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QDP offers questionnaires to support New Standard for Employer Responsiveness

By TJ (03-10-2007)
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As part of the drive to establish a common standard in vocational learning, a number of training providers across the country have piloted The New Standard for Employer Responsiveness which is likely to be a key quality standard under the Government's "Train to Gain" scheme. QDP Services has teamed up with West Cheshire College, one of the providers involved in the pilot to get ahead developing new surveys ready for the standard to be launched.

During its latest Inspection, West Cheshire College was praised for its rigorous approach to improving the quality of its services to local employers and has now been invited to be one of the first providers to apply for the New Standard for Employer Responsiveness when it becomes live this year. To Sara Mogel, the College Principal, collecting employers' opinions was a natural part of the pilot.

"As a vocational College we were pleased to be part of the pilot scheme as we learnt the impact the New Standard will have on everything we do including the information we collect from our customers. It became very clear that we needed to be able to monitor and measure the impact of the services we provide to the customers' business and working with QDP we have been able to do just that. The new Standard assessors like to see hard data, particularly trend analysis, so having survey data alongside the dialogue we have with our customers is very useful."

Working with the College, QDP has developed four Employer questionnaire models for its customers to take advantage of. They are designed to assist providers to engage with their partner employers and collect information that supports continual improvement and monitors the training needs of their community - one of the LSC's key Measures of Success. Robert Graham, QDP's Managing Director confirms: "We are grateful to West Cheshire College and happy to learn from their experience. We now have a set of surveys that we know will hit the mark as well as a good pool of benchmarking data to allow providers to compare their results. We have a survey for bespoke work with employers, for employers supporting Apprenticeships and employers who sponsor learners onto day release programmes. We have also developed a telephone survey that can be used to contact any employers in the provider's catchment area to market training providers' products."

QDP is ready to assist providers to apply for the New Standard as it comes into effect.

The New Standard has been developed by the Learning and Skills Council, parallel to the Framework of Excellence and compiled following significant research into employers' needs. Following the review of the pilot, it will start to replace COVE re-accreditation and is likely to be a key quality standard under the Governments' "Train to Gain" scheme. When applying for the Standard, providers will be required to show evidence of:

• Research into employers' needs.
• Curriculum content matching employers' needs.
• Delivering courses in time and place that suit employers .

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