Issue no. 2 – Date October 2008
East of England Briefing
Keeping you in touch with fdf in the region
Welcome to this second
edition of the East of
England Briefing. The
main focus of this
edition is on fdf
communications and
employer engagement
activity. I would be
really pleased to
respond to your
comments or questions.
The Tool Kit can support you in asking essential
questions and formulating plans. It comprises
two major elements: a ‘health check’ internal
review and ‘Building Partnerships’ to gain
consistency of approach. Templates and
checklists are the core of the document and are
available for you to customise.
Over 20 pilot institutions found the Tool Kit
useful in exploring how to maximise resources
and expertise and grow their partnerships more
effectively.
Dr. Margaret Seiffert
fdf Associate Director for East of England & East Midlands
Email: m.seiffert@fdf.ac.uk , Mobile: 07917 052331
The employer provider partnership
– putting the jigsaw together
We challenge you to spend a day with us and
reap the benefits. One word of caution: a senior
management team approach works best. Read
the full article on page 15 of the latest edition of
the fdf journal, available online at:
http://www.fdf.ac.uk/files/journal16.pdf
fdf Strategic Plan 2008-11
Decision makers, providers, regional bodies and
professional associations across the UK have all
been asking the same question. fdf listened and
developed an Employer-Provider Partnership
Tool Kit. The Tool Kit does not presume a single
answer to the puzzle. There is no one size that
fits all and each institution has to
find its own solution.
The fdf Strategic plan for 2008 – 2011 has now
been published. The plan reflects the needs of a
rapidly changing higher education policy
environment. A key factor for fdf
is the
establishment and development of sustainable
strategic partnerships across all of our activities.
We see collaboration as fundamental to
everything that we do and hope that individuals,
institutions, organisations and agencies will
consult this strategic plan and find it helpful in
understanding the distinctive identity of the
organisation.
You can find the fdf 2008-11 Strategic plan
on the fdf website at:
http://www.fdf.ac.uk/about_fdf/
fdf Publications Update
As part of its communications activity aimed at raising the profile of Foundation degrees, fdf
produces a range of publications. Of particular interest are the case studies which are developed to
show examples of Foundation degrees in action and their impact on both students and employers.
Recent new additions to the case study portfolio are:
Tesco:
…and TUI Travel:
In addition fdf produces two leaflets aimed at introducing the reader to Foundation degrees and their
benefits. One focuses on the employer perspective and the other on the student perspective:
Copies of these and other recent publications can be accessed via www.findfoundationdegree.co.uk
If you would like to find out more about our publications then please contact
Lorraine Westwood, Director of Communications, fdf,
l.westwood@fdf.ac.uk or call 01543 301153
Update on the national Foundation degree advertising campaign
The promotional activity aimed at raising the profile of Foundation degrees amongst employers is now
coming to the end of its first year. During this period there has been a range of activities including road
side posters, ticket barrier adverts and taxi sponsorship, through to sponsorship of Human Resource
Director conferences.
The website, which was launched last November to
support the campaign, saw the number of visitors break
the 100,000 barrier in June. This is an exceptionally
high number for such a focused campaign. More
recently the response mechanisms for the campaign
have been enhanced with the addition of a text service.
Respondents to the advertising can now text degree to
80010 – they will then receive a text message back
providing the website address meaning that they have a
reminder to encourage follow-up.
Employer-facing Print Media
Roadside advertising
in Birmingham
Plans are already in place for further activity to continue through to July 2009. This will build on the
significant impact made during the first year. The design and messaging of the campaign will be
further enhanced by employer endorsement featuring BT and TUI.
Whilst student recruitment is not a key priority for the campaign, fdf is keen to support providers in
their own marketing and positioning of Fds. The marketing and communications team at fdf are happy
to give advice and guidance to providers and have already done so with a number of institutions
around the country. This has ranged from sharing literature and copy to supporting a college in the
writing of a marketing strategy for Foundation degrees.
This consultancy service is provided free of charge. Any institution interested in finding out more
should contact Lorraine Westwood, Director of Communications, fdf, l.westwood@fdf.ac.uk or call
01543 301153.
Updating the fdf
degree database
Foundation
fdf is currently updating the online database of
Foundation degree courses that can be found
at www.fdf.ac.uk/courses and
at
www.findfoundationdegree.co.uk (the website
that links to the national advertising campaign
for Foundation degrees).
We recently sent out details of the courses
that each institution has listed on the
database. This will have been received by
fdf’s named contact within each institution. We
are asking that they check and update the list
so that it reflects their Foundation degree
provision in 2008-09. The updated lists will
then be used to amend the fdf database.
The fdf database lists both courses currently
running (i.e. with students enrolled) and those
in development (at any stage from design
through to validated and awaiting enrolments).
Only
brief
details
of
courses
are
provided (course
titles,
validating
institutions, delivery sites and an indication of
the current status of the course).
The fdf course database is used in a number
of ways including:




by
potential Foundation
degree
students - to search for courses by
subject, region or institution
by employers - to search for potential
partner institutions or for existing
courses suitable for employees
to assist
universities,
colleges
and other organisations (e.g. DIUS,
Sector
Skills
Councils, Aimhigher
and Regional Development Agencies)
by providing a source of information
about Foundation degrees on a
national and regional level
by fdf - for planning and research
purposes
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you
require
further
information.
Email
e.lockley@fdf.ac.uk or telephone 01543
301155.
Employer Based Training and
Accreditation (EBTA)
There have been a number of
presentations on the fdf EBTA Scheme in
the East Midlands and a lot of interest has
been shown in the scheme as a practical
way of engaging with employers and
reaching out to learners in work. The local
LLNs have been particularly responsive.
Nationally the scheme is becoming well
known. It was recognised in the DIUS
Higher Education at Work document, and
currently over 50 employers are involved.
A good local example is that of Marshall
Aerospace, based in Cambridge. fdf is
hoping to get additional funding to enable
the scheme to develop a 'community of
practice' for accrediting employer based
training among HEIs, FECs and LLNs.
The aim of this is to ensure that there is
consistency for employers on this issue.
A set of Guidelines on EBTA is now
available by request from the EBTA
Manager, Ken Phillips, which set out the
progress made to date on identifying the
key aspects of the Scheme. These
Guidelines will continue to be developed
as the Scheme moves forward.
Further details on EBTA can be found in
the Autumn issue of the fdf Journal
(http://www.fdf.ac.uk/files/journal16.pdf)
and on the fdf website. Either Margaret
Seiffert (m.seiffert@fdf.ac.uk) or Ken
Phillips (k.phillips@fdf.ac.uk) would be
pleased to hear from you if you would like
to learn more or to get involved.
If you have any comments or queries
about this newsletter, please email
Margaret Seiffert at : m.seiffert@fdf.ac.uk