Employer engagement: the role of HE in supporting workforce development

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Employer engagement the role of HE in supporting
workforce development

• Iain Nixon
• Consultant

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Workshop focus

• Build an understanding of what is driving the
  agenda in HE
• Gain an insight into what is happening in
  practice
• Explore the key issues and challenges for
  institutions

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Workforce development

• Learning which accredits or extends the workplace
  skills and abilities of employees
• Provision delivered by HE (incl. HE in FE)
• Level 4 and above
• Fds
• UG and PG programmes
• Short courses (accredited/non-accredited)
• Provision part of the HE sectors
  initial/continuing professional development offer

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Background research
Workplace learning in the North East Higher
Education Funding Council for England www.hefce.ac
.uk/pubs/rdreports/2006/rd12_06/
Work-based learning illuminating the higher
education landscape Higher Education
Academy www.heacademy.ac.uk/research/WBL.pdf
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What is driving the workforce development in HE
agenda?
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Our Futures

• Raising UK productivity and competitiveness to
  create a sustainable economy by 2020

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The 2020 test

• Rapid demographic change
• There will be a greying workforce who are least
  likely to train
• The number of 17-18 year olds will have decreased
  significantly
• Global economic integration
• China and India will be much more important than
  the UK
• Pressure on resources and global climate
• US and EU (10 of world population, 38 of CO2
  emissions)
• Global uncertainty
• Poverty, environmental degradation despair are
  destroyers of people, societies, nations
  (Powell)

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The 2020 test

• Increasing the number of employees attaining
  higher level skills
• Move 3.5m people up the qualifications ladder
• Encouraging higher value added activity in
  businesses
• Create and apply new knowledge in the workplace
• Enabling innovation, enterprise and creativity
• Technological changes, market responses

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The 2020 test

• The HE system will be much larger and diversity
  in providers and their missions will prevail
• Provision in HE and how it is funded will have
  changed dramatically
• Reduced reliance on public funding
• Greater levels of employer contributions
• There will be a broader social mix of people
  studying HE, many of whom are in work

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What is happening in practice?
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Support for workforce development

• National dimension
• 130m from non-credit bearing CPD activity
• 2 of employer market
• Extensive part-time provision (UG and PG)
• HEBCIS shows
• 97 institutions offer work based learning
• 141 HEIs offer short bespoke courses (on campus)
• 128 HEIs offer short bespoke courses (at company
  premises)

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Regional and sectoral dimension

• Regional dimension
• RSPs and RSAPs emphasise higher level skills
• Increased involvement of RDAs in agreeing funding
  priorities, e.g. HEIF
• LLNs focusing on vocational pathways and
  progression
• HLSPs operating in three regions
• Sectoral dimension
• SSCs are establishing Skills Agreements
• Skills Academies

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Typology of workforce development
Individual driven
Investing in learning to improve personal
performance in securing new work
Investing in learning to improve personal and
professional performance in existing
work/ organisation
Formal relationship (employed)
Informal relationship (not employed)
Investing in learning to improve
the organisations performance and
competitiveness
Investing in learning to bring knowledge and
skills into the organisation
Organisation driven
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• EPSRC Collaborative Training Accounts
• Portfolio of PG(T) programmes, Professional
  Doctorates, CPD and flexible learning

• Advanced computing and communications
  technologies
• Chemical science and engineering innovation
• Environment and construction
• Technology and the marine environment
• Power, electronics, drives and machines
• Energy systems management

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Northumbria University

• Flexible work-based learning qualifications
• UfI Learning through Work
• Lifelong Learning Awards
• NVQ portfolio
• UG and PG awards
• Accreditation of in-house/company training and
  CPD programmes
• Accreditation of prior (experiential) learning
• Short courses and customised training

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Open University in the North

• Bridges to Learning
• Regional learning centre
• Provides access to
• IT
• Individual advice and guidance
• Uses Union Learning Representatives to deliver
  workplace learning opportunities
• Focused on health and social care
• Partnership involves
• UNISON, Careconnect Learning, Workers Education
  Association and the NHSU

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Knowledge House

• Regional know-how brokerage
• Integrates research, consultancy and other
  knowledge transfer activities
• e.g. KTPs and CIPs, graduate placements
• Offer extended to include skills
• Operates on distributed, hub and spoke model
• Supported by KHIS
• Funded by HEIs, HEIF, ERDF Structural Funds and
  commercial income streams

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What are the key issues and challenges?
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Implications for the HE sector

• What are the critical issues of today and the
  horizons issues of tomorrow that face HEIs in
  tackling the workforce development agenda?

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Our survey said
In true Family Fortunes style we asked the DfES,
HEFCE, SSDA, employers, academics and learners
what the critical issues of today were for HEIs
in supporting workforce development.
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X X

• OUR SURVEY SAID
• Overcoming the language barrier
• Raising demand or expanding provision
• Encouraging good pedagogic practice
• Engaging effectively with employers
• Transforming accreditation and quality assurance
• Meeting the costs of design and delivery

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Key messages for institutions

• Present a more consistent and coherent picture of
  the breadth of the institutional offer
• Develop strong joint working arrangements with
  partners at a regional level
• Build a better understanding of the pedagogy
• Adopt a holistic (and client-centred) approach to
  the third stream function
• Support the development academic staff operating
  at the HE industry interface

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Key messages for regional agencies

• Provide regional leadership and champion the
  higher level skills agenda
• Support action to stimulate employer demand and
  increase the supply of people with higher level
  skills and
• Raise awareness of the HE offer amongst brokers
  and advisers
• Challenge the impression that the full cost of
  higher level workplace learning is the sole
  responsibility of the employer

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Key messages for employers and their
representatives

• Motivate employees to see value and engage in
  higher level skills development
• Establish and sustain closer relationships with
  the HE sector
• Build understanding of the nature of HE
  interventions
• Influence HE provision

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HE and workforce development

• So what role should the HE sector play in
  supporting workforce development?

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Employer engagement the role of HE in supporting
workforce development

• Iain Nixon
• Consultant