In this month’s Key skills news:

• The complete package – and Europass too!
• Embedding key skills – don’t forget our Resource document
• Communicating better – see our Skills for Life news questionnaire

Key skills news is published every month and contains all the latest information and updates about the key skills qualifications awarded by City & Guilds.

A downloadable (PDF) version of the newsletter (for printing and/or circulating to colleagues) is available below. A full archive of previous issues  is also available.

The complete package – and Europass too!

This month we’re launching ten new apprenticeship packages where all of the City & Guilds qualifications that make up the framework (NVQ, Technical Certificate and key skills qualifications) can be accessed through a single point of registration.

The new packages include:

• Customer Service
• Catering and Hospitality
• Business Administration
• Hairdressing
• Health and Social Care
• Children’s Care, Learning and Development
• Exercise and Fitness
• Spa Therapy
• Beauty Therapy
• Nail Services

The packages are designed to streamline administration and in most cases work out cheaper than registering for each of the qualifications separately. As an added incentive, candidates completing these qualifications via a package receive in addition to their qualification certificates:

• a City & Guilds apprenticeship Learner Record of Achievement
• a Europass Certificate Supplement for each qualification achieved.

City & Guilds is the first UK awarding body to launch the Europass Certificate Supplement. It provides additional information (eg for a prospective employer) about what the qualification entails and the skills covered. For more information, go to www.cityandguilds.com/europass.

Embedding key skills – don’t forget our Resource document

If you’re looking for guidance on how to integrate the development of key skills (teaching, as well as evidence gathering) with learners’ main vocational programme, our Embedding Skills for Life Resource document.pdf(4.41mb) is a great starting point.

This document, originally produced as part of a DfES-funded programme, contains a number of useful tips on how to analyse vocational tasks for key skills and literacy/numeracy content, as well as now to SMOG documents for readability.

A raft of other embedding support materials is available from the Totally Skilled website , including an interactive demonstration of the SMOG tool.

Communicating better – see our Skills for Life news questionnaire

Finally, if you’ve seen this month’s Skills for Life news you’ll see there’s a questionnaire attached asking about how we provide information about our literacy, language, numeracy and employability qualifications.

Please also feel free to use the questionnaire to tell us what you think about Key skills news and whether there’s anything in particular you think we could improve. Alternatively, please let us know your thoughts via keyskills@cityandguilds.com.