Education Partnerships

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Education Partnerships
Business Facing Skills Through Workbased Learning
An Higher Education Framework for Success
Alec Forsyth H A Forsyth Consultancy
Mike Goodwin Education Partnerships University
of Wolverhampton
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Introduction

• Business facing skills reflect the perceptions
  employers
• have of the range of knowledge, skills and
  employability
• attributes of employees to successfully support
  and
• continuously sustain their organisations.
• Consequently, the ability to demonstrate the
  effectiveness
• of higher education to develop persons with a
  wide range
• of relevant business facing skills through
  graduation and
• continuous professional development as their
  careers
• progress is becoming of increasing importance

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The Components of Business Facing Skills

• encompass the technical and soft transferable
  skills utilising the concepts of need to know and
  ought to know skills and knowledge all consistent
  with the 3 key industry drivers.
• re-enforce industry credibility and develop the
  range of business facing skills demanded,
  vocational higher education should focus on the
  following 3 key industry drivers
• The use of best professional practice.
• The application of relevant up to date knowledge,
  skills and technologies.
• Successful innovation of products, services and
  problem solving

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The Acquisition and Application of Business
Facing Skills

• is through their assessment namely
• self assessment
• by the individual reviewing their own performance
  against given standards
• by organisations reviewing their own performance
  against given standards, including the
  performance of individuals contributing to the
  organisation.
• peer assessment
• to determine an independent measure of
  performance and fitness for purpose against
  standards
• to develop parity of performance of both the
  individual and organisation across the network
• academic assessment.
• Offers learners the opportunity to advance to
  higher levels of achievement, effectiveness or
  quality of performance through negotiated
  programmes located within a workbased learning
  framework.
• Is rigorously assessed, externally referenced and
  quality assured against national academic
  descriptors and standards.
• The development needs of both the individual and
  organisation, in the context of their work and of
  the wider framework of University knowledge,
  scholarship and values are encompassed.

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Purpose of the approach

• The purpose of this approach is to provide
  appropriate business facing skills in
• order to evidence and develop learners through
  workbased learning with
• An ability to identify the components of and
  cope with complex situations
• A determined confidence to succeed based upon
  prior learning
• The flexibility and experience to both
  collaborate with others and think creatively
• An enhanced ability to anticipate and cope with
  change
• The knowledge and skills to
• act as an agent of appropriate change, innovation
  and knowledge transfer
• both challenge and effectively apply their
  learning in the workplace
• demonstrate relevance and learning progression to
  the benefit of both organisation and individuals
• through the above evidence the up to date
  capability of the individual and employing
  organisation

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The flexible workbased learning framework

• is quality assured, flexible and highly
  responsive
• scaffolds and supports Lifelong Learning in a
  workbased context
• enables and empowers the individual to become an
  autonomous, Lifelong Learner who plans, manages,
  reviews and develops her/his professional
  learning and functioning
• provides a flexible learning environment where
  the needs of both the organisation and
  participant are central
• meets the specific needs of individuals and their
  employers with respect to learning, training and
  professional development
• encourage the enhancement of skills, knowledge
  and general personal abilities relevant to the
  participants context, aspirations and
  responsibilities
• focus on both essential professional skills and
  also high-level soft skills develop in the
  learner confidence as an essential foundation of
  professional development
• enhance the employability, professional
  effectiveness and business competitiveness of the
  learner
• be capable of rigorous, independent assessment

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Performance Indicators

• They provide guidance in relation to
• Deciding on an appropriate academic level of
  qualification to work towards
• Exploring the feasibility of making a claim for
  academic accreditation on the basis of prior
  experiential learning
• Setting aims and formulating objectives.
• Designing learning activities.
• Undertaking formative self checks to ensure the
  programme is on track.
• Encouraging productive dialogue among employers,
  learners and tutors so developing a common
  understanding through a common language. National
  Occupational Standards may offer a foundation for
  the development of a common language and
  understanding between employers and academics.

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Tripartite Partnership

• The success of workbased learning is reliant upon
  the tripartite
• partnership of employer, leaner and tutor. All
  must develop a
• common understanding of their individual roles
  and responsibilities
• as well as those of the other partners in order
  to provide agreed
• meaningful workbased learning facilities and
  environments
• compatible with academic levels, assessment
  criteria, learner
• expectations and the continuous updating of
  business facing skills.
• Such tripartite relationships should prevent any
  partner working in
• isolation to the detriment of the workbased
  learning experience and
• outcome. Consequently the needs of each should
  underpin the
• learning on offer

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Conclusion

• The identification and inclusion of the
  appropriate components of business
• facing skills, coupled with the successful
  partnership of employer, tutor
• and learner within the workbased learning
  framework, enhances the
• opportunity to both evidence and develop learners
  with the abilities put
• forward within this paper relevant to their job,
  career aspirations and
• employer needs. Such collaborative work based
  learning should provide
• the agility, through continuous professional
  development, to respond to,
• and provide for, future business facing skills.
  It offers a self sustaining
• cost and time effective workbased learning
  framework, utilising the job
• functions of the learner. This sustains its
  relevance and effectiveness in a
• changing work environment now and in the future.