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trialled in six regions of England. A series of early employer events is planned to promote the apprenticeship – two in June for employers in the south east and south west. More are expected to take place in the east of England, west of England, north east and Yorkshire and the Humber. Asset Skills wants to hear from FM employers interested in participating in these apprenticeship pilots or receiving Academy updates. Please contact Tom Orton on torton@assetskills.org or call the Virtual Academy for Business Services on 0844 822 2525.


What is the Virtual Academy? The Virtual Academy for Business Services is a new pilot project, launched in May 2010. If successful, the pilot will be extended to property, housing and other parts of the Asset Skills footprint. The Virtual Academy is about working with employers and providers to raise skills levels across the sector. It will achieve this by providing a range


of services that will include the promotion of training and qualifications in facilities management and facilitating the registration of candidates onto training programmes. This latter service will be a proactive


role that will involve the collaboration of all parties for mutual benefit. For instance, three employers may wish to put 100 cleaners on to an accredited cleaning qualification course. If they collaborate and choose the right training provider (according to region or number of learners), economies of scale can be achieved and a programme will go ahead that may have been unsustainable without this partnership approach. The wider range of services that will be


available to employer members of the Virtual Academy is described in the prospectus, available to view at: www.assetskills.org/virtualacademy.


How is it funded? This pilot is a low cost start up and a truly pioneering venture in that it draws little on the public purse. Income will be generated from membership fees which have been kept to a minimum to encourage a high level of participation. Full details of fees are found in the membership section of the new website at: www.assetskills.org/virtualacademy. The Virtual Academy is a low


bureaucracy service, demand led by employers. It will follow a similar path to the National Skills Academy (NSA) model, currently running in other industries, although it will not be part of the NSA network.


As outlined above, the Virtual Academy


will effectively act as the training broker/facilitator - aiming to simplify the


process and reduce the administrative burden on employers.


Training provider network Asset Skills has identified a network of training providers who it believes will deliver good quality training. This network will be constantly reviewed to ensure employer expectations are met and we will look to develop a quality mark over the first 12 months. The network will be restricted in numbers to enable providers to gain significant benefit from their membership. Asset Skills believes this will be


reflected in improved service and flexibility for employers. There are also plans to produce a professional Virtual Academy certificate for members which will help promote their efforts in staff investment and Corporate Social Responsibility.


Why Business Services? Facilities management falls within Business Services, identified by the government in the National Strategic Skills Audit 2010 as one of six key growth industries. Raising skills in this area has been cited as a priority if the sector is to meet the expected future growth. The Virtual Academy could have a far


reaching impact on the training landscape in the facilities management industry. How will it start?


Although the Virtual Academy is a UK-wide programme, it will initially be trialling FM apprenticeship schemes in six English regions: London; the south west; the west of England; the east of England; the north east; north west; and Yorkshire and the Humber. Further details can be found in the Training and Qualifications section of the Virtual Academy website at: www.assetskills/virtualacademy. Asset Skills is looking for employers to participate in these pilots and will seek to add other regions to the programme according to demand. There are also plans to extend the range of programmes to other courses where there is sufficient demand from employers.


How will it be staffed? Its virtual nature means there is no building or big overheads. In the initial stages, while members are recruited to the Virtual Academy and demand is established, a core group within Asset Skills will be tasked with overseeing the project. The pilot project proposal has been well


received by FM employers, large and small. Its online launch coincided with the Facilities Show on 11 May, the key industry event of the year. A short film featuring employers is available to view at: www.youtube.com/assetskills and the programme is also being promoted through LinkedIn, Twitter and an external blog.


68 l Property Management Select l july/august 2010 l www.pm-select.co.uk


Employer endorsements for the Virtual Academy “We may be competitors in business, but we are not competitors in training. We all experience the same problems and if someone has a solution that fixes the problem it makes sense to share it.” Barbara O’Neill, group skills pledge development manager, MITIE. “We all have the same issues and the


same challenges in developing the levels of skills in our workforce. By coming together, we can learn from each other and raise the standard of training in the sector as a whole.” Helen Jeffery, national skills manager, Interserve “The Virtual Academy means we can be seen as one voice for the industry, helping training providers and colleges bring their training up to a standard that we need, that we expect and that we want.” Jane Leeming, qualifications manager, Compass Group UK and Ireland Limited “We believe the wealth of knowledge


involved with the combination of all these major employers, will inevitably mean the training employees receive will be more focused and relevant across the whole industry.” Gavin Deane, skills co-ordinator, ISS UK Training.


About Asset Skills Asset Skills is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking. It is a UK-wide organisation, licensed by


Government to work with business to ensure training and vocational qualifications are relevant and meeting the needs of industry. Its work is shaped by leading employers who steer the organisation through a main board. There are also separate boards for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. There are several strands to its work:


Occupational Standards - all careers must be backed by sound occupational standards. Asset Skills develops standards in consultation with industry. These are descriptions of the tasks and responsibilities of particular jobs and form the basis for workplace qualifications such as Apprenticeships and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) or awards offered by professional bodies. Employer engagement - this is at the heart of its work. Asset Skills is led by a board of employers from each of the industries it represents and its teams meet businesses of all sizes on a daily basis. Labour market information - good research enables greater understanding of each sector’s shifting requirements in terms of markets, working practices and technological change. Tel:0845 678 2 888 (local rate call) Email info@assetskills.org Web: www.assetskills.org


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