Employers as Learning Partners: Work as Learning and Learning What Works

1. Employers as Learning Partners: Work as Learning and Learning What Works Judith Smith, Jane Kettle, Employability and Employee Learning, Higher Education Academy

2. Focus of workshop • Developing partnerships with employers and provision for higher level learning in the workplace poses new and exciting challenges for institutions • This session will share some of the learning, challenges and solutions from nine projects that explored various aspects of quality workforce development provision • Discussion -how academics can get involved in HEI partnerships with employers and workforce development

3. Employers as learning partners • Working with employers to increase the quality and/or the quantity of higher education provision • Working with employers to enhance the employability and skills of our students, including those already in employment

4. Emerging policy context • 2006 Leitch Review • 2009 Higher Ambitions (Framework for HE) • 2010 CIHE/SWHLSP Strategies for Effective HE-Employer Engagement • 2010 Browne Review

5. Context • HEFCE/QAA Joint Task Force 2007 • Implementation of recommendations of Report of 2008 • Joint Academy/QAA /fdf partnership work • Highlighting good practice on managing quality of provision disseminated across the sector • Support from QAA ‘Employer responsive provision survey: a reflective report’ • Development of ‘Demonstrator’ projects (highlighting key learning emerging from the projects)

6. The QAA report • What is employer responsive provision? • General considerations in assuring quality and standards in such provision • Setting up employer responsive provision • Teaching learning and assessment in this context • The use of academic credit in employer responsive provision

7. The Demonstrator Projects (1) • The demonstrator projects encompass a range of issues relevant to the sector • 9 leads, 21 HEIs, 2 LLNs, 1 FEC, several employers contributed to the projects • Designed to draw out exemplar approaches to tackling key issues • Designed to be read alongside the QAA report • Will be available on ‘EvidenceNet’

8. The Demonstrator Projects (2) • Managing employer and HEI partnerships to maintain quality and standards • Rapid response and fit for purpose solutions for employers, which maintain standards • Maintaining HE standards in accredited in-company training • Designing, accrediting and assuring bite size provision

9. The Demonstrator Projects (3) • Assessment, including use of external examiners, Boards, roles for employers • Determining the volume of credit for negotiated learning • Achieving equity and consistency by quality assuring APEL • Supporting employer-based staff and academics who contribute to academic awards on workforce development provision • Supporting workplace mentors

10. Learning what works (1) • Demonstrator projects provide guidance on a range of scenarios • A rich picture of good practice is emerging from which to draw on guidance and support in developing systems and infrastructure • HEIs can learn from adaptations in providing employer responsive provision to benefit the institution as a whole • Employers may or may not be interested in supporting QA but will be familiar with requirements of providing quality products

11. Learning what works (2) • Systems and processes can be flexible without damaging quality • Managing learner/employee identity – finding ways to support HE learning culture and support employer requirements • How to ensure transfer of theory into practice – pedagogical issues- new learning, the creation of new knowledge, staff development, application of learning in workplace

12. Issues: Work as Learning • Many students of the future are likely to be employees first and foremost • The work-place is a context for learning and applying new knowledge- where does the campus fit in? • Learning enhances the individual’s skills and career progression but also meets employer need for workforce development – what role can and should HE have in this equation?

13. Issues: Work as Learning • What’s in it for employers and HEIs? • Maintaining HE quality/maintenance of standards as it extends its employer responsive provision- is HE open to consider new approaches to LTA?

14. Academy Employability and Employee Learning Forthcoming publications- online, hard copy • University management of work-based learning • Quality and responding to employer needs On-line only • Work-based Learning Guide – discipline related development • Learning from Experience in Employer Engagement • Synthesis of research of technology enhanced learning in the area of EEL. For more information visit: http://steelproject.wordpress.com/

15. Discussion: Future partners- Making it work for learning at work • How can HE develop a new constituency for the future in terms of workforce development? • There are challenges involved in developing partnerships with employers- what is the role for academics? • There are no standard or comprehensive solutions – how should University policies and procedures align with EE? • There may be new skills requirements for HE staff to engage- what are the issues in supporting, developing, rewarding HE staff?