represent good value for employers and therefore become key to both business and economic growth.
Future proof
In June 2011, the government released an education white paper outlining its plans for skills provision. The paper, Students at the Heart of the System, called for a greater range of providers to be allowed to offer degrees, not just universities. It states that future legislation will permit trusted awarding organisations to offer externally assessed degrees. City & Guilds believes that widening the range of awarding organisations in this way will open a new, more advanced work-based pathway to many high-level learners. Hayes believes the myriad changes
proposed by the white paper will progress skills training, both in practice and in terms of image. ‘Perhaps best of all,’ he said, ‘the insidious old idea that further education can be regarded as a less good version of higher education has been consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs.’
Green agenda
In the future, skills education and work-based learning won’t just make an impact on businesses and learners, but also the environment. To this end, City & Guilds has invested heavily in a green skills agenda, being led by City
& Guilds Ireland. In November 2011, City & Guilds unveiled a new range of qualifications to address Ireland’s sustainability challenges. As well as providing new green techniques for existing industries such as construction, there are also new qualifications for emerging needs. Brid Healy, City & Guilds Regional Manager for Europe, believes that green skills will create well-rounded learners: ‘In the case of wind turbine technicians, our training not only enables participants to become competent in electrical, mechanical and instrumentation engineering, but also to cope with working at heights and in confined spaces, and to learn abseiling techniques,’ says Healy. One Irish learner who has already made a success out of his green skills is Aongus O’Dowd, from Kildare. After finishing his City & Guilds Customised Award in Insulation, he’s become a self-employed energy consultant. ‘My new credentials have been very helpful with clients,’ he says. With his environmental skills under his belt, he’s able to help his clients make their buildings more energy efficient, a huge part of the modern building trade. City & Guilds has been marshalling those who will shape the future of skills education and work-based learning. By understanding all sectors of training, City & Guilds has been able to create an ambitious plan to ensure that young learners get access to skills for life, which in doing so, creates a long-term benefit for the economy and society.
‘Perhaps best of all, the insidious old idea that further education can be regarded as a less good version of higher education has been consigned to the dustbin of history, where it belongs’ John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning
Taking time to help City & Guilds employees volunteered more than 1500 hours for charitable causes