10 September 2014 Blogs
With 50% of the workforce set to leave the energy and utilities industry over the next 10 years, employers need to plan how they are going to fill the skills gap they leave behind.
Industry leaders are already coming together under the Employer Ownership of Skills scheme to help fill this training and skills void.
NVQ’s are one solution to this impending issue, and in this blog we highlight some of the key things you need to know about this route to training your workforce for the future.
The facts
- NVQ’s are a work-oriented vocational qualification. Unlike traditional qualifications of the past, they can be tailored to suit the learner’s needs and are not entirely classroom based. There is no final examination and you don’t get a grade on completion. Instead NVQ’s focus on the learners skills, knowledge and behaviour within the workplace.
- NVQ’s are created using nationally defined occupational standards. The learner’s ability to do a competency based task is assessed against performance criteria set by the national occupational standards. The assessments are recorded using a range of techniques and prior learning experiences, which compile the evidence used to meet the qualifications compilation of units.
- NVQ’s can also be completed over longer periods of time using a unit based approach which is now available on the Qualification Credit Framework (QCF). This route allows learners to have a flexible approach to learning and assessment, and in some cases, can boost success rates as unit completion provides learners with a better sense of achievement, by completing the NVQ in manageable chunks.
- The aim of an NVQ qualification is to recognise the skills and competences of learners in the workplace.
The benefits of NVQ qualifications
Employers will benefit from:
- Improved staff performance and motivation.
- Improvements in the quality of service to customers.
- A workforce developed in the skills relevant to the business.
- Greater productivity, performance and competitiveness as the workforce will be motivated and happy, as the organisation has invested in their future skills.
- Lower staff turnover.
- A workforce who is up-to-date with the latest legislation and best practice.
Employees will benefit from:
- A clearer understanding of their responsibility within their organisation.
- The opportunity to develop new skills, and accredit their knowledge. Bringing new ideas to the workforce. Whilst earning while they learn.
- One to one support from an experienced professional.
- Being highly motivated as the organisation has invested in them and their future.
- A qualification benchmarked against national performance standards of work-based, on the job learning.
An NVQ qualification will help grow the expertise in your business and fill current and future skills gaps, which is currently stunting growth and hampering recruitment of new talent. An estimated 50% of current employees will have left the Gas and Water sector by 2023, due to its ageing workforce. To plug that gap, 208,000 new people will be required within 10 years. NVQ’s are one solution to this issue.
Who we have trained
Over the last 5 years, Develop Training has trained over 5,500 individuals via the NVQ route, specifically Network Construction Operations (NCO) programmes for companies such as AMEC, Balfour Beatty, Skanska and tRIIO.
Join others and invest in your employees…
