The Work-force Development Maturity Toolkit is designed to help higher education institutions assess their maturity in lifelong learning and work-force development. It provides criteria and level statements for institutions to evaluate their performance, identify areas for improvement, and develop strategic plans and actions. The toolkit was developed by several UK universities and colleges in partnership with JISC. It uses a benchmarking methodology involving stakeholders to gather evidence, conduct self-assessments, and produce reports and change management plans tailored to each institution's needs and goals related to lifelong learning and workforce preparation.

1. Lifelong Learning and Work-force Development
What is the Work-force Development
Toolkit? Maturity Toolkit
A toolkit to help institutions, faculties,
schools, depts and programme teams to: Supporting the HE/FE sectors in
• Better understand what "maturity" in enhancing employer provision
life-long learning (LLL) and work-force
development (WFD) looks like. adopting approaches used in the
• Assess their maturity in LLL & WFD. national e-learning
• Better inform strategies and plans for benchmarking programme and
LLL & WFD. distilling lessons learnt from a
number of JISC programmes
Why is it needed?
(e.g. LLL-WFD, BCE, curriculum
• Good practice in pedagogic models, use design/delivery, e-portfolio)
of ICT, partnership working and how
best for institutions to “prepare for LLL- How it will be used (the methodology):
WFD” is slowly emerging but not
widespread. • Identify dimensions (slices) e.g. faculties.
• Those institutions experienced in LLL- • Identify and co-opt stakeholders.
WFD can distil their knowledge into a
maturity toolkit to help others. • Develop project plan, including defined roles
• The HE/FE sectors have experience in • Hold meetings with stakeholders to gain
developing and using maturity toolkits buy-in and understanding.
(e.g. the national e-learning
• Adapt and amend criteria as appropriate.
benchmarking initiative).
• Identify evidence needed.
How will institutions benefits from using
the Toolkit? • Identify methods for evidence gathering.
• Develop plan for evidence gathering.
Institutions will be able to identify:
• Implement evidence collection plan.
• Appropriate organisational and business • Analyse evidence.
approaches toward LLL-WFD, including
• Distil evidence into usable reports.
how best to measure impact, costs and
benefits. • Review evidence.
• How to enhance learning, teaching & • Undertake “levelling” – assessing performance
assessment with WBL pedagogies and against criteria/level statements; record
use of blended learning techniques. commentary i.e. issues, opportunities, vision.
• How to update organisational processes
and systems e.g. QA-QE and support
• Analyse workshops and evidence.
processes. • Write report.
• How to provide a quality experience for
staff and students e.g. through training
and support services.
• Review and reflect on the report.
• Develop a change management/action plan.
What will the toolkit comprise?
• Criteria and level statements of
performance. Each institution will produce the following outputs:
• Guide to using the toolkit.
• Resources. • An assessment of their current performance
• Creative Commons License. in LLL-WFD.
• A vision of where they would like to get to. Working
Who are the development Partners? in CAMEL
• Issues and barriers in achieving their vision.
• Universities of Bradford, Middlesex & Cohorts
• Recommendations for actions and change
Westminster and UWIC. management.
• Craven College
• ELRAH (Edinburgh, Lothians , Fife and
Borders Regional Articulation Hub) This is a benefits realisation project funded by the JISC LLL-WFD
• JISC programme.
• Peter Chatterton
Contact Ibrar Butt for further info: I.Butt@Bradford.ac.uk