Skills for Justice | All Wales Academy for Local Government

Editor's Notes

1. Good afternoon and many thanks to Learning Pool for inviting me to attend today and share the latest news on an exciting project we have developed. Introductions
2. 1. Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are independent UK wide organisations. They are employer-led (we have a broad membership base of employers) SSCs primary purpose is to deal with the skills and productivity needs of their sector throughout the UK. Each SSC agrees sector priorities and targets with its employers and partners to address five key goals: reducing skills gaps and shortages improving productivity, business and public service performance increasing opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce, including action on equal opportunities improving learning supply, including apprenticeships (we develop apprenticeship frameworks) higher education and national occupational standards (we develop national occupational standards- the building blocks for many accredited qualifications 2. Introduce the 2 SSCs (charities) and the brands 3. Introduce Enterprises and Awards Wales context. In Wales – we have a Wales Country Group for members – Regular attendees of WCG include WLGA, Welsh Police Services, Welsh Fire & Rescue Service reps, Third sector orgnaisations supporting Victims and working with substance misuse, Probation service reps, Welsh Government Sector Qualifications Priority section from Dept for Education & Skills. We also have UK wide occupational groups that meet quarterly and various Welsh organisations attend these too. I am a Business Development Manager for the Nations and work across all the sectors at a strategic level.
3. Wales like UK Austerity Public increasing expectations and ageing population resulting in changes in service demands/ needs Unlike UK - Commission on Public Service Governance & Delivery in Wales – Jan 2014 chaired by Sir Paul Williams ‘The Williams review’ Drew distinction between: Public Sector – body of staff directly employed by publically funded body & Public Service – service delivered for benefit of public – incl 3rd sector, contracted out services and social enterprises. Review concluded with recommendation that through series of mergers the 22 local authorities in Wales be reduced to 10-12 by 2017/18 Local authorities are facing unprecedented reductions to their budgets which are expected to lead to reductions in the workforce and need to respond to options outlined by the Williams Commission to rationalise the number of councils in Wales. Displacement, re-deployment and unemployment are all realistic outcomes for employees and those that remain will face changing responsibilities and increased pressures without having the necessary skills needed to meet these challenges. Therefore, SFJ worked with WLGA, Local Authorities (led by Phillip Lenz Cardiff CC) & Wales TUC to develop a business case for funding the All Wales Academy. SFJ submitted this to WEFO for European funding and have just heard we were successful.  
4. Our vision is to support Welsh local authorities and their employees in a time of transition and challenge by introducing a new way of working. The online platform will up-skill employees to successfully adapt to the new landscape in Welsh local government and at the same time realise savings for training budgets and make more efficient use of employee time. 15 of the 22 local authorities have pledged cash or in kind match, along with Welsh Local Government Association and Wales TUC Caerphilly; Cardiff; Ceredigion; Conwy; Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil; Newport; Neath Port Talbot; Pembrokeshire; Powys; RCT; Swansea; Torfaen; VOG 3.Grant offer and funding in place and SFJ just dotting i’s and crossing t’s contractually at the moment with WEFO. 4. We are conscious of the need to develop a sustainable platform that will leave a robust legacy once the project has concluded. A costed business plan for the continuation of the academy will be developed at the start of the project and this will be a live document as the project progresses and the local government sector evolves post-Williams Commission. This will be informed by a Social Return on Investment evaluation that will investigate and identify the benefits of the platform and the collaborative foundation that will be introduced to local authorities and stakeholders. Our intention to expand the AWA to wider ‘public services’ post project – Police, FRS, Housing Associations, third and private sector providers delivering contracted out services etc
5. 1. Platform to be procured shortly through G Cloud Essential that any platform developed interacts with Local Authorities existing local platforms. We envisage a seamless transition for employees through their own local e learning platforms through to AWA for additional regional and national content which will be agreed and developed through the project. Ownership of the e learning content. We seek to mirror the exisiting practice Las ahve with e learning. E.g. If develop their own and keep it locally, they own it. If however, decide to publish something to regional or national AWA community that will be owned by the wider AWA community . Just as you do now with your Learning Pool sites and if you choose to publish to wider network, that becomes the property of the wider Learning Pool Community rather than an individual’s own. 2. Then discuss bullet points from 2nd one on
6. 1. Stakeholder ownership vital for project success and sustainability   The Programme Board will provide a strategic overview for the project and be the main arena for project business and decision making.   The role of the Programme Board will be to: Ensure the project is aligned to the needs of the sector Assist with resolving strategic level issues and risks Monitor the progress of the project Advise of any changes required to meet stakeholder needs as the project progresses Provide input into the project sustainability strategy   2. Discuss Programme Board members and their roles
7. 1. As with Programme Board Stakeholder ownership also vital at operational level for project success and sustainability The role of the Delivery Board will be to: Oversee and agree the content and structure of the pan-Wales learning that is developed by the project teams. Ensure that learning content reflects local, regional and national input Ensure that content is suitable for day to day operations in local government Test and provide feedback on the online learning platform Test and provide feedback on the learning content  2. Discuss roles – Flag up content developer secondment – looking to advertise amongst local authorities in Oct for quick recruitment. Also looking to advertise Programme Lead externally and quick recruitment – spread the word
8. These are some high level topics that have been identified in early discussions but final content to be held on AWA to be agreed following: Gap analysis of existing training, emerging training needs analysis to form recommendations for stakeholder consultation through governance boards. Would be interested to know in Q&A your thoughts on the topics