The Energy & Efficiency Industrial Partnership Employer-led Assessment

1. The Energy & Efficiency Industrial PartnershipEmployer-led Assessment Barry Brooks Strategic Adviser barry.brooks@euskills.co.uk

2. The policy landscape Government’s Skills Policies all focus on employer-leadership : Employer Ownership of Workforce Skills Pilots Apprenticeship Trailblazers Gatsby

3. Which Sectors are involved? • Energy Supply/ Efficiency • including gas, power, energy assessment and installation, housing • Energy Production/ Distribution/ Transmission • including gas, power and renewables • Environmental Sustainability • including water, waste management and recycling

4. Industrial Partnership Council Board Accountable for shaping the Partnership’s overarching strategy and objectives in the context of skills, sustainability and other issues facing the Partnership’s sectors.

5. “Together we will take a radical new approach to recruitment and skills. The Partnership will set the agenda and pioneer new approaches to training development, delivery and assessment that will yield the skills the sector needs. By investing in talent the Partnership intends not only to solve its skills shortages, but also to create jobs and help the whole economy”. Energy and Efficiency Industrial Partnership

6. EEIP’s focus and scope

7. Overview of the programme Employer Ownership Pilot Attract Develop Assure Sector Attractiveness Youth Entrant Programmes Independent Quality Board Flexible Apprenticeships - Trailblazers Quality Framework and Approval process Recruitment Experienced Talent – up-skilling, re-skilling and leadership Independent Assessment Diversity, Youth, Experienced, Leadership Job Creation and Talent Retention Pool for the Industry

8. The Partnership’s commitments • Whilst the sector faces large skills challenges we are collectively addressing these by working together • Our priorities include: • Simplifying a complex system • Working together for a better future • Meeting business needs • Doing the right thing • Our measures focus activity on: • What we are doing. • How we are doing it. • Are we making the difference needed?

9. Apprentice • Government requirements • Job/employer requirements • Professional Body requirements • Apprentice requirements EEIP - a workforce-wide approach to skills • New • Entrant • Government requirements • Employer requirements • Professional Body requirements • Entrant requirements • Improver • Sector requirements • Employer requirements • Professional Body Requirements • Employee requirements Talent Pool

10. An occupation title that secures universal understanding and authenticity. Blue-print for the new NOS • Occupation Title • A brief overview of the occupation that specifies the observable performance of a competent and effective practitioner. • Occupation Definition • The core functions of a competent and effective practitioner. • Occupation Description • The essential competencies required by a practitioner to undertake the core functions, as well as, where appropriate, what enhanced performance looks like. • Occupation Knowledge & Skills • The qualities that an individual must consistently demonstrate to be recognised as an expert practitioner. • Occupation Attitudes & Behaviours

11. In the real world of work... Trade Tests Authorisation Levels

12. Enhanced performance through: • Skills and Knowledge • Attitudes • Behaviours Differentiating Performance Distinction: Superlative (Best) Performance Merit: Comparative(Better) Performance Performance recognised by authorisation levels Pass: Positive (Good) Performance Competent: Cognitive, Functional, Methodological, Personal Industry-led amplification & exemplification

13. Industry-led assessment • Knowledge: • Factual • Theoretical • Skills: • Cognitive • Practical • Behaviours: • Ethical • Interpersonal Autonomy: Authorisation levels Learning Outcomes: Competency accord Competence: Trade tests Assessment Principles and associated sector tolerances

14. Continuum for Independent Assessment Timing and nature of on-programme assessment potentially employer and/or sector specific such as current trade tests End of programme synoptic assessment: Enhanced Trade tests; Authorisation interviews; knowledge tests 25%-30% On-programme assessment + synoptic assessment = competence

15. From employer assessment to an employer-led assessment system • Authentic assessment needs to be valid, reliable, manageable (internal assurance), and • When the public purse contributes there needs to be general public assurance and confidence around: • Rigour • Comparability across assessment decisions and outcomes • Comparable over time (so standards of competence remain consistent) • Ofqual manages this for the supply-driven model of VET • Our approach is to secure a demand-led (employer-led) model.

16. Characteristics of industry-led assessment Formative & Summative Integrity Credibility Productivity & Quality

17. Why are Energy and Utilities employers excited by independent assessment? • ‘Own’ assessment mechanisms, processes and procedures • Streamline assessment of apprenticeships by using trusted industry practice as ‘The’ practice (Trade Tests, Authorisations) • ‘Own’ occupational standards by sharing IPR through employer-leadership • Allow qualification market place to develop around customer service and quality of resources and support not assessment and quality assurance • Strip out duplication and unnecessary service provision (and associated cost) around assessment

18. What will employer-led independent assessment look like? • Develop and ‘own’ occupational standards for employers and the sector • Provide assurance around employer assessment for businesses of all sizes • Ensure consistency and comparability in assessment practice across and between employers • Ensure standards of competence are maintained over time • Provide public assurance of value and impact of public investment • Establish a talent pool of competent workers for both asset owners and their supply chains

19. Established industry assessment practices

20. The Quality Assurance Register Provider Approval Assessor and Affiliate Training & Approval Quality assurance, audit and control Standardisation across and between employment settings & standardisation across and between assessor decisions Collection of data and reporting on performance to include benchmarking & consistency across & between audiences & constituencies in different contexts and settings

21. Establishing reliable independent assessment Approaches to assessment developed and based on established custom and practice within and across the sector with a focus on establishing comparability and consistency Employer A’s Assessment Approach Employer B’s Assessment Approach Employer C’s Assessment Approach Employer D’s Assessment Approach Robust and consistent application of the assessment approaches across the sector including the supply chain All successful candidates registered on the EUSR together with agreed levels of authorisation for specified roles within and across different employers

22. Assessment Through Peer Review Experts from Employer A Experts from Employer B Experts from Employer C Sector Experts: Assessors; Verifiers; External Verifiers Assessing Employees from Employer A Assessing Employees from Employer B Assessing Employees from Employer C

23. The EEIP’s independent assessment • Increased authenticity and validity in assessment • Streamlined and more efficient and effective learning and assessment • Increase impact and ROI for employers, employees and tax-payers • Better quality of service from providers (customer service and resources focused) • Ensure employer leadership in standards, assessment and quality assurance • Workforce that is better trained and more flexible

24. A radical approach to workforce skills The EEIP is committed to employer ownership for skills development: • For the stock of their existing workforce • For the flow of young people into their workforce The EEIP recognises that employer ownership is not without its challenges: • This is paradigm shift from supply-driven to demand-led • There are many established vested interests in established positions • Employers do not have a tradition of speaking with one voice • Competition rather than collaboration has been the tradition. By investing in talent the Partnership intends not only to solve its skills shortages, but also to create jobs and help the whole economy

25. The Energy & Efficiency Industrial PartnershipEmployer-led Assessment Barry Brooks Strategic Adviser barry.brooks@euskills.co.uk