The purpose of this website is to promote the development and activities of the Tees Valley Working Together consortium which was formed in late 2004 to take forward the next stage of this major Learning Skills Council (LSC) strategy for working with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).
A key part of this activity is to communicate with, and engage, the wide range of Voluntary and Community organisations within Tees Valley so that they have the opportunity to understand and integrate with aims and objectives of the Working Together Strategy.
LSC also have an area of their national web site devoted to working with the VCS based on Working Together. Follow this link for more information:
Need to know more or want to join TVWT on the journey?
If you are a voluntary or community sector organisation and you feel your organisation has an interest in working together to develop your workforce and / or being part of a learning provider consortium working with public sector agencies, read our revised terms of reference here:
New Regional Co-ordinator for VCS Learning and Skills
Sue Northcott, Regional Co-ordinator for VCS Learning and Skills, has recently left her post to enjoy the delights of Greece. Her replacement has been appointed and will take up his post on the 30 July 2007. His name is David McClelland and recently worked with LSC North East.
We wish Sue all the best and welcome to David.
New Web site now fully operational
The regional website is now fully functional so please visit:
for more information about VCS Learning & Skills and to send any comments, articles, information or initiatives for inclusion on the website and future e-bulletins please e-mail:
The North East VCS Regional Skills Forum first met in December 2004. The group consists of representatives from voluntary or community organisations across the North East region as well as key partners including the LSC and GONE.
The Forum aims to facilitate and promote learning and skill development to improve Voluntary and Community Sector infrastructure and its capacity to provide services and to influence and negotiate regionally and nationally on behalf of the sector.
For further information about the Forum or attending the meetings please contact:
Raising our game: The LSC Annual Statement of Prioritiessets out the LSC's focus for the coming year and reflects a step-change in the way they do business. 'Raising our game' sets out what needs to be achieved to improve skills, boost productivity and create an economy which can continue to compete on the world stage.
They have established have four priorities that will drive their work and investment in 2007/08.
More and better opportunities for young people – investing around £7 billion to help over 1.3 million 14–19 year olds
Raising the skills of the nation – investing over £3 billion to help over 4 million adults and many thousands of employers
Building a world-class system – including investing £600 million in new buildings
Investing in economic development – through all of the above and with our many partners
In Raising our Game, the LSC committed to publishing guidance on the use of improvement notices and minimum levels of performance.
Celebration of VCS Learning held on 8th June 2007, at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough.
Over a hundred people attended the awards ceremony, successfully organised by Skillshare NE on behalf of TVWT, to celebrate the first year of achievements by learners accessing training funded by LSC co financing under TVWT arrangements.
Certificates and Diplomas were presented by the outgoing Regional Coordinator VCS Learning & Skills, Sue Northcott, to learners graduating in management, community development, delivering learning and others.
Achievements ranged from Level 2 qualifications to prestigious Management Level 5 - the latter achieved a remarkable period of 9 months intensive activity.
Our congratulations to all successful learners either attending the ceremony or those unable to attend due to prior commitments.
The purpose of the fund is primarily aimed at adding value to current mainstream services offered by Jobcentre Plus and it is envisaged that this will build upon the experiences, and incorporating the most effective elements of previous community based initiatives such as Action Teams for Jobs, and Ethnic Minority Outreach whose activities ceased operation on 30th September 2006.
Consultation with the 5 LA’s within the District has taken place and is ongoing to ensure that the delivery of DAF will align with their Local Area Agreement’s (LAA) particularly with regard to increasing employability within the identified wards and other funding streams. Over £2,000,000 is allocated for the periods 2006/2007 and 2007/2008. The range of activites can be innovative and far reaching without job outputs but rather seeking to move people towards employment.
This document sets out the LSC's approach to commisioning learning activities across the North East is relevant to learning providers across all sectors.
If you are interested in becoming an LSC Provider for he next round of tendering due to begin shortly, more information can be found here:
On the 1st October 2006, The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into place to protect all employees from discrimination and harassment on the grounds of age. The legislation will give individuals of all ages new rights not to be discriminated against in relation to employment and vocational training. In order to help organisations prepare for the new regulations, the UK Workforce Hub has drawn together a list of free resources that offers booklets, frequently asked questions, fact sheets, checklists, toolkits and newsletters.
To access this free list of resources, please visit the
