People1st, the sector skills council with responsibility for the Events Sector, are seeking the industry's involvement in relation to their work on skills and qualifications in our sector.
Do you think that qualifications don’t meet your needs? - here’s your chance to make them relevant for your business! Please read on...
People1st has over the past two years spoken to over 5,000 employers across the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector. They have identified that sector employers:
- Are confused about the number of qualifications available
- Believe that most of the qualifications are not relevant to their needs
- Are looking for shorter, bite-sized qualifications and believe that current qualifications are often too long
It’s not surprising then that whilst two thirds of employers are training, only three percent of training is resulting in a formal qualification. The fact that so few employers are using recognised qualifications also explains why only five percent of sector employers have received any government funding to help with their training.
We have an opportunity to tackle this problem through a radical reform of qualifications that will ensure that sector qualifications:
- Meet employers’ needs
- Help promote clear development pathways
- Are clearly understood
- Are flexible to allow employers to build packages that meet their needs.
The Learning & Skills Council, who direct government funding, has promised to fund according to your needs but there is a caveat - the evidence must be robust - your involvement is therefore essential!
There must be a catch? No, there isn’t, but it will mean that you give up some of your time to ensure that you and your colleagues get the qualifications you are looking for. We have a very short window to put in place a clear plan for what the sector needs. Once that is done we need to leave well alone, to ensure the sector can get used to the new qualifications on offer and understand what each one can offer them.
We also have the opportunity to overhaul the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the Events Industry. This hasn’t been done for nearly a decade and the industry has developed significantly since then. The NOS are benchmarks of good practice for staff in the industry and can be used to underpin a variety of qualifications and education/training programmes. We need your help to ensure that the NOS and qualifications are accurate and fit-for-purpose.
What can you do to help? Talk to EIA and register your interest in taking part in a workshop run by People 1st on 19 February 2008 (venue tbc).
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER or complete this questionnaire and fax it back to 0870 060 2551 FAO Sophia Nicola.
This is a rare opportunity to ensure that you get the qualifications you need. Don’t expect other employers to represent your views. If you don’t give your views you can’t complain when the qualifications you need or like are not available to you.
Please help us help you!
For more information please visit www.people1st.co.uk/qualificationreform , or contact Chris Skeith, EIA Project Director, chris.skeith@eventsindustryalliance.com
