New company is addressing skills shortage in regeneration programmes
New company is addressing skills shortage in regeneration programmes
Keywords: Urban regeneration, Skills shortages
Renascence is the UK's first company dedicated to providing practical skills-based training across the regeneration sector. According to Caroline Masundire, development director of the company, Renascence is addressing the shortcomings identified in Lord Rogers' Urban Task Force Report – Towards an Urban Renaissance. "The skills-base within the sector has declined to unacceptable levels", Lord Rogers stated. "Getting individuals up to speed on elements of their job when they start and as the job evolves requires an investment in training and development." Masundire,commenting on Lord Rogers' remarks, said: "All too often, this is not accounted for when costing out projects and programmes at the outset."
The Urban Task Force Report also highlighted key skills gaps in regeneration and the need for multi-disciplinary and multi-tasked individuals who could secure funding, write bids, put together delivery plans, project manage, develop partnerships, monitor, evaluate and communicate in a variety of settings.
"These skills have traditionally not been taught in the classroom but were built on the job and through trial and error along the way", she stated. "Now this has got to change."
"At Renascence, we spent 12 months researching the skills needs of the sector, by approaching employers, individuals, specific projects and key players in the marketplace", explained Masundire. "We developed a brief of 25 working subjects, narrowing them down to core key skill areas that would apply to any individual from any type of organization within the sector."
The core skills identified are: bid writing, bid delivery, building and sustaining partnerships, strategic planning for partnerships, financial systems and management, introduction to project management, effective communication and negotiation, effective monitoring and evaluation, and project appraisal.
"However, it is true to say that there are indeed sectors within regeneration where training and professional development are catered for through some professional institutes and bodies", she admits. "But there is no single organization that represents all the sectors together, nor one that acknowledges that key development areas for individuals must focus on cross-occupational, generic skills.
"For example, project management of a private, large-scale development programme is quite different from project managing an employment project through EU or single regeneration budget (SRB) funding", she said. "There are common themes, but the approach has to be different every time, especially managing and delivering projects at a partnership level.
"Training should be designed and delivered by industry professionals who have worked at the front line of regeneration and who understand the importance of being able to apply knowledge at a practical level", she continued.
"Courses must provide a combination of training and simulated exercises,with the aim of debunking the jargon and, ultimately, helping individuals to apply and develop their skill in the workplace", she added.
"It is pointless attending any training programme unless students can translate what they have learned into day-to-day activity", Masundire stated. "So, regeneration training programmes must closely align key objectives and action plans directly to an individual's working environment. This can then underpin the training and development process linked to the Investors in People standards", she concludes.
For further information, contact Renascence, 70 Newcomen Street, London SE1 1YT. Tel: 020 7940 4840; Fax: 020 7940 4843; E-mail: info@renascenceskills.com Internet: http://www.renascenceskills.com
