Case studies

Case studies of using The Toolkit:

Julie Riley, Training and Development Manager of Meadowhall Centre Ltd

Workplace LLN Case studies:

Case Study Serco - 'Skills for You’ is a Skills for Life programme which aims to develop Literacy, Language and Numeracy skills within Serco. The programme provides workplace development opportunities and is firmly lined to the companies governing principles. This project is highly regarded and widely seen as a model of excellence.

Heading for Success - Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club has a commitment to the community and has a wide range of projects for adults and children. The Skills for Life tutor identifies the critical success factors which make literacy and numeracy training thrive at the football club.

Encouraging Employer Contributions - Three training providers have been successful in obtaining employer funds to deliver workplace Literacy, Language and Numeracy training. This case study draws from their experiences.

Aylesbury Training Group - Recently they begun delivery of Skills for Life to their learners. They describe how they went about organising their pilot programme.

Surrey Flagship Employer Review - As part of the review of the Surrey Flagship Project each provider nominated one organisation they worked for. This case study looks at how the training was organised across the employers and the success and challenges of Skills for Life training within these organisations.

Basingstoke College of Technology - An interview with Alan Gwyer, the Strategy and Partnership Director, about the workplace Skills for Life training he is responsible for.

Milton Keynes College - The College worked with Culina Logistics to develop language skills of groups of overseas workers to help enable them to get permanent positions within the UK.

ABLE Open Learning Centre, Oxford - An interview with the manager of the centre about their wide ranging workplace delivery.

Asda Offers LLN Training in the Workplace - An overview of training programme at ASDA

Awareness Raising for Line Managers - A description of Skills for Life Awareness raising delivered to people managers within the Isle of Wight NHS Healthcare trust that highlights the need to ascertain "buy in" from appropriate levels within an employer organisation.

Bosal (UK) Ltd, Employer Training Pilot - A description of Borsal UKs training through the Employer Training Pilot with quotes from both employers and employees concerning the benefits of taking part in the forerunner of Train to Gain.

Cafe Spice - This case study shows how English language training supported staff with ESOL needs at a prestigious inner London restaurant. The account focuses on how spoken English training supported improved customer service and staff abilities.

Communication for Team Leaders at ABITEC Group - Tresham College outlines communication training for group of team leaders at Abitec giving a detailed breakdown of their employer engagement strategy including the methods used to gain "buy in" at different levels within an organisation. It also describes the measures taken by the provider and employer to ensure 100% attendance despite learners working on shifts at different sites and the activities undertaken to celebrate success.

Communication and Cross-Cultural Awareness for Nurses from Overseas - South Thames College, an overview of training delivered to overseas nurses including information about curriculum, materials, and evaluation methods used.

Context Developing English and Maths - A description of the literacy and numeracy training offered by Basingstoke College to North Hampshire Hospital Trust. This is a good example of partnership working between an employer, provider and other stakeholders to provide literacy and numeracy training in support of vocational training. The case study describes the importance of LLN with regard to workforce development in the context of the NHS Skills Escalator, the impact of this development on staff retention in an area of full employment and the necessity of high quality IAG. BCOT also explain how they ensured LLN training fitted strategically with wider NHS policies.

Embedding LLN in an NVQ for School Caretakers - Information about an embedding project with a council from the National Literacy Trust.

ESOL and Food Hygiene at Saxby’s Pork Pies - Tresham College describes ESOL training at Saxbys Pork Pies giving a detailed breakdown of their employer engagement strategy including the methods used to gain "buy in" at different levels within an organisation. It also describes the process of mapping the Food Hygiene certificate to the ESOL Core Curriculum and the resulting improvement in the pass rate for this vocational qualification.

ESOL in the Workplace for Hotel Staff - The class tutor outlines work within the fours seasons hotel included an analysis of the skills needed in different jobs within the organisation.

Essential Skills at Birmingham Airport - An account of the introduction of a course that involved English and Maths embedded into IT training. This case study focuses on the different methods to market training to employees and the benefits to both the employees and the employer of taking part.

Essential Skills at Golden Wonder - Tresham College describes literacy based health and safety training at Golden Wonder giving a detailed account of how several stakeholders worked in partnership to engage an employer, designing a course that was specific to the individual employer's need with an emphasis on improving productivity. They describe the content of two courses, one for supervisors/managers, one for employees and how this was based on the company's own procedures and induction. They give a detailed account of how they dealt with the challenges of shift working and the benefits noted by the employer.

Establishing Learning Centres at Remploy -
The impact of Remploy's learning strategy on the organisation, particularly the positive effect on recruitment.

Health Check for Employers' Induction Materials in Sussex - A description of a service offered to employers by the Skills for Life Development Centre in Sussex to check that their induction materials could be accessed by all employees.

Improving Customer Service at Emprise - Emprise outlines the key business drivers that led to the introduction of Skills for Life training and lists the resulting positive impacts to the business.

Improving Employees' Skills and Confidence at Tesco - An interview with a training manager and an employee from Tesco.

Liverpool City Council Leisure Services - Outcomes and lessons learned from a training programme for pool side and reception staff at Liverpool City Council.

Oxfordshire Skills for Health Briefing Paper - Oxfordshire Skills for Health is a NHS workplace learning programme, primarily aimed at low- paid workers. The programme is widely recognised as an example of innovation and good practice. This case study shows practical methods to make workplace learning a reality and ensure that learning impacts on the whole workplace and the individual.

Salad Days - An international company make a clear, financially based business case for the merits of Skills for Life training in their workplaces, and also discuss the benefits of improved language, literacy and numeracy skills for staff and the business.

Serco - Skills for You - A description of Serco's 'Skills for You' designed to meet learners and managers training needs within a large organisation, this case studies describes the measures taken to win over "hearts and minds" of both groups as well as the successful partnership arrangement between employees, managers, union and provider. It also gives examples of courses that were particularly relevant to learners and includes evidence of improved internal promotion rates.

Skills for Fun at Butlins - This case study describes the key business drivers that encouraged Butlins to undertake Skills for Life training, the importance of integrating IT with the other Basic Skills and the measures taken to recruit learners.

Skills for Life Training at Walkers - A description of the learning centre set up through learndirect at Walkers and its impact on the business, this case study outlines why Walkers have undertaken Skills for Life training, partly in response to the changes in the complexity of their employees' roles but also to help integrate the company into the local community, making them an 'employer of choice'.

Skills for the Ceramics Industry - A description of the benefits of Skills for Life training for individuals and companies within the ceramics industry this case study spells out the Skills for Life needs of a sector rather than just one employer. It also examines the needs for greater skills in a declining industry for both those leaving and those remaining.

Smart and Kleen Laundries - An interview with the Managing Director about the Skills for Life Training that has taken place within his company.

Surrey Adult Learner Awards - London property maintenance Ltd improve communication skills within their workforce.

Switching on to Literacy - Employing over 400 staff, W. Lucy Ltd needed all their staff to have transferable skills to drive business improvement. Their HR Manager explains how investment in staff literacy learning helped the company cope with change and boosted both productivity and morale.

The Context NHS Programme - A provider of workplace LLN and IT gives a clear description of their delivery in 20 medical workplaces, with useful information on how to ‘flex’ learning within NHS workplaces.

VT Shipbuilding Workplace Learning Centre - An outline of training at VT Shipbuilding and how staff were engaged to come into the learning centre this spells out the business drivers that led to VT shipbuilding engaging in Skills for Life such as changes to the role of employees and an ageing workforce. It also examines partnership working between the employer and other stakeholders including unions, the LSC and a provider.

• Read more case studies on the Conference Board of Canada's website