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Understanding Employer Engagement. Wendy Fowles -Sweet, CEng MRAeS CPDA Co-ordinator UWE Learning & Teaching Associate Fellow. Why Employer Engagement?. Skills need to be continually up-graded and enhanced – universities can provide this life long learning
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Understanding Employer Engagement Wendy Fowles-Sweet, CEng MRAeS CPDA Co-ordinator UWE Learning & Teaching Associate Fellow
Why Employer Engagement? • Skills need to be continually up-graded and enhanced – universities can provide this life long learning • If employers are engaged at the earliest stages they will have employable graduates who “tick all their boxes” and can quickly apply what they have learnt • HEIs can offer academic learning from Short Courses to Doctorates – students take these awards to enhance their career opportunities
What can we do? Some of many options: • Long-term Relationship Building • Curricula Development to include application • Relating Academic Qualifications to Professional Recognition • Regular Employer Engagement Fora = Employer Involvement and Commitment
Relationship Building • Market Intelligence, not Sales • Develop long term relationships with employers, recognising we will not be their sole academic partner, but willing to collaborate as needed • Ensures award curricula meet employer demand • Enables bespoke offerings, based on generic concepts and organisational needs • Identify direct route to potential students
Engagement Checklist • Strategy • Vision • Mission • Co-ordinating the Engagement • Risk and Performance Management • Operations • Project Management • Marketing • Client Management • Student Record System and Data Protection • Risk Identification and Mitigation • Learning Delivery • Learning Requirement • Teaching / Facilitation Resources • Financial Planning • Academic Processes and Use of Feedback
Summary • “Employer-focused learning” requires a different approach than traditional “student-focused learning” • Relationship building is required to gain trust and ensure the learning offered is what is needed • Use available checklists to ensure expectations – HEI and employer – are recognised early and managed correctly • This approach is likely to improve employer / HEI collaboration - leading to enhanced skills and knowledge in the workforce, and provide the capability and competences required for implementation