Case Study. National Skills Academy for Nuclear

Transcription

1 Case Study National Skills Academy for Nuclear

2 1. Introduction Business innovation and support (BIS) is support for company innovation and development, primarily intended to improve a company's products and performance. It typically involves consideration of a technical problem by means of applied research and development (R&D), which may draw on knowledge and expertise from a range of sources. In many cases it may be concerned with the application of existing knowledge, which is new to the organisation concerned, rather than with leadingedge technology or practice. BIS may be of benefit to both public- and private-sector organisations. The following example shows how the provider dealt with a particular challenge relating to building capacity in offering business innovation support to employers. In this case the pressure point discussed is how to establish a highly engaged productive employer network? The National Skills Academy for Nuclear The National Skills Academy for Nuclear has been established to create, develop and promote world class skills and career pathways to support a sustainable future for the UK Nuclear Industry. The Skills Academy puts employers at the forefront of skills development, by providing a means for hands-on involvement in the design and delivery of learning, so that training is tailored to the specific needs of the nuclear sector. Launched in January 2008 the Skills Academy is working with employers and quality assured training providers to address the current and future skills challenges facing the nuclear industry. At the core of its operation, the Skills Academy has established a number of employer-led national co-ordinating centres i.e. Regional Steering Groups supported by Regional Training Clusters of Quality Assured Providers. The Skills Academy operates on a demand-led approach to meet the needs of the industry and plays a lead role in raising standards throughout the industry through the Quality Assurance of training providers and courses. Through a regional network of training clusters, the Skills Academy is identifying, developing and assuring local high quality provision that will be centres of excellence for the delivery of nuclear specialised training. 1. Summary National Skills Academy for Nuclear use project leadership to engage a productive employer network. An industry turnaround sparks employers desire to standardise approaches around staff development to effectively tackle the current and future skills barriers and challenges facing the Nuclear industry. These challenges are not just in relation to the Government's 65bn clean-up programme but also for waste management, defence, fuel processing and enrichment, power production and to ensure the sector has the skills and additional resources available for the anticipated future new build programmes. The National Skills Academy for Nuclear needed to engage with a network of nuclear employers to design, test and implement new standards in sector practice of which the Basic Common Induction Standard was the first to undergo this process. The first challenge was to get the key employer group contributing to the discussion in a meaningful way. Through a series of facilitated steering groups and detailed project management we were able to encourage increased levels of transparency and consensus amongst our employer groups. This has led to strong employer commitment to implement the standard which could form the basis for ongoing business innovation support. Jo Tipa, National Skills Academy for Nuclear. Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)

3 2. Situation & Context National Skills Academy for Nuclear facilitates strong employer group collaboration to develop a consistent set of industry standards. The nuclear industry has a fragmented system for the delivery of training with no common standards and significant duplication. In effect, each employer trains their own staff, evaluating against their own standards, giving rise to inefficient use of employer and public sector investment. Jo Tipa, National Skills Academy for Nuclear. A study by Cogent Sector Skills Council highlighted the average training spend per employee is 100%- 150% higher than comparator sectors (manufacturing and aerospace). This increased spending may lead to repeating the training effort because there is no system for recognition. The saving the sector could make could be leveraged to build and enhance the skills profile of the workforce to meet future needs. The new skills sets and increased flexibility and transferability of personnel required by just the challenge of decommissioning alone, need to be developed. Forecasts suggest an increase to 11,000 potential new learning opportunities in decommissioning and 6,500 in other sub-sectors over the next 20 years. Without the incorporation of common standards it is likely that these learning opportunities will need to be repeated each time an employee changes sites. A key initiative of the Skills Academy is the development of the Nuclear Skills Passport. The Skills Passport is the key tool in achieving the vision of: Working together to develop and sustain a qualified, mobile, workforce with transferable skills that enable career progression in a world class nuclear industry One of the key work streams of the Skills Passport is the development of these industry standards. 3. Task or Challenge How do we establish a highly engaged productive employer network? National Skills Academy for Nuclear needed to engage with a network of industry employers to design, test and implement a new standard in sector practice. The first challenge was to get the key employer group contributing to the discussion in a meaningful way. Getting the consistent attendance While the network had consistent membership, the steering group meeting often had different people in attendance. This had a number ramifications, not least the time taken to brief in new members. The project required employer sign off at various stages and if the appropriate decision maker was not at the meeting the process could not continue. Encouraging transparency In a highly regulated industry where safety and security is paramount, encouraging openness can be difficult. The challenge here was for the Skills Academy to help the employers find a level of transparency that would be mutually beneficial to the project outcome without incurring inappropriate risk. Keeping the employer group on target The steering group brought together specialists from various technical backgrounds. These highly qualified and experienced individuals had significant views on the subject. Discussions could sometimes Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)

4 stray from the core of the issue into other related areas. The challenge was to keep the overall vision of success clear to all involved, without diluting the quality of detailed input. 4. Actions or Approach Define the terms of reference to stay focused The National Skills Academy for Nuclear brought together the relevant employer and sector groups and clearly defined their scope of action. This was recorded in the Project Initiation Document which formed the basis for the engagement and ensured that the group stayed on target throughout the project. The Project Initiation Document details areas such as: purpose, objectives, approach, deliverables, constraints and assumptions, governance, roles and responsibilities, controls and communications plan, Structure to group to access the right technical know how The initial project board was restructured to ensure the employer representatives had adequate decision making authority and the right depth of technical know how. This Project Board formally reports into the main Skills Academy Board of Directors. The board split into 6 work groups supported by a user forum and a governance board. The various workgroups focused on aspects such as training framework, security, finance and marketing. Use third party feedback to deepen the quality of output At various stages throughout the project third party assessors where brought in to trial the quality of the output. This gave the steering group a high level of practical feedback and added credibility to the process. The National Skills Academy Nuclear engaged PAA/VQSET, a leading awarding body, to work with British Energy on the initial trial of one of the components of the standard. The feedback from this trial significantly shaped the final product. Use robust project management practices to drive progress The National Skills Academy for Nuclear used standard Prince 2 type project management practices to ensure a high level of transparency and accountability of all involved. Due to the complexity of the project it has been necessary to adopt robust project management approach to drive the project forward. This has not been an easy task given the number of employers involved in the process and the fact that some of the initiatives have involved fundamental changes within their own organisations, particularly around implementation of standards across a number of Nuclear Sites. However, without a robust project management approach the Skills Academy would not have been able to drive progress and meet deliverables." Tricia Austin, National Skills Academy for Nuclear. 5. Results As of March 2009: Basic Common Induction Standard has been agreed and endorsed by 17 licensed nuclear sites. A further 6 standards have been agreed, these are key areas of work to enable access and work on a nuclear Licence site. A formal process for the review of which standards are to be assessed and agreed by the Skills Passport User Group has been developed enabling effective and clear prioritisation. Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)

5 The Nuclear Skills Passport is being developed and is nearing roll out stage. The Skills Passport is the vehicle for recording the attainment of these nationally recognised standards, leading to increased mobility and flexibility of personnel across the sector. This means that the industry will then be able to respond effectively to the peaks and troughs of demand as the industry goes through changes from operation to decommissioning and then to new build. The framework developed via the Skills Passport will record skills development and training across the depth of the Skills Pyramid ensuring career development opportunities are available for all. There are plans to continue the work in this area and develop further additional industry standards. Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)