Good Questions (2)

The second good question in our April Newsletter is: Are your staff familiar with the SSC’s footprint?

Unpacking this one is helpful for anyone thinking about starting on a Part B application.

It’s truly amazing how often I see an application where the writer is unaware of what the relevant Sector Skills Council is trying to do to support its sector.

Given that Part B focuses on how the organisation works to support the development of the relevant sector, it’s impossible to write a good Part B application without knowing about what is happening in that sector.

A good starting point with all of this is to find out what the SSC is doing – what its footprint is. Then it’s worth finding out what the key trade organisations are looking to achieve. Next ask: who is lobbying government about what? That will help with the national perspective.

Then there are the regional, sub-regional and local perspectives on the industry. The person writing your application needs to know about these, too.

Once you are confident about where the sector is going, it’s possible to start to write about what you are doing to help the sector.

What do people write about instead?
Well, when they struggle, they write about how they work with their individual employers and about what they do in general terms. It’s sad, because so many providers do know their sectors well and senior staff in successful providers are often very active in their industries. They simply don’t write what will show their achievements off well.

More than once, a provider has admitted to running out of steam by the time they have reached Part B.

• Sometimes, the person writing Part B hasn’t had any training on what the application process requires.
• Sometimes the person writing Part B is doing so without having seen the Applicant Guide.

If you’re going to make a good showing with Part B, make sure you can answer this good question with confidence. That’s your starting point with your Part B work.