Steps towards an employer-led model of language learning

Learning and skills in adult social care
in England, 2005-2015
Steps towards an employer-led model
of language learning at work
Alexander BRADDELL
directeur
Oxfordshire Skills Escalator Centre CIC Ltd (Royaume-Uni)
Lundi 1 février 2016
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Synopsis
Practitioner-led research & development, strategic consultancy
Sustainable ways to support effective language learning at work
Affordable = whoever is paying for it can cover the cost
Cost-effective = delivers value commensurate with cost
Scalable = has the potential capacity to meet demand
Realistic = aligned with workplace constraints, opportunities
Appropriate = consistent with what we know about second language
acquisition by adults + aligned to individual learner, workplace
Policy context = UK government skills strategy
Practical context = Adult social care sector in England
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Policy context: government skills strategy
1990s, 2000s
Aspiration = economy based on high skills, high wages
Concern = low productivity
Analysis = problem with workforce skills profile: not enough intermediate level
skills (= certifications de niveau 4), too many workers with low/no qualifications
Note: skills = qualifications (proxy for skill)
Strategy = reduce low skills, increase intermediate skills
Reduce low skills = free qualifications for low-skilled adults
Occupational qualifications at EQF level 3 (= cert de niv 5)
National strategy to improve adult literacy and numeracy
Ten year plan, £10 billion investment, national curriculum, teacher training,
national qualifications, free classes, national qualification targets
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English language learning for adult migrants
1970s-80s Community English classes to integrate South Asian migrants
1970-89 Workplace classes in factories – teachers develop specialist expertise,
innovative approaches, then government policy changes, funding stops
Effective, but unsustainable
1990s Period of transition – new phase of migration
Cinderella service – limited funding, little training, no qualifications
2001 Included in government’s national strategy to improve adult basic skills
Ten year plan, £10 billion investment, national curriculum, teacher training,
national qualifications, free classes, national qualification targets
Government funds adult education providers to deliver classes in workplaces
2001-07 Increase in migration  more community classes  big rise in cost 
government limits funding for all classes
2011 Government ends all funding for workplace English classes
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Workplace provision limited – why?
Model of learning
Learner = individual adult
Learning = 300+ hours group instruction by qualified English language teacher
Outcome = national qualification
Realistic, appropriate at work?
Staff have diverse backgrounds, abilities, learning needs
Financial + operational pressures limit ability of employer to release staff
Typical class = 1 hour per week, often difficult for staff to attend consistently
Learner progress minimal, group sizes uneconomic for provider
Not worth the effort
Even if the teaching + qualifications model had worked, what about capacity?
Learners in all types of recognised provision in England = < 150 000
Estimated number of migrant workers in lower skilled jobs = 2 million
2014 figures. Sources: Migration observatory, Oxford University, Migration Advisory Committee, Skills Funding Agency
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Different perspective
What do language learners need?
• Encouragement and support to learn
• Exposure to authentic language, spoken & written
• Opportunity to interact in the language, spoken & written
• Help to understand the form of the language
• Help to develop effective personal learning strategies
• Rewards that encourage persistence
What does the workplace offer?
• Structured opportunities to communicate linked to role & task, team work,
customer service, safety & quality management etc.
• Structures of support through e.g. management, supervision, teamwork, learning
and development
Question
Can we use work activity itself as a vehicle for language learning?
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Work activity as a vehicle for language learning
Basic premise
Requirement to use skill at work = opportunity to practise
Opportunity to practise = opportunity to develop skill
Participative people management
Basis of safety and quality management = understanding, participation,
communication
Understanding = meaning of safety, quality + how to ensure them at work
Participation = collective activity, shared responsibility
Communication = basis for understanding, participation
Accessible systems that involve staff should offer language development
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Can we use existing workplace systems…
• Induction
• Supervision
• On-the-job coaching & mentoring
• Peer learning
• Learning & development
…to provide L2 learners with
• Encouragement and support to learn
• Exposure to authentic language, spoken & written
• Opportunity to interact in the language, spoken & written
• Help to understand the form of the language
• Help to develop effective personal learning strategies
• Rewards that encourage persistence
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Challenges, questions
Communicating the approach to employers, learning and skills agencies,
government – different concept of ‘learning’
Expert input – what input is necessary/helpful, who has the expertise,
what is the delivery model?
Work in adult social care
Opportunity to explore strategies, develop provisional answers
Approach
Support ‘environmental’ factors conducive to learning
Focus on workplace objectives (‘safety and quality management’)
Recognise constraints, opportunities
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Adult social care
Support with daily living for people with disability (due to age, illness, etc.)
Paid for privately (public support for people on low income)
Social model: user = client, i.e. purchaser of services
Sector – large, fragmented, but highly regulated
40 000 establishments, 18 000 employers, mostly private companies
1,5 million paid workers (+ 17% since 2009)
75% direct care workers , 80% female, typical age 40+
18% of staff non-UK born (London 51%)
Serious problems with recruitment & retention of staff, cuts to gov’t funding
Highly publicised breakdowns in quality linked to values, behaviours
Persistent concerns re literacy, numeracy, language skills
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How the system works
Individuals buy services from care providers
Care providers deliver services to standards set by regulator
The regulator bases standards on law and policy set by UK government
The UK government, together with local government, provides funding to care
for individuals who cannot afford to buy services
Local government commissions services required by law, administers funding
Government-funded agencies
• Set workforce standards, support employers with workforce development
• Manage knowledge, promote good practice
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Work in adult social care
Care Skillsbase (2005-10)
Resources for managers to take action on communication and number skills – linked
to induction, recruitment and selection
Learning through Work guides (2011)
Resources to support non-formal and informal workplace learning – linked to safety
and quality management
Social Care Commitment (2013, 15)
Resources to support values-based national quality initiative – linked to workforce
standards
Core skills strategy (2014)
National strategy for sector on generic skills (including language) – linked to national
workforce development strategy
Oxfordshire workforce strategy (2015)
Strategy for local government to develop workforce capacity, capability – linked to
commissioning
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Where does the work sit?
Individuals buy services from care providers
Care Skillsbase
here
Learning through Work
guides
Social Care Commitment
resources
Care providers deliver services to standards
set by regulator
The regulator bases standards on law and
policy set by UK government
The UK government, together with local
government, provides funding to care for
individuals who cannot afford to buy services
Oxfordshire workforce
strategy
National core skills strategy
here
here
Local government commissions services
required by law, administers funding
Government-funded agencies
• Set workforce standards, support
employers with workforce development
• Manage knowledge, promote good practice
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What was the context for the work?
Safety and quality standards
Workforce standards, qualifications
Workforce strategies
Commissioning specifications
Workforce/workplace development initiatives, including quality initiatives
Workplace learning cycle: induction, training, supervision, coaching &
mentoring, peer learning
Leadership and management development
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Core skills strategy
‘These are the skills that underpin both capability and confidence.
Individuals need these skills to… progress [at] work.
Organisations need these skills to function effectively.’
‘An employer-led workplace learning approach
to core skills has a number of advantages.
It has the flexibility to fit around the
operational constraints that restrict
participation in formal learning.
It enables the skills to be refreshed and
developed on a continuous basis – and allows
for individuals to go on learning for as long as
necessary... [etc.]’
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Observations
Sustainable ways to support effective language learning at work
Affordable = whoever is paying for it can cover the cost
Cost-effective = delivers value commensurate with cost
Scalable = has the potential capacity to meet demand
Realistic = aligned with workplace constraints, opportunities
Appropriate = consistent with what we know about second language
acquisition by adults + aligned to individual learner, workplace
Provider-led model, based on instruction for classroom groups
Employer-led model, based on support for workplace learning systems
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Looking ahead
Implications of an employer-led approach for language development
practitioners – and for policy makers
Still unresolved: provision of expert input
And then there is digital technology, transforming our patterns of
behaviour
Clear opportunities for learner-led/self-directed language learning
+ who knows what else!
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Steps towards an employer-led model
of language learning at work
Learning and skills in adult social care in England, 2005-2015
If you want to find out more,
please contact
Alexander BRADDELL
[email protected]
Lundi 1 février 2016
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