This is the LSC East Midlands Marketing News, which aims to ensure that you have the all latest information on the LSC's programmes, projects and campaigns.

Apprenticeships Campaign

Apprenticeship television advertising is planned to start on Monday 10 November 2008 and will run for three weeks. There will be further television advertising in February. The target audience for the television advertising is all adults with the main focus on housewives with children (C1s, C2s and Ds) with a secondary audience being employers and parents (A/Bs).

DVD
The Apprenticeship DVD is now available from the LSC’s publications storage company, Granby. It is eight minutes long and includes interviews with employers and apprentices. It does not have a publication number so please quote ‘World Class Apprenticeships DVD’ when requesting copies. The Granby email address is: lsc@granbymsl.co.uk

On the LSC’s dedicated Campaign Resources Site, under the partners tab, there is an eight-page brochure that gives a general overview of Apprenticeships entitled ‘Apprenticeships: Opening Doors to a Better Future’. Click here to view the brochure.

This year’s Employer Best Practice Guide 2008 is available under the employers tab and there is also an updated learner brochure under the learner tab. Click here to view the brochure

Apprenticeship Minimum Wage

The minimum weekly earnings for all apprentices in England will be increased from £80 to £95 a week next year. Click here to learn more

EMA

The EMA helpline: 0800 121 8989 is now also open at weekends between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm for any calls relating to EMA applications and payments.

Train to Gain

Web site

The new site is now live and contains the following new or enhanced features:

The site will now have a post code search facility on the regional landing page
The home page now has a drop down box directed exclusively at skills brokers and training providers leading them to their relevant websites
There is a dedicated East Midlands page which we are currently populating
An events calendar has been added. Events can be filtered by region and sector so please forward any relevant event information to richard.butler@lsc.gov.uk and he will populate the page with the information.

The newsletter will now be an online publication. Articles will be housed online under a sub-section entitled Newsletter under the Press and Events tab. An email newsletter will continue to be sent to employers and stakeholders with links to the different articles which are on the website.

Please forward your suggestions for future articles/content to: richard.butler@lsc.gov.uk

Developing Business Excellence through their People award

Train to Gain is sponsoring the Developing Business Excellence through their People award in the First Enterprise Ethnic Minority Business Awards 2008.

First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) works with the local ethic minority communities to provide a culturally sensitive business support service.

Award criteria: To recognise, encourage and reward organisations that make a significant contribution to the continuous training and education of their employees. The award will be made to an organisation that can demonstrate a sustained contribution to business performance through innovative learning, training and skills development programmes. The judges are looking for employers that can clearly show the benefits they have gained from a commitment to training their workforce.

For further information check out: www.first-enterprise.co.uk/2008-awards.php

The awards ceremony is at the Crown Plaza Hotel, Nottingham on 10 October 2008.

Skills Pledge

LSC is supporting British Chambers of Commerce and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in a nationwide Skills Pledge road show this autumn. The purpose of the road show is to encourage employer dialogue around skills and training to focus on the Skills Pledge.

The East Midlands event is on 14 October 2008 in Leicester and Minister for Skills, David Lammy is giving a presentation on the national focus on skills policies and emerging policies.

The event is targeted at employers, skills brokers, Business Link, the provider network, local authority CEOs and local employment partnerships (LEPs).

For information about the event, please contact Sharon Jeffrey at Leicester Chamber on jeffrey.s@chamberofcommerce.co.uk or tel: 0116 247 1800.

The LSC has developed a suite of regional materials including case studies, leaflets and banners to promote the Skills Pledge, explain what it is and how to get involved. If you would like copies of the materials or further information please contact, richard.butler@lsc.gov.uk.

Colleges Week 10 – 14 November 2008

The LSC is working closely with the AOC and DIUS in the initial planning stages for the week. We can confirm that the key themes for the week will be centred around:

Employer engagement
Personal and team skills challenges
Community values and cohesion
The transformational nature of college work - individual stories
Academic excellence.

While these are very broad themes college communications practitioners may wish to begin identifying individual case studies that may match the general topics.

Further details of activities and opportunities relating to the themes will be available soon. For more details about Colleges Week, please email: louise.anderson@lsc.gov.uk

Please find attached the latest pod cast with supporting transcript. It features Judi James, the respected body language expert.

Pod Casts

The latest in the series of pod casts produced by LSC East Midlands features TV’s body language expert Judi James giving her tips for interview success. Click here to view.

If you would like this badged up with your organisation's logo, or other information, please contact: samantha.keating@lsc.gov.uk. A transcript of this pod cast and Judi James’ biography is also available.

The next pod cast to be published will feature regional TV news journalist, Allison Mackenzie, who gives her advice to young people wanting a career in TV journalism.

Derbyshire Parents & Carers Year 11 leaflet

LSC East Midlands has worked with Derbyshire Connexions to produce an options leaflet for parent/carers of Year 11 learners. To view a copy of the leaflet, click here.

DCSF Diploma Campaign

Education for 14-19 year olds is changing from September 2008. The routes offered by the new Diploma, Apprenticeships and reformed A levels and GCSEs offer different combinations of practical and classroom learning.

The DCSF is launching a new marketing campaign for parents, employers and the educational workforce about changes within the 14-19 reforms. The campaign started on 8 September with national press and radio adverts. It will be followed up by further communications for specific groups including a series of briefing sessions for schools and colleges in the New Year. This will be supported by specific campaigns on the Diploma, Apprenticeships and EMA in the autumn.

Please click to view a copy of the advert and radio scripts.

SECTOR NEWS

Business Briefing

LSC East Midlands has published the third issue of its Business Briefing publication. This is designed to promote the skills agenda from an East Midlands’ perspective. Click here to view the latest copy. For hard copies of Business Briefing, please email: samantha.keating@lsc.gov.uk

National Research & Evaluation Plan 2008-9

The national research and evaluation plan for the 2008-09 year is now available. It details national projects underway and those planned through to March 2009.

Click here to view the plan.

Government launches new framework for UK manufacturers

'New Challenges, New Opportunities' aims to help UK manufacturing firms take advantage of changing global trends in manufacturing. Click here for more details.

£75m childcare boost for families

Children's secretary Ed Balls launched the three-year free childcare for training and learning for work scheme, which offers 50,000 low-income families in England £205 to pay for childcare. Click here for more details.

Ofsted reports

Ofsted has recently published a positive report on the progress of 14-19 reforms and the work of 14-19 partnerships. The report was based on survey visits to 16 LA areas carried out in 2007-8, including visits to colleges, work-based learning organisations and schools. Please click here to view this report

Ofsted has published a report on 'How colleges improve'. Please click here to view this report.

Press Releases

National and regional press releases issued to the media during September 2008.

National

LSC Provides Support for EMA Students

Date published: 09/09/2008

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has put in a place support for colleges to help those students affected by delays to their Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments.

Press Statement on the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) payments delays

Date published: 03/09/2008

The Learning and Skills Council has confirmed that all eligible students who apply for the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and who may have experienced delays with the processing of their application form will get all the payments for which they are eligible. All payments will be backdated and no-one will miss out.

To receive these press releases on the day that they are issued to the media, please register to receive web alerts. Click here to register: http://www.lsc.gov.uk/news/lscwebalerts/