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Case Studies |
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Building on its highly successful Employer
Training Pilot, free2learn,
the Learning and Skills Council Wiltshire and Swindon engaged Northport
to carry out a major feasibility study for a programme of subsidised
training at level 3 and 4 for local employers. |
A survey was undertaken
of over 800 companies engaged in ETP followed by in-depth consultations
with employers, providers and sector skill council representatives
to determine the requirements of the proposed programme. A full
costings analysis was carried out to establish a viable business
plan incorporating LSC, ESF and RDA funding.
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ACET,
the Adult and Community Learning division of Gloucestershire County
Council, engaged Northport to draw up its 2003-04 Adult Learning
Plan and supporting Development and Business Plans.
Simultaneously we were asked to undertake a review of ACET’s
management structure and arrangements and to make recommendations
for a structure which would take the organisation forward into its
medium-term plans. Our recommendations were accepted by the Council
and are now in place.
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Preparing self-assessment and one and three
year development plans is a requirement of all providers in receipt
of LSC funding.
Northport has in-depth experience of working with local authorities
and education/training providers to produce documents which draw
on several evidence sources and give a clear picture of the organisation’s
context, aims and objectives. These documents have been particularly
important in the preparation for and response to external inspections
and have been well received by clients, LLSC offices and by the
Adult Learning Inspectorate.
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Management reviews and
planning
The switch from local authority to LSC funding
of Adult and Community Learning has also brought with it a re-focusing
of target learners and ways of working.
ACET,
the ACL service in Gloucestershire, approached Northport in autumn
2002 about conducting a review of its then management arrangements
and structure. Northport prepared recommendations for a structure
that would take it into the new era. The client’s requirement
was for a structure which would bring greater focus to the planning
and support for a large programme which is chiefly delivered through
over 20 sub-contractors.
These recommendations have now been fully implemented.
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Major funding applications
Major funding applications that we have project
managed have included:
• UK Online/NOF applications for community ICT centres in
North Somerset
• a Business Link application for an ESF contract to deliver
a level 3/4 skills brokerage and training service for local employers
• a Community Fund information, volunteer training and outreach
programme for an Asian housing association
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Project design and development
When Weston College was looking for a consultancy
to project manage an application to the DfES Uk Online/NOF initiative
for a community ICT centre, they selected Northport Consulting.
Working with Assistant Principals for Resources and Customer and
Curriculum Services, we:
• undertook detailed community and partner consultation
• developed the proposal and prepared the funding application
• identified appropriate premises and managed their refurbishment
• specified the required resources and managed the preparation
and handling of the tender process
• prepared job specifications/descriptions and advised on
staff appointments
• established the opening curriculum offer, and
• conducted a full hand-over to the College.
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When Business
Link Berkshire and Wiltshire were awarded LSC contracts for
the delivery of a skills brokerage and contracting service for workforce
development at level 3 and 4, they invited Northport to project
manage the introduction of the programme. Working with the Skills4Business
team at the local LSC and with IS
Networks, suppliers of the Edison management information system
for Employer Training Pilots, we put in place robust systems and
processes and oversaw the transition to a new staff team recruited
in by BLBW.
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Support and information networks
Working with our partner companies, HNS
Ltd and CN Resources,
we have launched BASIS,
a web-based resource to support basic skills signposters in Wiltshire.
Signposters are individuals who come into contact with people who
have basic skills needs and are able to help them to identify ways
to resolve these needs.
The BASIS
service is an online resource incorporating a database of appropriate
basic skills training opportunities, as well as information on professional
development opportunities for signposters, regardless of their normal
work or voluntary role. In addition, the site supports a knowledge
exchange facility, using an Information Resource Manager methodology,
to help the network of signposters to share and capture knowledge
about their role and thus reduce duplication of effort.
This project is part-funded by the European Union through the European
Social Fund and is co-financed by the Learning and Skills Council.
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Learner and stakeholder
survey
Following a period of falling enrolments and
financial instability a major college of Further Education in the
North West undertook a thorough strategic review. Northport was
commissioned to carry out a stakeholder survey and consultation.
Questionnaires were distributed to all full-time and significant
part-time learners; simultaneously in-depth interviews and focus
groups were held with learners, local employers and key local agencies.
The findings were reported to a management ‘away day’
and contributed to the major restructuring of the management team
and re-working of the provision that followed.
Northport was commissioned in 2005 to undertake a survey of the
employment and learning plans of all year 9, 10, 11 and 12 pupils
in all secondary schools administered by Somerset
LEA.
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Project evaluations
and reviews
As a two-year ESF Technical Assistance project
providing Equal Opportunities support to organisations in receipt
of or considering an ESF application came to a close, Northport
was commissioned by the South West Regional Development Agency to
evaluate the project.
We conducted in-depth first-hand interviews with key stakeholders.
These included the Racial Equality Councils, disability fora, the
RDA, Government Office for the South West, the South West TUC, the
Regional Assembly and local authorities. This was supplemented by
a study of project documentation, including printed outputs, minutes
of meetings and records of workshops and conferences which the project
had either organised or to which it had contributed (including participant
evaluation data). A detailed expert analysis was also made of an
Equal Opportunities Toolkit which was published in the final stages
of the project.
The final report was submitted with recommendations for the design
and delivery of future work in this field. |
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