Below are the most frequently asked questions and their answers. If the question you have is not covered here, please email nationalskillsacademies@lsc.gov.uk. Answers to questions will be sent back via e-mail and posted on this page for future reference.
All national skills academies must be legal entities in their own right so you will need to decide what type of legal organisation it will be. Depending on the model developed for your Skills Academy, it may need a central hub and any proposal would need to demonstrate the benefits to the rest of the sector should that hub be based on an employer site. Skills academies must have access for all.
It is for you to convince the panel. Your proposal will need to be clear in its ambitions and rationale for identifying the need - more importantly, you will need to demonstrate support from employers whether for a wide or more narrow sector approach.
National skills academies are employer-led so we would expect any application to have employer leadership in developing the Expression of Interest itself as well as support from employers in the sector both financially and in terms of supporting what the Skills Academy will do. Colleges will form part of the specialist networks that national skills academies will develop and so are an important element of any National Skills Academy model.
Each National Skills Academy model is different and so each will require its own timescale for developing and launching. Normally, business planning takes around 6 - 9 months and the assessment stage 2 - 3 months.
‘National Skills Academy’ is a brand name owned by the LSC and so you will not be able to use it if your project is not approved through the formal routes.
This will depend on the model you develop. There is no set figure but government starts by looking at a matched funding proposal as a minimum, i.e. what funding you request from government is matched by employers and other stakeholders. Note that funding support for capital developments is not available from the LSC so if your model requires new or refurbished premises / other infrastructure this may be an area where employers wish to invest in.
National skills academies are not expected to become training providers in their own right for delivery of publicly funded provision such as Apprenticeships and your proposal will need to have a compelling argument if your model is based on this approach. Delivery of this and other public provision will be through LSC approved provider networks so you will need to develop strong provider engagement strategies. Full cost provision that is not funded by the public purse may be delivered directly by the National Skills Academy or other providers.
No. National Skills Academy proposals will have to clearly state what the ‘problem’ is within the sector and how the Skills Academy will ‘fix’ this. This may mean that in some sectors there is a greater need to engage and train young people and this may be a priority for the Skills Academy. National skills academies will need to focus on priorities for their sector but recognising that the aim is that they meet the needs of all groups whether already in the sector or wanting to enter it.
As well as co-ordinating, developing and delivering provision, national skills academies will be leaders of specialist provider networks. As a National Skills Academy you will improve the quality of training in your sector and develop strategies for sharing and developing best practice - we do not expect national skills academies to compete with existing learning providers.
Being involved in a National Skills Academy provides:
Initial ideas may come from a wide range of organisations with an interest in raising skills levels. Proposals must however be led by employers and this must be demonstrated through your governance arrangements.
The recent government papers “Building Britain’s Future - New Industry, New Jobs” and “Skills for Growth - A National Skills Strategy for economic growth and individual prosperity” are both important and relevant government publications to which you should refer when developing your proposal.
The Government’s ambition is to have a National Skills Academy in every major sector of the economy, resources permitting.
Employers may support a National Skills Academy in different ways including contribution in-kind through governance involvement, use of premises/equipment and of course through purchasing products and services from the Skills Academy. Employer investment has to include cash to set up the Skills Academy, fund development costs (including capital) and to ensure sustainability. Government expects any financial support to be provided through the public purse to be matched with other funds.
Once an Expression of Interest is approved, the LSC can provide a nominal amount to develop a Business Plan for submission - this will not cover all of the costs involved in developing a proposal so other funding must be identified. On approval of a Business Plan the LSC will agree what level of financial support it will provide for the first 3 years only - this funding will be available alongside investment from employers and other bodies.
You will need to inform the LSC of these changes before moving forward with developments. The approval from the LSC is for the proposal and costs outlined in the Expression of Interest and should these change the LSC and original panel may wish to review that approval.
We know that in some sectors employers are likely to identify skills at Levels 4 and 5 as a priority. We would expect this to be clearly set out in the Expression of Interest as well as identifying organisations that may be able to deliver provision at that level. Note that proposals should state what discussions/links have been made with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) which is responsible for funding at this level.
Yes. We are looking for employers to contribute to the initial development of a National Skills Academy. In most cases we expect this would involve some element of upfront capital investment.
Yes. The LSC recognises that some employers may want to provide funds and support a National Skills Academy that focuses on the needs of a particular ‘sub-sector’ rather than the whole sector. Where this is the case, the LSC will consider more than one expression of interest from a sector. For example, Cogent has helped to shape two skills academies; one for process industries and one for nuclear. However, we would expect to see evidence that proposals complement rather than overlap with each other.
Yes. We would be happy to consider expressions of interest from employers who want to work across SSC boundaries to develop a National Skills Academy which covers common skills. We are looking for employers to develop models for skills academies that work for them - national skills academies need to work together, spreading best practice and avoiding unnecessary duplication wherever possible.
In agreement with the LSC, each of the sectors developing business plans has put together project teams to manage the development of their National Skills Academy. All project teams involve employers in the development of business plans.
In some cases, national skills academies will have their own buildings, but the training environments will be flexible - for example, training could take place at a National Skills Academy accredited training centre or at an employer’s site. National Skills Academy centres are made up of a wide range of training organisations and are designed to ensure a good geographical spread of opportunities for learners to follow specialist courses.
There is no single ‘best’ model for a National Skills Academy. We are looking for employers to propose models for a National Skills Academy which meets the needs of their sector. This means that models are likely to vary. There is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution, and we welcome new and innovative ideas.
We do consider Expressions of Interest from employers in a sector that is not covered by a Sector Skills Council and we are keen to encourage employers to develop proposals with the support of the appropriate Sector Skills Council or trade body. We believe that employers would benefit from being part of a wider vocational network such as that provided by sector specific bodies.
Employer backing is seen as key to the success of NSA’s. We recommend applicants talk to SSCs to ensure that their thoughts are aligned with future priorities as well as to ensure that the proposal isn’t one that the SSC is looking at already.
Yes; if announced the scheduled interview dates may move forward by one week.
The same individual will mark the whole form.
The application will be assessed by the LSC (nationally and regionally), and by BIS to reach an overall score. This score will then be moderated by a panel which will also look at the wider policy context of bids.
No; the application is scored as a whole and then moderated by an independent Panel to ensure a balanced score.
Ensure that you respond concisely to each of the areas - be clear on the NSA goals and how it will transform the sector. Where existing documentation / research exists that supports your proposal then it is better to refer to such information rather than trying to include it all in the template.
Applicants should be aware of government skills priorities and strategies published recently such as New Industry, New Jobs and Skills for Growth.
No; the solution should address the needs of the sector.
There are already examples of this within the network and it is not an issue for the NSA programme. You need to ensure that the model you propose is appropriate for the sector and ultimately, you will need to seek legal advice around the options and your final solution.
The key here is to be open, transparent and representative of the sector. Think about what the sector looks like at the moment and what it needs to positively transform. Ultimately, proposals will need to be supported by industry bodies.
Yes, there is no age restriction.
No; years 1-3 referred to in the EoI template refer to the three years of operation after you have had your Business Plan approved. If you have already secured and spent funding, then it is important that you highlight this as part of the ‘development plan’ section in the EoI. Only funds secured as part of the 3 year development period should be input to this table, i.e. post Business plan approval.
This will depend entirely on the applications received. High scoring applications will be those that are affordable, make an impact, demonstrate employer support, and can articulate a problem and a solution.
In each of Rounds 1-4, four applications were approved.
The budget per application will depend entirely on the solution proposed by the application. For business plan development, the budget is fixed at £250k. The current Comprehensive Spending Review includes the NSA budget for delivering the EoI and Business Planning stages in this Round 5. Confirmed budgets will be through the next CSR for 2011 onwards.
The funding requirement for your NSA will fall out of the solution that you propose and the total of other investment you secure.
NSAs is a national programme and therefore should provide a solution that will extend across England - you are solving a national problem although there may be specific regions where your work is needed urgently / later on in the process of national roll-out.
NSAs are free to extend beyond England, but the funding available is for work in England only. There are already examples within the current network of the ways this is working.
No; the solution needs to address a sector problem which may be about a variety of learner groups. There are of course government priorities - for instance Apprenticeships - that are about a specific age group and training programme.