fe colleges

Essential Work Skills programme for FE

33-hours of short online units for adults (19+) and young people (16-18), leading to a Level 3 Award in Essential Work Skills.
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where it fits

Young People (16-18)

Our Essential Work Skills programme provides practical non-academic skills that help learners succeed in their careers and demonstrate their value to potential employers .  
  • Supports a variety of Study Programmes  
  • Flexible delivery, mostly self-paced 
  • Engaging online format 
  • NCFE-accredited
  • Supports the Personal Development strand of the Education Inspection Framework  
where it fits

Adults (19+)

Our Essential Work Skills programme provides adults with the tools to enhance their employability, secure a stable financial future and build confidence - all through a flexible online platform that fits around their busy lives. 
  • Flexible online platform, mostly self-paced 
  • Engaging format 
  • NCFE-accredited
  • Supported through the ASF 

NCFE Certificates

On completion of the Level 3 Award, learners will receive a certificate of achievement, which has been accredited by NCFE under the Customised Qualification. This is an unregulated qualification and is not a nationally recognised qualification. It therefore fits within the tailored learning envelope.

Typical Groups

Our Essential Work Skills programme is suitable for the following groups of learners at FE. 

16-19 Study Programmes

Essential Work Skills develops work-readiness
skills and informs choices of occupational specialism; and it fits perfectly as
tailored learning.

T Level Transition

Part of transition programmes. Develops approaches to study needed by students – National Technical Outcomes.

T Level Work Taster Activities

Up to 35 hours can be delivered remotely and count towards industry placement hours. 

Apprenticeships

16-25

Supports training and maps to the knowledge, skills and behaviours of several  Apprentice Standards.

Units available

Essential Work Skills are taught through five online courses: an introduction unit and four extension units. Learners receive an NCFE-endorsed certificate for every unit completed. Learners who complete all four extension units can enter for a Level 3 Award in Essential Work Skills. 

Please register to access information about becoming a Delivery Partner.

Includes:

  • Video - Content Overview (9 minutes)
  • Video - Key info for Delivery Partners & Employers (5 minutes)
  • A4 Flyer PDF (1 page)
  • Quick Guide PDF (5 pages)
  • Benefits for: Young People (16-18), Adults (19+), Y10 & KS5 Learners PDF


Thank you!

Relevant to employers

Our Essential Work Skills programme provides meaningful work-related learning, designed to help learners gain job-related skills and develop confidence, character and resilience. Essential Work Skills are frequently mentioned by employers in Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), including: 
  • Positive attitudes and behaviours 
  • Good communication skills 
  • Commercially aware
  • A portable skill the employer needs 

The 'hard' version of soft skills

Our Essential Work Skills programme is based on a set of 'hard' criteria so employers can understand the value potential employees bring to the table. The Level 3 Award allows learners to demonstrate these attributes to potential employers: 

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8 Portable Skills needed in every industry

Portable Skills

Learners identify their strongest Portable Skill from:

  • Sales
  • Marketing
  • Customer Support
  • Finance
  • Negotiation
  • IT
  • Project Manger

Video CVs

Learners upload a Video CV as part of their award submission, which can be shown to prospective employers.
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Mohamed Sulaiman

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Orfa Zaman

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Raian Haque

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Rayan Kabondo

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Usman Tariq

“Hire for attitude. Train for skills.” Herb Kelleher, legendary co-founder of Southwest Airlines

Partners

where it fits

Adults (19+)

Essential Work Skills provide adults with the tools to enhance their employability, secure a stable financial future and build confidence - all through a flexible online platform that fits around their busy lives. 

Benefits

  • Flexible online platform, mostly self-paced 
  • Engaging format 
  • NCFE-accredited
  • Supported through the ASF 

New Adult Skills Funding (ASF)

As part of the new Adult Skills Funding (ASF), the term tailored learning brings together what was Adult Education Budget (AEB) community learning, formula-funded AEB non-regulated learning (previously delivered through adult skills) and any new employer-facing innovative provision that is not qualification based.

T-Level Digital Production, Design and Development learners at South Essex College

"The most important things I have learned from NTA are the transferable skills. These allow me to feel confident when going into the job sector as I believe I will be able to do my tasks comfortably."
Casey H - 17 years old
"The most important thing(s) I have learnt are being able to negotiate and to take constructive criticism when feedback is given to me. I think I'd rate the National Talent course positively as it has provided meaningful certifications."
Amber H - 20 years old
"The most important thing I have learned on NTA is the importance of good public speaking and how my words and actions when delivering important speeches affect the audience including using body language to tell a story. Overall, I enjoyed the experience of completing the courses"
Anastasia A - 17 years old
"The most important thing I have learnt on national talent are the portable skills, such as marketing, sales, project manager The courses teach you valuable life skills for the future"
Reece B - 17 years old
"The most important things I have learned on NTA are the number of portable skills I have understood and gained from this course. It has allowed me to be more aware of things and give me a wider range of knowledge surrounding these portable skills.  I have also learnt other skills that I wouldn't think I would understand. It has given me the opportunity for better knowledge not just surrounding IT but skills that are quite useful in the future".
Ethan L - 17 years old
"The most important thing that I have learned through the National Talent Academy Course is how to use spreadsheets to budget my money and also improve my public speaking skills. I would say the course is beneficial as this course gives the students an opportunity to explore different career options"
Divyamary S- 18 years old
"The most important things I have learned from NTA are the transferable skills. These allow me to feel confident when going into the job sector as I believe I will be able to do my tasks comfortably"
Casey H - 17 years old
"The most important things I've learned on NTA are , portable skills , making good financial decisions, public speaking, finding a futureproof career and also how to give a speech. Effective lessons and good mentors"
Dumitru C - 18 years old

"The most important things I have learned is how to become financially free in 2 steps (save money & buy an income producing assets) and how having a strong character helps you stand out from the crowd. I have learnt that your expenses should be less than your income and that 10-15% of your income should be saved every month. I found this course very beneficial and know it will help me in the future in any industry I choose to work in "
Kezban Y - 19 years old
"The most important thing(s) I have learned on National Talent Academy are that I was able to develop skills such as speaking skills and knowledge skills and ensuring that I am getting the correct number of skills that I need for the future of my career. Especially the portable skills as I have developed a basic understanding of critical skills that I can use in real world scenarios. This course has improved my knowledge and IT skills for my career and I'm looking forward to seeing what they add in the future to their courses"
Aaron L - 17 years old

"The most important things that I have learned on NTA are that I can learn new skills that I will be able to carry over to any job I have, this will allow me to become more of a valuable asset to the company I work for. It's very good that I am able to get a qualification online from my room!"
Bradley D - 19 years old

"The Most Important things that I have learned on national talent are: How to better prepare and carry myself when it comes to Interviews and Speeches. Also national talent was very helpful to help me better understand how to stand out more and be noticed by peers and higher ups. National Talent has wonderful courses that can help any individual better prepare themselves for the future and it helped me a lot. Now when I think of the future I don't feel as anxious and scared as I used to"
Daron C - 17 years old

"The most important things I have learned on National Talent are learning to speak confidently. I think national talent is a great website, and I think that learning like this with videos and worksheets is great. I really do think this is proactive."
Samuel C - 17 years old

"The most important thing that I have learnt on NTA is the ability to conduct public speaking to large audiences. I believe that the videos were best suited for me because I prefer learning through someone giving me the information, which I can then use for later learning. This helps me be more proactive during learning sessions"
Joshua C - 17 years old

"Insightful - makes you think about investing in more detail"
Callum

"Insightful - makes you think about investing in more detail"
Callum

Funded through ASF

  • Non-regulated qualification  
  • Supports learners into employment 
  • Stretching provision 
  • Employer flexibility 
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As part of the new Adult Skills Funding (ASF), the term tailored learning brings together what was Adult Education Budget (AEB) community learning, formula-funded AEB non-regulated learning (previously delivered through adult skills) and any new employer-facing innovative provision that is not qualification based.

Young People (16-18)

Our Essential Work Skills programme provides practical non-academic skills that help learners succeed in their careers and demonstrate their value to potential employers . 

Benefits

  • Supports a variety of Study Programmes  
  • Flexible delivery, mostly self-paced 
  • Engaging online format 
  • NCFE-accredited
  • Supports the Personal Development strand of the Education Inspection Framework  

Supports a variety of Study Programmes

Our Essential Work Skills programme supports a variety of Study Programmes including technical, academic and preparation for employment. It supports the Personal Development strand of the Education Inspection Framework. 

Case Study

Young people gained confidence and learned Essential Work Skills.

Supports the Education Inspection Framework > Personal Development

  • Discover learners' interests and talents  
  • Develop learners' character 
  • Prepare learners for future success

T Level work taster hours 

"Up to a maximum of 35 hours of work taster activities can be counted towards
students’ total number of placement hours. These activities can be undertaken remotely. Work taster activities can be used to help students make a more informed decision when choosing their specialism, ideally within the first year of study." 

Essential Work Skills can support such activity.

From 'Industry placement delivery approaches - Guidance for T Level providers - June 2023' at page 6. 

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Level 2 plumbing learners at South Essex College

"I think that there were many positive ideas and I could use them to boost my future goals."
"Very interesting compared to a tutorial."
"Very helpful and showed me things I can do when I'm older and the risks I can take and do to have a better future for me and my family."
"Gave good ideas and the right mindset to make money."
"Thought provoking arguments 5/5"
"Great ideas of other ways to earn money not by working so extra income"
Cameron
"Great lesson, motivated me and great advice"
Terry
"Very interactive lesson. I enjoyed the learning of the way of making money"

"Insightful - makes you think about investing in more detail"
Callum

Become a Delivery Partner

Our Essential Work Skills programme is easy-to-deliver. 

Flexible Delivery

The programme can be planned, supervised and organised within an institution's normal working pattern. 

Engaging online format

  • Videos
  • Quizzes
  • Self-reflection Qs
  • Worksheets
  • Self-paced with peer-review option

Portfolio of evidence

Learners complete the four units listed below and upload four pieces of coursework (three worksheets plus a Video CV) to qualify for the award. 
FE COLLEGES & TRAINING PROVIDERS

Delivery partner discussion

Considering becoming a delivery partner? Our 30 minute partnership discussion covers:
  • Overview of the qualification 
  • Benefits for delivery partners and learners
  • Online platform
  • Implementation and support 
  • Sources of funding - tailored learning 
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Book a time

Or email us at hello@nationaltalent.org.

Level 3 Award

This qualification has been accredited as a Customised Qualification and we have benchmarked the qualification’s learning outcomes and assessment criteria at Level 3 (using a national framework’s level descriptors) to allow you to demonstrate the difficulty and depth of study. 

Customised Qualification

The Level 3 qualification has been developed to meet the specific needs of our learners and has been accredited by NCFE demonstrating the quality and rigor. NCFE is an awarding organisation recognised by the qualification regulators for England (Ofqual), Wales (Qualifications Wales) and Northern Ireland (CCEA Regulation). This is an unregulated qualification and is not a nationally recognised qualification. 
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NCFE Endorsed Units

Learners receive an NCFE-endorsed certificate for every unit completed. Learners who complete all four extension units can enter for a Level 3 Award. 

The units are enrichment activities organised and quality assured by a college or training provider under the supervision of the National Talent Academy. They are unregulated qualifications and are not nationally recognised qualifications. 

Futureproof Careers Framework

National Talent Academy units are based on our Futureproof Careers Framework, which is designed to help learners thrive in environment of rapid change. 

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Skills Builder Impact Level 4

For organisations implementing the Skills Builder Universal Framework of essential skills

National Talent Academy's 'Developing a winning mentality' and 'Speaking confidently in public' courses are accredited by Skills Builder at Impact Level 4. Impact Level 4 is the highest level and recognises those programmes that can demonstrate impact - meaning learners are making progress in specific steps on Skills Builder Universal Framework.

The ability to set clear, tangible goals and devise a robust route to achieving them

The oral transmission of information or ideas

About Us

National Talent Academy provides endorsed online courses for Essential Work Skills. The courses are the result of many years of R&D including partnerships with Manchester University and Morgan Stanley leading to a Futureproof Careers Framework. 

National Talent Academy was founded in 2020 by Cambridge graduate David Jaffa, who previously founded SAM Learning, an online learning tool for GCSE and KS3 used in hundreds of English secondary schools, and Penda Learning, an online Science and Math tool for US schools. David received the BETT Outstanding Achievement Award for his lifetime achievements in EdTech.