The foundation of a new workforce

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Sue Tatum, Director of Employer Partnerships at Foundation Degree Forward, advocates the qualifications as a potential solution to the national skills crisis.

In the previous edition of The HR & Training Journal, a number of articles stressed the importance of developing the higher level skills of their current employees in a way that better meets the needs of government organisations and their workforce.

Tony Wright MP, Chairman of the Commons Public Administration Select Committee, said: "There should be a clear focus on the organisation growing its own talent", while Andrew McDonald, CEO of Government Skills, called for "a workforce with more of the skills our business needs".

They highlight the challenges facing managers in developing their workforce in a cost-effective way that supports the career aspirations of the employees while securing the professional workforce that is required. Although the public sector has a strong tradition of graduate recruitment, the recent Government Departmental Capability Reviews highlighted the need to enhance the skills, knowledge and performance of staff at all levels. Research undertaken for SkillsPlus UK (2006) looking at the skills gaps in local and regional government identified a similar need. Sector skills strategies are, therefore, stressing the importance of developing the skills of the whole workforce, and of fostering employer led generic and specialist skills development opportunities with the higher education sector.

These strategies recognise that public services are changing. There is the drive for greater efficiency and higher quality services drawing upon the provision offered within the private and voluntary sectors. To achieve this requires a flexibility and responsiveness that, as the Chairman of the Select Committee acknowledges, has not been the traditional mode of working for government. It requires a workforce of people who have the knowledge, capability and flexibility to work across the organisation in response to the business agenda. To achieve this, higher level education will need to build the employee’s knowledge of the organisation’s operation and develop a skill set that supports the effective management of change situations, engaging others, information analysis and researching new ways forward. But this generic skill set also needs to be complemented by specialist skills, such as financial practice and understanding, as Jonathan Baume, General Secretary of the FDA, has pointed out.

In 2012 (on the basis of present labour market surveys), the number of working adults available for employment will decline. The public sector will have to compete rigorously to recruit staff with the right qualifications within a climate where its traditional incentives may no longer apply – jobs for life, good pension and holiday entitlement. Additionally, it will need to explore more cost-effective ways of developing its staff to tackle the new challenges.

So, employers frequently ask how they can get a higher level qualification that is designed specifically for them and offers a minimum level of disruption to their day to day business.

Foundation degrees are increasingly being used by employers in the public and private sectors to develop new skills and to enhance workplace performance, enabling organisations to meet current and future challenges. They help the organisation to drive forward with a more skilled and motivated workforce, and a more stable one, as retention of staff is improved.

A Foundation degree is a nationally recognised higher level, professional qualification forming part of the Government’s ‘Implementing Leitch’ strategy. Offering an innovative learning experience tailored to employer delivery and content specifications, they are developed in partnership with education providers so that employers obtain the performance outcomes required to enhance workforce capabilities. Theory and practice are intertwined through work-based learning. Nigel Carruthers, Head of SkillsPlus UK, said Foundation degrees offer "a real bridge to graduate study, developing the skills needed in the workplace and building on the learning opportunities within it".

An increasing number of central and local government departments find that Foundation degrees achieve better organisational performance by building relevant, professional high level skills through work-based learning. Employees can enhance their skills whilst in work, improving their performance and helping to solve business problems, supported by the expertise of respected higher education providers. The programmes form part of the Sector Skills Councils’ skills and qualifications strategies, incorporating relevant National Occupational Standards/
Professional Skills for Government (PSG).

The Foundation degree in Government managed by the National School of Government on behalf of the Cabinet Office is a specially designed programme for the civil service that is directly linked to PSG. The programme is currently offered by Chester and Portsmouth Universities through distance learning, giving maximum flexibility for the employer and employee. Some of the topics covered include: understanding government, working with stakeholders, critical and analytical interpretation, management and leadership, resource management (including financial), and delivering results.

Currently, there are over 16 departments and non-departmental public bodies engaged with this Foundation degree, and benefiting from the skills and experience that their employees are gaining.

The Environment Agency has, for a number of years, sponsored a Foundation degree in Flood Risk Engineering. Provided by the University of the West of England, this course is playing a key role in addressing labour market specialist skills shortages in the critical field.

The Academy for Sustainable Communities, on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government, has developed the first Foundation degree to address the issues around developing sustainable communities – a key issue in the 21st Century. The Foundation degree in Sustainable Communities, delivered in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, builds the inter-professional working and multi-disciplinary knowledge base required across a range of relevant occupations. ‘fdf’ is working with the ASC to extend learning opportunities across England.2
Local authorities across England have been involved in designing, developing and delivering Foundation degrees that develop the skills necessary to provide an increasingly complex range of services. These include: public sector administration (eg. West Sussex Council’s Local Government Management Foundation degree, Chichester University; Wakefield and Calderdale Councils’ Community Governance and Public Sector Management Foundation degree, Huddersfield University); and Foundation degrees in planning, housing, finance, community services, sport and leisure, waste management, environmental management, children’s and youth services.

The final say goes to Tony Watson, of Blackburn and Darwen Borough Council, who said: "This qualification will assist employers and provide valuable professional development of staff. It has already provided benefits to my service."