Skills Audit Research Articles

Post-16 students’ experience of practical science during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on students’ self-efficacy in practical work

This paper presents the findings from a detailed study investigating UK undergraduate students’ experience of practical science in their post-16 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also examines their perceived confidence and preparedness in relation to areas of practical science skills at the start of their undergraduate courses. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Findings from student focus groups held at the end of their post-16 studies were used to support the development of a comprehensive skills audit and quantitative survey for incoming undergraduate students. Survey data were collected in September and October 2021 from 275 students commencing Biosciences, Chemistry, Physics and Natural Science degrees at two universities in England. The research is important because although almost all students had the opportunity to undertake practical work as part of their post-16 studies during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable variation in students’ experiences. The data indicate that COVID-19-related closures of post-16 education establishments, ongoing social distancing requirements and the consequent removal of the assessment criteria for students to have ‘routinely and consistently’ undertaken each of the practical assessment requirements had implications for the development of students’ self-efficacy in relation to practical science. The research presents important considerations which are relevant for educators supporting students’ transition from post-16 to Higher Education and have the potential to impact on incoming students over many years to come.

Документация для оценки школьной системы и профессионального развития учителей: Совместное исследование университета и школы в Италии

The continuous professional development of the teacher (CDP) has long been considered a prerequisite for the career and also for economic progress. CDP must be compared to standards which also make it possible to construct validation systems for the teachers’ skills in progress. The issue of teaching professionalism emerges also in the Italian legislative debate. We outline the research “The continuous professional development of the teacher: from the Improvement Plan to the appraisal”, conducted with a group of 33 schools in Southern Italy, the University of Bari and Unione Cattolica Italiana Insegnanti Medi (UCIIM, teachers’ association). The research project investigated the documentation of practices (connected with school’s self-evaluation, teacher evaluation and appraisal procedures) to improve the quality of teaching and to develop teacher professionalism. Three phases of research training occurred: a) The first phase involved a specific document analysis of “Rav” and “PdM” (acronyms for Self-Assessment Report - Rapporto di Auto-Valutazione - and Improvement Plan – Piano di Miglioramento). These documents were presented to the teaching staff and served as the primary materials for self-evaluation and decision-making. b) In the second phase, referred to as "professional development," the skills audit and standards were introduced and collaboratively developed with the teachers. These documents formed the foundation of a teacher's professional development program. c) The third phase was dedicated to "merit appraisal." It focused on selecting and analyzing the best appraisal sheets, which were considered the primary documents for assessing merit and promoting teachers. The school staff involved over 300 people, including teachers and principals. The results of the study underlined: the impact of the documentary practices introduced by school evaluation system on professional development; the importance of university-school collaboration supporting school-based assessment and teachers' professional development, shifting from a top-down orientation to more teacher self-regulating initiatives; the methodological-educational choice of principals as teachers’ tutors.

A Conceptual Model to Strengthen Integrated Management of HIV and NCDs among NIMART-Trained Nurses in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Integrated management of human immune deficiency virus (HIV) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in primary health care facilities remains a challenge. Despite research that has been conducted in South Africa, it is evident that in Limpopo Province there are slits in the implementation thereof. There is a need to develop a conceptual model to guide in strengthening the clinical competence of nurse-initiated management of antiretroviral therapy (NIMART)-trained nurses to implement the integrated management of HIV and NCDs to improve clinical outcomes of patients with the dual burden of diseases in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study aimed to develop a conceptual model to strengthen the implementation of integrated management of HIV and NCDs amongst NIMART nurses to improve clinical outcomes of patients with the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases in Limpopo Province, South Africa. An explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods research design was followed. Data were collected from patient records and the skills audit of 25 Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities and from 28 NIMART trained nurses. Donabedian's structure process outcome model and Miller's pyramid of clinical competence provided a foundation in the development of the conceptual model. The study revealed a need to develop a conceptual model to strengthen the implementation of integrated HIV and NCDs implementation in PHC, as evidenced by differences in the management of HIV and NCDs. Conclusion: The study findings were conceptualised to describe and develop a model needed to strengthen the implementation of integrated management of HIV and NCDs amongst NIMART nurses working in PHC facilities. The study was limited to Limpopo Province; the model must be implemented in conjunction with the available frameworks to achieve better clinical outcomes.

Skills audits: an integrative literature review

PurposeSkills audits represent an important vehicle for analysing and monitoring skills coverage across organisations and nations and identifying skills gaps and mismatches that exist. In so doing, they provide valuable data on the competitive positioning of organisations and nations and help determine priorities for investment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the use and prevalence of skills audits to improve individual, organisational and societal outcomes.Design/methodology/approachFollowing the guidance of Torraco (2016), this paper takes the form of an integrative literature review. The authors conducted a series of keyword searches using databases such as Google Scholar, ABI Inform, Science Direct and Emerald. Title word searches used the terms: “skills audit”, “skills analysis”, “skills inventory”, “skills mapping” and the authors reviewed articles that were published between the period: 1990 to 2020.FindingsSkills audits remain a useful tool to assess skill attainment and progression on university and college programmes, giving individuals a better understanding of their particular strengths and allowing them to develop realistic career plans and goals. From an organisational perspective, skill audits add value where they are strategically linked to job design, recruitment and training initiatives. They are also useful in helping organisations identify skill shortages, particularly if they relate skills outages to future growth areas. Finally, skills audits can sustain career counselling, but need to remain flexible in categorising skills in relation to the gig economy and remote working.Originality/valueThe topic of skills audits remains an under-researched topic in the training and human resource development literature. To date, limited studies have been carried out examining their use and effectiveness. This paper sheds light on a topic worthy of exploration in the field.

Desenvolvimento de uma proposta de educação informada por evidências para terapeutas ocupacionais para cuidados paliativos e cuidado no fim de vida: promovendo a justiça ocupacional

Abstract Introduction Death is inevitable, yet hospitals and health services continue to focus on life-sustaining practices despite clients presenting with clear decline related to life-limiting illness. Social and occupational injustice is common for clients receiving palliative or end-of-life care, as they experience increased occupational disengagement and disempowerment. A gap was identified in the Occupational Therapy department of a metropolitan Australian hospital regarding clinician skills, knowledge and confidence in working with these clients. Objective To describe the development of an evidence informed education package designed to support occupational therapists to provide the best possible quality of care and promote occupational justice for clients receiving palliative or end-of-life care. Method Consultation with key stakeholders and a review of existing resources including a skills audit, was conducted to identify current practice. A review of professional and grey literature was completed, and benchmarking with similar organisations provided a wider perspective on current Australian practice. Review of widely available educational resources were evaluated. Results Baseline data collection confirmed that promoting occupational and social justice for people requiring palliative or end-of-life care was under-recognised across the health service. Benchmarking identified significant variation in educational practices across similar Australian health services. The structure and content of a face-to-face clinical education session was formulated using evidence from the literature review and relevant available resources. There are plans to transfer this education package to an e-learning platform with evaluation built into the package to allow content to remain up to date. Conclusion Occupational Therapy clinicians are well placed to promote occupational and social justice for people requiring palliative or end-of-life care but require additional occupationally focused education to optimise their practice in this area.

Skills profile of technical staff in the south African local government sector: an empirical survey

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the findings of a local government sector-wide technical skills audit. A mixed-method research design was followed in both a positivist and interpretivist scientific paradigm to conduct the survey in local, district and metropolitan municipalities. Quantitative and qualitative data were processed and thematic analyses were done per respondent and participant category to obtain rich descriptions of current technical skills challenges and skills development priorities in local government. From the empirical survey it is evident that significant technical skills shortages exist, especially in rural district and local municipalities. This severely compromises the delivery of the four basic technical services, namely water provisioning, waste management, sanitation and sewerage, and electricity.

Supporting positive health outcomes through leisure and culture trusts.

A skilled and competent workforce is imperative to tackling health inequalities. The opportunities for health-based conversations and interventions are increasing due to the breadth of services and multi-disciplinary services being delivered in community assets, available through trusts and social enterprises.Sporta member leisure and culture trusts are all charitable social enterprises based within communities, many operating facilities and services on behalf of local authorities. Sporta (The Sports and Recreation Trusts Association) have partnered with Health Education West Midlands and Public Health England West Midlands to scope out the workforce development needs of Sporta members' 55,000 staff through a pilot skills audit. Many of the trust's workforce are frontline and engage with tens of millions of customers per year. Therefore, the opportunities for Making Every Contact Count (MECC)-based conversations, supportive chats, specialist advice on specific conditions or a welcoming cup of tea are apparent and continual.The pilot skills audit evidenced great commitment from trusts investing in the skills of their workforces, identified the skill gaps of the workforces, affirmed actions already being taken and highlighted tangible impacts. As an overview, the evidence collated from the skills audit identified that the greatest needs for development are within1. The trust's wider workforces (e.g. receptionists, library assistants, casual staff, cafe assistants);2. The trust's strategic leaders (e.g. Chief Executives).The Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH), Health Education England and Public Health England regional workforce leads in the designated pilot areas have been instrumental in supporting development opportunities for the wider workforce. There are three core foci:1. Developing a leisure and culture trust- specific 'Making Every Contact Count' course including a train-the-trainer model;2. Trusts accessing the Health Education England and Public Health England regional 'Masterclass' programmes including, for example, learning focused on specific populations and conditions, data and evaluation;3. Trusts are equally exploring opportunities of becoming RSPH Training Centres to deliver in-house and externally with partners, the RSPH level 1 and 2 courses in particular.To build the skills of the trust's strategic leaders, partnerships are being created with regional Public Health Leadership Academy and Masterclass programmes, which can then utilise the trust's ability to cascade the learning throughout their workforce. Driven by Health Education England and Public Health England regional workforce leads opportunities for joint learning events and workshops between Directors of Public Health and trust Chief Executives will importantly build understanding of and confidence in the trust sector. The outcomes to be derived from these opportunities will lead to ensuring trusts are supporting the delivery of the Public Health Outcomes Framework, cross-organisation partnership building to delivering better health outcomes, understanding and complementing each other's role and strengths and supporting collaboration and innovation in service delivery.As alluded to, trusts are already investing in the skills development of their workforces to fully understand and deliver to the wider determinants of health. For example, within Life Leisure's 'Community Partnerships Plan 2010-2015', they highlighted the ambition to create a highly skilled workforce who would feel confident and capable of working with a range of health needs and abilities. The leisure trust, based in Stockport, has high expectations of their workforce, from Apprentices through to Level 4 specialist instructors. This expectation is matched by the trust investing heavily in their workforce with the ultimate outcome leading togreater capacity to see more referrals from deprived areas whilst still maintaining a financially sustainable offer. …

Is Western Australia's rural surgical workforce going to sustain the future? A quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Objective Despite public interest in the rural workforce, there are few published data on the geographical distribution of Australia's rural surgeons, their practice skill set, career stage or work-life balance (on-call burden). Similarly, there has not been a peer-reviewed skills audit of rural training opportunities for surgical trainees. The present study undertook this baseline assessment for Western Australia (WA), which has some of the most remote practice areas in Australia. Methods Hospital staff from all WA Country Health Service hospitals with surgical service (20 of 89 rural health services) were contacted by telephone. A total of 18 of 20 provided complete data. The study questionnaire explored hospital and practice locations of practicing rural surgeons, on-call rosters, career stage, practice skill set and the availability of surgical training positions. Data were tabulated in excel and geographic information system geocoded. Descriptive statistics were calculated in Excel. Results Of the seven health regions for rural Western Australia, two (28.6%) were served by resident surgeons at a ratio consistent with Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) guidelines. General surgery was offered in 16 (89%) hospitals. In total, 16 (89%) hospitals were served by fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) surgical services. Two hospitals with resident surgeons did not use FIFO services, but all hospitals without resident surgeons were served by FIFO surgical specialists. The majority of resident surgeons (62.5%) and FIFO surgeons (43.2%) were perceived to be mid-career by hospital staff members. Three hospitals (16.7%) offered all eight of the identified surgical skill sets, but 16 (89%) offered general surgery. Conclusions Relatively few resident rural surgeons are servicing large areas of WA, assisted by the widespread provision of FIFO surgical services. The present audit demonstrates strength in general surgical skills throughout regional WA, and augers well for the training of general surgeons. What is known about the topic? A paper published in 1998 suggested that Australia's rural surgeons were soon to reach retirement age. However, there have been no published peer-reviewed papers on Australia's surgical workforce since then. More recent workforce statistics released from the RACS suggest that the rural workforce is in crisis. What does this paper add? This paper provides up-to-date whole-of-state information for WA, showing where surgical services are being provided and by whom, giving a precise geographical spread of the workforce. It shows the skill set and on-call rosters of these practitioners. What are the implications for practitioners? The present study provides geographical workforce data, which is important to health planners, the general public and surgeons considering where to practice. In particular, these data are relevant to trainees considering their rural training options.

Our Future, Our Skills: Using Evidence to Drive Practice in Public Libraries

Abstract
 
 Objective – The public library sector’s future prosperity is contingent upon a well-trained, experienced, and valued workforce. In a collaborative initiative, State Library Victoria (SLV) and the Public Libraries Victoria Network (PLVN) commissioned an in-depth research study to examine the skills requirements of staff across the State. The Our Future, Our Skills project sought to identify the range of skills used by public library staff today, to anticipate the range of skills that would be needed in five years’ time, and to present a skills gap analysis to inform future training and development strategies.
 
 Methods – The project encompassed qualitative and quantitative research activities: literature review and environmental scan, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and a workforce skills audit. The research populations were staff (Individual survey) and managers (Management survey) employed in 47 library services, including metropolitan, outer metropolitan and regional library services in Victoria.
 
 Results – The high response rate (45%) reflected the relevance of the study, with 1,334 individual and 77 management respondents. The data captured their views related to the value of their skillsets, both now and in five years’ time, and the perceived levels of confidence using their skills. The sector now has a bank of baseline evidence which has contributed to a meaningful analysis of the anticipated skills gaps.
 
 Conclusions – This paper focuses on the critical importance of implementing evidence-based practice in public libraries. In an interactive workshop, managers determined the skills priorities at both the local and sectoral levels to inform staff development programs and recruitment activities. A collaborative SLV/PLVN project workgroup will implement the report’s recommendations with a state-wide workforce development plan rolled out during 2015-17. This plan will include a training matrix designed to bridge the skills gap, with a focus on evaluation strategies to monitor progress towards objectives. The paper provides insights into the different ways in which the project workgroup is using research evidence to drive practice.

An initial reliability and validity study of the Interaction, Communication, and Literacy Skills Audit

Early childhood educators (ECEs) have an important role in promoting positive outcomes for children's language and literacy development. This paper reports the development of a new tool, The Interaction Communication and Literacy (ICL) Skills Audit, and pilots its reliability and validity. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was examined by three speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Five skill areas relating to ECE language and literacy practice were rated. The face and content validity of the ICL Skills Audit was examined by expert SLPs (n = 8) and expert ECEs (n = 4) via questionnaire. The overall intra-rater reliability for the ICL Skills Audit was excellent with percentage close agreement (PCA) of 91–94. Inter-rater agreement was PCA 68–80. Expert SLPs and ECEs agreed that the content was comprehensive and practical. Based on this preliminary study, the ICL Skills Audit appears to be a promising tool that can be used by SLPs and ECEs in collaboration to measure the skills of ECEs in the areas of language and literacy support. Future psychometric and outcome research on the revised ICL Skills Audit is warranted.

Undergraduate perceptions of the development of team-working skills

Purpose – The ability to working effectively with others (WEWO) is critical yet industry continues to lament deficiencies in new graduates. Progress in developing this highly valued skill in undergraduates is impeded by a lack of conceptual clarity and evidence of how best to measure it, and a tendency to adopt an outcomes-focused, rather than process-oriented, approach. This paper aims to investigate undergraduate perceptions of how well a stand-alone employability skill development programme, operating in an Australian Business Faculty, is fostering the WEWO skill set and which pedagogical practices are considered to add most value. Design/methodology/approach – The study examines undergraduate perceptions using data gathered from a skills audit of 799 business undergraduates from all four sequential units within the skills programme. Undergraduates rated and described their development against an established framework of WEWO behaviours. Findings – Findings indicate that, overall, skill development is rated highly among the undergraduates although the behaviours of conflict resolution, social intelligence and influencing others were rated less highly than others within the skill set. The importance of class activities and assessment items, including the use of virtual learning tools were identified by students as critical to the development of WEWO behaviours. Originality/value – The study highlights the important role of constructive alignment, sequential skill development, consistency of delivery and ensuring student “buy-in” to education practitioners in their efforts to meet industry expectations of graduates who can WEWO.

Poor English language proficiency hinders generic skills development: a qualitative study of the perspectives of first-year medical students

A number of generic skills have been identified as outcomes of higher education, largely to prepare graduates for the unpredictability of their professional practice. Generic skills include – but are not limited to – information-handling, managing learning, communication and presentation, computer literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving. After completing a quantitative validated skills audit, three cohorts of new medical students at a Gulf university (English second language learners) were surveyed for their self-identified strengths and deficiencies in terms of these generic skills. A year later, again, after completing the skills audit, they were provided with their skills list from the previous year and asked to identify factors that had promoted or hindered skills development. Students identified information-handling and communication and presentation skills as two skills categories in which considerable development had taken place. Despite these gains, due largely to the activities in a Medical Communication and Study Skills theme (English for Special Purposes) and extra-curricular activities such as research, students acknowledged that poor English language skills (e.g. vocabulary deficiency, difficulty reading) had hindered the development of their communication and presentation and information-handling skills. For some, poor English language proficiency had affected their behaviour in terms of classroom participation and approaching their teachers. With English as the international language of higher education, the implications of language deficiency amongst English second language learners in terms of the development of some generic skills as well as recommendations for remediation are discussed.

Continuing professional development for RMIT International University Vietnam library staff: Adding value through an international partnership: A case study

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of blended learning – the fusion of face-to-face and online learning experiences – to implement an effective and culturally sensitive program of professional development in an Australian university working in a developing country. It sought insight into pertinent pedagogical approaches for staff development across multiple locations including across national boundaries. The project demonstrated how learners can develop new capabilities and approaches by building on existing skills and knowledge as they interact in communities of practice. The immediate purpose was to design and deliver a continuing professional education program to meet the needs of librarians working at RMIT International University Vietnam in the context of the demands of the academic community and in the light of the challenge library staff experienced in seeking to meet explicit and tacit expectations. The project ran from late January to mid December 2010. The research questions were: ‘Is blended learning effective as an approach to continuing professional development when working across cultures in a multinational organization?’ and ‘What contribution do face-to-face and online components make to learning outcomes?’ The methodology used was an action learning approach. A 2009 consultant’s report into the RMIT Vietnam Library established professional developmental needs which were further detailed in February 2010 by the project leader from RMIT University, Melbourne using a skills audit. Workshops in Vietnam, visits to Melbourne by several Vietnam staff members, and an online forum were then delivered. Reflective practice and ongoing input from staff were utilized to form a feedback loop to modify the project timing and approaches as needed. Evaluation included participant feedback on workshops, tracking changes in Library services, a customer survey, a project-end survey of participants’ behavioral changes against learning topics as self-reported, and discussion with participants. The authors were actively involved in the project: Julia Leong as project leader and Loc Nguyen as project champion at the Saigon South Campus. Blended learning was found to be effective in meeting continuing professional developmental needs and in promoting positive changes in library service provision. Online discussions were effective for extending existing knowledge, gaining practical hints, and examining attitudes. Face-to-face workshops and visits were more effective for learning new material in a systematic way. It is recommended that consideration be given to applying the blended learning model used in this project to continuing professional developmental work in similar contexts.

Continuing professional development for RMIT International University Vietnam library staff: Adding value through an international partnership: A case study

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of blended learning – the fusion of face-to-face and online learning experiences – to implement an effective and culturally sensitive program of professional development in an Australian university working in a developing country. It sought insight into pertinent pedagogical approaches for staff development across multiple locations including across national boundaries. The project demonstrated how learners can develop new capabilities and approaches by building on existing skills and knowledge as they interact in communities of practice. The immediate purpose was to design and deliver a continuing professional education program to meet the needs of librarians working at RMIT International University Vietnam in the context of the demands of the academic community and in the light of the challenge library staff experienced in seeking to meet explicit and tacit expectations. The project ran from late January to mid December 2010. The research questions were: ‘Is blended learning effective as an approach to continuing professional development when working across cultures in a multinational organization?’ and ‘What contribution do face-to-face and online components make to learning outcomes?’ The methodology used was an action learning approach. A 2009 consultant’s report into the RMIT Vietnam Library established professional developmental needs which were further detailed in February 2010 by the project leader from RMIT University, Melbourne using a skills audit. Workshops in Vietnam, visits to Melbourne by several Vietnam staff members, and an online forum were then delivered. Reflective practice and ongoing input from staff were utilized to form a feedback loop to modify the project timing and approaches as needed. Evaluation included participant feedback on workshops, tracking changes in Library services, a customer survey, a project-end survey of participants’ behavioral changes against learning topics as self-reported, and discussion with participants. The authors were actively involved in the project: Julia Leong as project leader and Loc Nguyen as project champion at the Saigon South Campus. Blended learning was found to be effective in meeting continuing professional developmental needs and in promoting positive changes in library service provision. Online discussions were effective for extending existing knowledge, gaining practical hints, and examining attitudes. Face-to-face workshops and visits were more effective for learning new material in a systematic way. It is recommended that consideration be given to applying the blended learning model used in this project to continuing professional developmental work in similar contexts.

The politics of gendered growth

PurposeAgainst a backdrop of global economic recession, high production costs and increased international competition, the performance, survival and growth of small businesses is high on the global political agenda. However, like many other nations, Ireland is lagging behind in terms of a co‐ordinated approach to the specific challenge of supporting women‐owned ventures, hence possibly reducing their opportunity to act as economic agents. Based on a review of growth‐oriented support programmes for women in business in Ireland, this short viewpoint seeks to identifiy a number of gaps in the current support system and to propose a range of possible alternative intervention strategies that the authors believe can help facilitate business growth.Design/methodology/approachUsing secondary data, a review of the current government support programmes was carried out. Further, evidence obtained through an in‐depth qualitative study of 33 women entrepreneurs in Ireland and Northern Ireland which identified a number of specific barriers inhibiting the development of these firms was used.FindingsThe analysis of current government practices revealed that whilst women are making progress in starting more businesses in Ireland, the current statistics indicate that they still tend to start small and stay small. This points towards a need to reassess and understand the issue of growth among women entrepreneurs and, in doing so, develop new mechanisms that can have real impact on growth‐oriented women‐owned firms whilst also respecting and supporting those who choose not to grow their business. The qualitative study identified a number of specific barriers, which hinder the development of their firms. These included financial, regulatory and employability challenges; a lack of management skills and confidence. Motherhood and personal goals were also found to be inhibiting factors for women entrepreneurs.Practical implicationsThe paper proposes a number of possible government and personal intervention strategies to overcome the identified barriers. These include encouraging lending within the small growth sectors, conducting a regional skills audit, reducing the administration and paperwork associated with trading and accessing support and develop customised training and up‐skilling designed to meet the specific needs of women entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe paper argues that government agencies in Ireland must now act on the evidence provided and confront the issues affecting women entrepreneurs.

Future skills and current realities: How the psychological (Jungian) type of European business leaders relates to the needs of the future

How ready for the future are our business leaders? This paper addresses this question by drawing on two pieces of research. An international skills audit was carried out to ascertain if the skills needed by future business leaders would be different from the skills needed today; the results from 340 respondents are presented. These are compared with data on the Jungian type of over 8000 senior managers and executives taken from nine different European countries. Type was measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® (MBTI ®) instrument. The findings are used to identify challenges for the future. For example, although the audit suggested that skills such as the ability to empower others are likely to become increasingly important, people with the most common type preference amongst European senior managers (ESTJ) may, especially when under stress, have a particular tendency to want to make all the decisions themselves, without any input from others. The ways in which organisational psychologists and HR practitioners can employ psychological type to help leaders meet these challenges are briefly discussed.

EDF Energy harnesses the power of leadership development

PurposeThis paper aims to examine two management‐development programs at EDF Energy – the 4Is program for directors and senior and middle managers, and Turning up the Volts, for team managers in the customers' branch retention and acquisition department.Design/methodology/approachInvestigates what gave rise to the training programs, how they were delivered and the results they have achieved.FindingsReveals that the 4Is program has improved leadership behaviors across the company, measured through “before and after” 360‐degree assessments on impact, involvement, inspiration and integrity. Turning up the Volts, meanwhile, has led to more internal candidates applying for team‐management internal vacancies, an increase in staff satisfaction from 33 percent to 72 percent in six months, a decrease in staff turnover to 11 percent from 17 percent, and a fall in team‐manager turnover to 3 percent from 16 percent.Practical implicationsDemonstrates that both programs brought about real culture change and performance improvement.Originality/valueHighlights two leadership‐development programs that have had concrete results. The 4Is program, for example, cost less than £1,000 per person and achieved average savings of more than £3,300 per person, per year. A skills audit revealed that Turning up the Volts helped to bring about a 27.4 percent increase of competence for 12 competencies, after only six months.

Mathematics achievement of vietnamese grade 5 pupils

This article reports the results of a national survey of mathematics achievement at the end of primary school in Vietnam. A sample of more than 72000 students were assessed from 61 provinces. The items were matched to the Vietnam Mathematics curriculum for Year 5 students. Using a skills audit of the items, a variable of Vietnamese mathematics development was defined following an item response analysis of the data. Findings reveal that the levels of mathematics achievement were relatively high and that the mathematics curriculum was closely aligned with international trends in mathematics for primary school. There were some areas of concern in that lower achievement levels were persistently aligned with low socio economic groups and these were typically located in three regions of Vietnam, heavily populated by ethnic sub-groups.

The Use of Personal Journals for Assessment of an Undergraduate Enterprise Module

A personal journal has been used for three years as part of the assessment of a ten credit “Entrepreneurial Skills” module offered as an option for a number of subject areas at Manchester University, including civil engineering, biology, chemistry, computer science and geography. The aim is to introduce students to companies, business models, finance and with an emphasis on analysis rather than simple repetition with the aim of getting the students to think how business issues could be applied to their subject area. Entrepreneurship is very much concerned with the development of transferable skills and the personal journal is one of the ways we at Manchester have found to help students think about how to gain transferable skills and think about what employers are looking for in addition to specialist knowledge in the students own subject area. The transferable skills element of these courses have proved to be a large selling point to other departments whose more traditional courses often do not offer this transferable skills training. The ten credit module involves 10 one hour lectures and 10 one hour workshops, using the lectures to teach basic principles and workshops to give the students the tools to complete the projects - In teams the students gather information on a well known “entrepreneurial” company and from this pool of information prepare a 20 minute PowerPoint presentation in groups and write individual reports. The project involves studying an entrepreneurial company of each group’s choice and producing a report with conclusions and recommendations as to whether it is doing well/badly and what it should do in the future. There is no examination for the course. The Journal has formed part of the assessment for the course (15%) along with a project report (60%) and group presentations (25%). The journal has four sections. 1) A skills audit of transferable skills such as presentation skills, report writing, to identify strengths and weaknesses and formulate a plan for improving. 2) A “diary” section where the student comments and reflects on experiences during the 12 week course e.g. lectures and workshops, when they have met in their groups outside of work time, individual research etc. This section is fairly flexible and left to the students as to what they include as long as it is reflective 3) A section where they can detail what they have done to demonstrate each of a range of transferable skills during the project. 4) A statement of involvement in the group work to ensure work has been divided equally is also included – giving them an explicit opportunity to state what they have done, and what others in the group have done for the project (Working in groups clearly gives weaker students the opportunity to do little work without this safeguard). We have found a number of benefits of using the journals, for example, it helps students focus on transferable skills and records strengths/weaknesses and helps them to structure future plans. It encourages lifelong learning and reflection and learning by experiencing. It has also provided a number of hidden benefits – It encourages student attendance (so the students actually have experiences to write about in the journal), provides feedback to the lecturing team, and encourages all students to participate equally in the project because of the statement of involvement. One of the most remarkable and unexpected aspects of the use of the journals has been the amount of candid feedback which the students have supplied. This has been far more useful than the feedback supplied on the anonymous feedback forms which the university uses to assess student satisfaction with courses. This has in fact been used to modify the courses in future years. This paper will also look at differences in approaches from different subject areas to the completing of the journals, differences in approaches from small workshop groups (4-5 students) compared to larger groups (25-30) and how we have used the feedback to improve the course.

Supporting public health practitioners

A skills audit of health visitors and school nurses shows that although Plymouth has a skilled community public health nursing workforce, there is a need to support nurses acquire new skills in public health practice say Kevin Elliston and June Wilkinson