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Colleges invest £800,000 in staff development Posted on 28/11/2011 00:00:00 Northern Ireland’s Colleges are investing £800,000 developing their staff. The development strategy, funded by the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), covers key areas including a Leadership and Management Programme, ‘Driving Excellence’ and the ‘Colleges Industry Initiative’. The plan also supports the development of staff in delivering Essential Skills (Literacy, Numeracy & ICT) and the SLDD (Special Learning Difficulties and Disabilities) Project.

Colleges NI CEO Garry Campbell welcoming the commitment to staff development said:

“Our Colleges are committed to investing in staff training and promoting professional development to improve the quality of delivery and better outcomes for learners. This major investment underlines the commitment of our Colleges to their most important resource, namely their staff.

Chair of the Advisory Board overseeing the four staff development programmes, Belfast Metropolitan College Principal and Chief Executive Marie Therese McGivern added:

“These four programmes will significantly enhance the skills of our staff to provide leadership in these difficult financial times and give frontline lecturers the opportunity to develop their skills in the workplace. It will also improve the delivery of Essential Skills and improve their ability to support students with learning difficulties or disabilities by ensuring that they have the skills needed to provide that support.”

Department for Employment and Learning, Head of Further Education Policy, Yvonne Croskery, said:

“Lecturers are the greatest resource our colleges have. They are the ones who deliver on the frontline and it is encouraging to see that colleges take development of the professional skills of their staff so seriously.

“I believe this investment will complement and support the wider strategy for Further Education in Northern Ireland, which sees colleges as key deliverers of skills at all levels, to meet the needs of employers, individual learners and the communities in which they live and work.  It is therefore essential that Colleges continue to invest in their own staff and DEL are totally committed to supporting the development of College staff.” ENDS

Note to Editors
  1. Colleges Northern Ireland is the membership body representing Northern Ireland’s six Regional Colleges.
  2. Following a procurement process the Colleges’ Industry Initiative is being delivered by Parity Solutions, and the ‘Driving Excellence’ Leadership and Management Programme is being delivered by Deloitte.
  3. The four Projects are:
    1. SLDD Support;
    2. Essential Skills Support;
    3. The ‘Colleges into Industry’ Initiative;
    4. The ‘Driving Excellence’ Programme, a change programme focusing on leadership and management in times of austerity.
  4. In April the Colleges also launched two new Professional Development Frameworks for staff in learning delivery:
    1. Technology in Learning Delivery (TLD) is a new qualification that will support learning professionals in using technology effectively, particularly in an online or blended learning environment.
    2. Coaching for Performance is for teachers, tutors and trainers who coach for skills competitions and also those who wish to coach for performance to improve outcomes for learners.

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