Learning & Skills
Skills for Business Network 2005: Survey of Employers, for SSDA
The Skills for Business network consists of the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and a network of 25 employer-led Sector Skills Councils (SSCs). It was established in 2002 by the Department for Education and Skills, the Department of Trade and Industry and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a remit to:
… replace the relative weakness of the UK's sectoral arrangements with strong employer leadership capable of delivering sustained improvements in public and private sector productivity and competitiveness through the better use and development of people's skills (Department for Education and Skills, Remit Letter to SSDA, 30 July 2002)
To assess progress against objectives, the SSDA, working with the SSCs and sponsor departments across the UK, established a programme of evaluation of the network. Ipsos MORI was commissioned to two major strands of the evaluation: survey of 13,500 employers and survey of 1,000 stakeholder organisations. The research focuses on employers' and stakeholders' understanding, experience and attitudes towards the Network. It also examines areas of employer skills and training development, as well as policies and practices for developing human capital within their organisations.
Evaluation of Employer Training Pilots, for DfES
The Employer Training Pilots (ETPs) were established in September 2002 to test the effectiveness of an offer of free or subsided training to employees without a level 2 qualification, wage compensation (of various levels) to their employers for giving time off to train, plus access to information, advice and guidance. The pilots were administered by local Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) in partnership with local Business Links and other agencies, through a network of local brokers or learning advisers and training providers. They were originally planned to run in six areas for a year, but were subsequently extended to cover 12 areas for an additional year.
The evaluation of the pilots was conducted by IES in partnership with the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and MORI, with the aim of assessing the nature and extent of the take-up of the ETP offer, and examining the key issues affecting how the pilots operate in practice and the experiences of the employers and employees who take part. The evaluation had two main strands:
- a quantitative assessment of the effect of ETP on workplace training activity in pilot and control areas, through analysis of surveys of potentially eligible employers and employees, and other sources, including the Labour Force Survey; and
- a more qualitative 'process' evaluation including surveys and interviews with the main stakeholders, providers, employers and learners involved in each of the pilot areas, and analysis of management information data.
Improving the Collection of Qualifications Data, for DfES
There is evidence that the LFS under-reports the achievement of lower level qualifications, particularly among older respondents. Various cognitive and linguistic reasons have been documented for this under-reporting, including respondents getting the name of the qualification wrong, not recognising the name / category of the qualification, forgetting that they have the qualification, disregarding or discounting qualifications that they have, and perhaps associating the term 'qualifications' with the academic rather than the vocational [1].
Within the LFS, individuals are asked to list all their qualifications, starting with the highest - which is then assigned to the corresponding NQF Level. Those whose qualifications do not fit into the existing pre-code list are recorded as having 'Other' qualifications. 'Other' responses are only used in the calculation of highest qualification if this is the sole qualification reported - generally around 8% of respondents. In subsequent statistical analyses of achievement against attainment targets, these 'Other' qualifications are apportioned across NQF Levels 1, 2 and 3 in a formula based on detailed analysis of the 'Other' qualifications from the General Household Survey 1991/92 [2].
The aims of this research project are to:
- review the accuracy of the formula currently used to apportion 'Other' qualifications across Levels 1, 2 and 3;
- explore what people count as qualifications, and how they perceive qualifications as opposed to 'learning';
- ascertain what people understand by 'vocational' qualifications and how far they associate these with 'qualifications' per se; and
- develop and pilot improved questions on qualifications with a view to improving the LFS questionnaire as well as other Government surveys.
Notes
- Campanelli, P and Channell, J. 1996. The Conceptualisation of Qualifications by Individuals RS9. London: DfEE.
- pp339-346, Employment Gazette, July 1992