Post 16 Courses Based on out of Date Data

Author
SySAdmin
Posted
July 25, 2012
Views
957

Page All:

Page 1
Post 16 Courses Based on out of Date Data

BASINGSTOKE, England, July 25, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

         Active Informatics announces partnership with Burning Glass Technologies to

                      bring real time labour intelligence to the UK

    UK post 16 education providers are at risk of failing to sufficiently match courses to
today's job market by relying on out of date labour market information, Active Informatics
[http://www.activeinformatics.com ] is today warning.

    The warning comes as Active announces it has partnered with Burning Glass
Technologies, whose intuitive technology is providing community colleges across the US
with real time labour market intelligence
[http://www.activeinformatics.com/solutions/labour-insight.aspx ] to inform and support
their curriculum decisions, connecting them to national and local labour market needs, by
using web information collated from CVs and job vacancies on a daily basis.

    The partnership will bring this technology, combined with the ability to analyse the
job market and match it with occupational skills, to the UK market for the first time
meaning that post 16 training providers in the UK will have the ability to match their
courses to real time market intelligence.

    Steve Ainsworth, CEO of Active Informatics, says, "Evidence suggests a growing
mismatch between worker capabilities and employer needs. Unless addressed, this gap will
impair the economic health of the nation and its workforce. In a dynamic economic
environment, where technology innovation is redefining the nature of work, educators need
access to current, accurate and detailed data to make informed choices about career paths
and training programs. At present, however, they do not have access to the right labour
market signals."

    "For example, post 16 education providers in the UK continue to rely upon mostly
historic data when deciding what skills are required to increase the employability of
students. The problem with this intelligence is that it can be years out of date, and so
does not accurately reflect today's market. Our US counterparts have already realised the
benefits that can be gained from up to date information, and it is time that we followed
suit."

    "Our partnership with Burning Glass Technologies will bring real time labour
information to the UK, enabling a true representation of the vacancies available and the
skills breakdown of occupations. This will enable colleges to shape their curriculums so
that students can be equipped with the skills needed to fill the gaps available."

    "This is particularly important given the changing skills required for jobs that are
available today that perhaps weren't just a few years ago. For example, the development of
wind farms and other "green technologies" has created new types of skill requirements."

    Michael Cox, Director of Enterprise Sales and Solutions at Burning Glass Technologies,
says, "A person's employability is dependent on their skills set, and so it is imperative
that the skills students are equipped with are relevant to the job market, otherwise
unemployment levels will be fuelled."

    "The only way this is achievable is through focusing on current requirements, rather
than the skills that were needed five years ago. We have already seen the benefits this
has brought to the US market, and look forward to seeing the same success in the UK."

    About Active Informatics

    Active Informatics provides powerful but easy to use software applications for
education and emergency services organisations to make informed strategic and operational
decisions based on evidential and real-time data. Active's applications bring static
information to life to enable data analysis, presentation and communication. This in turn
facilitates effective and efficient public service delivery by increasing revenues,
managing costs and improving business performance.

    About Burning Glass Technologies

    Burning Glass analytical tools are playing a growing role in informing the global
debate on education and the workforce by providing researchers, policy makers, educators,
and employers with detailed real-time awareness into skill gaps and labour market demand.
Burning Glass's job seeker tools power several government workforce systems and have been
shown to have substantive impact on reemployment outcomes and on labour market literacy.
Through in-depth analysis of both individual skills and experience as well as of the
real-time jobs market, its unique platform delivers both actionable labour market
intelligence as well as highly personalized job referrals, career path mapping, and
recruitment tools. Their patented artificial intelligence engine learns from actual career
patterns as mined from both structured and natural language contexts in order to deliver
an intuitive, real-time awareness of how and when people move from job to job and of the
kinds of skills and experiences that lead to successful placement.

    With headquarters in Boston's historic Faneuil Hall, Burning Glass is proud to serve a
client base that spans six continents, including government workforce agencies, education
institutions, academic research centres, global recruitment and staffing agencies, major
employers, and leading job boards.

    Contact: Peggy Williamson, Contact Number: +44(0)1256-362562 or +44(0)7885-983910,
Email: peggy.williamson@activeinformatics.com

Source: Active Informatics

Title

Medium Image View Large