Workforce Development Snippets is an e-bulletin from the National Council

for Voluntary Youth Services, bringing you brief ‘snippets’ of news about
policy, research, events, practice and resources. This e-bulletin will be of
interest to workers responsible for upskilling staff & volunteers in the
voluntary and community youth sector e.g. training and volunteer managers,
safeguarding officers, infrastructure workers.

Workforce development work from April 2011 and the Institute for
Youth Work
Catalyst is a consortium of four organisations (led by NCVYS in partnership
with the National Youth Agency, the Young Foundation and the Social
Enterprise Coalition), working with the Department for Education as the
strategic partner for young people. Workforce development is one strand of
the consortium’s work and a work plan for this activity is still in development
and subject to approval from the Department. We will let the sector know of
our plans and involve them as much as possible in developments.

As part of the Catalyst’s workforce development strand, there will be an

opportunity to explore the possibilities for developing an Institute for Youth
Work. This opportunity has been discussed in the sector for a number of
years and would be intended to provide a strong voice for the sector and
those individuals within it. Early discussions between the Catalyst consortium
and the sector have concluded that the plan for an Institute would require it
to work in harmony with existing structures and bodies, and serve to secure
a coherent framework for a wide range of practitioners, enabling them to
contribute to the setting of standards for the sector. The establishment of an
Institute for Youth Work would develop much needed infrastructure at a time
when other structures and environment are rapidly changing or being
dismantled.

Young People’s Workforce Reform Programme

The Children’s Workforce Development Council has published Sharing
Success - the journey and achievements of the young people’s
workforce reform programme after completion of the three year
programme at the end of March 2011.
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/assets/0001/2399/Sharing_Success.pdf

1
Awards for All England (Big Lottery Fund)
This is a simple small grants scheme available to voluntary and community organisations making
awards of between £300 and £10,000. The grant could be used to pay for training and one of the
project outcomes is ‘People have better chances in life - with better access to training and
development to improve their life skills’. For more information
http://www.awardsforall.org.uk/england/summary.html

Grant - enhancing capacity in the health, social care volunteering field

As advised by NCVYS member CLINKS: The Department of Health's Health and Social Care
Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) second local grant scheme is now open to applications. HSCVF provides
a combination of grant funding and support to local Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise
(VCSE) organisations. Up to £50,000 is available for 2 or 3 year projects. Find out more and apply
before the 25 May 2011 deadline at http://www.volunteeringfund.com/node/18

Youth in the world

The EU Youth in the World programme concerns cooperation in the youth field, in particular the
exchange of good practice with partner countries from other parts of the world. It encourages
exchanges and training of young people and youth workers, partnerships and networks of youth
organisations. Financial assistance may not be granted for more than 80% of a project's total eligible
expenses, and the maximum grant may not exceed €100,000 per project. The 2011 Call for
Proposals has a deadline of 6 May 2011.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:071:0019:0022:EN:PDF

Civil servant volunteers – could your organisation benefit?

The Cabinet Office has set out the next stages in developing the Civic Service. The Civic Service aims
to encourage even more civil servants to volunteer and to provide them with opportunities to use their
skills to support civil society organisations. Permanent secretaries and senior civil servants will be
asked to encourage their staff to volunteer as part of the objective setting about to take place for the
next year. All other civil servants will be encouraged to volunteer as a means of broadening their
knowledge and developing skills. If your organisation is interested in being involved, email
civicservice@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk.
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/news/next-steps-turning-civil-service-%E2%80%98civic-
service%E2%80%99

Collation of volunteer management resources

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has produced a spreadsheet of volunteering
resources to share practice and signpost to materials relating to effective volunteer management.
Check this out and other useful information on their volunteering web pages at >>
http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/third-sector/volunteering/volunteering-useful-links

2
Guardian Jobs – free advertising for volunteering roles
As part of their continuing support of the voluntary sector, Guardian Jobs is offering free advertising for
a variety of volunteering roles across guardianjobs.co.uk. If you would like to advertise your
volunteering vacancies on the site, contact 020 3353 3400, email sales@guardian.co.uk or visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/advertising/free-volunteering-listings?&CMP=EMCJOBEML3862.

New youth work apprenticeship frameworks

The Learning and Skills Improvement Service has published the new youth work apprenticeship
frameworks at levels 2 & 3. NCVYS submitted research reports and issues about the previous youth
work apprenticeship collated since its focus group with the NYA in 2007, when it called for the
apprenticeship framework to be reviewed and updated. NCVYS hopes that the new framework will now
attract a bigger take-up from employers in the sector. It provides an opportunity to tap into funding for
training costs to support apprentices to enter a career in youth work. http://www.lluk.org/standards-
and-qualifications/apprenticeships/new-sasew-youth-work-apprenticeships/.

If you require help in implementing apprenticeships in your organisation, please contact Fair Train, the
Group Training Association for the voluntary sector, that encourages employers to offer apprenticeships
by helping them to access and manage training for apprentices.
http://www.fairtrain.org/about_fair_train/

Diversity in Apprenticeships
As advised by NCVYS member KIDS: Diversity in Apprenticeships is a new initiative designed to
provide disabled young people with information, advice and support to join an apprenticeship
programme. The project is being run by the charity Skill, the National Bureau for Students with
Disabilities, Remploy and The National Apprenticeship Service. The project aims to place 350 disabled
young people across the country into an Apprenticeship by March 2012.
For more information contact Skill Tel: 0800 328 5050 or Email: info@skill.org.uk

BME young people and apprenticeships

NCVYS member Rathbone has launched a drive to get more black and minority ethnic (BME) young
people into apprenticeships. The charity is driving a push for recruitment after statistics showed that
just nine per cent of apprentices in England come from BME backgrounds. The aim is to recruit 300
new apprentices over the next 18 months by providing targeted information on work-based training to
specific ethnic groups. For more information >>
http://www.rathboneuk.org/newsarticle.aspx?ID=609

Are you a NCVYS member? Book now to attend our next Leadership Masterclass
Our second leadership masterclass will take place on May 24 2011 and will be led by renowned social
entrepreneur Tim Smit, Founder and Chief Executive of the Eden Project in Cornwall. Our masterclass
events (offered free of charge), are designed to grow the leadership skills of senior managers in our
member network. http://www.ncvys.org.uk/leadershipmasterclasses.html

3
CRB web site
On 31 March 2011 the content of the CRB website migrated to the following government
websites: www.direct.gov.uk/crb - information and access to services for CRB applicants and
the general public; www.businesslink.gov.uk/crb - information for registered bodies and other
associated businesses and organisations using the CRB service; www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crb/ -
corporate information and publications for particular interest groups and partners.

Skills Development Framework

The Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has launched the second edition of the
Skills Development Framework which sets out the skills, knowledge and understanding required to
work as part of a joined up workforce (integrated working). In this edition, the sector shared their
views on the usefulness of the framework, and case studies have been provided illustrating
successful implementation of the SDF and links to QCF level descriptors. NCVYS has been involved
in the development of this framework. http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/young-peoples-
workforce/commonplatform/sdf

National Skills Networks

Skills-Third Sector (S-TS) continues work to set up National Skills Networks in four priority areas:
managing volunteers, governance and leadership, skills for business and measuring effectiveness
and impact. At this initial stage S-TS have set up a forum at http://s3s.knowhownonprofit.org to
prompt feedback on how best to host them. You can join existing discussions around the Networks or
explore other areas of discussion relating to development in learning and skills in the sector.

The Skills Networks will use a collaborative approach, design online and offline solutions for
improving access to quality learning for charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations.
Tools and materials will be accessed through a web platform and supported by offline networks,
events, materials and training. If you would like more information email info@skills-
thirdsector.org.uk.

Effective practice in implementing the QCF

Derbyshire Learning and Development Consortium is working on a report for the Learning and Skills
Improvement Service highlighting effective practice in implementing the Qualifications and Credit
Framework (QCF) in voluntary and community sector organisations. They are collecting examples
from voluntary and community sector organisations that may be collaborating with other providers, or
have devised new working methods to make the most of the opportunities the QCF offers. If you can
contribute please email lisa.vernon@consortium.org.uk.

4
Further education research report
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published Measuring the Economic Impact
of Further Education. The report sets out a model designed to measure the economic value of the
government-funded qualifications provided by the post-19 further education sector - including
colleges, private training providers, and voluntary and charity sector providers. It says that further
education participants generate an additional £75 billion for the economy over their lifetimes, with
apprenticeships generating around £40 for each £1 of government investment.
http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/m/11-816-measuring-
economic-impact-further-education

Voluntary sector employment

The Third Sector Research Centre and NCVO in partnership with Skills -Third Sector has published
the latest Labour Force Survey figures for the fourth quarter of 2010. It found that numbers of paid
staff and average hourly pay have failed to recover since the last quarter, despite increased
emphasis on the Government's Big Society. The findings come as part of an ongoing study being
conducted by these three bodies into overall voluntary sector workforce trends. The next two
quarters will be the real test of the state of the sector as they include data from the end of the
financial year 2010/11. http://www.skills-
thirdsector.org.uk/news_media/news/charity_staff_numbers_flatline/

Common Assessment Framework (CAF)

Of interest to any voluntary and community organisation involved in the CAF process locally. The
Local Authority Research Consortium (LARC) has published its research report Early intervention,
using the CAF process, and its cost effectiveness. The report explores the extent to which the
CAF process itself is cost effective, both in enabling better early intervention with a consequent
reduction in the demand for more costly specialist services. During 2010, the 21 participating local
authorities undertook and documented local research projects in order to answer this question. Key
findings include that CAFs are leading to better outcomes for children and young people and is cost
effective. http://bit.ly/elTDPa

Are you a faith-based youth worker?

Nigel Pimlott from NCVYS member the Frontier Youth Trust is asking for a few minutes of any faith-
based youth workers’ time to complete this questionnaire >> http://www.kwiksurveys.com/online-
survey.php?surveyID=IJIJGK_4ef1e494. Nigel is looking to discover the scope, impact and
understanding of faith-based youth work. Specifically, he is hoping to explore the relationship
between faith-based work, community cohesion and the Big Society.
This bulletin is prepared by the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services. Please contact
Nichola Brown at NCVYS for more details - email nichola@ncvys.org.uk
If you forward the bulletin to other people or use information from it in your own publications,
please make sure that NCVYS is credited.
Disclaimer
NCVYS is not responsible for the contents or reliabili ty of linked websites provided in this
bulletin and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. We cannot
guarantee that these web links will work all of the time and we have no control over availability
of the linked pages.
The bulletin reader assumes full responsibility for using the information provided in this bulletin,
and neither NCVYS nor any of its employees is responsible or liable for any claim, loss or
damage resulting from the use of this 5information.