ILA Scotland Partner News
May 09
ILA Scotland statistics by Council area
Since its introduction in 2004 ILA Scotland has been helping people all over Scotland to get back into learning.
We have compiled a report to highlight the number of learning providers registered with ILA Scotland, Learner Accounts opened and bookings made by learners within each Council area throughout Scotland from 13th December 2004 – 31st March 2009.
If you would like to view this report please click here
March 2009
ILA Scotland removal of minimum contribution
People who plan on using their ILA Scotland to help pay for learning received a boost in January. Previously, learners had to contribute a minimum of £10 towards the cost of their courses when using their ILA Scotland.
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PACE: Partnership Action for Continuing Employment
PACE is a unique Scottish partnership initiative which provides support to employees when an organisation announces redundancies. The initiative established by the Scottish Government is being delivered by Skills Development Scotland and supported by national and local partners.
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learning bytes for ULRs
learning bytes is a range of online learning courses available to learners through the learndirect scotland branded learning centre network. Within this catalogue there is the Learning Centre Academy which consists of courses that have been specifically developed for people who work with and support learners.
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ULRs take up online learning
learndirect scotland has been working with SQA to re-design the Professional Development Award (PDA) in Learning Centre Operations and this was successfully validated last year.
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What is the LC network?
These are centres that have been set up throughout Scotland to support anybody who wants to learn. They are places where you can take up a course or get advice on what and how you can learn.
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Learning conferences
It is obviously the season for learning conferences and we are pleased to have been the sponsor of the Scottish Union Learning conference which took place in Stirling Management Centre in December.
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PCS members using ILA Scotland
PCS ULRs teamed up with Glenco Development Solutions - a division of Adam Smith College - to offer European Computing Driving Licence (ECDL) training and testing to members working at Jobcentreplus in Edinburgh.
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November 2008
Scottish Union Learning Conference
We are delighted to be a sponsor of the 1st Annual Scottish Union Learning Conference which will be held in Stirling Management Centre on Thursday, 13 November 2008. To find out more go to www.scottishunionlearning.com and don't forget to visit our stand and speak to us on the day.
Online resources
You may not be aware that learndirect scotland produces a wide range of publications. As one of our partner organisations we think that these may be of particular interest to you. More...
ILA Scotland online application
To make it even easier for people to access their ILA Scotland funds, learners can now request an ILA Scotland application pack online at www.ilascotland.org.uk. More...
USDAW and Kilmarnock College: Something to celebrate
It was great to see the learners, who had accessed their ILA Scotland funds, receive their certificates for completing the Introduction to British Sign Language course. More...
Get your new materials
If you would like to help us promote the changes to the ILA Scotland £200 and new £500 offer, don’t forget to order revised marketing materials. They can be ordered free of charge by calling 01738 633 322 or by e-mailing you order for to stock@ppd-pinpoint.co.uk.
Remember we can also provide you with revised copy for newsletters, websites and e-bulletins. Just contact the ILA Scotland Partnership Support team on 0141 285 6020.
Your guide to funding
In addition to ILA Scotland there are other sources of funding that may be relevant to your colleagues and members. To find out what funding is available click here.
You can also download 'Helping You Meet the Costs of Learning' which is a useful overview of learner funding or you can order hard copies to make available in the workplace. If you need more information about the funding schemes you can also speak to a learndirect scotland adviser on 0808 100 9000.
April 2008
Changes to the ILA Scotland scheme announced
Fiona Hyslop, Education and Lifelong Learning Secretary today announced a variety of changes to the ILA Scotland scheme.
The refresh is designed to make the scheme more effective and help us to deliver support to those who need it most. The changes will also ensure that ILA Scotland is well placed to support individual and workforce development, principal aims of the recently published Skills Strategy.
The key changes for the scheme, aimed at targeting those who don’t readily access education, include:
- Opening the scheme to 16 and 17 year olds for the first time
- Removing the requirement for a minimum personal contribution
- Widening course eligibility to include work-related courses
- Tightening course eligibility by removing postgraduate courses
- Withdrawing the £100 scheme
- Amending the eligibility criteria to restrict access to funding for pensioners not on low incomes
A copy of the full press release is available here.
We expect these changes to be in place for autumn enrolment although it is likely to be December 2008 before the minimum personal contribution is removed. We will keep you up-to-date on progress during the coming months.
The changes follow extensive stakeholder and learner feedback on how the scheme is working. The latest research report, "Individual Learning Accounts Scotland – Learners Study" was published today and the full report can be viewed on the Scottish Government website.
A summary report is also available to view here.