Resources вЂ“ time and money are a real issue.В FE colleges are really stretched.В Government spending on FE has dropped by a third since 2010 (Institute for Fiscal Studies) and the budget for entire country is ВЈ3.5bn - less than the combined annual operating costs of Oxford and Cambridge universities.В But the primary barrier has always been culturalВ вЂ“ any change to how learning is delivered requires new skills and approaches, and thatвЂ™s aВ challenge. We understand the barriers to adoption of voctech in colleges. The National College for Nuclear and Bridgewater and Taunton college used VR to create a safe place to practice skills for the nuclear industry.В UfiвЂ™s VocTechВ DirectoryВ is a great resource for exploring other examples of howВ VocTechВ is being used. Hereford and Ludlow College used augmented reality for their animal care course. In FE for example,В there is some real innovation.В Bracknell CollegeВ isВ working with Century TechВ to use AI to provide adaptive personalised learning pathways for students. WeвЂ™ve funded all types of organisationsВ to demonstrateВ voctechВ in all types of innovative ways. Helping to build theВ voctechВ community and sharing knowledge.Working in partnership with organisationsВ who have influence in the sector.Investing viaВ our UfiВ VenturesВ programme in order to help create a market inВ voctech.Grant fundingВ projects which demonstrate how innovation in digital learning has an impact.We believeВ in the power of digital technologies to change lives В onlyВ through the useВ ofВ voctechВ will we be able to scale up and give wide access to skills trainingВ and tackle the UK vocational skills shortage.В Our aim isВ to catalyse changeВ across the UKВ to achieve the change in scale that we need inВ vocational learning for adults. Ufi is an independent charity which has been around forВ c 10 years. While the basic technologies are the same, when applied in a vocational context for adults existing tools often need adjustment or redesign to ensure theyВ work for adults in a work skills context. WhatвЂ™s the difference betweenВ edtechВ andВ voctech?В EdtechВ is a generic term which coversВ all types of educational technologies used in all sorts of settings - schools, colleges,В universitiesВ -В for all sorts of educational purposes.В VoctechВ is the specific application ofВ edtechВ in a vocationalВ context. VoctechВ are digital technologies that support vocational training and help improve skills for work.В VoctechВ describes the digital tools which are used to teach vocational skills to adults: skills which will be used by the workforce in the workplace.

In this first episode, Sarah Axon, fromВ UfiВ VocTechВ Trust will explore whatВ VocTechВ is, how it is being used and the impact it is having on learning delivery. How can VocTech support skills for work in FE?

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