The Minimum Core in Teaching / Training Qualifications

What is Minimum Core?

Minimum Core in teaching/training has been implemented in every industry and UK qualification since 2004. New updates on core skills for FE trainers or teachers came on 1st Sep 2022. The Education & Training Foundation provides the guiding principles for further education and skills. From here, you can download the updated ETF guidance. English, mathematics, digital skills, equality, diversity, inclusion (EDI), and sustainability are the newest core elements in training.

The Minimum Core in teaching/training is embedded to promote effective learning and aids in professional fulfillment. The information and comprehension learners will need to advance and succeed in education, training, and jobs are provided through functional skills.

The UK's vocational training system has undergone numerous changes since 2015. 

The need to help students improve their English and mathematic skills is more important than ever, even though digital skills may be at the forefront of these changes. English, arithmetic and technological proficiency are not the only skills for learners to have better chances of employability, though. All learners should be environmentally conscious in order to prepare people for their future jobs and careers effectively. 

Why is Minimum Core in Teaching /Training Important?

The ETF is aware of the difficulties affecting society and the vital role education can play in raising awareness of sustainability-related concerns. As a result, the Minimum Core now includes Education for Sustainable Development (ESD or sustainability), along with comprehensive information and recommendations on how teachers might become sustainable practitioners.

The Minimum Core includes equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), as it is crucial for all industries, especially the FE & Skills sector. Even though EDI was part of training in some way in most FE ITE programmes, now it has a benchmark for delivery.

The revised Minimum Core focuses on aspiring trainers' fundamental abilities to support learners in their foundational, technical, or academic courses. It is not for leaders, employers, or trainers/educators to use it as a checklist to evaluate trainees or employees. Instead, Minimum Core is to encourage awareness and consideration.

Embedding Minimum Core in Teaching/Training

The Minimum Core document can be used by aspiring trainers to evaluate their own performance and to begin thorough searches for tools or activities to fill any gaps in their lessons if found.

The development of the new framework is after getting feedback from the industry. The feedback from the industry indicated that the previous Minimum Core structure and content were complex and out-of-date. 

Now, this framework is compatible with the Digital Teaching Professional Framework from the Education and Training Foundation.

The latest version of the document encourages trainers at all career phases to strive to fulfil the requirements with CPD activities that aid them in: 

• Highlight the advantages of technology and assist students in using it.
• Meet the students' needs in maths and English while exercising creativity and removing personal obstacles to learning.
• Make sure you are aware of equal rights, diversity, and related problems.
• Raise awareness of and emphasise the value of sustainable practices in 21st-century education and training.

Trainers in the UK (and other countries that follow this legislation) must incorporate English, maths, digital skills, EDI, and sustainability in their lessons to support their learners for further education(FE) training.

English Skills

English skills, previously known as literacy skills, are a learner's capacity to read, write, listen, and speak. Students' proper use of terminology and punctuation is important while composing essays and giving presentations. Trainers should assign assignments that let learners interact with one another, as this will help students develop their English skills.

For example, students must possess the necessary English skills to follow manufacturer instructions and file incident and complaint reports in the Beauty industry. They should read the product ingredients and comprehend the needs of their customers. This requires English skills; thus, beauty trainer courses should promote reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

In the same way, a trainee cook would need to read and understand the written recipes. Along with the recipes, they must understand the verbal instructions provided to them. That's why minimum core elements are important. With the minimum required English skills, learners can move forward in their careers.

Maths Skills

Everyone needs to have an understanding of fundamental mathematics. It is essential to foster the development of logic and reasoning abilities. We require maths skills to understand numbers, solve problems, tell time, recognise patterns, and demonstrate trends. For instance, First aid trainers instruct their students to count the compressions, record the timing and repetitions, and recall the techniques to perform CPR safely. Similarly, a functional skills teacher will always ensure that the lessons are rationally planned so that the students can understand the material to the necessary degree.

Digital Skills

The majority of modern life involves using digital skills. Our homes, our workplaces, and even our entertainment use Smart technology. Understanding the use of smart gadgets is now part of almost every vocational training. Nowadays, many jobs involve technology, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic when remote or smart working became a necessity. People must therefore know how to use the different gadgets and run programs that make their professional work more manageable. 

An Engineering trainer should incorporate modern design tools in their engineering training lessons. If learners are taught to use helpful tools for their tasks, this will result in more productivity and efficiency. The many facets of lesson planning and the application of digital skills in education are the main topics of the level 3 AET course. During the pandemic, education and training went online. These days, learning for online training is just as crucial as learning in a regular classroom.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a new addition to the core minimum for trainers. Meeting future generations' requirements while considering our planet and its environment is a skill that needs to be a part of every training. Trainers should be able to give their students the knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and behaviours necessary to identify and address sustainability concerns.

In addition to addressing climate change, sustainability also discusses employing social norms and social duty to advance everyone's economic well-being and standard of living.

For a sustainable lifestyle, let's make some changes. Here we have the 6 Rs of sustainable life. (Stem learning, 6R's explained *suitable for home teaching*) 

Ask yourself these questions daily.

• Rethink: Can I do something differently?
• Refuse: Are the things I use or my methods can have a harmful impact?
• Reduce: Is there any way I can reduce consumption?
• Reuse: How can I use this product/item again?
• Recycle: Am I making sure my trash is recyclable?
• Repair: How can I repair it instead of throwing it away?

Each person can make a big difference in a sustainable future with these small changes. 

An integrated strategy considering environmental and economic development is necessary for sustainable development. 

For example, in the Construction industry, trainers can teach learners how to assess the impact of materials in use and take the initiative for sustainable practices. A trainer asks learners to research the environmental impact of a construction project and its effects on the local population, society, and economics. Such projects create mindfulness in the learners regarding the impact of their future projects.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion(EDI)

The goals of Minimum Core elements of equality, diversity, and inclusion are to celebrate and value individual differences. Equality is recognising that everyone has the right to be treated fairly and equally, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or political views.

Diversity entails appreciating and recognising individual differences. The term "diversity" explicitly refers to the value placed on variations in age, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion or views, ethnicity/race/nationality, or culture in the UK.

The term "inclusion" is frequently used to refer only to learners with special needs, such as behavioural problems, social problems, personal problems, intellectual deficiencies, cognitive impairments, and physical diversity, but it encompasses much more. Students with various spiritual, sexual, gender, religious, and cultural identities have the right to be ‘included’ and given equal opportunities.

Everyone has the fundamental right to inclusion. For example, a Hospitality trainer should instil the idea of service-for-all in their learners. People from all races, ethnicities, and religions use the services of the hospitality industry. So learners should understand and practice this essential skill.

This article must have given you a clear understanding of the minimum core in teaching/training. Minimum core elements can help improve learners' understanding and professional competence.

Are you looking to upgrade your skills? We offer a wide variety of updated CPD courses, or you can upskill yourself with our Train the trainer courses. 

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