Overview and context of ITQ

Dr Genny Dixon, e-skills UK

Overview and context of ITQ

• Sector Skills Agreement – the context

• LSC/QCA/e-skills UK agreement

• e-skills Passport developments

IT workforce = 1.2 million

Business Managers = 4 million

IT Insights – e-skills UK and Gartner

Nov 2004, 3200 responses

Industry Trends – IT Insights

IT users = 20 million

7 million

Over ¼ of companies report skills gaps for their users

2m people lack the IT user skills for their current jobs

7.6m individuals need to improve their IT skills in next 3 years

90% of new jobs demand IT user skills at increasing levels of sophistication

8m have received no training

IT user qualifications

• More than 600 IT User qualifications

• 750,000 IT courses

• Only 54% of qualifications started are completed (350,000 “lost” and learning not carried forward)

The context…

• Employers’ main purpose is providing goods and services, not education or training

• Leitch says– Present progress on skills merely maintains our

international position – Existing skills qualifications are not sufficiently ‘owned’ by

employers

• LSDA report on skills says – Employers prefer informal learning that fits around shift

patterns– Employees often have negative views of education, fear

being stigmatised; and are unaware of opportunities

ITQ represents

• An employer / sector led qualification• A flexible framework to suit employers and

employees• A shared partnership priority for LSC/e-

skills/QCA• The flagship SSA commitment • The flagship FfA

LSC vision

• Increase investment in the right skills• Increase the pool of skilled employees• Increase supply side capacity to match

Our intention is to use ITQ to successfully deliver all of our commitments to the ICT skills sector

ITQ – essential features

• Employer designed– 14 common computing techniques/units - skills– Bespoke unit – skills– Sector specific unit– Mandatory assessment - application

• 3 levels but “spiky profiles”– Individual can qualify with skills at various levels

• Customisable to job role/individual need– Employer/Training Provider decides ITQ profile

• Takes into account existing qualifications– ECDL, Clait, MOS, e-Quals etc…

• Modular “journey” – every bit of learning counts

Why ITQ matters

ITQ demonstrates a transferable skill, with greater breadth, yet of lower cost (to employers), than vendor qualifications

Kit Ruparel, Message Pad

LSC/QCA/e-skills UK agreement

3 January 2006

e-skills UK/LSC agreements

1. Align all funding to ITQ and CQs

2. Integrate e-skills Passport/ITQ

3. Run large-scale Capacity Building programme

– 750,000 individuals by 2008

1. Alignment of funding

• From September 2006, IT User qualifications will be aligned to the ITQ and those qualifications that contribute towards the ITQ.

• We intend to build on the current success of ITQ provision to ensure that from whatever starting point a learner embarks on an ITQ journey, every bit of learning will count and will be universally recognised.

• This alignment will require significant changes from everyone investing in skills.

• The LSC intends to support this by agreeing a plan to align funding behind this process and e-skills UK is working together with the QCA and Awarding Bodies to re-design qualifications to meet this need.

Future funding – first principles

1. Sector Qualifications Strategy– Requires ABs to re-design existing qualifications to match ITQ

units 100%

2. Shared responsibility for funding– Public contribution funds skills that deliver employability

• LSC funding aligned to ITQ from September 06• Key for Train to Gain and L2 entitlement

– Employer contribution assumed• Sustainable model

3. Funding from range of sources– Regional and learner priorities

Result: A coherent strategy

• All public funding on IT user qualifications is aligned to ITQ and the qualifications that contribute towards it

• ITQ framework reduces proliferation of qualifications

• Employers access skills improvement in a clear language

• Clear roadmap for learners

• Demand and supply inextricably linked

2. e-skills Passport/ITQ

• There is a need for a common mechanism to record learners' achievement through ITQ such as e-skills Passport, which will record progress and achievements on route and demonstrate progression.

• This will support the needs of employers and individuals to tailor the ITQ qualification around specific job roles and circumstances, and progress at a pace that meets employer and learner needs.

• To achieve this, e-skills UK, the QCA and the LSC will establish how to integrate the e-skills Passport with ITQ by March 2006.

A new ITQ delivery model

• All candidates register for the ITQ-integrated e-skills Passport– Current skills assessment– Existing qualifications recorded and verified– ITQ profiling tool = ITQ target set– Means to draw down funds – Passport No:– Progress and achievements recorded– Reports, reports, reports

3. Build capacity

• We will work together to increase the awareness of, demand for and capacity to deliver consistent success through ITQ. This means ensuring that our training provision is able to deliver ITQ, confident of what constitutes good practice in this new approach to IT User qualifications and that the qualification and model of delivery are fit for purpose.

• Within this, there is considerable demand from individuals and employers for bite sized 'just in time' learning.

• In 2006, as part of the preparation for implementation of the Framework for Achievement, we will pilot a unitisation funding methodology supporting this approach through ITQ, so that ITQ units can be individually funded, delivered and assessed.

LSC support

1. Planning and Purchasing – SSA commitment– Planning Guidance Priority – Aligning with other LSC provision e.g. Train to Gain

2. Qualifications Review– Support for SQS as guide to preferred qualifications

3. FfA trials– Progressing ULN and data tracking changes – Alignment with new funding proposals

4. Capacity Building– ITQ regional champions

Around the regions

• East Midlands Provider workshops– Senior Manager and Assessor

• West Midlands ITQ provider skillset– LLUK CPD module

• East of England– Unitisation of funding pilot

• Travel agents, school support staff, IKEA, Rentokil– Investigate education-based assessment

• North West– Train to Gain model

Creating Demand

• Employer events

• Marketing collateral– Leaflets, postcards– Case studies– ITQ website– e-skills Passport guides

e-skills Passport is changing…

… from 28 March 2006

e-skills Passport Office

• Super User role = Administrator• Pre-register users• Create customised registration form • Add own company logo• Add training, including ‘in house’ courses• Manage Teams of Users• View reports across organisation and

teams

The e-skills Passport User

Passport Control

Skills assessed against ITQ profile set by manager…

….or against all techniques

Qualifications verified against AB data…

www.itq.org.ukwww.e-skills.comwww.e-skillspassport.com

For more information:

genny.dixon@e-skills.com