Opportunity for industry professionals to be involved in new Technical Education panels

The Department for Education is seeking experienced industry professionals who would like to help shape the future technical education system. We are looking to recruit “panels of professionals” thatwill develop occupational standards for new technical qualifications, as part of flagship reforms to England’s16+ skills system.

This is an exciting opportunity - both for practising industry professionals or representatives of an industry through a recognised professional body or trade association–to shape and improve technical education across England. The ambition is to develop technical education that genuinely prepares individuals for skilled employment with employers sitting at the heart of the system.

Specifically, as the experts in your industry, we want to work with you to understand and articulate what it takes to move to skilled employment in your field. We can then design the relevant education and training accordingly against those requirements so that we can help ensure your industry secures the skilled workforce needed for the future.

We are looking forindustry professionals and representativeswho are willing to commit their time and expertise in one of the following roles:

  • Panel members: who will collectively be responsible for developing the standards for specific technical occupations by determining the key skills, knowledge and behaviours that individuals should meetto become competent. These will build on, and incorporate apprenticeship standards.
  • Panel chairs: who, in addition to the above, will be willing to lead a panel of professionals and facilitate the active participation of all panel members.

Panels will be formed in phases. Successful applicants will be added to an approved register of industry professionals to join the panels. We will aim to notify successful applicants inthe Spring.

Your expertise will be invaluable in shaping the skills system of the future, and ensuring the effective pipeline of skilled workers that our country needs.

Background on technical education reforms

For too long our technical training system has not been led by what employers need and as a result we have too many qualifications that do not support progression into skilled jobs.

Earlier this year the government published the'Post 16 Skills Plan 2016', accepting all the recommendations made by theIndependent Panel on Technical Education, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, on how to improve technical education in England. This set out the government’s ambitiousvision for the future of technical education and comprised a ground-breaking package of reforms.

These reforms mark a fundamental shift towards a streamlined, high status system. The reformed technical option will be formed of 15 routes across all technical education, encompassing both college-based and employment-based learning. Each route brings together occupations with related skills, knowledge and behaviour requirements into groupings, such as ‘engineering and manufacturing’, ‘health and science’ and ‘digital’. (To note: four of these routes are employment-based learning only and therefore, we are only recruiting panels of professionals for the remaining 11 routes – see Annex A.)

Together these routes cover 13 million roles in the economy at the moment. This new framework will allow us to transform full and part-time college-based courses into high quality technical education options, which fit coherently alongside reformed apprenticeships, and extend to the highest levels of education and training.

Key responsibilities

As a panel member or chair, your key responsibilities will be to:

  • Work with other panel members to set out the knowledge, skills and behaviours required to perform skilledoccupationsin your industry competently, building on, and incorporating apprenticeship standards
  • Work with other panel members to define the core knowledge, skills and behaviours common to all occupations within a technical route.
  • To provide high level steers on qualification content and help to ensure standards are developed into high quality qualifications that employers have confidence in.
  • Workinclusively and collaboratively with wider industry professionals and stakeholders (including employers and professionals/trade bodies not yet engaged in the technical education programme)to ensure their views are taken into account.

In addition, as a panel chair, you would be expected to:

  • Provide leadership to the panel and ensure the effectiveness of the panel in all aspects of its role, including directing the panel towards achieving the Government’s objectives.
  • Work intensively alongside “Relationship Managers” who will be in place to support the work of each panel to drive development of occupational standards,agree the core knowledge, skills and behaviours common to all occupations within a technical route and provide steers on qualification content within 1 year.
  • Ensure the panel works effectively, with strongcollaboration between its members and wider industry, encouraging and supporting the development of partnership working to ensure the objectives are achieved.
  • Ensure clear plans of delivery are put in place to drive the project forward and undertake additional work outside of the panel meetings in order to progress the development of the standardsto the agreed timeframe.

Role Criteria (i.e. skills, behaviour and experience required): including specialist skills

We are looking for professionals who are able to demonstrate sound judgment in dealing with complex issues. They must be able to operate within a panel structure to arrive at sound, balanced and timely decisions, which reflect the needs of industry.

The particular skills and experience we are looking for include:

Professional expertise / -Evidence of your expertise as an industry professional in one of the routes (see Annex A) – you may be a practitioner, directly managing staff who are training for or performing competently in the skilled occupation, or training an apprentice or other staff to become fully competent in the skilled occupation.
We are keen to ensure the panel has a diverse range of industry professionals who together understand and are able to represent a young person’s or adult’s career journey from entry level to more advanced roles.
OR
-An industryprofessional from a trade association or professional body with experience of working on industry standards.
Wider skills and experience / Interpersonal skills
-Evidence of interpersonal skills that enable you to work with people at all levels, and the ability to offer and take on new ideas
Collaborative skills
-Evidence of working with others, particularlynegotiation and influencing skills, to achieve an end result that meet specific requirements
Understanding data and evidence
-Evidence of your ability to draw together and examine a range of evidence and data to form reasonable conclusions
An understanding of the training and development needed to progress in your occupation/industry
-Evidence of your experience of supporting or mentoring others in your workplace to progress
And/or
-Evidence to demonstrate your understanding of what is required (skills and knowledge) to progress within your occupation/industry and to support the changing needs of the economy

In addition, if you are applying for the panel chair role, we are looking for:

Leadership skills / -Evidence of providing leadership and strategic vision to achieve an end result that meet specific requirements
Managing people skills / -Evidence of managing a diverse group of people to deliver successful outcomes.

Panel of professional membership / terms

-You willbe well supported by Department for Education staff, with a Relationship Manager appointed to your panel to provide guidance and facilitate development of the occupational standard and wider qualification content.

-We would broadly expect each panel to meet between once a month and once every 6 weeks for a year, and thatpanel members will undertake some additionalwork outside of meetings. We would expect this to be up to one day per month. This is a 1 year fixed term appointment, from the point of being allocated to a panel, with the possibility of an extension.

-These are critical rolesthat will require successful applicants to spend time away from their day job. In recognition of this, as a panel member, your employer will receive £1,000 on a quarterly basis. If you are a panel chair, your employer will receive £2,000 on a quarterly basis[1]. These payments will also cover any travel expenses incurred in attending meetings.

-You and your employer will be required to sign an agreement to indicate yourcommitmentto providing the time necessary to develop occupational standards and contribute to the wider qualification content within a year.

Applying

-Please apply if you are interested in being apanel member or chair in any of the routes listed in Annex A, and have the skills and experience that we are seeking. To support your application, please provide ashort statement (maximum 500 words) explaining why you want to be involved in one of the panels and your suitability for the role. We may invite you for an interview as a follow up to your application.

Please complete the ‘Expression of Interest’ form by:

  • selecting your preferred route and role (either a panel member or chair (or both))
  • completing a short statement against the criteria (please attached additional pages if needed).

Please send this to 13February 2017

-When assessing the applications, we are keen to ensure we have a diverse and appropriate balance of industry professionalswith a range of experience and knowledge covering a range of roles. We welcome applications from a range of industry professionals, including those from small businesses.

Annex A

Technical Routes to skilled employment

Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care
Business and Administrative
Catering and Hospitality
Childcare and Education
Construction
Creative and Design
Digital
Engineering and Manufacturing
Hair and Beauty
Health and Science
Legal, Finance and Accounting

Out of scope – we expect these routes to be delivered primarily through apprenticeships (employment-based routes only).

Protective Services
Sales, Marketing and Procurement
Social Care
Transport and Logistics

[1] Please note, we welcome applications from those self-employed and will receive payment directly to your company bank account for your time commitment