Economic Priorities, Higher Level Skills and Higher Education

1
Economic Priorities, Higher Level Skills and
Higher Education

• Alix Pearson
• North East
• Regional Director

2
Skills Strategy for England

• Economic Growth
• Increase in Productivity
• Opportunities for Social Mobility
• Improved Public Services

3
The Leitch Report

• UK to be World Class in Skills by 2020
• 95 of adults with functional literacy and
  numeracy
• 90 of adults qualified to at least level 2
• Shift intermediate skills balance level 2 to
  level 3
• 40 of adults qualified to L4 and above commit
  to continue progression to L5
• Developing our present and future workforce - 50
  of 2020 adult population already over 25. Over
  70 of 2020 working age population already over
  the age of 16

4
Leitch Underpinning Principles

• Shared Responsibility Government, employers and
  individuals
• Focus on economically valuable skills
• Demand-led skills
• Build on existing structures

5
Leitch Recommendations for HE

• Rebalance HE priorities
• Teaching Learning Mission for HE extended to
  whole adult workforce
• HE to deliver flexible and responsive provision
  to meet employers needs

6
Leitch Recommendations for HE

• A portion of HE funding to be delivered through
  T2G type mechanism
• SSCs to work directly with HE providers to
  influence content eg, of Foundation Degrees
• Key role in management and leadership education

7
HEFCE grant letters 2006/07

• Fds target of 100,000 by 2010
• Co-funded HE targets sharing costs and benefits
• Developing responsive provision
• Engaging employers in HE curriculum design and
  delivery
• Embedding HE in knowledge and skills
  infrastructure
• Valuing (accrediting) HE learning in the
  workplace

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HE Points to Ponder

• How do we get a truly accurate indication of
  demand?
• How do we coax learners into those areas of
  demand?
• Who will our partners be?
• Who will pay?

9
Foundation Degree Student Numbers a regional
comparison
10
Foundation Degree Courses by Region (2006-07)
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North East Foundation Degree Courses by Subject
Area
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Regional Skills Priorities
42 of Foundation degrees in the North East meet
the regional skills priorities. These are in the
following sectors
Business clusters
13
Regional Business Plan Priorities

• North East Process Engineering Project
• Regional Health Project
• Accreditation of Employer Training
• Flexible frameworks
• Resources for employer partnerships

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Regional Team

• Regional Director Alix Pearson
• Employer Engagement Consultants
• Alistair Robertson
• Gordon Berry
• Harry Davison
• Director of North East Process Engineering
  Initiative Bob Bell
• a.pearson_at_fdf.ac.uk
• a.roberston_at_fdf.ac.uk
• g.berry_at_fdf.ac.uk
• h.davison_at_tees.ac.uk
• r.t.bell_at_fdf.ac.uk