The Skills Conference 2009 was held on Tuesday 3rd November at The East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham. Hosted by bksb and sponsored by NOCN, the conference was attended by around 170 delegates from a variety of educational settings including schools, colleges, training providers, councils and employers.
The Keynote speakers were Maureen Emmett, Functional Skills Strategy Manager from the QCDA; Beej Kaczmarczyk, Director of Sector Training and education funding expert; and Phil Beadle, a former secondary school teacher of the year, writer and broadcaster.
Maureen updated the delegates on the functional skills pilot and provided an invaluable QCDA perspective on the criteria as we approach September 2010. Beej spoke of how external factors such as the recession and government policy changes would impact on funding, and how delegates could maximise funding streams in the wake of these changes. Phil reminded all present of why they took up teaching in the first place with a highly interactive and inspiring keynote centred on creative teaching and getting the best from learners in any given setting.
The afternoon workshops provided an opportunity for delegates to select subjects which most closely matched their roles, with a diverse mix of topics and facilitators.
Post-conference delegate surveys showed that a highly impressive 92.3% described themselves as either ‘highly satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their overall conference experience. All feedback is hugely valuable and will be taken on board for The Skills Conference 2010, which has been confirmed for Tuesday 2nd November. More details will, of course, follow in the new year.
Some feedback from delegates about their conference experience:
“I found the 3 keynote speakers excellent. Their input and up to date knowledge was invaluable. I returned to work commenting that it was by far the best conference I had ever attended. It doesn't get any better than that!”
“I must say I found the whole conference very inspirational…truly great day that I would recommend to all my colleagues, and will definitely be booking for next year.”
“I was extremely impressed with the whole process. The conference programme was extremely professionally produced and was very informative. The speakers were a delight and left you buzzing with enthusiasm and new ideas. I cannot criticise anything - excellent!”
“The whole day was very enjoyable. Everyone I spoke to were very helpful and experienced in this field. I look forward to next year's conference. Thank you.”
“I thought Phil Beadle and Beej Kaczmarczyk were excellent speakers and really set the tone well. Really enjoyed it and was impressed with the organisation and support during the conference.
“Many thanks - excellent conference!”
“I found the day very informative and worthwhile. The workshops were interesting and I took a lot of ideas away with me.”
“The event was useful for information and networking. Long may it continue.”
“It was a very informative day, good speakers, very good venue, very good food and refreshments; it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.”
“Excellent - I shall be there next year!”