A technical training firm has opened applications for its Centre of Excellence training programme.
NCFE, in partnership with WorldSkills UK, is seeking people for the third year of its scheme training technical educators.
With the second year of the programme currently underway, the scheme is already showing positive results from its first-year participants.
An online survey of learners revealed that a significant majority (86%) said that they would be able to apply the skills they had learnt to their education and work.
Notably, 80% of respondents also stated that these skills would also be applicable to other parts of their life. In terms of the sessions undertaken, 91% of respondents rated these as excellent or good.
Meanwhile, 97% of practitioners who have been taking part in the Centre of Excellence’s cascading Continued Professional Development (CPD) programme said the quality of the session they took part in was excellent or good.
Correspondingly, 77% said the CPD session they took part in was extremely relevant or very relevant to the courses that they teach, while 74% said it had had a major or substantial positive impact in their motivation to make changes to improve their teaching and training practice.
The Centre of Excellence is a revolutionary training programme for technical education educators that will advance the sector and benefit learners. NCFE has partnered with WorldSkills UK to create this programme to drive change within colleges and training providers.
WorldSkills UK is employing its expertise of global advancements in skills, while NCFE brings its knowledge of technical education to help educators fulfil their potential. The overarching aim of the programme is to inspire more learners of all backgrounds to pursue technical and vocational education as a highly effective route to success. 
The three-year pilot began in September 2020, but eventually the programme will be available to hundreds of colleges and training providers nationwide.
Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, CEO of WorldSkills UK, said: “As the international arm of the UK skills systems, WorldSkills UK is uniquely placed to use our knowledge of world-class standards and global best practice to support the development of high quality skills employers need now and in the future.
“The hugely popular Centre of Excellence supercharges the quality and delivery of technical and vocational education by transferring international expertise and knowledge to support the professional development of educators and is key to helping create a world-class skills economy across the UK.”
David Gallagher, CEO at NCFE said: “We know that we can’t have world class education without world class educators and that’s why we’re so committed to investing our resources in this initiative, which is driving forward positive change and unlocking excellence for everyone.
“Based on deep insight and learner need, the Centre of Excellence supports UK-wide delivery of best practice in the technical and vocational space. In doing so, we’re creating a cohort of learners who will be well-equipped to facilitate a skills-based levelling up of the UK economy.
“We look forward to seeing the full results of the initial pilot, but also to seeing the longer-term impact on the education sector as a whole. We’d like to encourage other organisations to collaborate with us on this, so please do get in touch if you’re interested in hearing more.”
