntary sector organisations to access membership benefits, discounts are available.

We are committed to quality skills provision with employers' needs at the heart of everything we do. To find out more about membership and how you can benefit from it, please contact us at support@skillsforjustice.com

Skillsmark® is the recognised quality mark for learning and development programmes in the Justice and Community Safety sector. Delise Anderson, Learning and Development Manager at London Probation Trust, talks about the Trust's recent successful Skillsmark® application.

Why did you apply for Skillsmark®?
Our goal is to provide a top class training service that is closely aligned to the needs of our business, our staff and other stakeholders. Skillsmark® offers an external benchmark that confirms our processes and procedures are fit for purpose and that our training programmes not only meet, but exceed national quality standards.

What did we do to help you?
The Skillsmark® team were very supportive in providing advice and guidance to demystify the whole Skillsmark® process. Also, at the end of the very rigorous assessment, it was helpful to receive a formal report detailing how we had performed against each indicator. The report acted as a signpost to areas where we could focus on, to further improve the service we offer.

What did the process involve?
The process was rigorous, structured and thought provoking at times. It pulled our unit together, improving staff motivation and communication and instilling consistency in what we do. We refined some of our checklists and forms. It was an excellent process to go through.

What is the impact of gaining Skillsmark®?
There has been a noticeable improvement in how we design, deliver and evaluate our learning programmes. Gaining Skillsmark® demonstrates to the whole organisation and to our partners that our internal processes are robust and that our training is fit for purpose. This is essential, particularly in the current climate of competitiveness. Our courses can stand up to scrutiny and this improves their marketability.

What have you learned from the experience?
The importance of articulating our whole training and development strategy to the rest of the organisation.

All endorsed programmes are listed on our Skillsmark® e-directory, so take a look now and find learning programmes that have been designed with employers' needs in mind and provide learners with the skills and knowledge employers need from their staff.

For more information on Skillsmark, take a look at our website, call us on 0114 231 7386 or email skillsmark@skillsforjustice.com.

After the success of our two previous years of Women and Work funding, our learners have asked for a way to keep the good work going. As a result, we have created a private web forum for women who have finished their training with us.

The Women and Work Alumni Web forum is a place for you to discuss your training, share good practice and get together to work on your skills.

You can find more information on the webforum on our Alumni page, or you can contact us on 0114 231 7392 to find out more. We are always open to new ideas for our Alumni scheme, so please do get in touch.

The Advanced Apprenticeship framework is due for review. This will include a review of the suitability of the qualifications within the framework. In addition to this the framework will be made compliant with new legislation in England and Wales

For more information about the scope of the project take a look the project information briefing and further information now available on our website.

We are currently looking for Fire Service colleagues with knowledge and experience of the Apprenticeship to form a working group. The group will meet around 3-4 times to review the framework. Provisionally, the first meeting is scheduled to be held in Sheffield on Wednesday 11 August 2010.

For further details or to volunteer to be part of the working group please contact Andrew Costello at andrew.costello@skillsforjustice.com or call 0114 261 5801.

Content in the articles below has been supplied by external sources.

The role of playwork for children within the prison environment is gaining increasing importance. Children may be visiting a parent or living temporarily within a mother and baby unit. Playwork is one way in which an offender can maintain essential links with his/her family.

SkillsActive are running two free conferences to raise the profile of playwork as a profession and develop a better understanding of its culture and the focus on the child.

The conference will also emphasise the importance of workforce development in the playwork sector and provide updates on career structure, training and qualifications routes for playworkers. This conference is suitable for you if you are volunteer, employee, or manager involved in playwork within a custodial setting.

The conferences will be held on

• Thursday 28 October 2010, 10-4 at The Lymm Hotel and Conference Centre, Lymm, Cheshire
  
• Wednesday 17 November 2010, 10-4 at The Aston Hotel, Darlington

For further information please visit the Skills Active website or contact Jean Large at jean.large@skillsactive.com or call 07894 479916.

Maths4Us is a joint initiative between unionlearn, NIACE and the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) to encourage people to tackle numeracy, take-up numeracy learning and have fun with maths.

As part of the Maths4Us campaign we are offering free numeracy tasters for intermediaries and front line workers. The taster courses will support participants to become 'community numeracy champions' and support participants to have a positive impact on the fifth of the adult population with poor levels of maths skills.

NIACE are seeking organisations who would like to host a free 3-hour numeracy taster session. The sessions will be delivered by NIACE and will be available for delivery from September 2010.

For further information please contact Linda Dixon at linda.dixon@niace.org.uk.

Local Government Improvement and Development, working with councils and partner bodies, have launched a new web resource - Integrating local public services: the workforce issues.

Today's economic context urges the public sector to find radical new ways to deliver more efficient services better tailored to local needs. Many councils and their public sector partners are aiming to achieve this by integrating services. This web resource considers the workforce issues in this complex and rapidly developing area. The resource will be updated with more guidance and good practice as it emerges.

If you have any queries about the resource, suggestions for changes or additional materials that could be added , please contact Martin Stein from LG Improvement and Development at martin.stein@local.gov.uk.

Research shows classroom teachers, school and college leaders would love to see greater involvement from employers across school life.

That's why over the week of 18-22 October they will be inviting CEOs, MDs and other senior decision-makers from private, public and third sector employers of all sizes to visit and find out more.

By registering here at the Visit our Schools and Colleges website you can be matched with local schools and colleges serving children and young people aged 5 to 19. They will match you themselves or through a volunteer local partner and agree a time and date for a visit. You may have a specific school in mind, want to work with a particular age group or get involved in activities like mentoring, workplace visits, classroom presentations or helping the CPD of teachers. Registration just takes two minutes, so get involved.