Today I went to an event to celebrate 18 months of trading for Trade Skills Academy (TSA) near Romford. This is a skills provider that I think really understands the importance of being flexible, and their results in getting participants into work is impressive.
TSA identify sectors in the local economy where there are job opportunities, then design short training courses which are run by time-served professionals. In Essex they run courses in telesales, car sales, plastering and plumbing.
TSA form links with local employers and offer them motivated applicants who are energised and highly motivated. Many of these candidates are unemployed at the point they join TSA. Participants can come back to TSA in the weeks after they leave to talk to a mentor, a job advisor, or even ask the plastering tutor how to tackle a job they have taken on. Many of the trades go into self employment.
For me, TSA is what you get when you don't start with an institution-based, academic year led programme. It is nimble, serves local employers, grows local talent, engages and skills people who are out of the job market and is genuinely flexible. Colleges need to see how they can adapt what is often a quite rigid skills model to compete with providers like TSA.
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