Executive Independent Board Member

Independent Board Member MITSKILLS

· Part-time · Executive REQUIRED

About the job

We are currently seeking to appoint up to four outstanding individuals to our Board of Governors as Independent Members. These are exciting opportunities to make a significant contribution to the future direction of MITSKILLS Ltd.

The Board of Governors is the governing body and has responsibility for ensuring the effective oversight of the institution, approving its future strategic development and fostering an environment in which the institutional mission is achieved, and the potential of all students and staff is realised. Our Board Members make an active contribution to achieving company objectives, and promote MITSKILLS LTD interests locally AND on a National Level.

The main duties of the Board Of Governors are:

· The determination of the educational character and mission of MITSKILLS Ltd and for oversight of its activities.

· The effective and efficient use of resources, the solvency of the Company and the Corporation and for safeguarding their assets.

· Approving annual estimates of income and expenditure.

· Approving the framework for the pay and conditions of service of all other staff.

This is an unpaid position, MITSKILLS will meet all reasonable expenses incurred by Board Members undertaking Board business, including optional training and development.

About You

We are looking to hear from candidates who have experience in one or more of the following areas:

· Education sector – experience of delivery of learning in any discipline in a Quality Assurance role.

· Finance - corporate finance, business financing and capital markets.

· Law - in particular education or employment law, but other specialisms welcomed.

· Mental health and/or healthcare services.

· Government and policy development - local or national.

In addition to the above skillsets, individuals will bring an ability to analyse complex issues and contribute at a strategic level along with strong interpersonal, communication and listening skills. Substantial experience of the education sector , or experience of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria for businesses and investments would be highly desirable. Individuals will ideally bring a strong empathy with the creative outputs of apprenticeship training and an understanding of the socio-economic context and potential of Surrey, West London and Bradford.

Our Board meets four times per year. The usual expectation is that a minimum of three of the Four meetings per year must be attended face-to-face, the remaining meeting may be attended via video conference.

Mitskills welcomes and encourages applications from people of all identities and backgrounds, particularly those under-represented and/or marginalised. The date of the commencement of the term of office is negotiable, and will be between April 2023 and September 2024.

The closing date for applications Tuesday 24 March 2023

About Us

Our mission is to deliver exceptional higher education and research, harnessing the fusion of creativity and technology as foundations of the future economy, and to use knowledge and expertise in these disciplines to generate positive and sustainable opportunities for all.

MITskills is a privately-owned, national training provider based in West Byfleet, Surrey, with additional sites in Brentford, Middlesex and Bradford, West Yorkshire. The sites deliver different learning and development opportunities. For example, West Byfleet has workshops to accommodate motor vehicle and electrical activities, Brentford focuses on carpentry, plumbing and construction, whilst Bradford oversees the delivery of the sports programme for football clubs at various sites across the UK. In addition, workplace learning opportunities supported by online learning activities are provided for learners working in business administration, customer service, retail, team leading and management.

The Organisation operates as a Prime Contractor for the Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), specialising in work-based learning. It also gains funding from the European Social Funding and private organisations using its training services. MITSkills delivers Traineeships and Apprenticeships, as well as Pre-employability, Study Programmes and bespoke and open commercial courses that have been introduced to meet specific employer needs. For example, MOT Testers Course, MOT Managers Course, and Light Vehicle Inspection Course, and Electrical training.

The Organisation operates a Hub and Spoke model, offering a one stop shop for all the needs of both learners and employers. Due to reforms and changes to the ESFA subcontracting and funding rules, MITSkills has moved away from using sub-contractors (partners) to deliver the programmes and, as a result, increased its direct delivery and currently employs 75 staff members.

MITSkills’ mission is ‘to provide high quality, inspirational, safe education and training that meets the ambitions of individuals, businesses, and communities’. The Organisation operates in line with a set of core values – ‘responsiveness, respect, collaboration’ and ‘professionalism’. It also aims to provide an employer focus to delivering the service, with an emphasis on the learner and local needs.

The Organisation has a three-year Development Plan (2022 – 2025) indicating ten key objectives, which include:

· ‘Develop and set up mobile construction centres in London,

· Increase learner numbers; improve retention, achievement rates and recording of learner support. Ensuring systems can cope with 3500+ learners for the organisation,

· Increase contract base and relationships to include Jobcentre Plus, ESF and Further Education funding streams,

· Plan and implement block release courses in West Byfleet Centre,

· Develop private sector courses for MITSkills delivery centres using learner loans, and

· Continue to develop the I.T Strategy’.

MITSKILLS is Rated as GOOD provider by Ofsted, Matrix standard recently stated.

For 22 years, MITSKILLS LTD has been a hub of creative thinking and design innovation, producing in excess of 10,000 apprenticeship achievements.

MITskills takes a multi-disciplinary approach, ensuring its students have the skills they need to excel in a fast-changing world. Putting real world, real market challenges and hands-on experience at the heart of the learning experience also means that MITSKILLS graduates leave as experienced professionals, accomplished complex problem solvers and strong team players.

Rated as GOOD provider by Ofsted, Matrix standard recently stated.

A number of strengths were identified during the assessment, which are detailed below.

MITSkills is one of the few organisations actively promoting its IAG service as a standalone. The website has a ‘Learner Support IAG Links’ button, which takes a learner to an overview of the IAG service and what they can expect. Further links are listed, which provide additional information and access to external agencies and organisations to gain additional support.

Interviews with staff confirmed that the learner and employer are at the heart of the way MITSkills operate, and in particular, the learners felt that their health and wellbeing was considered regularly. The Organisation aims to design programmes tailored to meet an individual’s learning needs and style in line with the employer’s aims and objectives. Employers value the time the Organisation invests in reviewing their specific learning and development needs and designing solutions. The learners receive regular one-to-ones to review progression, which subsequently influences their next steps. Learners confirmed that their training schedule with milestones is agreed at the start of their journey, however, this is flexible and can be tailored to reflect the pace they are progressing.

Learners clearly understood what they might expect throughout their journey, including the accessibility of IAG, both formally and informally. All interviewees clearly understood who the training provider was, the make-up / timetable for their programme, the different interventions, for example, practical and theory at College and the contribution the employer made to their learning, review visits by an Assessor, feedback following marking of assignments, etc. All learners confirmed that their expectations had been managed effectively, with the description of what they would experience being explicit at the start, reflecting their learning experience to date.

MITSkills responded positively to the feedback provided following the three-year matrix recertification assessment in 2019. For example, promoting the IAG service, providing IAG training for appropriate new recruits, promoting learner feedback mechanisms and further development of Aptem, a vocational training online platform. This demonstrates an ethos of continuous improvement, which informs further developments