Higher Education’s role in supporting workforce development

1. Higher Education’s role in supporting workforce development Iain Nixon Registered Consultant

2. Outcomes • Build an understanding of what is driving the agenda • Explore what work-based learning means • Gain an insight into what is happening in practice • Identify the key issues and challenges for institutions

3. Background Work-Based Learning: Illuminating the Higher Education Landscape Higher Education Academy www.heacademy.ac.uk/research/WBL.pdf Research into Workplace Learning: North East Area Study Higher Education Funding Council for England www.hefce.ac.uk

4. What is driving the work based learning agenda?

5. Workforce demographic changes • In 2020… • China and India will be much more important than the UK • China and India will double in economic size over the next 10 years • The proportion of UK jobs at Level 4 and above may reach 42% of the workforce (4.5m more than today) • There will be a ‘greying’ workforce • Big increase in older workers who we are least likely to train • 75% of our workforce are in work now! • The number of 17-18 year olds will have decreased by 20%

6. Key driver for change • UK competitiveness and productivity • Increasing the number of employees attaining higher level skills • Move 3.5m people up the qualifications ladder by 2020 • 4.4% increase in productivity • £4.5bn increase in GDP per year • Encouraging higher value added activity in businesses • Create and apply new knowledge • Workplace as a site of learning/knowledge production • Enabling innovation, enterprise and creativity • Technological change, market responses

7. Other drivers • Increase the supply of science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills • Expand further and higher education • Reduce reliance on public funding of higher education

8. Regional and sectoral dimension • Regional strategic planning • 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 • Sectoral emphasis • SSCs are establishing Skills Agreements • Influence over HE provision

9. What is work-based learning?

10. Defining work based learning • What do you understand by the term ‘work-based learning’?

11. Terminology and definitions CPD Work related learning Professional development Training and development Work-based learning Workplace learning Learning through work Vocational learning Lifelong learning Workforce development Learning in work Vocational education

12. Terminology and definitions • Terminology and definitions get in the way of exploring the territory and what really matters • Influencing the policy environment • Dealing with issues and challenges from a structural perspective • Sharing, promoting and encouraging effective pedagogical practice • Everyone has a view on what the different terms mean • A spectrum of interpretations exist, especially in relation to work based learning • An individual’s ideological standpoint affects the design and delivery of such learning

13. Work-based learning Narrow perspective Broad perspective Middle ground influenced by the needs of the student, employer and provider • Learning in the workplace • Driven by employer needs and motivations • Learning relates to work • Driven by individual and societal needs

14. Work-based learning • Contested area of learning • Challenges the very essence of universities as the primary source of knowledge • Learning in the ‘academy’ • Single discipline drives articulation (Mode 1) • Learning in the workplace • More integrated, experiential and trans-disciplinary approach to learning (Mode 2)

15. Work-based learning • Learning which accredits or extends the workplace skills and abilities of employees • Provision delivered by HE (including HE in FE) • Fds • Part-time undergraduate • Part-time postgraduate (taught and research) • Short courses (accredited and non-accredited)

16. Typology of work-based learning 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 bring knowledge and skills into the organisation Investing in learning to improve the organisation’s performance and competitiveness Organisation driven

17. What is happening in practice?

18. Support for workforce development • HEIs are providing work based learning solutions • Baselines are difficult to establish • £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)

19. Support for workforce development • Provision forms an integral part of the HE sector’s offer • Driven by institutional mission or happens as a ‘by product’ • Pulls together learning and teaching, research and third strand agendas

20. Examples of practice 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 Northumbria Portsmouth OU Middlesex Formal relationship (employed) Informal relationship (not employed) Cleveland Investing in learning to bring knowledge and skills into the organisation Investing in learning to improve the organisation’s performance and competitiveness Derby Leeds Organisation driven

21. Shaping up good practice • Are there accepted working assumptions about what constitutes good practice in work-based learning? • What works well in practice? • What makes it work well?

22. Pedagogical features of work-based learning Individual driven Outcomes and process driven curriculum Learner centred Self directed learning Experiential Evidence based assessment Flexible delivery Formal relationship (employed) Informal relationship (not employed) Organisation driven

23. Pedagogical features • Outcomes and process driven curriculum • Learner centred • Learning contract agreed by learner, employer and provider to identify outcomes • Self directed learning • Focus on ‘learning how to learn’ • Experiential • Application of learning (theories, constructs) in the workplace • Mentor support provided by employer • Evidence based assessment • Reflective practice • Flexible delivery • Mixed mode or blended approach • Supported by ICT

25. Factors affecting the pedagogical approach Background of learner Capability to undertake current work Interests of the learner Level of job satisfaction/engagement Prior experience at work Preferred learning style Learning in work Prior educational experience Nature of current work Accreditation and assessment Sector of work / occupational area Degree of support provided by employer Size of employer Career development trajectory People management policies, practices and processes Time available for learning

26. What are the key issues and challenges?

27. Implications for the School • What are the key issues and challenges faced by institutions in tackling the workforce development agenda? • What movement and action needs to take place to enable institutions to better support workforce development?

28. Key issues and challenges • 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

29. Outcomes • Build an understanding of what is driving the agenda • Explore what work-based learning means • Gain an insight into what is happening in practice • Identify the key issues and challenges for institutions

30. Higher Education’s role in supporting workforce development Iain Nixon Registered Consultant