Transcript Slide 1

Teesside University HE in FE Conference
Getting to those ‘hard to reach’ employers
Darren Hankey
Hartlepool College of Further Education
2 July 2010
OUTLINE
• Key drivers of delivering higher level skills (HLS) to employers
• An evaluation of the ease of this
• HCFE traditional approach of delivering HLS
• HCFE North East Higher Skills Pathfinder Project
• Some of the project’s outcomes
• Recommendations
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE – THE POLITICAL AND
ECONOMICAL IMPERATIVE
“Up against the competition of over two billion people in China
and India – with five million graduates a year – Britain, a small
country, cannot compete on low skills but only on high skills.
Our imperative – and our opportunity – is to compete in high-value
added services and manufacturing; and because that requires the
best trained workforce in the world, our challenge is to unlock all
the talents of all of the people of our country.
And the nation that shows it can bring out the best in all its people will
be the great success story of the global age.”
(Former) Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the CBI annual conference
2007
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE – LEITCH (2006)
Current government policy owes much to the Leitch review (2006)
He argued that by 2020 over 40% of adults of working age should be
qualified to level 4 or above.
2005 = 29%
2008 = 31%
70% of the 2020 workforce has already left compulsory education
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE – LEITCH (2006)
“Further improvements in the UK’s high skills base must come from
workforce development and increased employer engagement.
Stimulating high skills acquisition within the workforce will require
closer collaboration between HE institutions and employers and
employees, especially for part-time students and bespoke
programmes.
Much of that expansion must come from programmes initiated and
supported by employers.
“HEIs will increasingly need to develop high‐quality provision that is relevant to
the needs of business and can be delivered in a flexible way.”
OK.......HOW EASY IS THIS?
•
Process must be informed by a more sophisticated understanding of the extent and
nature of the demand for higher level skills.
•
Kewin, J., Casey, P. & Smith, R. (2008), Known Unknowns: The demand for higher level
skills from businesses, CFE.
•
Farrall et al. (2008), The Market for Higher Level Skills Training in the South East 2008,
Heist Research for Higher Education South East.
•
Thornton (2008), Highly Skilled London: The demand for higher level skills by London
employers, London Higher, London First and the Learning and Skills Network.
•
Kewin, J., Bowes, L. & Hughes, T. (2009), Beyond Known Unknowns: A further
exploration of the demand for higher level skills from businesses, CFE.
OK.......HOW EASY IS THIS?
Not Engaged in HLS
Engaged in HLS
67%
33%
‘Hard’ No
72%
‘Soft’ No
28%
Other HEI
69%
HEI
31%
HCFE APPROACH TO HIGHER LEVEL SKILLS
DELIVERY
• A wide range of
– HNC/HND
– Foundation Degrees
– Professional qualification (Leadership/Management, Accounts, Health Management)
• ‘Traditional’ approach
– Timetabled lessons
– One/twice per week
– Supply-driven
• Compared to some FE delivery
– Apprentices, TTG and full-cost
– Worked to meet customer needs
– Customer-driven
HCFE APPROACH TO HIGHER LEVEL SKILLS
DELIVERY
• ‘Traditional’ Approach
• ‘New’ Approach
Fees; Support Learners;
Course Design; Course
Delivery; Assessment…….
Learner
Commitment to learn
Fees
Provider
Funding
Funding
HEFCE or Other
HEFCE or Other
Course Design
Course Delivery
Assessment/Accreditation
Employer
A DIFFERENT APPROACH – THE PROJECT
• Funded by the North East Higher Skills Pathfinder
1.
2.
3.
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Engage with organisations to ascertain HLS needs
Translate these findings into a curriculum
Develop HLS qualification
Used exiting network of employer contacts
Targeted micro/small organisations in the logistics sector
Used existing staff and employed someone from our existing contacts
Links to Teesside University
A DIFFERENT APPROACH – OUTCOMES
• Engage with organisations to ascertain HLS needs
– Saw 12 organisations
– 10 supportive of the initiative and contributed
– Three months after the start of the financial crisis
• Translate these findings into a curriculum
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Flexible degree-level qualification – Foundation Degree?
Exclusively based in the organisation
Individual and organisational development – leadership/management
Assessment to focus on tackling organisational issues
• Develop qualification
– Leeds Met University
– Teesside University
– Edexcel – Management Studies
A DIFFERENT APPROACH – UNINTENDED
OUTCOMES
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Demand from 4 organisations (6 learners) to start delivery
– Not a part of the initial project
– Didn’t want to lose the momentum/impetus
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Extra funds secured from Business Link
– £500 per learner
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Company visits focused on delivery of Edexcel Professional Award in
Management Studies
– Personal Development, Leadership & Change Management
– Summer 2010 five learners achieved qualification
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National recognition
– Higher Skills Pathfinder Conference, Manchester
– Nicholson’s Transport, Billingham
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Invest in market research
– No more ‘if we build it, they will come’
– Must be based on solid market research (ideally conducted at an institutional
level)
– Iterative process of product development and responsive delivery
• Play to strengths
– Use unique position of being able to design and award higher level
qualifications
• Ensure delivery is responsive to the needs of employers
– Exploit potential to grow their market share by embracing credit
accumulation and transfer, and delivering bite-sized learning
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Build on your significant market share
– Developed via FE contracts (Apprentices, Train to Gain, Full-Cost work etc)
– Professional and vocational in nature
• Accept that not all businesses will invest in higher level skills
– Business case is convincing
– Where the business case does not exist, improved marketing or increased
financial support are unlikely to change the training patterns of certain
employers
• Understand the role of cost
– Culture of co-funding amongst employers that invest in higher level skills
– Most businesses are prepared to meet some of the costs of higher level skills
training but believe this responsibility should be shared with the
Government
FOOTNOTES..........
• Started in a time of relative prosperity
– Govt funding
– Funding for projects
– Organisations’ willingness
• Funding going to be harder to come by
– 22 June Budget
– Autumn – 25% cut in all Govt Depts except Health and Overseas Development
– Organisations’ natural response
• Can be done, but it’s now harder
– Proactive organisations
– Long-term view
– See opportunities
Any Questions?