Enhancing Graduate Employability: Skills agenda going forward Brooke Storer-Church 26 May 2016

HEFCE’s role in the policy landscape – what are we doing? Focus on higher level skills for boosting economic growth STEM skills and employability: Shadbolt and Wakeham reviews Engineering Conversion courses Degree Apprenticeship Development Fund

ProductivitySkills & Subjects Apprenticeships & Pathways through HE Cross-cutting relevance to Teaching, WP, Research & Knowledge Transfer HEFCE Skills Policy Areas

The UK skills challenge By 2022, two million more jobs will require higher level skills. Almost a quarter all vacancies are ‘skills shortage’ vacancies – where employers cannot find people with the skills or knowledge needed. Furthermore, almost half of all businesses say they have staff with skills and qualifications that are beyond those required; so there are 4.3 million workers whose skills are not being used fully at work. UKCES Employer Skills Survey 2015 & Forging Futures Report 2014

Long history Catalyst investment & STEM Teaching Capital Fund Funded projects in Maths (Sigma), Quant Skills (Q-Step) Recent activities Engineering Conversion Course pilots Wakeham and Shadbolt reviews (STEM and Computer Science) Looking ahead Degree Apprenticeships and employability skills STEM skills and HEFCE support

Shadbolt review of computer science employability and accreditation: This review focuses in on Computer Science to explore why this subject has comparatively poor employment outcomes for graduates despite strong demand for digital and technical skills in the labour market. It considers the relationship between employability and professional accreditation Wakeham review of STEM employability and accreditation: This review seeks to gain a clearer understanding of the skills requirements of employers, how STEM graduates’ skills and knowledge relate to and interact with labour market demand, and how existing accreditation systems support and enable this. It draws conclusions based on the latest evidence and thinking on employability, work experience and the role of accreditation. Wakeham and Shadbolt (STEM) employability review: Investigating the issues

Findings 7 Employability issues in STEM not limited to computer science graduates – range of other STEM disciplines being investigated by Sir Bill Wakeham where graduate outcomes warrant further investigation. Work experience matters – we need to consider how we offer, measure and encourage experiences of the work place to students SMEs vs large corporations – industry needs vary according to size, type and location of the employer. One size (or type of graduate) doesn’t fit all. Careers advice and guidance – HE providers/students/employers/accrediting bodies all have a role to play in engaging with and shaping careers advice and guidance so that careers pathways are clearly articulated Accreditation that is aligned to industry has a potential role to play Improved data analysis to help with understanding all of the above. Including our terminology and language.

Engineering Conversion Courses £1,795,424 distributed to HEIs to help develop and market the new courses.

“It is for businesses to drive skills policy through demand” BIS Select Committee on Productivity January 2016 Apprenticeships & Higher Education

Degree Apprenticeship Development Fund: Phase 1 £10 m from Sept 2016 (£2m to SFA for learner support; £8m to HEFCE) across 2 competitive calls To increase capacity to deliver degree apprenticeships: Developing new DAs (HEI-employers) or converting courses to DAs Determining employer demand for DAs Designing new DA Trailblazers Increasing DA starts from Sept 2016

DADF Phase 1 Guidance now published Phase 1 Bids due 20 June Funding available only to HEFCE-funded institutions, though APs and others can access funding via partnership with lead institutions This funding is focused on developing DAs and increasing capacity to deliver them—it is not for delivery, which requires funding relationship with SFA (potential challenge for those unfamiliar)

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