Norfolk and Suffolk Skills Bootcamps

Description

Skills Bootcamps are Government-funded initiatives designed to help businesses find and hire the workers they need; as well as supporting adults to flourish and fulfil their potential through high quality training. Skills Bootcamps aim to secure benefits for adults by giving them access to in-demand skills training and a guaranteed interview for a more sustainable, higher-skilled job and higher wages over time. The benefits for employers include helping them fill specific skills shortage vacancies, enabling them to become more productive, more quickly. Skills Bootcamps are intensive, generally Level 3-5 or equivalent flexible training courses up to 16 weeks, with a guaranteed job interview (in the case of a new job), which equip adults with technical skills that enable them to access in-demand jobs, apprenticeships, new opportunities and an increased level of income over time (including for the self-employed). In Wave 3, the following lot areas are being focused on: Digital Core Digital Bespoke Technical Core Technical Bespoke Construction Green Skills Logistics Pathways to Accelerated Apprenticeships Skills Bootcamps should be open to all adults aged 19 or over, who are full-time or part-time employed, self-employed, unemployed, as well as adults returning to work after a break. Skills Bootcamps should also be open to serving prisoners due to be released within 6 months of completion of a Skills Bootcamp and those on Temporary Release. Level 2 or equivalent Skills Bootcamps can only be delivered in Construction, Green Skills and Logistics as a minimum. All training must either be accredited, aligned to occupational standards managed by the Institute for Apprenticeship & Technical Education or utilise a recognised standard for representing attainment (e.g. RARPA, SFIA). We expect the courses on offer to be a minimum of 60 Guided Learning Hours and a maximum of 16 weeks. Providers should provide a 'wraparound service' of learner support, from programme application stage, during, and post programme, to move people into jobs/new roles and opportunities. This should include upfront screening of applicants, soft skills or work readiness training to support the occupational skills training, vacancy/role/opportunity identification, providing pastoral services to help participants complete the programme. Provision may be delivered remotely online or face to face or a blended approach and suppliers should provide a clear rationale for their chosen method of delivery. Training must either be accredited, aligned to occupational standards managed by the Institute for Apprenticeship & Technical Education or utilise a recognised standard for representing attainment (e.g. RARPA, SFIA). This tender is open to one or more training providers registered on the UK Register of Learning Providers and employer/s or employer bodies. Lot 1: We are inviting suppliers to submit proposals to join a Framework Agreement to deliver skills bootcamps that meet local employer needs. We have identified the following initial subject areas for delivery - with the first cohorts expected to commence before the end of August 2022. • Digital Core • Digital Bespoke • Technical Core • Technical Bespoke • Construction • Green Skills • Logistics • Pathways to Accelerated Apprenticeships 120 learners need to have commenced training by the end of September 2022. We will expect successful providers to show how they can partially/fully support this requirement. The Department for Education has suggested that there may be an extension of contract in time and value if delivery of this contract is successful. We have also been given approval to use up to 10% of the value of our grant in FY 2022-23 to test Skills Bootcamps in the additional sectors set out below at Levels 3-5 or equivalent. • Health and Social Care (inc Life Sciences) • Creative Industries • Hospitality • Leadership and Management • Professional Services (inc Finance) We know there is a demand for enhanced Leadership and Management training in Norfolk and Suffolk but we would seek interest in any of these areas at this stage. Bootcamps should be a minimum of 60 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) and a maximum of 16 weeks. Bootcamps can be accredited or non-accredited and it is expected that learners will be provided with a Certificate of Completion as a minimum. We expect all successful suppliers to provide a clear indication of how they intend to recruit learners across Norfolk and Suffolk to ensure equal and fair opportunities for all residents. A training needs assessment is required for all learners to ensure they meet the learner eligibility requirements and are 'employment ready'. Any pre-requisites on learners should be fully evidenced by providers. Any learner who does not meet the required entry criteria should be actively directed to other positive opportunities to support their education and/or employment journey. The LEP Skills Bootcamp team can work with providers to identify the current suite of funded skills and employment programmes. Providers should ensure that risk management procedures are in place. In terms of geography, the focus of this Framework Agreement is to support businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk. However, support for other areas may be considered, particularly if learners live outside of the area, but work within Norfolk or Suffolk or vice versa. Any proposals to provide support to wider areas would need to be discussed with New Anglia LEP. Successful suppliers will be expected to work constructively and collaboratively with local and regional partners and other providers to support learner engagement, progression into work and referral arrangements. The intention through collaboration is to provide strong, place-based relationships delivering more skills and support for local residents All suppliers must demonstrate how they propose to work with employers, business intermediaries, sector groups and relevant catapults to validate the content of the bootcamps and secure positive outcomes for learners upon successful completion of their programmes. We anticipate this support to come in the form of guaranteed interviews, shared content creation and ringfenced roles. A skills broker will be appointed by New Anglia LEP to support providers and engagement with businesses. It is the joint responsibility of the skills broker and provider(s) to ensure successful delivery of cohorts from an employer engagement perspective. Actual delivery of the skills bootcamps remains solely the responsibility of the provider(s). In addition to the development of employment and progression opportunities from employers, we anticipate Norfolk and Suffolk businesses supporting the programme through a range of activities, which in partnership with providers may include: • Providing space for training Providing 'real world' environments for the training and application of learnt tasks. • Providing technical equipment for learning In the use of current equipment, technical knowledge and contemporary practices • Helping delivery of the training - e.g., providing some learning materials or teaching part of the course content • Giving their workers time to learn Acknowledging the business case of benefits for the organisation in upskilling staff and increasing productivity We expect successful suppliers to proactively utilise evidence of local need to drive delivery of Skills Bootcamps and bring forward cohorts. It is expected that the first cohorts will commence before the end of August 2022. All training courses will be completed by 31 March 2023, with a requirement on providers to continue data monitoring for 6 months afterwards. All costs associated with development and delivery of training courses should be included in the participant learning rate, this includes developing training materials, resources, marketing, recruitment, certification, wraparound support for learners and collating information for the claim. (This is not an exhaustive list). Any VAT must be included in this cost. Training costs should be a maximum of £3500 inc. VAT per learner. In exceptional circumstances, if a course can't be delivered within those costings, a case can be made with robust evidence for us to consider. There is no guarantee that this will be approved. We will provide communications and marketing materials for your publicity. All suppliers should state in their proposals whether they are looking to start delivering the initial cohorts in August and/or September 2022 and/or are applying to deliver courses covering wider subject areas, working with the LEP to deliver these. All suppliers should as a minimum include in their proposals an outline of the courses that they propose delivering, timings of delivery (time of day, number of weeks, total hours, etc), average cohort sizes, delivery method (face to face, online, blended model), location of training and capacity. Where there is an appetite to explore accelerated apprenticeships with the LEP, suppliers should also include this in their proposals. Where suppliers are already delivering Skills Bootcamps in other areas, they should outline in their proposal how they will ensure there is capacity to successfully deliver Skills Bootcamps in our area, as well as demonstrating best practice and incorporating lessons learnt from previous/current delivery. Suppliers are expected to capture and retain evidence for contractual and performance purposes, in line with the Key Performance Indicators outlined above. Suppliers will be required to adhere to monthly reporting requirements, as set out by the Department for Education and New Anglia LEP and provide evidence to support the processing of claims. In delivering Skills Bootcamp programmes, suppliers must be able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the Skills Bootcamp policy specification including: • Specification and eligibility Requirements • Employer & stakeholder engagement • Reporting Mechanisms • Data collection requirements Suppliers must also consider Social Value in their proposals as set out below. The Public Services (Social Value) Act places a requirement to consider how economic, environmental and social well-being might be improved by what we're buying. There are three categories - Social, Environmental and Economic out of which fall several themes. The Skills Bootcamp policy delivers specifically on four of the Social Value Themes in varying extents: • Social Value Theme 1: COVID-19 Recovery - Policy Outcome: Help local communities to manage and recover from the impact of COVID-19 • Social Value Theme 2: Tackling economic inequality - Policy Outcome: Create new businesses, new jobs and new skills • Social Value Theme 3: Fighting climate change - Policy Outcome: Effective stewardship of the environment • Social Value Theme 4: Equal opportunity - Policy Outcome: Tackle workforce inequality