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Scottish Government Consultation on the Further Education sector Dec 11
1. CMI submission to Scottish Government consultation:
“Putting learners at the centre: delivering our ambitions for post-16
education”
December 2011
Contact:
Jeff Lockhart
Chairman, CMI Scotland
jeff.lockhart@boxyellow.co.uk
Petra Wilton Philippa Tucker
Director, Policy & Research Public Affairs Manager
petra.wilton@managers.org.uk philippa.tucker@managers.org.uk
Tel: 0207 421 2708 Tel: 0207 421 2723
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2. Executive summary
The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is strongly supportive of the further education
(FE) sector and welcomes the Scottish Government’s proposals to allow all 16 year olds, and
a substantial number of 20-24 year olds, to access a further education, higher education or
training place. We believe that access to further education not only provides young people
with the chance to develop much-needed skills, but also encourages social mobility and helps
individuals develop the habit of learning throughout their career
We therefore welcome the Government’s ambition to remove barriers to FE provision,
especially in response to local demand and in collaboration with local and regional employers,
but would underline the importance of maintaining educational standards
We also welcome the Government’s emphasis on encouraging the FE and skills sectors to
develop skills which will lead to economic growth. Management and leadership skills are a
key component of good business performance. The UKCES’ “Ambition 2020” report stated
that “Leaders and managers are the key to successful business strategy and competitive
positioning.” Yet the UK has “a relatively long tail of managers who are not well qualified and
do not apply accepted management practices. Without improving UK leadership and
management, we will struggle to improve economic performance”.
We therefore welcome measures to link the FE sector with supporting Small and Medium
Sized Enterprises (SMEs), and fully support the expansion of apprenticeships, particularly
higher apprenticeships, which develop the skills that SMEs need in order to grow.
Management apprenticeships are an important way of enabling young people to develop their
management skills, and thus contribute to more productive organisations, and we would
welcome the opportunity to raise the profile of management apprenticeships in Scotland
CMI and other professional bodies have an important role to play in collaborating with the FE
sector and employers to ensure qualifications reflect employers’ needs, meet professional
standards, provide professional recognition and continuing professional development (CPD)
for learners. We support the Government’s aim of making learner journeys from FE to higher
education easier, and vocational qualifications more responsive to employer needs
We are keen for the FE sector to maintain its essential role in facilitating social mobility and
providing learners of all ages with the opportunity to gain more skills, particularly employability
skills
We fully support the principle that the FE sector should be “well led” and welcome this
emphasis on good leadership skills. Leadership and management skills are associated with
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higher performing schools and with good school management, and we welcome the Scottish
Government’s emphasis on developing the leadership and management skills of school
leaders across all age ranges
About CMI
The Chartered Management Institute is the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to
promoting the highest standards of management and leadership excellence. CMI sets the standard
that others follow.
We are very active in Scotland with 44 approved centres across the country delivering our
qualifications (including City of Edinburgh Council, Fife Council, City of Glasgow College, Dundee
College, the Scottish Police College, Edinburgh Napier University and the University of West of
Scotland).
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“Improving Leadership in Scottish Schools” (HMI Quality, Standards and Audit Division, 2000)
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3. We also work with a wide range of employers across Scotland, delivery leadership and management
development information and advice, including for the Forestry Commission, KCA Deutag, Morris and
Spottiswood, Visit Scotland and Dumfries & Galloway Council.
As a membership organisation, CMI has been providing forward-thinking advice and support to
individuals and businesses for more than 50 years, and continues to give managers and leaders, and
the organisations they work in, the tools they need to improve their performance and make an impact.
As well as equipping individuals with the skills, knowledge and experience to be excellent managers
and leaders, CMI’s products and services support the development of management and leadership
excellence across both public and private sector organisations.
Through in-depth research and policy surveys of its 90,000 individual members CMI maintains its
position as the premier authority on key management and leadership issues.
CMI has an extensive network of approved centres around the UK, which are authorised to deliver our
qualifications. To date there are 680 centres around the country, many of which are FE colleges. We
therefore offer our qualifications to a wide range of FE learners through a flexible system of credit
based learning units. We are also able to develop new qualifications in response to the needs of
employers, such as the Scottish Modern Apprenticeship in Management (Level 5) and the SCQF
Level 6 in First Line Management.
We also have a close relationship with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), via which all of our
qualifications are accredited for delivery in Scotland. CMI jointly certificates all SQA’s core
management qualifications based on HN and SVQ units.
Specific comments
We have responded to the issues raised in the consultation document and, where relevant, answered
specific questions as set out at the end of the document.
Flexible learner journeys
We welcome the Government’s emphasis on easing the learner’s journey through the FE and skills
system, and note that all CMI’s qualifications are available on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications
Framework (SCQF), which means that learners can take a flexible approach to learning by taking
short courses or building up credits which can be “banked” later, when they decide to take a higher
qualification. We support the Government’s aim that institutions should make better use of the SCQF.
It is essential that, particularly in the current economic climate, when the need to combine further
education and part-time work may be more pressing, young people are encouraged to explore flexible
ways of learning and engaging with the FE system.
Apprenticeship in Management and higher level apprenticeships
CMI is fully supportive of offering vocational apprenticeships as a way of developing the skills of
young people, particularly at a time when full-time jobs are in short supply. CMI can support
management qualifications at various levels, and which can be offered as part of an apprenticeship.
We also support the policy intention of promoting specific training opportunities via partnerships
between employers or specialist providers. We have just completed the management content for a
Level 5 Apprenticeship, which will open up access to skills development to a wider range of learners
than could traditionally access the higher education sector.
We would welcome the opportunity of highlighting apprenticeships in Scotland, so as to encourage
young people to develop their professional management skills before they take up a management
position, and thus avoid becoming “accidental managers” (ie those who are promoted to a
management position without any qualifications or training).
Widening access
In addition to evidence cited in para 54 about the value of qualifications, we would like to highlight
some further research, which may be useful to the Scottish Government. In 2008 CMI and other
professional bodies, through the Consultative Committee for Professional Management Organisations
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4. (CCPMO), commissioned London Economics to conduct research into the value of holding a
professional qualification. The research found that the estimated lifetime economic benefit associated
with holding professional qualifications, and membership of a professional institute is approximately
£152,000 (£81,000 from holding professional qualifications and £71,000 from holding membership of
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a professional institute).
We support the proposals set out in this section to improve engagement with the most vulnerable
young people, those who have disengaged with education and those who are not fulfilling their
potential. CMI Scotland has developed a work experience programme in Scotland which has been
very successful, working with local and regional employers, and aimed at the most able, rather than
the most vulnerable.
Building on this work, we will be working in Scotland with the 14-21 age group in schools and FE
colleges to offer leadership and management qualifications. This will start with a pilot programme in a
couple of schools, and we will keep the Government updated with progress made with this important
project.
Another important point in terms of flexible learning is that CMI has a wide-ranging online learning
offer, which we have developed to be delivered as part of distance-learning packages, to suit the
needs and time-constraints of the learner. These innovative resources can be adapted to particular
sectors’ or employers’ needs, and can also be personalised by the learner according to his or her
development needs. In this way we help to ensure that management and leadership development is
fully flexible, innovative and sensitive to market demands.
Aligning non-advanced learning and skills with jobs and growth
We believe the FE sector has an increasingly important role to play in helping people improve their
skills and find work, at a time when specific skills gaps still exist.
For example, in December 2008 the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) published
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its first annual forecast on where future jobs will be created and identified management as by far the
fastest growing occupation. By 2017, it estimates that the net requirement for new managers will be
2.2m, with 802,000 additional management jobs created. The report concludes that the UK is at
serious risk of not being able to meet this demand for management skills, highlighting management
as a high priority skills need for immediate action.
Part of the challenge for the FE sector is, as the consultation document rightly acknowledges, the
“need to be as clear as possible about the skills, qualifications and wider attributes learners [needed]
to be successful in the future.”
We would encourage the Scottish Government to consider providing more support for leadership and
management qualifications and skills development, which would chime with its policy of placing
“particular emphasis on skills development in key sectors and those offering significant job
opportunities where demand is strong and where further opportunities are likely to emerge.” As
mentioned above, managers across the UK are significantly under-qualified, and an investment in
leadership and management skills now would provide good return on investment for the Scottish
economy in years to come.
Need for effective leadership and management of colleges
We welcome the acknowledgement that good leadership and management is essential to deliver a
high-quality, effective and efficient FE sector. We look forward to seeing further details regarding this
proposal and in particular the role that professional standards and accreditation will play in
recognising effective leadership and management across the FE sector.
CMI Scotland
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“An Economic Impact Assessment of the CCPMO”. London Economics, December 2008
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“Working Futures 2007 – 2017”. UKCES, December 2008
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