Be Better Informed - GQA Approved Centre Conference 25th July 2013 – Keynote Speaker – Mr James Ayling (NAS)

GQA are delighted to announce that Mr James Ayling, Head of Employer Accounts at the National Apprenticeship Service, will be our keynote speaker at the GQA Approved Centre Conference taking place on the 25th July 2013 at Schueco’s impressive Network Centre in Milton Keynes.

 

There is much proposed change in the system with the advent of the Employer Ownership Pilots, the Government’s response to the Richard Review of Apprenticeships and this autumn’s implementation of the Traineeship programme and James will discuss how these will drive future change to apprenticeships, and the qualifications associated with them.

The Conference schedule is building well, with James joining Andy Carrington of Derby College (Building Regulations for Fenestration) and Declan Moore of the GGF (Health and Safety) as confirmed speakers. Workshops on ‘Effective Assessment’, ‘Delivering GQA Leadership Qualifications’ and ‘MTCs / Continued Competence’ are being developed and will also be confirmed shortly.  

The conference will again close with the GQA EV and Staff nominated Approved Centre Awards, recognising good practice in Assessment, Internal Verification and overall Approved Centre practice.

Cost of the Conference is £95 per delegate. Don’t miss out – Be Better Informed and book your place now by contacting the GQA Office on 0114 2720033 or marketing@GQAqualifications.com.

JCP Encourages New Learning Opportunity

Unemployed people in the Accrington and Rossendale areas are being given a chance to learn new skills thanks to a government scheme known as Job Centre Plus. The schemes run by North Lancs Training Group allow unemployed people to take part in a course of learning that will give them skills to encourage potential new employers to consider employing them.

North Lancs Training Group Furniture and Glass tutors Martin Kelly and Richard Bulcock run some of the courses available which include furniture manufacture and upholstery as well as decorative lead glass processes. Martin who is also the COVE manager at NLTG said “ the courses where developed to try and encourage both long term and short term employed people to consider taking on new skills, a lot of these people don’t realise that there are careers available in glass and in furniture and the courses give  a taster of what the career is about, we also find that it does bring out artistic and other skills in people that they don’t realise that they have “. Richard commented “ The attendees seem to really grasp the skills needed to create a design in decorative lead, a design sometimes personal to themselves and then are amazed when they find they can create it themselves, the quality of the finished product so far has been excellent and to see how proud they are when they get to take the product home with them is worth the while “.

Employers linked to North Lancs Training Group have also been willing to assist in the courses by providing, in some cases free of charge resources such as pieces of toughened glass, NLTG Glass centre co ordinator Paul Fairhurst said “ we want to thank people such as Regency Glass and Glass Craft for their support of the courses and their promise to provide the glass free of charge, its great that they want become involved”.

NLTG course tutor Richard Bulcock who runs the courses said “ most of the unemployed people who attend come here with a wish to learn something new, they seem to enjoy the courses we run and are amazed at what they produce at the end of it, they certainly leave here having learned a new skill, they create their own designs and get to keep the item thay make on completion, the feedback we get is excellent”.

Course attendees achieve a level 1 qualification which is a bonus to include on a CV and also learn interview skills, working relationship skills and also get to improve their maths and English whilst on the courses.

NLTG First GQA e-portfolio Apprentice

Matthew Duncombe, an employee of The Lockwood Window Company based in Lockwood, Huddersfield was congratulated recently on becoming North Lancs Training Groups first GQA e-portfolio full apprentice. Matthew completed his Fenestration level 2 NVQ, Level 2 Certificate in Glass Related Operations technical certificate and his key skills using the GQA / Quals Direct e-portfolio system. Matthew commented “I found it easier to use the e-portfolio because I like to use computers and it also meant I didn’t have to carry my large portfolio to site for my assessments, it was easy enough to log in and use the system, even when I lost my password, I liked the fact that I could change the layout to suit me and I will be requesting the same system when I sign up for my Advanced Apprenticeship in a couple of weeks”.

NLTG assessor Paul Fairhurst commented “Matthew was the guinea pig for the new system and it all seemed to work like a dream, I have  used other e-portfolio in the past which can sometimes be quite complicated for both assessors and learners, however the GQA e-portfolio system is very effective and easy to use, it makes delivery more efficient and guarantees that the learner portfolio is available at all times, we are finding that more and more learners are now requesting e-portfolio as an alternative.   The assessment and verification team at NLTG love it and the people at Quals Direct and GQA that run the system are also easy to deal with; any technical issues are dealt with efficiently, we are now offering the e-portfolio system to all GQA candidates through NLTG.

IPS International and Poulten & Graf

Poulten & Graf is a company dealing internationally in the business of laboratory products, with sites at Wertheim/Main/Germany and Barking/ London/UK specialising in the manufacture and distribution of high-quality manual and automatic dosing devices, volumetric glassware and medical syringes.

IPS International based in Rochester Kent has been working with a number of their operatives over the last 12-18 months as they completed the GQA Level 2 NVQ in Glass Processing. Assessor Lee Harland said” It was very interesting seeing this part of the Glass Industry, most of my candidates have been on Fenestration or Curtain Wall qualifications so it made a change not to be out in the cold. The staff at Poulten and Graf made me welcome and I was pleased to see the team achieve their qualifications”

Joanne Taylor, Engineering and Manufacturing Section Leader and Internal Quality Advisor for IPS added “Lee has worked very closely with the Employer to make sure the qualification delivery fitted in with their plans and when we received the Certificates from GQA I arranged for Lee to present these to the candidates”

GQA External Verifier for IPS, Sean Hayes said “It is always good to see candidates completing their qualification and a nice touch by IPS to present the Certificates in person.”

Picture: Assessor Lee Harland (pictured far right on back row) with the successful Candidates from Poulten & Graf

Poulten Selfe & Lee Ltd and IPS

Poulten Selfe & Lee Ltd were established in the United Kingdom in 1850 and specialise in viscosity measurement. 

 

The RHEOTEK range of automatic viscometers are suitable for measuring petroleum liquids, polymers, pulp, cellulose, electrical papers and inks. 

Key applications include: (Petroleum) Aviation jet fuel, diesel, biofuel, residual fuel, new and used lubricants and bitumens.

 

Principal Locations:

UK (Head Office) - Development, Manufacturing, Calibration, Testing & Glassblowing

USA (RHEOTEK USA) – Sales & Service support.

Denmark (RHEOTEK Nordic) – Sales & Service support Northern Europe/Scandinavia

 

Training:

Poulten Selfe & Lee Ltd recognise that continued success and development rely heavily on the skills of its staff and technicians. Much of the test equipment is produced by hand with exacting standards and takes years of practice and a particular aptitude for the work.

IPS were initially approached to provide advice, guidance and support in the recruitment of glass blowing apprentices.  This quickly extended to delivering work-based learning to the highly competent existing staff. 
 

Under the direction of IPS Assessor, Lee Harland, PSL employee David Blair (pictured left) is on track to achieve his GQA Level 3 Diploma in Glass Processing in April 2013 and two successfully recruited apprentices will be commencing the GQA Level 2 Certificate in Glass Processing Apprentice Framework in March.  

Joanne Taylor, Manufacturing Section Leader at IPS  International Ltd said:

 

 

“These are exciting times, with many changes to the perception of training throughout the glass industry.  Companies like Poulten, Selfe & Lee Ltd are keeping vital traditional glass blowing skills alive by investing time and money in developing a younger generation to the trade and IPS feel honored to be a part of this”.

 

 

  

Sean Hayes, GQA External Verifier for IPS added “IPS has under the leadership of Joanne delivered qualifications to the Glass Industries with a real commitment to quality. They pride themselves on building excellent professional working relationships with the Employers they engage with. It’s great to see a Centre embracing the traditional careers as well as the comparatively newer ones”

Diploma for Darren through NLTG

Darren Hoolickin of D&M windows Manchester has recently achieved GQA Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Fenestration Installation (QCF).

Darren said that the way the qualification was delivered by Roy Pusey of North Lancs training Group suited his needs as he could not attend college or evening classes. He went on to say,  “I enjoyed the relaxed way the qualification was delivered and Roy helped me a lot when researching the building regulations, I even got a qualification in Maths and English. NLTG are a very professional outfit and I would recommend them to anyone.”

D&M Windows have asked Roy and NLTG to assist in taking an apprentice on in the near future.

PILKS press Government Minister for Green Deal Changes

PILKS chiefs pressed a Government minister to make changes to the Green Deal that would benefit the glass industry as they gave him a tour of a £36 million coating plant.

Welcoming the Minister for Climate Change, Gregory Barker, to Cowley Hill, Pilkington described the new development as one of the most advanced facilities of its type in the world.

 

 

Ensuring St Helens is again leading the way in glass production, it enables ultra-thin special coatings to be applied and creates a range of energy products.

 

Pioneering products equipped with innovative green technology is regarded as key to future of the glassmaker, owned by Japanese giants Nippon Sheet Glass.  Pilks has been the focus of gloomy headlines because of its struggles in a turbulent global economy, which has led to job losses and mothballing of float glass lines in St Helens.  But the coater is seen as a ray of optimism for local glassmaking.

Mr Barker’s visit gave Pilks bosses the chance to show how their advancements at the facility are supported by the NSG Group Technical Centre in Lathom.  They also pressed him on the Government’s Green Deal, which includes using advanced glazing for improving household energy efficiency.  The Green Deal will help homeowners make energy improvements.

Pilks’ chiefs presented the minister with recommendations it believes would strengthen the scheme for the benefit of the window industry.  Gary Charlton, operations director, said: “The new coater is a significant investment and one the company and the community can be proud of.  “Set against the background of a challenging construction market, it enables the company to enhance our competitiveness by offering the latest high performance energy-efficient products. “This will go a long way towards securing the future of St Helens and the Pilkington brand as names that remain synonymous with UK glazing and innovation in energy efficiency for years to come.”

GQA and Construction Qualifications

Construction as a sector touches all aspects of society from private and social housing, commercial and industrial buildings, road building as well as public buildings such as schools and hospitals. The sector is one of the most important areas affecting the national economy and is made up of “traditional” occupations such as plastering, bricklaying and joinery but is also at the fore front of new exciting cutting edge technologies which support the green agenda and GQA are excited to add construction related qualifications to our already extensive glass and glazing portfolio.

 

GQA’s existing centres have been requesting that we offer construction related qualifications for some time, so that they can continue to benefit from the same level of advice, support and guidance from GQA across a wider range of qualifications. So with this in mind GQA Construction related qualifications were approved from the 1^st of October 2012 and cover occupations such as Painting and Decorating, Steel fixing, Civil Engineering-Construction Operations, Plastering, Wood and Trowel occupations and Site Supervision.

 

Gaining a GQA qualification can lead to an industry competence cards such as the CSCS card and the GQA Q-Card -the holder of a Q Card can clearly prove that they have skills and competence to carry out their job to a nationally recognised standard. 

Funding Simplification Provider Webinars

The SFA is running a series of webinars designed to give colleges and training organisations access to senior funding policy makers, hear your thoughts on current funding changes and ask questions about emerging policy.

The webinars are designed for all Skills Funding Agency providers to embed understanding of the new streamlined funding system for adults that will be implemented in 2013/14. The discussion will cover why and how the funding system has been simplified; the benefits that come with simplification so that providers use them to their full potential, in order to respond to their markets/ communities.  Keith Smith, Executive Director for the Agency and David Lawrence Chair of the FE Technical Advisory Group will explore the ways in which the system is changing and how providers can best respond.  There will be an opportunity for an online question and answer session and it is highly recommended for all providers.

The webinars will take place on:

• Wednesday 20 March at 11.00 (https://cc.callinfo.com/cc/s/registrations/newcid=18nq2owvax36b)

• Thursday 28 March at 10.00 (https://cc.callinfo.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=1sxaoq8plr1tj)

• Wednesday 3 April at 11.30 (https://cc.callinfo.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=1jd9qtsm8mma9)

 

These sessions will help providers better understand how to use the new freedoms and flexibilities to drive their business planning for 2013/14.