AELP and Ufi to Launch New Post-16 Online Learning Platform
A new digital platform that will support the learning of apprentices, trainees, and college students post-Covid 19 is set for an Autumn launch.
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and Ufi VocTech Trust (Ufi) have formed a new partnership to launch the service, which is called #SectorShare.
This project is part of Ufi’s VocTech Now funding call, which was a direct response to the impact of Covid-19 on vocational learning across the UK.
Call for more content
Development of the web-based portal is well underway and the platform builders are now calling for education providers and publishers to submit learning resources for possible inclusion on the site. More than 80% of the resources available are free to the user and the portal itself is free to search.
#SectorShare is scheduled to go live in September 2020 and a sneak-peek of the well-populated beta site is available on AELP's Website.
The resources will be grouped by business sector. The portal will include a dedicated Maths and English section plus resources for ‘soft’ transferable employability skills, safeguarding, SEND, and assistive technology.
Employers, learners, and providers will find short descriptions of each resource, any cost implications, and testimonials so they can quickly decide at a glance whether it will be useful to them, saving valuable research time and money.
Content will provide a starting point for research with trusted views of existing practitioners, plus the benefit that everything is in one, easy to use portal.
AELP Managing Director Jane Hickie said:
AELP and Ufi VocTech Trust are launching what may be the first truly dedicated blended learning platform for the further education and skills sector.
The pandemic has prompted an unprecedented growth in online provision which has allowed thousands of young people and adults to keep learning during lockdown and it’s vital that we retain the gains made.
We’re confident that #SectorShare will flourish for the benefit of the next generation of learners
Ufi VocTech Trust's Deputy Chief Executive Louise Rowland said:
Ufi is very pleased to be able to support AELP in the delivery of #SectorShare at a time when we know that the services it will offer will be of critical importance to businesses up and down the country: this resource will offer a simple source of valuable information for employers, learners and providers alike and we’re excited by the opportunities this will maintain for vocational learners.
Lockdown provided the impetus to accelerate the use of digital learning: it also revealed the underlying issues around culture and funding that are impacting digital readiness within the vocational educational sector, many of which have been highlighted previously by Ufi.
At Ufi we know that using digital is the means to widen access to vocational learning and develop the workplace skills we need. To achieve this, we need a system that is fit for the future, ensuring that all learners, teachers, and institutions have access to the best tools available and the skills and confidence to use them.
Content and education providers who would like to contribute to the #SectorShare portal can email resources@aelp.org.uk to discuss available options.
Portal focus group being formed
AELP and Ufi are also forming a provider focus group to support the development of the portal. This would comprise a cross-section of providers covering different sectors, levels of learning and learning age-groups. Providers who are interested in joining the focus group can also email resources@aelp.org.uk.