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Building Sustainable Communities - Online CPD Unit

Taking it further (Part 2): Skills

This section considers the Government's policy context on adult skills for sustainable communities before exploring the extent to which education for the 11-16 age-group might contribute towards it. However, the extent to which education at school is perceived primarily as a preparation for the workplace, by parents, employers and the learners themselves, is a much wider debate than possible here. In so far as geography contributes to understanding of the changing world of work, as well as how people live and play, it should recognise these issues concerning skills.

The Urban Task Force (1999) had argued that: 'The teaching in basic professional skills is excellent. The main problem is a lack of cross-disciplinary learning with a strong vocational element. The evidence is that it is generic rather than technical skills that are in short supply.'

The Egan Review (2004) concurred with this and suggested that, in addition to their technical competences, professional and practitioners dealing with the development of sustainable communities would indeed benefit from a number of what were called 'generic skills'. It is also argued that the delivery of sustainable communities could only be achieved if professionals and practitioners developed new ways of thinking and acting.

Source: ASC (2007) In a nutshell, Leeds: Academy for Sustainable Communities.

Read the Definitions of Generic Skills in this document

The Egan Review made the distinction between skills used in:

Download: Egan Review - Occupations
  • Core occupations
  • Associated occupations
  • Community engagement

Select a likely learning context as an example, such as an enquiry into a current change taking place, or proposed, in the community.

Identify how to use this three-fold distinction appropriately in your scheme of work.

How does this contribute towards a whole-picture of people involved in place-making?


Comment

Learners should not be excluded from community engagement and, therefore, already have or need the skills used in this role.

Read more on the key stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities in 'Who's who'.


Now do Activity 6 >>>

Homes & Communities Agency

This project was run in partnership with the Academy for Sustainable Communities which has since become the Skills and Knowledge team at the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

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