Innovations in Workbased learning

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Innovations in Work-based learning

• Professor Freda Tallantyre
• Senior Associate
• Higher Education Academy

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A caution!

• Depends what you understand by work-based
  learning.
• What is innovative to one may be old hat to
  another.
• Innovation may need to be adapted to suit
  environment and mission.

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What do we mean by work-based learning?

• Work placements integrated into programmes
• Work experience outside formal programmes
• Practice elements of professional courses
• Negotiated work-based learning programmes
• The degree of innovation increases currently in
  descending order of these activities.

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Work based learning programmes in HE
Employability skills,
Progress files, PDP APEL/AEL/Recognition of
Experiential LearningWork experience tasters
Independent study

• Prescribed curriculum
• Graduate Apprenticeships
• PQ Progs, e.g. teaching,nursing
• Dual accreditation programmes
• Sandwich Degrees
• Foundation Degrees

• Negotiated curriculum
• KT Partnerships
• In-company programmes
• Cohort negotiated programmes
• Individually negotiated programmes
• CPD Short courses
• Brennan, UVAC 2007

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New methods of Employer Engagement
multinational corporations

• Get Energy brokers relations of energy industries
  with training providers and universities on an
  international basis
• Convenes strategic exchanges at which all learn
  about responses to workforce needs and industry
  developments
• Compares governmental and strategic initiatives
• Brokers partnership between business and HEIs,
  but also HEIs internationally
• Enables national and regional skills development
• Operates in business manner rather than academic
  conference

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New methods of Employer Engagement SMEs

• Creative Collaborations NTU Broadway Media
  Centre
• Predominantly sole traders or micro businesses
• Nottingham Creative Network natural networkers
  - included students, staff and professional
  employees
• NTI funding offered small equipment grants as
  lure
• Structured conferences around issues of concern,
  with on-line follow-up
• Short courses led to p/t MA for creative
  professionals
• Research, teaching and practice interrelate and
  research feeds into courses
• c.f. Bedfordshires Knowledge Club, DMU. Kingston

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New methods of employer engagement Partnership

• HLSPs in NE, NW and SW have created a federation
  of HEIs to respond to workforce development needs
  in their regions
• Intermediaries placed in HEIs identify and source
  WFD. They have been more successful than using
  external brokers.
• They have provided a coherent seam of provision
  from a variety of providers for employers who are
  overloaded by approaches.
• Test funding methodologies, and what employers
  willing to pay varies hugely by size and sector.
• Identify barriers, good practice, skills
  requirements and drive culture change
• Issue has been getting rapid response, not
  generating interest, so they support development
  of staff and flexible pedagogies

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Case Study Constructionarium Partnership

• 8 HEIs (Imperial, Leeds, Cambridge, UCL,
  Greenwich, Liverpool, Northumbria, Salford)
• Construction employers (John Doyle, Shepherd,
  Nuttall, Gleeson, Stephenson, Laing ORourke)
• Design firms (Expedition, Over Arup, Mott
  MacDonald, Whitby Bird, Watermans, WS Atkins)
• Employers supply site, all equipment plus staff
  time
• They present problem, manage contract
• Students present affordable project back

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What is the qualification?

• Non accredited
• Bite size awards of e.g.30 credits at any level
• Short awards which span levels
• Sector framework qualifications, shared by
  partners.
• Interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary curriculum
• Bespoke for particular organisations

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Case Study Integrated Science Degree

• Piloted by Surrey, Leicester, East Anglia, South
  Bank
• Well-grounded interdisciplinary scientific
  innovation
• ICL, Unilever and Centrica on board
• Reflects interdisciplinary jobs, research in
  areas such as nanotechnology, environmental
  science, biophysics
• Uses problem-based approach
• Can specialise at higher levels or remain broad

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Case Study Foundation degree frameworks

• RAF, Chester, Derby, OU and Staffordshire, ILM
• WBL integral and flexible learning styles
• Staff can continue studies if posted overseas
• Framework covers different career paths
• Achieve ILM Diploma as well as academic award
• Helps staff transfer into civilian life

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Negotiated work-based learning

• Whole negotiated work-based learning programmes
  for individual employees or organisational
  cohorts
• Offered by some dozen HEIs who have been
  commended by QAA and won THES and Queens awards
  for innovation
• Programmes aligned with QAA qualification
  descriptors, within a responsive regulatory
  framework
• Combines learner managed tasks with learner
  managed processes
• Socially situated individuals relate the learning
  which arises naturally from work to the
  requirements for academic awards
• Learning Through Work platform supported by
  national platform maintained by learndirect

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Who delivers?

• In house trainers, e.g. Glaxo Smith Kline
• Private training partners, with state of the art
  facilities and real world projects, e.g. Confetti
• Practising professionals, e.g. Sussex and Surrey
  SHA practice development facilitators
• Joint appointments, e.g. NHS, Teacher Education
• Part time professionals, e.g. Arts and Design
  Faculty
• New partnerships of HEIs, FECs, employers

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Business facing universities 2nd Mission

• Focus on professional teaching, user-driven
  research and problem-solving with local and
  regional companies Sainsbury report
• Hertfordshire aims to be a new model of a
  university through far-reaching engagement with
  business, and operates county business link
  with 50k businesses
• TVUs Education that works is dedicated to
  providing a personalised education that satisfies
  the demands of students, employers and
  stakeholders alike.
• London South Banks Employer Engagement Unit is a
  multi-disciplinary team working across faculty
  and departmental boundaries to stimulate and
  support employer engagement.
• University of Derby Corporate offers a parallel
  single mission business model to meet the needs
  of employers.