Delivering ITQ through FE- Private Provider partnerships: a ‘model way of working’ from London Central LSC

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As all learning providers delivering IT/ICT User qualifications are now aware, 2006 got under way with an unequivocal message from e-skills UK, QCA and LSC that ITQ is to be firmly embedded as the very foundation of all IT User qualifications. As from September 2006, ‘all IT User qualifications will align to ITQ’ which means, basically, that ITQ will be the ‘IT User super-structure’ to which all IT User vocational and related qualifications (VRQs and NVQs) will map. While this ambition for ITQ was being articulated as long ago as the ITQ ‘Pilot Phase’ (2003/4) the fact that from September 2006 all LSC ICT User funding will be aligned to ITQ and its contributory qualifications makes all the practical difference.

• Building on the experience of the ITQ pilot
• Franchise or partnership?
• How does the funding model work?
• Choice and flexibility - a win-win scenario
• Agenda for Change in action
• Contacts

With ambitious targets for ITQ set out in the e-skills UK Sector Skills Agreement - 750,000 learners starting an ITQ by 2008 – it is more important than ever that learning providers are equipped – and incentivised – to deliver ITQ.

Building on the experience of the ITQ Pilot

Which makes the ITQ delivery model in which Further Education (FE) and private providers can work together to realise both their, and the national, ITQ ambition even more interesting. Such a delivery model was the initiative of London LSC ITQ Champion Laurence Basco, who was looking for a practical, symbiotic arrangement through which both the FE and private learning providers who worked on the (LSC funded) ITQ Pilot could continue to deliver ITQ post-Pilot.

‘By the end of the ITQ Pilot, I had a handful of providers who were very experienced with ITQ and very good at delivering it. Because of their experience in the Pilot they were actually ahead of the curve if you like – ITQ being so new. But at the end of the Pilot, I could see we had a problem in terms of continued delivery of ITQ. Half of my providers - the non FE ones – who should have been able to trail blaze with ITQ because of their experience couldn’t see a competitive way of continuing to deliver ITQ: they do not draw down LSC funding, which puts them at a disadvantage if compared against an FE provider who does.’

As well as this constraint on private providers, some FE Colleges were struggling to maintain their level of ITQ delivery, as staff turnover caused the loss of some of their key ITQ expertise from the initial Pilot.

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Franchise or Partnership?

The solution was obvious. The private providers had the capacity to deliver ITQ but no access to LSC funding, and the FE providers had access to funding but lacked the capacity to develop customised ITQ programmes to meet local business needs. A well-balanced partnership allowed the FE provider to retain some of that funding draw down for processing and quality control and the private provider to claim money to cover the delivery.

There is of course nothing new about FE providers working with private providers: franchising is the arrangement through which this is achieved. However the funding model for a conventional franchise arrangement would not have been financially viable for either partner delivering ITQ in the workplace. However, with the first pair of providers willing and eager to work together, it was decided that where a local agreement was at risk because of the franchise discount, the discount need not apply. The resulting arrangement would not be a franchise, but a partnership, though the franchise criteria for quality control would still apply.

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How does the funding model work?

So, with the partnership criteria now clearly established, the first pair of providers to actually sign up to a combined delivery model were Westminster Kingsway College and Happy Computers. They agreed a 25:75 split of funding, topped up by an employer contribution of £150. Recruitment of the candidates was then decided between the providers. Sheena Smith, ITQ Manager at Happy Computers, says the arrangement has worked really well. ‘It has been great. Westminster Kingsway let us get on and deliver ITQ as we believe it should be delivered. The candidates get the flexibility they need, with our team tailoring both training delivery and assessment to their specific needs and circumstances. There is a quality control structure in place which includes Westminster Kingsway observing any part of the ITQ delivery process they want or feel they need to. We are looking forward to the continued success of this ITQ partnership.’

London Central now have two FE:private provider partnerships working. A second partnership has been established between South Thames College and Internet Exchange. This model also works well because South Thames College is a Learn Direct Hub and Internet Exchange is Learn Direct provider in that area.

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Choice and flexibility – a win-win scenario for employers

So now we know it can be done, will there be a massive increase in FE:private provider partnerships, especially given the positioning of ITQ and the learner target for 2008? Certainly one hopes others will be inspired to form partnerships. In broader terms, this way of working can also contribute to the transformation of the FE sector, making colleges better able to engage commercially with new opportunities. And of course for employers, partnerships offer choice and flexibility of provision, making it easier for the employer to get the most appropriate ICT User training and qualification delivered in the most appropriate way.

ITQ presents new challenges for Colleges who have been steeped in traditional VQ assessment methods. With the job-related needs of the learner uppermost and the emphasis on linking learning to business goals, ITQ demands new ways of working with employers. The benefits of partnership working to employers are immediate, with providers able to customise flexible ITQ programmes to meet business needs in the workplace.

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Agenda for Change in action

As well as contributing to the general success of ITQ, this ‘model way of working’ has wider benefits. The experience of the private sector in working creatively and responsively with employers can help the FE sector evolve and diversify both the way it plans learning customised learning programmes and the clients it serves.

FE colleges should always consult with their local LSC about any partnership work they want to do. There is general guidance about how much of this type of venture a college can be exposed to. Further instances will depend on the nature and volume of existing business for the FE provider; the positioning of IT User skills in its portfolio and its vision for growth; and the competition across the wider qualifications portfolio for other private provider arrangements, be they franchises or partnerships.

This sort of partnering also ties in with the LSC’s ‘Agenda for Change’ and has the potential to build capacity and experience for both the private provider and the FE college involved. The ITQ partnership models in London are the LSC’s ‘Agenda for Change’ in action.

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Contacts

To learn more about this example of partnership working, you can contact:

Laurence Basco, London Central LSC, Laurence.Basco@lsc.gov.uk  

Sheena Smith, ITQ Manager at Happy Computers, sheena@happy.co.uk

Alec Fenn, ITQ at Westminster Kingsway College, alec.fenn@westking.ac.uk  

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Last modified: 16 Jun 2007