Employer led degree courses – bringing industry and academia together

1. Employer led degree courses – bringing industry and academia together Wendy Dearing - NHS Wales Wendy.Dearing@wales.nhs.uk Andrew Ware - University of South Wales andrew.ware@southwales.ac.uk Bob Clift - e-skills UK bob.clift@e-skills.com 3 June 2013

2. e-skills UK Board Members

3. Facts and Figures • 129,000 new entrants are required each year to fill IT professional job roles in the UK • 50% of IT & Telecoms roles are recruited from non Computing disciplines. • The number of applicants to Computing Degrees has declined by 28% between 2002 and 2010 whereas the number of applicants to all HE courses has increased by 51% over the same period. • Unemployment for Computing graduates (17%) is the highest of all subjects (7.6% across all graduates in 2011) • Only 18% of graduates from IT related HE courses are female.

4. 2004 – the challenge “Many University courses do not deliver the mix of skills and balance of gender we need in the industry; we have to spend too much time, effort and money training graduates to become ‘work ready’.” “The IT industry landscape has changed dramatically….and so therefore has the skills we employers need” “Poor communications from Industry means Universities are unclear on the issues surrounding the skill-mix of Graduates” “Too many Graduates are leaving the industry”

5. 2005 – the result = ITMB • Technology and its application to business (25-35%) • Business understanding (20-25%) • Implementation of projects to satisfy business requirements (20-25%) • Personal and interpersonal skills development(20-25%) • Added value components Business Technology Personal & Interpersonal Project Management Designed by employers! Endorsed by employers! Supported by employers! 5

6.  The IT Management for Business (ITMB) BSc is a degree programme that was designed by e-skills UK and employers from across all industries to help students develop the skills that businesses need from graduates to compete in today’s global market. • It is supported by over 60 top employers and is being delivered to over 1,200 students across 14 universities in the UK with over 400 graduates since 2005 • 100% of 2011 ITMB graduates were found to be in employment or in further education within 6 months of graduation Supporting Employers

7. e-skills UK’s degree programme -develops the skills businesses need from graduates • 34% of students are female • 82% of 2012 ITMB graduates gained a 2.1 or First Class degree compared to 51% across all other IT graduates • 100% of 2011 ITMB graduates in employment or further education within 6 months of graduation • Over 1,250 students in 14 universities • Over 350 graduates

8. Software Development for Business degree • 33% of all jobs of all IT jobs are for software developers • Launch in 2014 • Reflect industry’s changing needs • Use ITMB model • Employer designed Learning Outcomes • Delivery enhanced via employer engagement, guru lectures, community site, placements, mock interviews, visits, events etc

9. Software Development for Business degree • IT in business awareness • Professional practice (communication, report writing, team-working, career and employability awareness) • Deep technical competence of the software development process as applied in business • Software project management • Information security • A blend of: • 60%-70% Technology • 10%-15% Business • 10%-5% Project management • 15%-20% Interpersonal skills

10. Wendy DearingHead of Professional Practice Development NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) and why we got involved in the employer led degree

14. NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) is A national organisation providing the information and technology services used by NHS Wales to support high quality patient care Our work covers the development of new national products and the delivery of operational technology and information services All our products are developed in collaboration with health boards and health professionals in NHS Wales, to meet the needs of NHS Wales now and in the future

15. Background & Activity In addition we have 750,000 new referrals per year from GPs. We have: • 750,000 admissions per year and their discharges and transfers to arrange • There are 3,000,000 outpatient appointments in Wales each year. • These high volume activities are required in all care settings across hospitals and the community and can be more safely and effectively delivered using electronic services

16. Background & Activity A recent detailed analysis of business processes in NHS Wales showed that: • We need to identify the right patient 112,000,000 times per year • We need to book 20,000,000 appointments per year • We order 80,000,000 pathology and radiology tests per year • We create 100,000,000 documents in health services per year • We create 20,000,000 prescriptions per year, excluding GPs

17. Delivered by …… An adaptable, skilled and professional informatics workforce, committed to collaboration, recognised for delivering innovation and modernisation in health and the public sector in Wales… …It is estimated that some 3,000 people in Wales can be classed as health informatics professionals…

18. This demands a versatile and flexible workforce • Complex informatics programme places demands on different skill sets • Implementation is unveiling the workforce problem • Shortages already apparent there is a need for more people with both health care and IMT experience • Need experienced people who have installed systems, understand the culture and the change required

19. NEW Career Paths Consultant Director 9 HI, IT & Bus Admin, Level 2 App’ships Informatics Undergrad student Placements Degree sandwich courses Informatics Graduate Internships (IT/Maths /Engineering) Consultant Practitioner 8 Advanced Practitioner 7 Specialist Practitioner 6 Informatics Work Experience Practitioner 5 Associate Practitioner 4 Management development Programmes Informatics Management Development Programme Senior Assistant 3 Higher apprenticeships/Foundations degree in informatics/ Qualifications Level 3 Assistant 1-2 Health Informatics/IT/ Business admin Apprenticeships/ Qualifications Level 2 NHS Internal Career Paths

20. From obscurity to a Professional identity for Health Informatics

21. ….but…. we still need more and ‘cause of the size of the agenda they are required to be ……job ready at the front door “Whilst many graduates possess the sufficient drive, enthusiasm and work ethic to be considered an asset to the organisation they often do not possess the necessary technical experience and knowledge to merit a band 5 post. However it is often found that these graduates would happily take a lower banded post if offered. Currently the Software Development department is not in a position to offer candidates lower banded posts”

22. Skills …(2013) “We look for individuals with the aptitude and passion for software programming and who are motivated to work hard to achieve success. These qualities, above all else, typify the graduates we recruit. Over and above that we demand that graduates have a core set of skills; a thorough understanding of object oriented programming and classic design patterns, a practical grasp of the Structured Query Language and an ability to articulate and communicate ideas easily and effectively and have a concept of the business world”

23. Readiness…… “Readiness begins at the application process. Graduates who are ready are those who have thought about the job and undertaken the necessary research. Those who succeed are interested in the job and want to succeed in it. They have planned and prepared their application and carefully considered the questions they want to ask at interview”

24. To conclude • It’s an opportunity to influence the curriculum • Actively involved in the design • Able (and willing) to participate in “readiness events” • Gave an opportunity to create an NHS Pan Wales Workforce Development Partnership Board In this new wave of technology, you can't do it all yourself, you have to form alliances. Carlos Slim Helu -

25. Collaborative Partnership with Industry: Learning from Experience Professor Andrew Ware, Head, School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of South Wales.

26. Common Points • Collaborations need to be mutually beneficial if they are to be sustainable • Collaborations will evolve but should be based on a firm foundation • You can get a lot of benefit from short term collaborations BUT the real benefits take time to accumulate • Collaborations can originate from any number of beginnings but will require commitment to become established

27. Benefits for University • Gaining ‘real world’ input into academic subject areas that can help shape • curriculum helping to facilitate the development of ‘employment ready’ • graduates. • Funding for research activities. • Providing academic staff with the opportunity to spend time with industry. • Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) • Strategic Insight Program (SIP) Collaboration with industry

28. Strategic Insight Programme (SIP) • Provided • case studies on web development and many other things • insight to “thinking outside the box”

29. Knowledge Transfer Partnership • Provided • case studies on Human Computer Interaction, Data Bases, Data Mining • student placements and projects • academic staff exposure to a dynamic business environment

30. Benefits for industry • Gaining access to people who are often at the ‘cutting edge’ of their discipline. • The opportunity to offer prospective employees (students) an extended interview. • Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities for staff. Collaboration with industry

31. Need to • Manage expectation. • Have clear objectives BUT be open minded about possibilities. • Think long-term not short-term. Collaboration with industry

32. E-Skills UK • BSc (Hons) Information Technology Management for Business • BSc (Hons) Software Development for Business Collaboration with industry

33. Software Alliance Wales • Continuing Professional Development • Student Development Projects • Accreditation of the Software Development Process • Short workshops to whet participants appetite Collaboration with industry