Skills

Contributor:

Thursday March 25th 2010, Grand Connaught Rooms - London, 09:15 - 16:00

Public Sector Skills: Creating a 21st Century Workforce

"I also want us to set new goals for the number of apprenticeships we offer in the civil service. We already have 16 departments engaged in the apprenticeship pathfinder and applications for places now top 1,400 compared with an initial target of just 500."

Sir Gus O’Donnell, Cabinet Secretary, February 2009

Overview

Britain needs a skilled workforce at every level if it is to compete and succeed in a dynamic world economy. In the race to be competitive, skills will play a vital role in enabling the UK economy to meet the demands of the global marketplace. Furthermore, in the midst of the recession, the stakes have been raised: skills policy could be the key factor that determines how and when the UK economy recovers and expands.

In a global age, the ability to equip our people with a higher level of new skills is increasingly important. The government has already embraced this agenda by adopting Lord Leitch’s recommendations to provide everyone with the opportunity and encouragement to develop their skills. It also proposed significant changes to the current skills infrastructure with the creation of the Commission for Employment and Skills, and a strengthened role for Sector Skills Councils to ensure that employers are given a key role in shaping education and training provision in the future.

The number of public service employees continues to grow, in line with increased investment in schools, the NHS and the police. The composition of the workforce has also changed, reflecting rapidly changing demographics, the development of support worker roles to free up professionals to focus on their core tasks, and challenging targets to increase workforce diversity. The public sector in particular faces challenges due to the age-profile of the existing workforce and other worrying age-related trends (e.g. less than 10% of all apprenticeships are in the public sector).

Apprenticeships lay an important role in today’s business, they ensure that the workforce has the skills it needs in order to remain competitive, even in difficult economic circumstances. Subsequently, the Government has called for apprenticeships to be made more widespread in the public sector.

The public sector represents around a fifth of the workforce. With almost six million staff, central government, local government, NHS, police and fire service organisations are positioned to make a major impact on the skills base of the UK. However, huge challenges remain. For example, around a fifth of employees in public services do not have a level two qualification and, in line with trends across the wider economy, the distribution of work-based training is inequitable with staff on the front-line being much less likely to access training on a regular basis.

Agenda

The Government has set a challenging target to ensure almost all adults (95%) have basic literacy and numeracy skills by 2020. With this in mind, this conference will bring together the key stakeholders to examine and discuss how government and the public sector can lead by example in making progress on this agenda, and to provide a framework for others to do the same.

09:15	Registration and Coffee
10:00	Chair’s Welcome Address John McNamara, Chief Executive, Alliance of Sector Skills Councils (CONFIRMED)
10:05	Morning Keynote: Delivering an Effective World-Class Skills Strategy How is the UK going to achieve a sustainable world-class high skill, people driven economy responding to business needs while opening opportunity for all people? Delivering the skills that employers and individuals need now and in the future Role and next steps of the Skills Funding Agency David Cragg, Interim Chief Executive, Skills Funding Agency (CONFIRMED)
10:25	Promoting Jobs and Skills Across the Public Services During Challenging Economic Times Outline of the challenges and opportunities facing public service employers Delivering the skills agenda to improve working lives and services Prospects for employment and professional development David Amos, Senior Policy Adviser, Public Sector Workforce Reform, Cabinet Office (CONFIRMED)
10:45	A Workforce Fit for Purpose: Maximising Potential Skills and learning in public services Future challenges, opportunities and action Understanding the skills challenge in the public sector Overcoming barriers to learning in the public sector Engaging the workforce Delivering efficient and effective public services Delivering more for less Maximising public services in a recession Penny Tamkin, Programme Director, The Work Foundation (CONFIRMED)
11:05	Workforce Development Through Employer-Higher Education Partnerships Developing successful employer-university partnerships How can universities help students develop and identify employability skills Implementation of the higher level skills strategy/Leitch Review by Government Higher level skills development of the existing workforce Successful employer engagement Sarbani Banerjee, Acting Head of Skills, Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (CONFIRMED)
11:25	Questions and Answers Session
11:40	Coffee and Networking
12:00	DWP Change Programme Providing greater choice, personalisation and a higher quality of service for customers Transforming the quality of customer service driving up the efficiency of delivery The Department’s Service Delivery Strategy Products/services around customer needs - accessible, efficient and based on customer insight Improving access to services Looking to the future: Satisfied Customers Removing barriers to providing an integrated customer experience Stephen Holt OBE, Director of Change Management, Department for Work and Pensions (CONFIRMED)
12:20	Implementing a ‘Total Rewards’ System More than just pay: Implementing a ‘Total Rewards’ system Engaging with employees to understand their needs and communicate value of benefits Maintaining focus on customer service: Providing choice to employees that fits within the ethos of the public sector Ensuring the aims of your pay and benefits systems align with your corporate objectives Improve employee commitment and engagement Improve employee retention. Reinforce organisational values and culture Hannah Boardman, Senior Policy Adviser, Public Sector Workforce Reform, Cabinet Office (CONFIRMED)
12:40	Questions and Answers Session
12:50	Lunch and Networking
	Afternoon Chair: Tony Richmond, Policy Adviser on Skills, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CONFIRMED)
13:50	Afternoon Keynote: Investing in our Future: Promoting Innovation in the Workplace Strengthening the skills in the talent pool used for recruitment by working closely with the higher and further education sectors Identify standards for all grades drawing on national occupational standards and developing new standards where necessary Link to and where appropriate develop qualifications that are transferable to the wider labour market Develop work around Apprenticeships Gill Hammond, Interim Chief Executive, Government Skills (CONFIRMED)
14.10	Apprenticeships in the Public Sector How do we ensure that the apprenticeships programme continues to expand and improve National Apprenticeship Service Apprenticeships targets across the public sector Creating a new Generation of skilled workers Richard Marsh, Business Development Director, Employer Services, National Apprenticeship Service (CONFIRMED)
14:30	Coffee and Networking
14:50	Delivering the Public Sector Skills Agenda: A Local Authority Approach Making sure your staff have the right skills to provide first class public services Ensuring the public sector lead the skills and workforce development agenda Doing more as a sector to upskill our workforce Demographic time-bomb of the public sector Promoting personal development through skills and training of all staff, particularly young people Improving skills development for local people and making the public sector the employer of choice Widening access and availability of apprenticeships Removing barriers that prevent the supply of appropriately skilled local people Mark Adams, Corporate Skills Pledge Champion, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham (CONFIRMED)
15.10	Making A Difference – Leadership In The Public Sector Supporting Leadership Development Strong leadership in uncertain times Fit for purpose public sector leaders Developing the talent already within the workforce Professor Barbara Dexter, Quality Enhancement Manager, University of Derby (CONFIRMED)
15:30	Questions and Answers Session
16:00	Coffee and Networking

*programme subject to change without notice

Exhibitor

JHP Training Ltd

Audience

Delegates will include heads and directors of health divisions, human resource heads and directors, health and safety teams, absence managers, welfare and well-being teams, risk managers, heads of training, heads of operations, occupational health managers, contact centre managers, heads of finance, heads of inclusion, heads of coaching, apprenticeship programme directors, employee engagement directors and be drawn from central government, local authorities, police, health authorities, and education.

Skills

Thursday March 25th 2010, Grand Connaught Rooms - London, 09:15 - 16:00

Public Sector Skills: Creating a 21st Century Workforce

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