Higher Education and Workforce Development: Twelve Steps to Success Iain Nixon, Managing Director KSA

Purpose >Inform HEFCE policy development >Inform employer focused provision developments >Provide accountability >…and to help deliver value for money from future funding!

Demand led environment Increased and sustainable demand for higher level skills from employers and employees Employer engagement/ responsiveness is seen as a strategic priority for the higher education sector Sustainable capacity and capability Sustainable capacity and capability Operationally scalable and financially sustainable business models >There has been a shift to a ‘solutions’ rather than a ‘product’ based approach >A much wider range of business development and marketing interventions are now used >Reliance on extending existing employer relationships or referrals >Formalised, integrated approaches to customer relationship/account management under- developed >There has been a shift to a ‘solutions’ rather than a ‘product’ based approach >A much wider range of business development and marketing interventions are now used >Reliance on extending existing employer relationships or referrals >Formalised, integrated approaches to customer relationship/account management under- developed An effective and sustainable demand-led environment for higher level skills has been created Outcomes

An effective and sustainable demand-led environment for higher level skills has been created Strategic prioritisation Increased and sustainable demand for higher level skills from employers and employees Sustainable capacity and capability Sustainable capacity and capability Operationally scalable and financially sustainable business models >Employer engagement has become a strategic priority for most >Commitment has been embedded in institutional strategies and operations >Transformational change has been stimulated in some instances >A degree of cultural change has been observed >Further transition required if institutional culture is to be fully aligned to the workforce development agenda >Active leadership at the most senior level has been critical >Employer engagement has become a strategic priority for most >Commitment has been embedded in institutional strategies and operations >Transformational change has been stimulated in some instances >A degree of cultural change has been observed >Further transition required if institutional culture is to be fully aligned to the workforce development agenda >Active leadership at the most senior level has been critical Outcomes Employer engagement/ responsiveness is seen as a strategic priority for the higher education sector

An effective and sustainable demand-led environment for higher level skills has been created Demand for higher level skills Sustainable capacity and capability Sustainable capacity and capability Operationally scalable and financially sustainable business models >Demand for higher level skills from employers and employees has increased >Exponential growth in accreditation of employers’ in-house training >Most are focused primarily on engaging with large employers >Strategies to target priority sectors/groups of employer are underdeveloped or in their infancy >Proportion of HEIs actively developing a ‘sales pipeline’ is low >Any significant increase in fees is likely to affect purchasing decisions made by employers >Demand for higher level skills from employers and employees has increased >Exponential growth in accreditation of employers’ in-house training >Most are focused primarily on engaging with large employers >Strategies to target priority sectors/groups of employer are underdeveloped or in their infancy >Proportion of HEIs actively developing a ‘sales pipeline’ is low >Any significant increase in fees is likely to affect purchasing decisions made by employers Outcomes Increased and sustainable demand for higher level skills from employers and employees

Approaches to market focus Medium sized local and national companies (50-250) Small local companies (<50) Comparatively increased levels of risk Smaller cohorts from each employer Lower levels of return on investment for institution Comparatively decreased levels of risk Larger cohorts from each employer Higher levels of return on investment for institution Markets accessed directly by institution Markets accessed directly by institution and indirectly through supply chains and intermediaries Markets accessed indirectly through supply chains, intermediaries and third party providers Large national and international companies (>250)

Increased and sustainable demand for higher level skills from employers and employees Employer engagement/ responsiveness is seen as a strategic priority for the higher education sector An effective and sustainable demand-led environment for higher level skills has been created Sustainable capacity and capability Operationally scalable and financially sustainable business models >Capacity and capability to respond more effectively to the needs of employers has been built >Attracting, retaining and developing the ‘right’ staff with the necessary mix of skills has been problematic >Most HEIs have initiated some form of staff development which vary in scale and focus >Additional capacity is likely to be maintained at least partially, with some re-organisation and re- focusing >Capacity and capability to respond more effectively to the needs of employers has been built >Attracting, retaining and developing the ‘right’ staff with the necessary mix of skills has been problematic >Most HEIs have initiated some form of staff development which vary in scale and focus >Additional capacity is likely to be maintained at least partially, with some re-organisation and re- focusing Outcomes Sustainable capacity and capability Sustainable capacity and capability

Sustainable capacity and capability Sustainable capacity and capability Increased and sustainable demand for higher level skills from employers and employees Employer engagement/ responsiveness is seen as a strategic priority for the higher education sector An effective and sustainable demand-led environment for higher level skills has been created Operationally scalable and sustainable >A range of business models and structural arrangements have been adopted >Finding the right business model requires innovation and experimentation >Most visible progress made by those that have created more autonomous employer-facing operations >A range of business models and structural arrangements have been adopted >Finding the right business model requires innovation and experimentation >Most visible progress made by those that have created more autonomous employer-facing operations Outcomes Operationally scalable and financially sustainable business models

StandaloneHub and SpokeDistributed Vehicle A wholly owned subsidiary or a separate, largely self contained division within the institution A ‘hub and spoke’ arrangement with varying levels of integration between a centrally co- ordinated business development function and the institution’s academic divisions A decentralised model with academic divisions operating independently and collaboratively (i.e. on a cross-faculty basis), when appropriate Leadership and governance Chief Executive Officer or Managing Director reporting to a Board comprising internal institutional and external (employer) representation Heads of business development and academic divisions reporting through institutional committee structures Dedicated steering or advisory group may be established with external representation Heads or assistant heads of academic divisions reporting through institutional committee structures Human resources Strong commercially experienced staff profile, employed through the wholly owned subsidiary on terms and conditions similar to the private sector Commercially and academically experienced staff profile across the institution’s individual business units, with some use of Performance Related Pay and/or revenue sharing Strong academically experienced staff profile, employed on terms and conditions which are fairly standard across the HE sector Business development Dedicated business development, marketing and sales function which is highly pro-active and sophisticated in approach, supported by a CRM system Central and distributed sector and discipline oriented business development, marketing and sales function, with varying levels of pro-activity and sophistication, generally supported by an institution-wide CRM system Distributed, discipline oriented business development, marketing and sales function with limited resource to support pro-active approaches and possibly supported by an institution- wide or locally deployed CRM system Delivery Dedicated, in-house delivery capability and capacity supplemented by individual associates and third party providers (e.g. private training providers) Delivery capability and capacity provided by academic divisions supplemented by individual associates and third party providers (e.g. FE colleges, private training providers) Delivery capability and capacity provided by academic divisions supplemented by individual associates and collaborative educational partners (e.g. other universities, FE colleges) Processes and systems Dedicated, in-house processes and systems designed to enable flexibility and responsiveness Established institutional processes and systems only used for accounting (e.g. HEFCE returns) and assurance purposes Established institutional processes and systems used, with institution-wide adaptation to improve flexibility and responsiveness Established institutional processes and systems used, with localised and institution-wide adaptation to improve flexibility and responsiveness Branding Distinct branding separate to institution with the option to use the institution’s brand, as appropriate Strong institutional branding supported by a sub-brand oriented to employers Strong institutional and/or academic division branding

Twelve steps to success 1)Gather evidence to make a robust business case for continued investment 2)Critically appraise the current 'state of readiness' to respond to employers' needs 3)Identify and develop opportunities to collaborate with other providers 4)Adopt pro-active and sophisticated approaches to business development 5)Ensure that existing relationships with employers are optimised 6)Approach working with employers as a collaborative venture

Twelve steps to success 7)Continue to develop and enhance pedagogical approaches 8)Strive to provide maximum flexibility around delivery mode and timing 9)Ensure an adequate 'supply chain' to support delivery 10)Evaluate the contribution and impact of the higher level skills interventions 11)Incentivise, reward and recognise the contribution of staff 12)Remodel the approach to costing and pricing

Summary >Supported an expansion of workforce development activity within the HE sector >Galvanised parts of the HE sector to bring about institutional change >Helped promote access to, and progress through, HE for a wide range of learners >Legacy likely to be employer relationships, staff capacity and capability, and systems and resources developed

For further information please contact: Iain Nixon KSA T: Thank you