What needs to be done to address English and Maths in the Employee Journey?

Transcription

1 Skills for Life Support Programme What needs to be done to address English and Maths in the Employee Journey? This is a set of prompt questions for Human Resources and Programme managers to use at each stage in the journey an employee makes in their career with your organisation. Stage 1: Recruitment Stage 2: Interview and Selection Stage 3: Induction Stage 4: Continuing Professional Development Before you start on the stages of the employee journey here are some good practice points. Do you have a policy? Draw on the workforce strategy priorities: understanding the nature of the workforce attracting and recruiting the best people retaining and developing the modern workforce ensuring equality and diversity are at the heart of policy. Use the employee journey as a framework with the policy relating to recruitment, induction, development. Aspire to best possible policy and practice, as well as complying with statutory regulations and contractual requirements. Seek peer review for your newly written policy. Research organisational policies and strategies that already exist, for e.g. HR recruitment policy. Where needed incorporate development of English, Maths and ICT skills within those policies. Don t attempt to write about issues that already have a policy; amend if needed to include English and Maths /LLN +ICT and add as an appendix. Keep policy to the key issues relating to workforce development. Add appendices to show detail, e.g. Qualifications Matrix against roles. The Skills for Life Support Programme is delivered on behalf of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service by CfBT Education Trust and partners CfBT Education Trust 60 Queens Road Reading RG1 4BS T: F: E: sflenquiries@cfbt.com W:

2 Stage 1: Recruitment Advertising vacancies What is the key information needed to ensure appropriate applicants make contact? How brief and concise can you be whilst ensuring all the relevant information is included? How much information can be given in the advert about the job role? Remember advertising is expensive for organisations. Often adverts are eyecatching but will need to take applicants to other sources for the details. Are there essential qualifications, experience and skills that are needed in the advert in order to encourage the right applicants? Think through the precise skills needed in the post. For instance will applicants need report writing skills, skills in observation of others, listening and or active listening skills and quick reading abilities? How much of this detail should go in the advert and how much in the Application Pack? Which pieces of information need to be on the organisation s website and which in the Application Pack? Can personal skills in English, Maths and ICT be included in the advert or should they be elsewhere, e.g. in the Application Pack or on the website? Where are the key places to put the advert to reach the right applicants? Is it best to use the recruitment page with a vacancies list on the website? OR is it best to advertise in specialist newspapers or journals which carry job vacancy adverts? Application Packs and Process Compiling the Application Pack is most commonly the role of a member of the HR department. Are the Application Packs compiled and developed following consultation with other relevant managers, to ensure that Skills for Life and English and Maths needs are seen as potential development needs for some applicants and not barriers to their employment? Where can potential applicants find more information and detail about the role, qualifications, training and English and Maths levels needed for the role? 2

3 In the packs.. What key information needs to be in the pack to make sure the right applicants apply? Does the pack include a Job Description and Person Specification? Do the job descriptions include the qualifications needed and whether some qualifications and training can be made available during the early period of employment? Do the Job Description and or Person Specification include levels of English, Maths and ICT needed for the role? (NB. Level 2 in all three is required to gain a teacher s qualification.) Stage 2: Interview and Selection Do your policies and processes for recruitment comply with employment law? Applicants for vocational teacher/tutor roles may need a range of training to meet the teaching qualification requirements, including support to gain the English, Maths and ICT Level 2 needed and required to carry out their role. How can personal skills in English and Maths impact on selection? Have all members of the interview panel taken part in Skills for Life awareness training? Can they recognise or are they aware of the impact that low levels of English and Maths can have on applicants and their learners? Is at least one member of the interview panel trained in Skills for Life awareness? Should applicants be screened or given initial assessments in English and Maths at or before interview? Is it better to complete full initial assessment of a candidate s English, Maths and ICT skills at interview or during induction? Do Job Descriptions and or Person Specifications clearly state all the qualifications needed for role? including that skills at Level 2 in English and Maths are needed for all job roles in the teaching/assessing realm? Is one member of the interviewing panel given the brief to outline opportunities for applicants without Level 2 English and Maths skills, if appointed to have support to gain Level 2 in English and Maths? NB In practice it is very difficult for any adult to move rapidly through levels. A period of months is often required. 3

4 Stage 3: Induction Is registration with the Institute for Learning (IfL) included? Is an explanation of IfL CPD requirements part of the programme? Are all new members of teaching staff given a full introduction to the IfL Reflect process? Are initial and diagnostic assessments in English, Maths and ICT part of the induction process? Who decides what further training is needed against Job Role, Person Specification and levels of personal skills in English and Maths? How is this co-ordinated within the organisation? Who ensures that the level of training is appropriate for the new staff member s current ability and progressive towards full qualification? Is Skills for Life awareness training part of induction for all new staff with face-to-face contact with learners? What support is made available for those without Level 2 in English and Maths? Is time given for training for those who need to gain the basic teaching qualifications and Level 2 in English, Maths and ICT? How are qualifications checked against the Job Description and Person Specification? Are copies of original certificates copied and put in personal file, and details sent to MIS for recording on Workforce Database? Has a subject-specific mentor been appointed, made contact and discussed how regular contact and support are to be made available? NB. All new teachers, trainers and tutors are expected to have a subject mentor to support their subject teaching development. Is the Appraisal/Performance Review process discussed in relation to monitoring and updating an individual s training progress and future needs, as well as its links to the organisation s QA cycle? Good practice point Develop a qualifications matrix matched to job roles and person descriptions to support this process. 4

5 Stage 4: Continuing Professional Development Workforce Development/Qualifying your staff doesn t usually happen in a linear fashion. It is often a scattergram which then gradually becomes a coherent whole. Workforce development isn t just about gaining initial qualifications: it s about ongoing professional development. Workforce development isn t just about training courses: it s about a culture of ongoing CPD and reflective practice, which includes peer review and sharing good practice. Questions for managers and the organisation How much professional development is appropriate for someone new to a teaching, tutoring or assessing role in their first months or year of work? The IfL requirement is for 30 hours per year and pro-rata for part-time employees with a minimum of 6 hours. What does a new teacher with low-level English and Maths skills need, to be successful as a vocational teacher and become fully qualified for the role? Where needed, are new teachers enrolled on PTLLS and CTLLS if in the Associate Teacher role, or DTLLS if in the Full Teacher role? Is support needed for the individual to gain English, Maths and ICT qualifications to Level 2? How is this decided and organised? Who is responsible for developing a progressive staged realistic training plan for a new teacher, matched to individual abilities and the training needs of that individual? How does effective co-ordination and communication take place between the new teacher, his/her curriculum manager, HR, staff development, subject-specific mentor and, where needed, Skills for Life manager to benefit the new member of staff s continuing professional development? How do the organisational processes ensure that all who need to know about the training needs of an individual do communicate with each other? How often do mentors and a new teacher meet? Are these meetings part of Reflective Practice and therefore recorded as CPD for each of them? Does the appraisal/performance process monitor and review individual training plans and successes, and then re-plan for future training needs? Is the success of individuals monitored, rewarded and celebrated in any way within the organisation? 5