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Frequently asked questions: What is the Cogent Sector Skills Pledge?
How do I make the Skills Pledge?
What is the purpose of the Skills Pledge?
What am I actually committing to?
What happens next?
How will it work in my company?
What time period does it cover?
What role does the Skills Academy for my sector play?
Is there a helpline?
What does a Skills Broker Do?
Will I be pressurized to sign up for training?
What public funding can my company obtain?
Will I have to provide a report on my company’s progress?
How can I encourage my employees?
How do I make the Cogent Pledge?
What is the Cogent Sector Skills Pledge?
The Cogent Skills Pledge is a voluntary commitment by the leadership of a company to support all employees to develop their skills and work towards world-class standards. It is part of a Government programme to raise workforce skill levels to improve UK competitiveness. It is linked to the LSC Train to Gain initiative which provides funding for training.
The Pledge can be given by the Chief Executive, owner, manager or other Board member, on behalf of the organisation. It is a corporate commitment covering the whole company is open to all types and sizes of employer.
How do I make the Skills Pledge?
It’s simple.
You can sign up here online via this web page, or you can contact us to arrange a sign-up meeting, by phoning 01925 515 220.
Once you have committed to the Pledge we will contact you to arrange a no obligation visit to discuss your needs.
What is the purpose of the Skills Pledge?
The Skills Pledge is an opportunity for the leaders of an organisation to show publicly the importance they place on investing in the skills of their people. The fundamental purpose is to ensure that all staff are skilled, competent and able to contribute to company success.
What am I actually committing to?
You are making a public commitment to enable your staff – in whichever way works best for you – to gain the skills and competencies that are valuable in supporting business needs. You are committing to supporting employees to achieve relevant qualifications or accredited in-house training to recognise those skills.
Remember, The Skills Pledge is not a contractual commitment and is not legally binding on your company. Its value is as a signal of voluntary commitment and partnership between management and employees to develop the skills of the staff and so support the success of the organisation.
What happens next?
When a company or organisation registers its intention to make the Skills Pledge, it will be able to access support and advice from Cogent and the National Skills Academy for Nuclear or the National Skills Academy Process Industries.
There is also national network of skills brokers across England, managed and funded by the Learning and Skills Council. They can work with you to understand your business priorities, help you identify your skills needs, and work with you to design a training package that will best meet those needs.
How will it work in my company?
Some companies have done this by drawing up a separate action plan for training to deliver the Skills Pledge. Others have integrated this work into their normal business planning processes. It is for each company to decide how to take the process forward. The Skills Broker will identify sources of public funding that are available from across Government, and the Skills Academy will identify the best suppliers of training.
What time period does the Pledge cover?
There is no deadline by which organisations must fulfill their Skills Pledge.
That is up to each company or organisation. The time needed will vary, depending on how many employees need to be supported to gain accredited training or qualifications.
What role does the Skills Academy for my sector play?
National Skills Academies approve training providers and work with Cogent and employers to design training and qualifications which meet employer needs.
Qualifications are delivered via a network of accredited providers, so that National Skills Academies operate in partnership with the best and most cost-effective local providers.
These include colleges, universities and independent training providers. This means that new thinking and new methods will have widespread impact on the quality of teaching and learning across the education and training sector.
Skills Academies will work with employers to identify skills gaps, undertake action planning and ensure that the most effective route to upskilling is identified: this could involve the accreditation of in-house training, working with a provider or bringing on board a skills broker.
Is there a helpline?
If you would like to get more information on the Skills Pledge or would like to register your interest in making the Skills Pledge, please telephone us on 01925 515 220. We’ll ask for some information about the company, so that your inquiry can be passed on to the most appropriate person.
At no stage will confidential or commercially sensitive information be requested. At that stage, if you just want to get some information about Train to Gain, we can help with that. Or if you would like to take the discussion a stage further and talk to us, you will be contacted as soon as possible to arrange an appointment.
We will get in touch with your nominated point of contact to have an initial discussion about your your training priorities. If you want to proceed from there, we’ll arrange a convenient time to meet to discuss in more detail.
This is the beginning of a process designed to build an understanding of your needs, the training priorities that will best meet those needs, and where you feel that help and support with training is best directed.
What does a Skills Broker Do?
Brokers are part of the The National Brokerage Service, which works closely with the Cogent and the National Skills Academies for Process and Nuclear. It is designed to help businesses diagnose both their workforce development and their wider business needs.
Cogent is working closely with brokers to share its expert knowledge on the Sector and ensure that brokers have the full knowledge and understanding they need to advise the Cogent industries.
The Brokerage Service can guide employers to the right business support – to help their business grow, train, export, innovate, and gain access to finance – through a wide range of services.
The National Brokerage Service runs alongside Train to Gain and the service providers use Train to Gain as a gateway to offer employers a skills analysis directly linked to their business needs.
Employers can then be directed to free or partly subsidised training (available via the Cogent Sector Compact) and also referred to providers that can best meet their training needs.
Skills Brokers will advise on the skills, competencies and qualifications that are most relevant and appropriate for the business and the individuals concerned. They will identify whether there are specific training programmes that could help the company, such as Apprenticeships or management and leadership. They will work out what public funds can be drawn on, and what the company will need to pay for.
It can take time to arrive at the right solution for the company and may need a number of discussions. But in all cases, the final decision on next steps will rest with the employer as to what is in any plans, which accredited providers are used to deliver the training, and where and over what period the training should be delivered.
Will I be pressured to sign up for training?
No. There is no pressure. Each employer will make their own decisions about what is right for them.
There is no requirement to contact or work with a Skills Broker at any stage. If an employer knows what they want to do, and are happy to organise and pay for it themselves, that’s fine. If an employer wants time to think through what they want to do before discussing with a Skills Broker, that’s also fine.
What public funding will my company receive?
The Government is providing public funds through the Cogent Compact to help employers deliver the Skills Pledge in England. To see what the Government will pay for click here.
Through Train to Gain, the Government will also help employers develop a wider training programme to meet their full training needs, including help with Level 3 qualifications, access to the Apprenticeships programme, additional and higher level qualifications for staff who already have some qualifications, and management and leadership development. But employers will be expected to pay their share of that wider training programme, reflecting the benefits to them and their staff. We’ll help to sort out what costs each employer needs to pay.
Will I have to report what I am doing?
We’ll want to know whether the publicly funded support from Train to Gain is delivering the benefits for you that you wanted. But it is for each employer to decide how and when they will report progress in delivering the Skills Pledge to their own staff, and to wider stakeholders.
Cogent will publicly recognise and celebrate employers who commit to the Skills Pledge, through a range of printed and online media, as well as highlighting their progress in fulfilling the commitment.
How do I encourage my employees?
The Skills Pledge is not a legal requirement, and does not change employment contracts. So employees cannot be compelled to train as a result of the Skills Pledge if they really do not want to. Our experience shows that if employees can be encouraged and supported to gain new skills and qualifications, it can transform their belief in themselves and their motivation at work.
How do I make the Cogent Pledge?
>> You can register by clicking here
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