Foundation Degrees and
the HESkills@Work Project
Bob Bell
Recap the National Policy
Drivers
Demographics
 National under-investment in
associate professional and technician
staffing
 ‘the 50%’

Does this ring a bell ?
“……the market for higher level skills in
the UK is worth £500
million………………………….
Does this ring a bell ?
“……the market for higher level skills in
the UK is worth £500
million………………………….
and the university sector has 6% of
that”
Does this ring a bell ?
“……the market for higher level skills in
the UK is worth £500
million………………………….
and the university sector has 6% of
that”
John Denham: DIUS Minister
Feb 2008
So ?
Who’s got the rest – and what is it ??
Tribal, KPMG, Microsoft etc. etc. etc.
 Niche training, sometimes bespoke
 Its characteristics are:
Sold at high level into a corporate strategy
 Aimed at a business outcome
 Content, delivery and timing suits the client
 Full cost
 Non-accredited

So – that’s the competition………
What’s our competitive strategy

We must match on flexibility of
content
 delivery
 Timing


We can win on
cost
 accreditation
 quality

?
So How do we reconcile desired
flexibility with the rigours of academic
requirements - not least QAA ?




For vocational education at undergraduate
level ‘skills’ are a valid consideration
Many employees are deploying HE skills in
the workplace every day
Employers have a range of induction and
training programmes which operate at high
level
Learners can be introduced to new thinking
skills which explore their experiences
L4
FD
1st
Year
L5
FD
2nd
Year
L6
B Sc
Final
Year
Hons
Personal
Development
Planning
20
PDP
20
PDP
20
L4
Knowledge
Acquisition
(e-learning
?)
20
L4 Skills Development by
Provider or Employer
60
L5 Knowledge
Acquisition
(e-learning ?)
20
L5Skills
40
L6 Skills
20
L6 Work
based
research
20
Work-based
project
20
Work based project
40
Work based project
60
So what are the issues ?

Employers who are focussed on short term ‘training’ needs and
avoid ‘qualifications’

Difficult economics – small cohorts and employers as reluctant
payers

‘Work’ vs ‘Study’: knowledge/skills/development

Who controls the curriculum and delivery patterns

Compliance to QAA, the professions, institutional requirements
……
Time for a personal view




This is tough stuff
Often there is a big gap between employer and
(public) provider
To bridge the gap you may need to get your
hands dirty – build confident partnerships
You should actively consider working with good
quality private providers
Provider’s business development and delivery
responses sometimes drop below the required
professional level………………………
Anglia HigherSkills@Work
Project
Benefitting from HEFCE’s Strategic
Development Fund
 Aims to get up to (additional) 1000 corporate
learners by 2011-12
 Will be deploying a new team of Skills
Development Consultants
 Has the advantage of using IXION for
employer engagement

What? When?
How Much?




How?
What: (At this stage)
 Fd Professional Practice + separate skills modules
 Fd Health and Social Care
 FD Cultural Services
 HE Cert Leadership
 Bespoke arrangements (e.g. BA M&L)
When: April 2009 
How: Using IXION and the new SDC team in
collaboration
How Much: Customer component increases from ~35% to 65% over
five year period
How will it all work
Faculties to develop flexible products
with SDF funding assistance
 SDCs and Faculties work at large
scale corporate level with (probably)
bespoked solutions
 IXION use a mass marketing
approach to find interest with smes
 There will be cross-over so integrated
operations (CRM etc.) is essential

Next Steps
LDS Director in place – Jon Bouffler
 SDC Induction (week after next) )
 New SDC Team Leader Arrives –
March
 Further strategy to be evolved

Employer Based Training
Accreditation (EBTA)
EBTA: Benefits for Providers
Allows real ‘employer engagement’
 A measurable contribution for co-funding
 Allows growth without capacity issues
 Provision of learning management

EBTA: Benefits for Employers




External Benchmarking
Accreditation process can add real value to
internal training programmes
Provides recognition and motivation for staff
Can be seen as a recruitment incentive
EBTA: What sort of accreditation?
Validation of Bespoke Courses
From one module to a whole
Programme – credit is
freestanding
Credit Recognition
Equivalence is agreed for all
‘trainees’ – traded in on
progression
‘Learning through Work’ Awards
Individualised approach
Articulation Agreements
Advanced Standing
APEL
Individual agreement with HEI
Who’s doing it?






Royal Corps of Signals
Flybe
Quill
Sunderland Council
Stiller Transport and Logistics
The Police