Support of WBL & Employer Engagement

1. Support of WBL & Employer Engagement Prof Mark Stiles, Richard Benefer, Fleur Corfield Staffordshire University Regional Federation

2. Summary • Background to SURF • Background to FDs in Surf • Supply vs Demand • Models of WBL in FDs • Issues of WBL development • Mentoring • FE Tutors and Liaison • Patterns of Delivery • Genesis of WBL-Way • The Approach and Progress of SURF WBL-Way • What we want from you!

3. About SURF

4. SURF and Foundation Degrees • HEFCE recognised funding consortium formed in 2000 • University-led with 11 FE colleges in Staffordshire and Shropshire • 2,500 students on HNC, HND, Foundation Year, Foundation Degree, PGCE, Cert Ed • Management Board, Management Committee, Quality Committee and others

5. The History of FD’s

6. Supply vs Demand in FD Development • Fd Applied Technology meets a local demand for highly skilled engineers • Fd Early Years meets the government’s demand for high level skills in the sector • Fd Telecommunications meets the demands of a national employer

7. Some Models of FD Development • Local employer ‘bespoke award’ • Pathways • National employer

8. Issues of WBL Development and Delivery • Knowledge and awareness • Cost – time and money • Relevance to the business • Work-based learning and mentoring • Speed of response and validation • Is the Fd a business solution?

9. Issues of Supporting WBL Development and Delivery • College or University-led • Award leader and Link Tutor • College, University, Workplace delivery • Workbased learning • Approval and Quality processes • Supporting Employer engagement

10. Mentoring WBL THE key role? - • Linking WBL to the academic experience • Reflection • Finding and Training Mentors • Mentors, Tutors and Learners • Mentoring and Appraisal • Barriers • “Real Projects”

11. FE Tutors and Liaison • More about the Link Tutor • HE as part of the total FE curriculum • FE tutors as Mentors

12. Patterns of delivery • “Traditional” classroom-based • Entirely on-site at employers’ premises • Mixture

13. Reuse & Repurposing SURF X4L Validation Issues COVARM SURF WBL Generic WBL Resources Work Based Learning Personalised Access Point SUNIWE SURF WBL-Way Portal and Services Course Description XCRi Genesis of WBL-Way

14. Partners • Main Project Partners • Staffordshire University • Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology • Burton Upon Trent College • Stoke On Trent College • Supporting Partners • Foundation Degree Forward • AimHigher West Midlands • Harvest Road • Foundation Direct CETL • Engineering Council • Portsmouth University • SEMTA

15. Issues from SURF WBL • Employers / mentors have no online access to information on employee learning • No easy reference to generic support materials • No centralised information about WBL across SURF

16. SURF WBL Outputs • Over 80 Learning objects covering: • Mentoring • Negotiated Learning • AP(E)L • Key Skills • Health and Safety • Communication in WBL • Ethics • Study Skills • Curriculum Management • A Study of Policy & Organisational Implications of Resourcing and Supporting WBL in a Consortium • Based on project experiences from partner colleges

17. Project Approach • Use Case Driven • Drawing on experience and tools from previous projects • SURF WBL & X4L • SUNIWE • Access for all involved in WBL

18. Tasks • Identify stakeholders • Interview stakeholders • Write scenarios for stakeholders • Create use cases and storyboards for stakeholders based on scenarios • Review portal software • Review institutions systems and data • Develop related portlets, linking to institutional systems • Create missing materials to support scenarios

19. Where we are • Work with college partners, employers, FDF and SURF started • Links built on existing project work • Scenarios been written and use cases and storyboards started • Blog created by each project partner • Reviews of institutional systems and data taking place • Missing materials being identified

20. Stakeholders Employers Engaged Un-Engaged Learners Employees Mentors Human Resources Unengaged employee Course Developers Institutional Staff Course Deliverers Course Managers

21. Comments from Employers • Requests for • Up to date course descriptors & start dates • Progression for Work Based Learning • Case Studies • Learner Progress information • Advice for potential learners and employers • Information on short courses that can be built on • Links to Personnel

22. WBL Training Opportunities AimHigher West Midlands 2007

23. Understanding progression routes AimHigher West Midlands 2007

24. Scenarios • I am an employer with employees on different courses, I want to see what stage they are at and what they can progress to • I am an employer interested in foundation degrees but don’t know who to contact and how much of my time it would involved

25. Use Cases • Employer view: • Employee learner status & course details • Contact details for colleges delivering foundation degrees • Support documents for foundation degrees • WBL courses linked to the company sector • College events related to employers

26. If I was a HR Manager...

28. What we want from you… • Does this fit with your experiences? • Have you found other requirements? What are they? • How would you meet those requirements?

29. Thank you • Contact Information • Fleur Corfield f.m.corfield@staffs.ac.uk • Mark Stiles m.j.stiles@staffs.ac.uk • Richard Benefer • Project Websites • http://www.staffs.ac.uk/COSE/WBLWAY • http://surfwblway.blogspot.com/