The LocalBiz Project is a set of related activities (a "Project") which lends itself extremely well to the reinforcement of Key Skill knowledge, and for the creation of evidence of each of the Key Skills. The Project is flexible in the way it can be customised to cover a variety of learning needs, around its central theme of students managing a community website.

This is demonstrated with The ICT and Teamwork Programmes, which cover the requirements of the ICT and Working With Others key skills respectively. The other four Key Skills have not yet been mapped, but can easily be mapped from a combination of these two. For example, Problem Solving can be achieved by making the "Create the Team" activity (in the Teamwork programme) into PS Assignment 1, and the "Business Information Starter Pack (optional in all programmes) is Assignment 2.

Communication skills are in use throughout the Project; all that is required is for the necessary evidence to be drawn toegther. Application of Number evidence can be derived by extending the Survey (in the ICT Programme) and Improving Own Learning and Performance evidenced using berfore and after personal reviews.

If you are interested in running a Programme to target these key skills, please contact us for further discussion.

Success in the key skills qualifications* attracts UCAS Tariff points:10 points for each key skill of Communication, Application of Number and Information Technology at level 2 and 20 points at level 3. So a student who achieves all three key skills at level 3 will obtain 60 points, the same as for a grade A at AS level. Universities take a variety of approaches to re cognising these Tariff points for offer purposes.

The published indicative entry requirements for 2004 entry showed that 240 UCAS member institutions (74%) have at least one course where key skills achievement is encouraged, and around 49% have at least one course where key skills tariff points are counted towards an offer.

It is true that many universities admissions tutors do not explicitly require key skills achievement, usually be cause not all students have access to key skills programmes. Recent experience is that universities which do not require key skills achievement for the initial offer will still take this into account when making final decisions on applicants.

There have been two further significant developments to the UCAS website. Firstly, a ‘tariff calculator’ has been created. This enables a candidate to enter their A level, AS and AVCE grades along with their achievements in the individual key skills qualifications so that their total Tariff points can be calculated. Secondly, the ‘Entry Profiles’ in the courses database: each Profile includes a listing for skills that are essential to the field of study and the aim is to include all university courses, around 50,000 in all. As well as signalling the value of key skills to applicants, this process is encouraging admissions tutors and course teams to consider underpinning skills and to make them explicit.

The Government policy statement ’14-19: Opportunity and Excellence’ announced the introduction of an entitlement for all young people to continue studying up to age 19 until they reach the standard of a good GCSE or the corresponding level 2 key skills qualification in Communication, Application or Number or ICT. This entitlement should enable more schools and colleges to offer key skills and thus encourage more HE institutions to expect key skills achievement. Students going on to higher education after 19 should be encouraged to achieve a level 3 qualification in at least one of these skill areas.