Annual Strategic Plan – York Learning 2023_24                                                                                        Annex A

All strategic aims are linked back to accountability statement approved at CMT for 23/24.  These aims are linked to local / National Skills priorities as set out in the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and also continuing to support the aims of the current Council Plan.

Council Plan priorities

Equalities and Human Rights - Equality of opportunity - We will create opportunities for all, providing equal opportunity and balancing the human rights of everyone to ensure residents and visitors alike can benefit from the city and its strengths. We will stand up to hate and work hard to champion our communities.

Affordability - Tackling the cost-of-living crisis - We will find new ways so everyone who lives here benefits from the success of the city, targeting our support at those who need it most, supporting communities to build on their own strengths and those of the people around them.

Climate - Environment and the climate emergency - We know the race to net zero is more urgent than ever and we will understand the impact our actions have on the environment. We will prepare for the future, adapting our city to extreme climate events and enhancing our environment for future generations to enjoy.

Health - Health and wellbeing - We will improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities, taking a Health in All Policies approach, with good education, jobs, travel, housing, better access to health and social care services and environmental sustainability. We will achieve better outcomes by targeting areas of deprivation, aiming to level opportunity across the city.

Strategic Aim for 2023/24	Link to local / National Skills Priority	Actions and Targets	Progress to date Sept 23 -	End of Year Update to Scrutiny Committee
Increased progression from all forms of learning to most appropriate next steps	· Pathways will be developed using LSIP / national priorities as pilots with FE / HE institutions utilising adult learning funding to reduce fear of emerging technologies. · To increase the numbers of adults accessing provision to support progression in work, transition to new career opportunities, gain employability and technical skills required by employers and fulfil their potential at work in line with LSIP priorities · As above	· Collaborate with other local educational providers to develop key progression pathways from engagement into programmes that support local and national skills strategies. o To pilot at least one co-developed feeder programme for a priority sector with each FE provider within 2023/24 · Career pathways identifying progression routes for learners across community learning and accredited programmes are marketed to public to ensure transparency of offer and progression opportunities o Published career pathways documents available and promoted within 2023/24 academic year with all courses mapped to it · Individual Learning Plans to reflect service and course intent with personalised goals set for learners based on their anticipated progression steps o Clear documentation in place that links personalised goals to progression for all learners.	Courses/pathways have been created and started with York College to create ‘Introduction to Cyber Security’, ‘Coding’ and ‘Technical Dressmaking Design’ for pathways to their HE provision. At least one new feeder group will be developed this year. Throughout the offer there are identified pathways however in the more generic essential skills areas these are wider and based on recognising skills.  Curriculum managers are identifying career pathways from their provision and integrating discussions into their course planning and marketing. A published document is to be created with relevant mapping. All managers are currently on with this now will be checked during quality walks in October/November.	Created a new introduction to CAD course (with York College) that will feed into the level 3 courses at the college which support Engineering and design careers.  Currently only working with York College due to lead staff changes at Askham Bryan. Level 3 and above pathways in accountancy with Aspire Learning.   Joint Bootcamp planned. New project management feeder group being developed within Family Learning team to feed into Colleges and Universities offers. A working group in North Yorkshire have created a pilot of this first to make sure the template is workable.  York have now seen the test product and our IAG lead has requested significant changes which are in hand.  This should be in place for September 24. This is in place all course guides now have employment links entered this year and transferable skills are better articulated for the 24/25 roll out of the next planning stage.   To meet with Council Communications Team to generate a city-wide message that is linked to the strategy.
Engagement with a wider demographic of learners	· To develop clear and supported pipeline of individuals progressing through adult learning service into specialist provision and improved employment opportunities. · To ensure that funding supports engagement with full population in scope and supports them to effectively progress.	· Develop a suite of gateway provision that matches learner communities of interest to literacy, numeracy, communication or digital learning outputs o Each Curriculum area to work with one non-common  demographic group to develop an engagement programme · Use the full range of available media to clearly position the adult learning services as the gateway to learning and future progression o Marketing campaign focusing on the role of adult / lifelong learning and career development opportunities.	A wide range of offer is currently available to engage through a variety of ‘hooks’ and creates communities of interest.  We plan to develop clear messaging that matches those communities to the essential skills offer available. This is an ongoing piece of work and the aim this year will be to have at least 3 managers connected with a new demographic through ground up based planning. A monthly learner story will be published and shared to promote routes to learning and progression onwards.	New group working with:- Foss Bank Hospital with arts and movement courses.  Increased NHS collaboration in the workplace for maths and English. Inclusive Arts and Dressmaking at Door 84 and Kyra New digital offer with Haxby Group Practice to support residents accessing phones/NHS app.  JRHT, Lovel House for independent living, St Deny's Church, St Sampson's Centre, local probation workers. Subtle marketing has been going out to promote learning for adults to be lifelong not for ‘just now’.  Social media on 13^th Feb linked to apprenticeship and Rise projects relating to the benefit of learning.  Good lifelong learning promotion done during lifelong learning week.  Bootcamp messages has also helped.  Physical promotion in Parliament Street via Multiply and large job fair coming that has multiple learning promotions within it.  Learning for Everyone Brochure to every doorstep with  YO postcode in York area.  Job Fairs actively also promote these opportunities.
Develop the development, recognition, and celebration of transferable skills	Respond to the demographic challenge of retaining talent in the workforce as identified in the LSIP Support the LSIP request for all age careers guidance modules will celebrate transferability & also signpost, coach & support people to find skills solutions to meet their career goals, aspects will also be developed to focus on key sectors	· Develop a package of clearly identified mid-career transferable skills programmes. o Career-changer packages developed and marketed describing transferable skills and opportunities for progressions. · Produce a set of ‘on-demand’ modules that are accessible to learners completing Maths, English and Digital courses to see how these skills are used in the workplace. o On-demand modules produced and marketed to learners with progressions closely mapped	Tutors have had training on identifying and promoting transferable skills but not all learners can yet articulate this.  We will roll out monthly accessible sessions dedicated to career advice to existing learners using ‘kudos’ employment outcomes package. Through 22-23 a range of resources have been created for self-study in maths and English and Digital but these need further development and promotion to full fill on demand need.   Roll out of Skills Network  resources to learners to support ‘bite size’ delivery.	Promoting Career advice sessions which are available weekly and group sessions monthly.  Transferable skills promotion throughout offer and in all courses.  Employment progression routes promoted via all courses within paperwork and with tutors. Bootcamps have been available to support learning new skills in the following industries: Coding; Data Analytics; Computer Game Design; designing pathways to CAD;   Looking to new Intro courses for Engineering and Project Management.   Health & Social Care careers promotions. Employment links closely aligned to ESOL provision to promote career opportunities. This is continuing to be developed with Essential Skills routes started already at Hazel Court for Digital, English and maths.  These will then be available online as promotional bite size incentives to engage with learning.
Widen the accessibility of provision through the piloting of blended learning, multi-hub face-face learning, Bite-size and on demand learning programmes.	· The LSIP identifies the importance of training that is accessible when individuals are able to access it, whether that be physically, on-demand or in small chunks	· Each curriculum area to pilot at least one new delivery mode in 2023/24 academic year	YL has a wide offer incorporating both blended and online learning with multi hub, face to face learning happening within all essential skills areas and some wider community areas of delivery.  Therefore, Curriculum Managers are to focus on bite size packages of learning to encourage engagement back into learning.	YL have continued to offer the following range of delivery modes:- Face to face Online Blended (some weeks face to face some weeks online) Hybrid (face to face & online in same session) On Demand (self learning) Offer will be widened with equipment purchased with LSIF and being able to access new learning rooms at new Clifton Library.
Develop opportunities for all staff to have at least one industry focused CPD day	The LSIP identifies an ongoing challenge for college & training provider tutors to stay current with regard to industry-standard equipment and innovation. Businesses identify more could be done to ensure tutors know and understand up-to-date systems and technology.	· All staff to identify at least one opportunity to visit or engage in training in a priority sector within the academic year	Decided to not identify this for all staff due to the ongoing workload and limited capacity.  Once the current academic year has started, we will target 2 managers to engage with a new priority area	3 members of the team have engaged in discussions around Engineer, skills used, qualifications required and are developing a cross curriculum introduction to Engineering hopefully for 24/25 release.  3 team members have been engaged with Project Management as a career, pathways to and skills required etc. and this again is leading to a cross curriculum introduction course either via face to face delivery or bootcamps we think may be a good model for this. 1 member of the team is engaged in developing CAD courses which complements Engineering but also is a career in its own right.
Develop the Level 3 Award in Education and Training Offer to support engagement and placement opportunities for industry specialist staff to widen the teaching pool	The LSIP details that to train people in the technical skills required in priority sectors, there is a requirement for tutors with the relevant and industry-standard expertise to teach in these critical subject areas. The flexibility of the course offer lends itself to create an incubation hub for new, (but industry specialist) staff to access low-cost training but gain teaching expertise without leaving current role. Authorities offer a wide range of services where this could be piloted.	· Promote (initially internally within the council) the opportunity to learn to be a tutor for adult learning and to be given the opportunity to develop and run a feeder course for their industry. o Measured increased recruitment onto programmes	Promotion internally has allowed us to connect with some new tutors in specific technical and design industries.  External promotion has brought one enquiry which did not bring a specific skill set that we want.  Further development  and research is required in this area.	We have found it useful to connect up with teachers at York College and have so far recruited 2 in specific skill sectors to come and teach for us in introduction courses that progress to their higher-level course at the College.  We now have 3 tutors via this route.  We have also been able to recruit a specialist in VR technologies to delivery training on equipment and resources purchased via LSIF also.  We are hopeful to canvas within other providers as partnerships become further development elsewhere.  We also can promote those with skills who need teaching qualification to NY for training.   Because they are running the teaching programmes Paul promotes YL as part of that to help encourage them to look to us also for employment opportunities.
Develop the embedded focus of transferable skills, British values and safety to include sustainability	The transition to a green economy will requires the skills system to become increasingly agile and responsive to employer demand for skills as the economy grows and changes to respond to the reduction of carbon emissions. The starting point for this must be greater awareness of issues and opportunities and through embedded engagement this process can be started.	· Develop a pooled set of resources that can support ‘green upskilling’ within all provision to incorporate key sustainability messaging but also green economy recruitment opportunities. o Resources built and used	A working group to be identified to support this task.	Created a working group to discuss how we can promote and support sustainability within our offer.  Routes to sustainability are going to be promoted via learning materials and task set to learners to promote what is available in the local area.   Courses around being more environmentally aware.  We are adding to course guides how to get there via other sustainable routes.