Most of the education and training providers featured in the project are affiliated with, and have used the services provided by, the organisations listed here. Each section contains a brief description of the facilities, information and support supplied by each of these education and training development agencies.

This section is supported by links and logos which will navigate you to official websites, when clicked, or when not applicable to another suitable site.

 

 

Our Vision
We are working for an inclusive society in which learning is understood, valued and accessible to everyone as of right.

Our Mission
We aim to stimulate learning that will sustain people for life.

Where We Came From
We started life in 1995 as an RSA (the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce) initiative and became an independent charity in November 1997. We were created with the sole purpose of championing, as our name suggests, the cause for lifelong learning.

How we work with partners
In most cases the Campaign is a catalyst or partner in helping to effect change. We work with a variety of partners from the TUC and Investors in People UK to local community action groups and businesses. We have supported pioneering work in schools and workplaces. Our partnerships with Learning and Skills Councils, local authorities, Regional Development Agencies and Regional Arts Boards have helped us tailor our work to meet both regional and local needs.

Looking Forward
During our first four years we have identified, and contributed to, critical areas that we can leverage to increase participation in learning. We want to build on that work over the next few years by:

• Discovering, and sharing, new knowledge about stimulating demand for learning
• Creating new opportunities for, and awareness of, informal learning
• Providing access to resources which empower learners
• Extending the Campaign's influence and presence as a powerful advocate for learning
• Promoting learning and social inclusion

 

It’s time for a change…..So why go on for more of the same?

Finally you have come to a time in your life when you can choose exactly what is right for you. It’s brilliant, because there are so many options to choose from. This site contains information and advice that could point you in the right direction and help you to make the right choice for you…

First things first. Don’t panic if you don’t know what you want to do after you’ve finished your GCSE”s. There are so many different options, one of them is bound to be the right one for you.

If the cap fits…wear it!

Think about what you would like to be doing in a couple of years from now? Will you be working in a kitchen as a trainee chef? On a hospital ward caring for patients? Working with Animals?….Go on… let your imagination run wild. By making the right choice now, you’ll be surprised where you will see yourself in the not too distant future!!

 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)is one of the UK's leading independent employers' organisation.

The Confederation of British Industry was founded in 1965. It now calls itself the CBI, the Voice of Business.

It is a non-profit making, non-party political organisation, funded by its member companies which employ about four million people between them.

But its history goes back to the Federation of British Industries founded earlier in this century to negotiate with government on behalf of business.

High profile

The CBI has the highest profile of the UK's various organisations representing the business community.

Part of the reason for that is that its membership includes most of the UK's largest businesses, which also have a tradition of supplying a high profile president.

The most closely comparable organisation is the British Chambers of Commerce, which tends to have a stronger voice within regions than it does nationally, and tends to represent small and medium sized companies.

By contrast the CBI's membership and agenda means that it is more influential nationally than it is on a local or regional scale.

The CBI's stated aim is "to help create and sustain the conditions in which businesses in the UK can compete and prosper".

It seeks to do this by using its membership power to lobby on behalf of business to ensure their interests are considered in the formulation of government policies and laws, both nationally and internationally.

Union battles

The CBI also fulfils a quite separate role as a forum for members to exchange views, skills and experience, and make new contacts.

In the past the CBI's battles with the union organisation, the TUC, reflected the polarisation of the UK political system.

The TUC supported the Labour Party while the CBI was closely associated with the Conservative Party.

As the political landscape has changed, that position has modified, with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown setting out in the mid-1990s to win the support of business.

Mr Blair in 1999 became the first serving prime minister to address a CBI conference.

But a long list of Cabinet level politicians have addressed the annual event, seen as a key opportunity for MPs to prove their credentials to, and win support from, the important business lobby.

Its top brass

The CBI's director general has always been an influential figure, being occupied in the past by such figures as the current head of the Financial Services Authority, Howard Davies.

The confederation's director general, Digby Jones, has, during his three years in the post, stressed issues including the development of the nation's transport system, skills training and take-up of technology.

He also toned down the CBI's strongly pro-euro stance, followed by his predecessor Adair Turner, reflecting the split in the business community, as elsewhere in Britain, over Europe's single currency.

 

 

Connexions Service

Connexions is for you if you are 13-19, living in England and wanting advice on getting to where you want to be in life. It also provides support up to the age of 25 for young people who have learning difficulties or disabilities (or both).

Connexions is a modern public service and young people are actively involved in its design and delivery.

The service is managed locally by Connexions Partnerships that bring together all the key youth support services.

The Connexions Card

The Connexions Card is available free to all 16-19 year olds in England. It allows you to collect reward points for learning, work-based training and voluntary activities. Points can be exchanged for discounted and free goods, including some exclusive 'money can't buy' experiences.

You can also use the Card for on-the-spot discounts and special offers from outlets displaying the Connexions Card window sticker. Find out more by visiting their website www.connexionscard.com.

Connexions Partnerships

There are 47 Connexions Partnerships throughout the country. To find your local partnership click on Local Services under About Connexions on any page in the site.

Personal Advisers

Connexions Personal Advisers work with young people in Connexions Partnerships.

They can give you information, advice and practical help with all sort of things that might be affecting you at school, college, work or in your personal or family life.

They can also refer you to specialist support if it is needed.

Connexions Direct

Connexions Direct is part of Connexions - providing high quality information, advice and support for young people.

 

 

The Department for Education and Skills was established with the purpose of creating opportunity, releasing potential and achieving excellence for all.

Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners

The Department has published its five year strategy for children and learners. It is an ambitious strategy for the next five years and beyond. It seeks not only to address our historic weaknesses, but also to improve every aspect of what we do. It puts a clear focus on children, learners, parents and employers, not just in setting out what we want to offer, but in designing ways of doing it that promote personalisation and choice.

Download the document:

Word (417kb)
PDF (1.70mb)

Departmental Report 2005

The Department produces a report every year explaining what we do, how we spend public money and what we have achieved. It also details how we are organised, our partners and people we work with; our aim and objectives; and the policies and programmes that underpin delivery of our targets which make a valuable contribution both to the Education and Skills agenda and make a real difference to people's lives.

Download the document:

(Pdf 359kb)

 

Support for people of working age
For a new beginning with real opportunities Jobcentre Plus is the place to start.

Are you looking for work?

Jobcentre Plus can help you find the right kind of job: full time or part time, temporary or permanent. Find out more.

In some areas we offer a fully integrated work and benefit service. We offer:

• active help from personal advisers to find work to meet individual needs
• a more efficient and effective service for everyone who needs our help.

Jobcentre Plus will be introduced everywhere by 2006. If you live outside these areas your local Jobcentre or social security office, both of which are part of the Jobcentre Plus network, will be able to help. If you are looking for work or claiming benefit as unemployed, you should contact your local Jobcentre, for other benefits, including the Social Fund, you should contact your social security office.

About Jobcentre Plus
The service for people of working age

In some areas Jobcentre Plus offices are already offering a fully integrated work and benefit services. It will take several years to integrate the entire local office network of Jobcentres and social security offices fully. During this time, services will continue to be provided in local social security offices and Jobcentres, which will be part of the Jobcentre Plus network. Jobcentre Plus will be introduced everywhere by 2006.

To find out if you live in one of the areas already offering a work focus for everyone of working age, who is claiming benefit see the Jobcentre Plus offices leaflet for the number of your nearest office. To make a claim to benefit contact us by phone. Calls are charged at local rates.

When you call Jobcentre Plus in these areas you will be asked if you want to claim benefit and if you think you are ready to look for work. If you are looking for work you will be given details of local vacancies for which you are suitable.

The person you speak to will take your personal details and arrange for you to meet a personal adviser.

• You will be sent benefit claim forms.
• You may be asked to bring some documents to prove your identity.
• Most customers will need to have a meeting with a personal adviser at Jobcentre Plus.

 

 

At learndirect you can find:

• hundreds of specially created online courses in computers, office skills and self development, designed so that you can learn at a time, place and pace to suit your needs.
• information on our network of over 2,000 learndirect centres to help you with your local learning needs
• impartial information and advice on over 900,000 courses from providers throughout the UK
• courses and services designed to help you, your business or your employees

learndirect - see what you can achieve...

learndirect has been developed by Ufi (University for industry) with a remit from government to provide high quality post-16 learning which:

• Reaches those with few or no skills and qualifications who are unlikely to participate in traditional forms of learning;
• Equips people with the skills they need for employability, thereby strengthening the skills of the workforce and increasing productivity;
• Is delivered innovatively through the use of new technologies.

To achieve this, Ufi aims to inspire existing learners to develop their skills further, win over new and excluded learners and transform the accessibility of learning in everyday life and work.

learndirect operates a network of more than 2,000 online learning centres in England , Wales and Northern Ireland providing access to a range of e-learning opportunities. learndirect's flexible learning is available to individual adults wanting to improve existing skills or to learn new ones, and to employers looking for an innovative way to develop the skills of their workforce. Since its launch in 2000 1.3 million learners have enrolled on almost three million learndirect courses. learndirect offers more than 550 different courses covering a range of subjects, including management, IT, Skills for Life and languages, at all levels. More than three quarters of the courses are available online allowing people to learn wherever they have access to the internet - at home, at work or at a learndirect centre. To enquire about learndirect courses call the helpline on 0800 101 901.

Ufi also runs a government funded national learning advice service which offers impartial information, advice and guidance, either over the phone or via its website, on more than 700,000 courses from hundreds of providers nationwide. Since its launch in 1998 it has taken more than six million calls and there have been more than 12 million hits on the website.

Widening participation

Widening participation in learning and literacy in IT is a priority for Ufi, which has an impact on both a social and economic level. The network of more than 8,000 learndirect and UK online centres is proving successful in reaching out to new and excluded learners. Through learndirect, Ufi helps individuals develop both personally and professionally, gaining new skills, new qualifications and new confidence.

Research shows that the flexibility of e-learning and the accessibility of centres encourages people who wouldn't participate in traditional forms of education that learning can be for them. More than 60 per cent of the 1.3 million learndirect learners to date have not done any learning for at least three years before enrolling on their first course. Making that first step as easy as possible is key in starting a successful and productive learner journey.

Centres are based on high streets, in sports and community centres, libraries, churches and even at tourist attractions. Facilities range from crèches, cafés, parking and free internet access, often with weekend and evening opening hours. They are designed to help people fit learning into their lives and around their everyday work, family and social commitments.

Courses too are deliberately flexible, and e-learning often appeals to people because of the independence and autonomy it offers. You learn as much as you want when you want to learn it, at a pace which suits you. There are no fixed classes, traditional classrooms or teachers, but online or centre-based support is always available when you need it.

Skills for Life

There are an estimated 17.8 million people in the UK with literacy and numeracy skills below Level 2, equivalent to a A*-C grade at GCSE. The impact on people's everyday lives of a literacy, numeracy or language difficulty can be enormous. Many of these people need to improve their skills to manage everyday tasks, such as helping children with homework, following a recipe, dealing with household accounts or responding to official correspondence.

Literacy and numeracy problems also affect people at work, and hinder not only individuals' progress but business' efficiency and productivity. Ufi works with both individuals and employers to identify and address skills gaps and help both to fulfil their potential

 

 

THE CENTRE FOR THE WIDER BENEFITS OF LEARNING (WBL) was established by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in 1999 to investigate the full range of benefits that learning brings both to the individual learner and society as a whole. Our two main objectives are:

• To produce and apply models for measuring and analysing the contribution that learning makes to wide ranging social and private goals.
• To devise and apply improved methods for measuring the value of various forms of learning, such as community-based adult learning, where we do not necessarily find standard outcomes such as formal qualifications.

Background on Learning Partnerships

A network of 104 (originally 101) Learning Partnerships were set up across the country in early 1999 to promote a new culture of provider collaboration across sectors (schools, FE, work-based learning and adult and community learning) and to rationalise the plethora of existing local partnership arrangements covering post-16 learning. They are non-statutory, voluntary groupings of local learning providers (ranging from voluntary sector to FE/HEIs) and others such as local government, Connexions/Careers Service, trade unions, employers and faith groups.

The core roles for Learning Partnerships are:

• promoting provider collaboration in support of lifelong learning; and
• maximising the contribution of learning to local regeneration.

Learning Partnerships are also involved in follow-up to Area Inspections, 14-19 proposals and a range of initiatives around Basic Skills, workforce development, ICT and progression into HE. Contributing increasingly to local strategies for regeneration and many have become the 'learning arm' of the Local Strategic Partnerships.

During the current year, £9.8 million of funding is being channelled through the LSC and forms part of the LSC Local Intervention and Development Fund. The LSC's Chief Executive has given a commitment for the continuity of funding for all Learning Partnerships for 2003-4.

The LSC has recently published 'Learning Partnership Operational Guidance for local Learning and Skills Councils 2004-05' which sets out the policy, planning and budgeting arrangements for 2004-05 for Learning Partnerships.

The guidance reflects the recent consultation carried out by the LSC, using research from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) and the responses of individuals and organisations. The background and outcomes of the Review are included in the Guidance.

 

 

The LSC exists to make England better skilled and more competitive. We have a single goal: to improve the skills of England's young people and adults to make sure we have a workforce that is of world-class standards.

We are responsible for planning and funding high-quality vocational education and training for everyone. Our vision is that by 2010, young people and adults in England have the knowledge and skills matching the best in the world and are part of a fiercely competitive workforce.

 

 

Apprenticeships give you the chance to earn while you learn.

But it’s not for everyone. First you’ll need to decide which career suits you best. You’ll then need to decide whether you can juggle working for an employer one day, then studying for a qualification at a college (for example) the next.

If you have the determination to do well in the world of work, and you're not afraid to commit yourself to long term training and studying (one to five years!), then an Apprenticeship could be for you.

Apprenticeships are high quality, work-based training programmes for young people who want to develop their prospects and career.

When you decide to take up an Apprenticeship, you will:

• earn real wages
• gain new qualifications
• gain new knowledge and Key Skills

Everyone’s doing them
Apprenticeships are becoming more and more popular. Last year, there were more than 255,000 young people in England training in over 150 different types of Apprenticeship.

There’s a high demand for many of the Apprenticeships on offer, so be aware that there can be a lot of competition to get a place.

 

 

The Open University (OU) is the United Kingdom's only university dedicated to distance learning.

For most courses there are no previous qualifications required to study, you have to be aged 18 when your course starts but there is no upper age limit.

We have around 150,000 undergraduate and more than 30,000 postgraduate students. 10,000 of our students have disabilities. The Open University's style of teaching is called supported open learning.

Nearly all students are studying part-time. About 70 per cent of undergraduate students are in full-time employment. More than 50,000 students are sponsored by their employers for their studies.

11,000 people are currently studying for OU Higher Degrees.

Most OU courses are available throughout Europe. Some of them are available in many other parts of the world. More than 25,000 OU students live outside the UK.

The University itself is ranked among the top UK universities for the quality of its teaching.

A third of our UK undergraduate students have entry qualifications lower than those normally demanded by other UK universities.

History of the OU

The Open University was the world's first successful distance teaching university.

Born in the 1960s, the 'White Heat of Technology' era, the Open University was founded on the belief that communications technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend campus universities.

 

 

The Small Business Service is instrumental in taking forward the Government Action Plan for Small Business. The plan is structured around seven strategic themes - each one of which has a range of actions and initiatives aimed at achieving the Government's small business objectives. Details of most of those initiatives are available from their website. You can also access a copy of the entire Action Plan from this site.

The Small Business Service (SBS) is an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. We have a simple vision - we want the UK to be the best place in the world to start and grow a business. We are working with the rest of government to deliver this vision.

We aim to:

• Champion a culture that prizes and fosters enterprise, and help businesses start and develop as their capabilities grow.
• Make sure that government support services (including access to finance) are accessible, relevant and of high quality.
• Make special efforts to release the enterprise of ethnic minority groups, women entrepreneurs and others who have such potential to contribute to UK business.

Our Chief Executive is Martin Wyn Griffith, the former CEO of Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire. He works closely The Rt Hon Alun Michael, Minister for Industry and the Regions.

The SBS Strategy Board advises Ministers on our targets and performance and supports the Executive Team of the SBS.

The Small Business Council (SBC) is a Non-Departmental Public Body. It advises on the concerns of small businesses and reports on the effects that government policy has on them.