Introduction

1. Colleges in Wales report links with over 25,000 employers annually. 21 colleges (91% of colleges in Wales) deliver work-based learning (WBL) courses. The term 'employer engagement' is a term usually used to describe the involvement of employers in developing the skills of the existing and future workforce through links with education providers[1]. 'Provider responsiveness' and 'meeting learner and employer skill needs' are sometimes used interchangeably with 'employer engagement'[2] .

2. Employer engagement includes:

· involvement of employers in the design, development, management and delivery of learning to improve the 'work-readiness' and employability of learners

· direct services that colleges offer to employers, including training needs analysis and bespoke training services

· strategic partnerships that colleges form with employers, with other providers and with national/regional agencies to meet the skill needs of local areas.

Examples of effective employer engagement

3. The scope of employer engagement in FE in Wales is vast and covers work with micro, small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as large multi-national companies. It can be:

· part of the college's WBL contract

· bespoke training

· curriculum links through entrepreneurship champions

· through the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification (WBQ)

· through learners' work experience programmes.

4. There are many examples of good practice within FE in Wales. fforwm commissioned a report[3], funded by the Common Investment Fund (CIF), to investigate case studies in employer engagement. This report highlighted the diverse nature and scale of the activities that colleges took part in.

5. This report identifies numerous examples of good practice and recommends that colleges:

· develop a whole-college approach to working with employers that includes:

a. a coherent cross-college strategic steer and clear targets

b. improvements in the way LMI is collated and translated into development plans

c. the development of data systems which collect all the activity of a college and the relevant information held by each member of staff

d. improved promotion of the work and what the college can offer

e. professional development programmes for college staff which support the work appropriately

f. staffing contracts which enable a responsive approach to engagement with employers

g. rigorous quality assurance systems for all aspects of the work

· establish an overarching policy on the development of skills for employability among existing learners and ensure that it is implemented appropriately in each curriculum area

6. One of the colleges in north Wales has the largest FE contract for WBL in Wales. Its commitment to engaging with employers is evident in their Estyn inspection (January 2007), in which it received grade 1s for all seven key questions[4].

From the Estyn inspection report: Excellent partnerships with employers

The college work-based learning team has excellent working relationships with a range of employers from large international companies to very small businesses. The team regularly collects employer and learner views of the work-based learning provision to help inform decisions about the development of work-based programmes. In response to learner and employer needs, the team has worked with local businesses on curriculum developments in hospitality and catering through its development of a catering academy. This academy provides work-based learners and those employed in the catering industry with excellent opportunities to extend their skills to meet industry needs. Most learners develop good practical skills as a result of these additional experiences.

7. Commitment to employer engagement is also demonstrated by:

· a college in west Wales working with a new local business initiative to provide the skills and training required for a new five-star holiday village due to open in June 2008

· the scope and diversity of the employers that colleges engage with and the way in which some of these respond to the needs of their local economy. There are very good examples of this in mid and south east Wales.

8. Each year, one of the fforwm Annual Awards recognises outstanding achievement in employer engagement. Past winners have included Coleg Glan Hafren for their curriculum links with business through the school of automotive engineering, and Coleg Sir Gār for the support given to employers in the integration of technology transfer, business and training services. Coleg Llandrillo and Coleg Menai both shared the 2007 Award for excellent workforce development. Coleg Llandrillo was singled out for induction, probationary reviews, STEPS (Staff Training and Event Planning System), quality assurance, and evaluation/review. Coleg Menai was praised for its performance review process, delivery of training plans, staff selection, induction, mentorship schemes, performance management, impact, effectiveness and quality assurance.

9. fforwm recently carried out a short survey to examine current business membership of the governing bodies of 22 colleges. The survey found that 198 governors (52% of all governors) have business experience. Business members on FE governing bodies have an important role to play in ensuring the future strategy and direction of their colleges while making sure that their colleges respond to the needs of business and the wider economy in Wales. The major contribution of business governors in employer engagement is often not fully recognised (see Appendix for survey results).

How might FE become more responsive?

10. The following outlines what FE colleges need to do to become more responsive to the needs of business.

· The method by which funding is allocated is a barrier to responsiveness. It needs to be more flexible to enable partnerships between FE and employers to grow. Evidence of engagement improving when funding barriers are removed is seen in the evaluation report of the 'Learning Worker Project'[5] (LWP). This project was a pilot initiative funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and ELWa. The programme was implemented in September 2002 and ran until March 2005. During that time LWP funding provided free learning up to a level 3 qualification for almost 1,800 workers employed across 300 organisations in the Llanelli area. All full-time and part-time workers employed in Llanelli were eligible for LWP funded learning during this period, provided that they did not already possess a level 3 qualification.

From the Learning Worker Project Evaluation Final Report April 2005:

The direct cost of training played a crucial role for the employers surveyed in deciding whether or not to embrace training opportunities for their workers. Removing cost barriers widened the participation spectrum of workforce development training in Llanelli considerably. Cost removal also significantly increased the number of hard-to-reach workers that participated in workforce development learning.

· Colleges might consider giving WBL its own brand. A college in north Wales has used this approach with its WBL, which has significantly expanded as a result. Developing a local WBL brand might raise awareness with employers of where they could access good quality training. Marketing in this way could be more cost effective and provide better opportunities for the promotion of WBL.

· Incentives might be explored for new employer engagement, i.e. pump priming projects. Some ideas may be to fund employers to attend events about qualifications in their areas and how to access training or to assist employers not already engaged in training to work with colleges to identify their needs, draw up action plans and access the training required.

Funding and quality of providers

11. At this stage, fforwm believes that funds for WBL should continue to be allocated to colleges rather than directly to employers. If funding were to be allocated to employers, conditions would need to be imposed as to where training could be purchased. Conditions could include that the centre providing the training must be operating above the quality threshold. To prevent added bureaucracy, the Estyn grades could be used as the guide and accredited status could be a requirement, as suggested below.

12. In respect of accreditation of WBL providers, it might be useful to adapt for use in Wales a 'New Standard for Employer Responsiveness and Vocational Excellence'[6], developed by the Learning and Skills Council in England. It is currently being trialled with over 60 colleges and providers in England prior to its official launch in summer 2007. It has been developed in response to employers' concerns about the variable quality of training provision for the workplace and designed to promote the very best standards in delivering training to employers. The new standard will accredit organisations delivering training solutions to employers according to their:

· responsiveness to business needs

· excellence in delivering training

· commitment to continuous improvement

· competence in meeting sector specific needs.

What is an appropriate role for Sector Skills Councils (SSCs)?

13. Skills for Business have set up an FE liaison committee for Wales to support a structured engagement between colleges in Wales and SSCs. The main aims of the group are to:

· identify common purpose among the colleges, SSCs and other key stakeholders

· identify areas for potential collaboration

· identify and support existing collaborative work

· disseminate amongst all partners examples of good practice

· explore potential models of engagement.

14. The Liaison Committee comprises representatives from three FE colleges nominated by fforwm, a member of fforwm staff, three Wales SSC managers, the Wales SSDA manager, and two representatives from the Department of Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (one from the Qualifications and Curriculum Group and one from the Lifelong Learning and Skills Group). The secretariat for the Committee is provided by the Wales SSDA Manager. The first meetings took place on 14 Feb 2007 and 16 May 2007.

15. SSCs operating in Wales often do so with very few staff. They could utilise the expertise residing in colleges more effectively to help them develop Welsh strategies that meet the needs of the workforce in such a diverse economy. Where relationships with colleges are already good, innovation occurs. Examples include SEMTA, Construction Skills, Automotive Skills and Skills Active.

Conclusion

16. This paper has set out examples of good practice in employer engagement across the FE sector in Wales. It has also outlined how FE can become more responsive to the needs of employers and how closer working with SCCs can also assist. These three key areas demonstrate the commitment of FE in Wales to continue to engage effectively with employers and to explore new initiatives to improve and develop wherever possible.

July 2008

[1] Miller, A., LSN (2007) Developing Employer Engagement

[2] Hughes, M., LSN (2006) What do we know about working with employers, a synthesis of LSDA work on employer engagement

[3] Clough, L., for fforwm (March 2007) Promoting Effective Practice in Employer Engagement. Case studies attached as an annex.

[4] Estyn Key Questions (KQ):

KQ1 How well do learners achieve?

KQ2 How effective are teaching, training and assessment

KQ3 How well do learning experiences meet the needs and interests of learners and the wider community?

KQ4 How well are learners cared for guided and supported?

KQ5 How effective are leadership and strategic management?

KQ6 How well do leaders and managers evaluate and improve quality and standards?

KQ7 How efficient are leaders and managers in using resources?

[5] ELWa (April 2005) Learning Worker Project Evaluation Final Report, available from www.elwa.ac.uk

[6] LSC (2006)The New Standard for Employer Responsiveness and Vocational Evidence