The Academy is a project formed by a number of large employers, who have joined forces to create new learning, development and organizational development opportunities for their workforces.

Those involved are all public sector organisations based around Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull. We want to bring together initiatives that improve the skills our people use at work, improve services and which use public money wisely.

Our Vision

The Vision for the Academy shared by potential partners is that:-

The Academy will position itself to be the (sub) Region’s leading provider in skills development to improve the delivery of public sector services. By so doing it will:

• Be pro-active in delivering Learning & Development opportunities that anticipate partner service requirements and organisational improvement needs.
• Become a Centre of Excellence that guides, supports and enhances career-long Learning & Development in collaboration with partners.
• Increase the status of partners as employers of choice by offering outstanding Learning & Development programmes.
• Share Learning & Development resources, knowledge, skills and learning for the benefit of all through effective partnering.

Our Aims

The Strategic Aims of the Academy agreed by potential partners are as follows:-

• To deliver better and more co-ordinated services to Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire residents.
• To enhance the skill levels of employees within and the reputation of the partner organisations.
• To improve the range, quality of and access to learning and development opportunities for the collective workforce of the partners.
• To achieve efficiencies and costs savings for partners through a shared approach to learning and development.

Project Structure and Terms of Reference

Benefits of the Academy Project

A shared approach to L&D with outstanding leadership, innovative programmes and a commitment to excellence will bring numerous learning benefits including better quality and more effective learning activities with increased accessibility for everyone throughout their careers. It will also provide the opportunity to promote and reinforce the ethos of public service on a consistent basis within a learning community that is itself sharing through networking at all levels across all partner organisations.

By concentrating L&D skills, resources and delivery in one place and gearing development to partner OD needs the Academy would also release management time in partner organisations to concentrate on strategic workforce planning issues, learning and development activity specification, commissioning, performance monitoring and benefits realisation.

The formation of the Academy would enable cost savings to be achieved by all partners, although these would vary from partner to partner due to their different sizes, L&D structures and activities, and their current levels of efficiency. The cost savings would be made by:-

• More effective use of L&D researchers and developers
• Better utilisation of trainers
• More efficient use of L&D materials and resources
• Economies in procurement
• Reduction in use of external venues
• Rationalised facilities management arrangements
• Better utilisation of accommodation

The Academy Scope

The Stakeholder Forum agreed that the Academy scope should be defined as follows:

• it should include all current stakeholders and their internal providers
• It should exclude the Voluntary Sector and external commissioned service providers

and

• It should include all L&D provided or commissioned by stakeholders (except where this is currently contracted out or subject to tender)
• It should include teacher and care worker training post PGCE level
• It should exclude professional training for police officers, fire fighters, medical and nursing staff (up to the ‘licence to practice’ stage)
• It should exclude academic development of Higher Education staff
• It should exclude all training that is unique to a particular shareholder organisation

Academy Awareness Day January 2010 presentations
Academy launch Event December 2008 presentations