WVLLN Team News Brief

AUGUST 2006 – Issue 1

Welcome to the Western Vocational Lifelong Learning Network. In this first brief you will be introduced to the core management team, planned induction in September and some items of interest to ‘wet your appetite’. It is anticipated that the news brief will be issued every 3 months with WVLLN staff invited to offer ideas, articles, news and updates for publicising in the news brief. The recruitment process so far has resulted in all Progression Co-ordinator and two Subject Strand Co-ordinator posts being filled. The roles of PA to the Director and Subject Strand Team Manager are being recruited at the moment.

If you go to the above link you will be taken to our website where you will find more information on the WVLLN and the partners that make up the network.

------

WVLLN Team (so far…)

INDUCTION

The first two days after you take up your position will be spent in your partnership institution so you gain familiarisation with the personnel and environment. Following on there will be a 2 day Induction at Oakfield Campus where you will be able to meet each other as well as the core management team. Details of the schedule and timings will be given to you by your local institutional line manager.

During the induction at Oakfield you will take part in a variety of theoretical and situational activities around progression agreements, challenges, opportunities, employer engagement and the perspectives surrounding vocational learners and progression.

Following on from this initial induction there will be a period of familiarisation and training around issues such as missions, progression and partners both here at Oakfield and at your partner institution.

It is anticipated that one day a month Strand Coordinators and Progression Coordinators will meet with the Assistant Director to discuss progress, issues and sharing of resources and ideas. Although it is likely that the majority of the meetings will be at Oakfield Campus in Swindon, it is hoped that some will be held at partner institutions so all the team gains an understanding of each of the partner institutions’ culture and environment.

As well as this news brief there will also be a staff notice board on the IT infrastructure where all staff can offer ideas, suggestions and seek advice and guidance from each other.

On the following page there are some websites that you may want to explore prior to taking up your position. Many will be familiar to you but hopefully some will be new. In future issues it is anticipated that current issues around HE and progression will be covered, as well as highlighted sectors which are of particular interest.

You may want to try the following link to the Sector Skills Development Agency as this provides benchmarking data specific to each industry sector.

In the research section you will find a sector skills matrix which is a comprehensive resource of key sectoral labour market data as well as employer skills surveys.

If you go to you will find details of other lifelong learning networks and updates on progress so far.

NEWS & LINKS TO ISSUES OF INTEREST

The SpecialistSchools and Academies Trust, which is interested in making links with subject-specific strands of LLNs. Its web-site has full information on all trust programmes, particularly the vocational and 14-19 work. There is a schools network site which is available to affiliated members. Details are available from Peter Webb at the SSA Trust, tel 020 8394 2925, e-mail

HE Participation in Great Britain – taken from

  • Most full-time students are on first-degree courses, but a growing minority studies part time.
  • Men are still in a majority among overseas students—but the gap is narrowing.
  • Women overtook men as a proportion of the under-graduate population in 1996-97.
  • Women made up 56.9%of the student population.
  • 54.6% of first-year under-graduates of known age were aged 21 or over.
  • Of the full-time and sandwich students who returned disability information, 6.6% were known to have a disability.
  • 16.1% of UK-domiciled first-year undergraduates (whose ethnicity was known) were from ethnic minorities.
  • Business and administrative studies, engineering and technology, social studies, computer science and languages were the subject areas with the highest numbers of students from outside the UK.
  • Of all postgraduate students, 30.5% were non-UK domiciled.

------

Other issues to consider:-

  • Foundation degrees -
  • Access to higher education –
  • Specialised diplomas –
  • Train to Gain –
  • New system of “equivalence” – wider range of qualifications being included in school league tables.
  • Fall in some subjects for entry to higher education e.g. Electronic and Electrical Engineering down 18.6% from last year.

Editor: Elaine Fisher

Page 1 of 4