Ingredients for success: embedding excellence in technical and vocational educationBen Blackledge, the newly appointed WorldSkills UK Chief Executive, explains how Team UK’s participation at EuroSkills is helping to raise standards in apprenticeships and technical education through the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence.The UK is set to make a triumphant return to EuroSkills next week, Europe’s largest skills event. The young apprentices and students from 32 countries that will compete at EuroSkills Gdańsk are the very embodiment of excellence in their skill and that is why we use the EuroSkills competition to benchmark UK skills and identify innovative methods of training and assessment.It is this insight that we are using to drive forward the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence, which we launched in partnership with NCFE. It is our ambition that excellence should be available to everyone, wherever they work or study, whatever type of institution they attend, and whatever their level of learning or ability. We know there is much excellent practice taking place across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we know that our programmes which are proven to secure medal success on the European and international stage can help raise standards even higher through our WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence programme.INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS NEEDED TO EMBED EXCELLENCE ACROSS ALL PARTS OF THE SECTORTo understand the ingredients for success needed to embed excellence across all parts of the sector, we commissioned the Association of Col leges to undertake independent research supported by our Centre of Excellence partner NCFE . The research, although acknowledging the very challenging context in which providers are working, identified four key findings of embedding excellence regardless of circumstance and location.A WHOLE ORGANISATIONAL APPROACHFirstly, a whole organisational approach to excellence is vital. Leaders need to prioritise the embedding of excellence and make sure it is supported within governance and accountability mechanisms. Leaders can also support excellence by making sure there is a culture of sharing best practice with local partners.DEVELOPING TRANSFERABLE EMPLOYABILITY SKILLSSecondly, developing technical skills alone was not seen as sufficient to represent excellence in teaching and learning or assessment. There needs to also be a focus on developing transferable employability skills, such as resilience and emotional intelligence. We know how important these skills are in the workplace, and that is why we dedicate a significant amount of our competition-based -training programmes to helping young people develop these attributes. These resources are available for educators and young people to access for free on the WorldSkills UK Learning Lab .CPDThirdly, the research highlighted the important role of purposeful continuous professional development (CPD). When we launched our award-winning WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence we were determined that it would have a direct impact on the quality of teaching. It was great to see that educators cited this programme as a good example of meaningful CPD because they felt the programme was motivational in its delivery and supported them in achieving measurable improved outcomes in their teaching.ENGAGING EMPLOYERSLastly, engaging employers is a critical factor. Their involvement ensures that the qualifications and curriculum are relevant for learners and that the CPD being delivered to educators matches the needs of industry. Without employer involvement, we cannot ensure that skills delivery programmes are meeting economic demand.THE CONCEPT OF EXCELLENCE IS REGARDED AS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE APPLICABLE TO ALLIt is clear from the research that the concept of excellence is regarded as something that can be applicable to all, regardless of the technical field, level of learning and ability. It is also encouraging to see that the research endorses our collaborativ...
