SVQ information for employers
Education and training for your workforce is an investment, and companies like yours are seeing SVQs as an integral part of their business development strategy.
SVQs (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) give you focused, on-the-job training and development for your staff. They are an excellent way of making sure that your staff development programmes and your business strategy go hand-in-hand.
Analysis
SVQs are based on national standards of performance, developed by industry, commerce and education. Matching the skills and knowledge of your candidates against these nationally agreed industry standards gives you a good idea of where there is room for improvement.
This skills and knowledge matching is a useful business exercise in its own right - following this up with an effective SVQ programme to develop the skills of your staff gives you a significant competitive edge.
Performance
Once training and development are underway and people are working towards their SVQs, many employers notice material benefits, including healthier bottom-line performance.
One study of SVQs in the food and drink manufacturing sector reported the following improvements:
- Productivity up 20%
- Quality up 12%
- Wastage down 6%
- Complaints down 12%
- Accidents down 56%
- Absenteeism down 20%
- Staff retention up 27%
As these figures show, working to national standards of competence through an effective SVQ programme is the way forward for progressive companies.
Delivering SVQs
College Development Network, CBI Scotland and the Scottish Training Federation talk about how SVQs are developed in partnership with industry and delivered to maximise the benefits for the people taking them, and the employers investing in them.