Background
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is working with strategic delivery partners to respond to the need to develop HE-level skills in the workforce. BIS policy recognises the autonomy of HE institutions (HEIs) and so is closely linked with the HE-employer engagement strategy of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). It also needs to take account of, and inform, the strategy of the Skills for Business Network representing the 'demand' side.
BIS’s policy on HE-employer engagement aimed at developing a workforce with high-level skills responds to the challenges set out in the Leitch Review of Skills and the consequent need for the HE sector to develop the capability to meet Government’s level 4+ skills ambition.
Aims and targets
The aim is that as key strategic delivery partner, HEFCE has a robust strategy in place to support the required growth in capability in the HE sector to deliver HE provision responsive to employers' needs to develop the skills of their existing workforces. In support of its Workforce Development Strategy, HEFCE supports a range of project activity involving many HEIs, including projects supporting the development of employer-responsive HE that is co-funded by the state and employers. These, and other, such projects are helping HEIs how to best meet employer demand, and in some cases to gear-up to meet this.
Ministers set HEFCE targets of delivering year-on-year growth of 5,000 additional entrants in employer co-funded HE in 2008-09 (this target was met) and in the following two years.
Strategy and actions
There is close contact between the HE Directorate of DIUS and HEFCE as it continues to enact its Workforce Development Strategy in the light of Government’s priorities as set out its 2008 grant letter. HEFCE, representatives of the HE sector, and others (including Sector Skills Councils) were closely involved in consideration of how to move forward following the development of Government’s strategy for high-level skills, developed by the then Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (predecessor of BIS). There are therefore strong links between HEFCE and Government’s strategies.
Monitoring and evaluation
Programme reporting and governance arrangements are being developed but HEFCE and BIS are discussing how HEFCE's Workforce Development Strategy and its related programme of activity will relate to appropriate BIS programme boards. Existing actvity supported by HEFCE is reported to BIS and evaluation of particular strands of this ongoing activity is either underway or planned.
Funding/Cost effectiveness
Monitoring of employer co-funded HE will illuminate the reductions in cost to the state of employers bearing part of the cost of such provision.
Sustainability/Transferability
Outcomes/impacts
Achievements
Employability: HEFCE has existing as well as planned projects that promote workforce development at level 4 and above, including 60+ ‘employer co-funding’ projects.
Success factors
Close liaison between HEFCE and BIS (in particular) to ensure that our respective HE-employer engagement strategies are coherent is essential. Senior-level representation at HEFCE’s Board and reciprocal arrangements help to ensure this.
Unintended impacts
Strengths and weaknesses
The development of both the Department’s and HEFCE's employer engagement strategies recognise that changes within the HE sector in the short-term may need to be substantially accelerated and/or broadened in order to meet the very challenging level 4 targets offered by the Leitch Review.
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