Civil Service in the news
Case Study: Sue Piggott-Forster
Sue Piggott-Forster: why the United Kingdom Border Agency is part of the Pathfinder
Sue Piggott-Forster is the Strategic Projects Manager for Skills for Life at the United Kingdom Border Agency. The Agency is involved in the Apprenticeship Pathfinder which begins in September, most likely in the areas of customer service, business administration and team leading.
Why they got involved
Sue says, ‘Because of its involvement in the Skills for Life programme, the Apprenticeships Pathfinder is seen as a natural progression to providing a range of vocational qualifications for staff. Also on a staff level it has sometimes been felt that concentration has generally been seen to be on providing support for young staff members; this is an opportunity to offer support across the diverse age and ability range of staff.’
‘It will provide staff with a framework of learning that will help them in personal development, and the portfolio of evidence will be based around their work and so enhance their skills in their business activities.’
Meeting challenges head on
‘The complexity and range of activities that staff are asked to do is increasingly demanding, and with the creation of a single agency, there are increased opportunities for staff to work in new areas. We are expecting staff to be able to undertake a broad spectrum of work tasks across a number of levels.
‘In order to meet these challenges we need offer a range of support to enhance existing skills and provide new learning opportunities to gain further skills. It is hoped that apprenticeships will play a role in, alongside other development and functional learning activities to help us in meeting our commitment to staff development and also meeting the government’s skills agenda.’
Finding the path
The Pathfinder has a vital role in ascertaining the future direction of apprenticeships in the Civil Service. Sue says, ‘We have agreed to become involved in the Pathfinder program, and are initially working with our regional staff and local providers to identify the type and nature of apprenticeship program that meets business needs to deliver to the initial tranche of participants. Once the Pathfinder is up and running the Agency will need to make some decisions about how it proceeds further across the whole organisation.’
