AB1 Group entered into, in April 2006, a service level agreement with Jobcentre Plus to provide AB1’s Sector Skills Service to the JCP Advisers working in Hampshire.

The Sector Skills Service offers various workshops for the unemployed and is an enhancement of the information & advice service given by the JCP Advisers. 

Jobcentre Plus is a service for people of working age, and assists thousands of people daily in finding employment. AB1 are justifiably proud of the success of their partnership with Jobcentre Plus.  Every year the partnership has helped many unemployed people gain work experience, work based training, new qualifications & skills and ultimately to find employment. 

www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

UFI is a Charitable Trust limited by guarantee and registered as a charity under their trading subsidiary UFI Ltd. To support the objectives of the charity UFI also trade under the brand name, 'learndirect'.

The UFI mission is to improve national productivity by providing widespread access to technology and world-class learning. By working to drive up demand for learning, it aims to help adults improve their employability by acquiring new knowledge and skills, and help businesses become more competitive.

AB1 have worked with learndirect since August 2003 and support the government-backed and LSC funded learndirect service. AB1 use the learndirect portfolio of courses to support IT & Skills for Life learning.

UFI have a Train to Gain Type B consortium contract with the Learning Skills Council (LSC) and AB1 Group is a member of the UFI consortium.

The Learning and Skills Council exists to make England better skilled and more competitive.

The LSC have a single goal: to improve the skills of England’s young people and adults to ensure the UK have a workforce of world-class standard.

The LSC run Train to Gain, the Government’s flagship national skills service that helps employers of all sizes and in all sectors get the training advice and support they need to succeed.

Train to Gain works to further the skills of all kinds of people, including:

• contracted employees (full and part-time)
• self-employed people
• volunteers
• employment agency workers

www.traintogain.gov.uk

AB1 Group have a contract with Careers Enterprise Ltd, part of VT Group plc, who are regionally contracted to deliver the LSC information, advice & guidance service called Nextstep.

Nextstep is a free service for adults and is offered by AB1 in conjunction with its own careers advice and employment support service.

In June 2007 the AB1 Group Limited were Matrix Accredited. This national standard for quality in information, advice and guidance is being used as a mandatory requirement for funding by the national network of stakeholders within the Educational sector.

AB1 will continue to work with Matrix to ensure it maintains its high quality of IAG service and to work to achieve a Matrix Excellence Award.