15 November 2006
HEFCE invests £12 million in developing tailored higher level skills packages for employers
Higher education skills packages, tailored to meet the needs of employers, are to be developed as part of a £12 million investment in three new projects by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The funding of the regional Higher Level Skills pathfinder projects is part of HEFCE's ambitious strategy to develop a shared approach with employers, and their representative bodies, to provide the higher level skills needed by the economy and society. A document describing the strategy, 'Engaging employers with higher education', is published on the HEFCE web-site today.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) already have many productive links with employers, and this new funding will enable benefits for learners, employers and employees to be maximised. HEFCE's strategy aims to understand how HEIs should be supported, and to develop dynamic partnerships between HE, employers and individuals.
HEFCE is adopting a two-stage approach, starting with pathfinder projects to improve its understanding of current activity and test approaches to increasing demand from employers for HE. The second stage will draw on these findings to develop a shared strategy between HE and its partners.
The schemes, which are being launched in the North East, North West and South West regions, will build on the Government's Train to Gain programme, to include high level skills from foundation degrees through to PhDs. Train to Gain is a brokerage service for employers, to help them find the right training for their employees.
More effective training
Professor David Eastwood, HEFCE's Chief Executive, said:
'The aim is to provide more effective higher level skills development in the workplace. The learner benefits from significant personal development as well as contributing more effectively to business solutions.
'The advantage of the pathfinder projects is that they will link in with the established Train to Gain initiative to create a seamless service for employers across all levels of education and training. They will also help deliver flexible lifelong learning to improve employability, social equity and economic competitiveness.'
Regional priorities
The projects are funded for three years from HEFCE's Strategic Development Fund. They will be run by the Higher Education Regional Associations in partnership with regional bodies including Regional Development Agencies and Learning and Skills Councils.
A key feature of each scheme will be the provision of skills brokerage to meet regional employment priorities. Specialists in higher education will be employed as brokers between HEIs and employers and their representative bodies, to assess skills needs in the workplace and help ensure the provision by HEIs can meet those needs.
Each region will have funding to develop the programmes at HEIs, to provide additional higher level skills training identified by the brokers. The projects will build on existing regional networks, including knowledge transfer collaborations and Lifelong Learning Networks.
The priority sectors for each region are as follows:
- North East - chemicals and pharmaceuticals; automotive; defence and marine; food and drink; energy; knowledge intensive business services; tourism and hospitality; commercial creative; and health and social care
- North West - advanced engineering and materials, creative and digital industries, business and professional services, and construction
- South West - engineering, the creative industries and business improvement.
Notes
1. A briefing for employers, and the full strategy, are available to download.
'HEFCE's strategy: what's in it for employers?'
[ MS Word 62K | Zipped MS Word 10K | Adobe PDF 25K | Zipped PDF 62K ]
'HEFCE strategy to support links between higher education and employers on skills and lifelong learning'
[ MS Word 312K | Zipped MS Word 53K | Adobe PDF 266K | Zipped PDF 196K ]
2. Further details of the pathfinder projects are on the web.