Memorandum 20
Submission from the Higher Education Funding
Council for England (HEFCE)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. Universities and colleges are engaging
with employers in ways that are deeper and stronger than ever
before. Through their mainstream teaching programmes and expanding
collaboration with employers on higher level skills, they are
a major source of the future world class workforce; they contribute
more than £45 billion annually to the economy and are well
placed to use their long-established relationships with business
to extend their impact. The changing demographic profile of their
students makes it good business sense for them to develop into
new markets.
2. This change in culture and business focus
has been gathering pace since the turn of the millennium. The
Leitch Review added to an important debate within higher education
and HEFCE contributed to that debate through publication, in 2006,
of its Higher Education Employer Engagement Strategy[51]
Our 2006-07 grant letter from the Secretary of State for Education
and Skills[52]asked
us to lead "radical change" in developing higher education
focused on meeting employers' needs. At the same time we invested
in important pilot activity—three regional "Higher
Level Skills Pathfinders" (HLSPs) and several university
based pilots to test new approaches to stimulating and meeting
employer demand for higher level skills. The Leitch Report and
its challenging ambition for high level skills led us to move
beyond small scale piloting and to encourage higher education
providers to come forward with larger and more ambitious employer
engagement proposals.
3. We set up a major new programme[53]
underpinned by a new funding mechanism, separate from our mainstream
funding arrangements—specifically designed to encourage
transformational change and support new approaches to stimulating
and meeting employer demand. Through this programme we are deploying
the £105 million, made available in our 2008-11 funding settlement,
to build employer engagement capacity within higher education
institutions and achieve targets for growth in working people
starting employer co-funded provision (5,000/10,000/20,000 entrants
over three years). To date thirty-one higher education providers
are have taken up the challenge to deliver employer demand-led
and co-funded workforce development which will benefit some 6000
employees in 2008-09.
4. Through the network of HEFCE Regional
Consultants we work regionally with the Higher Education Regional
Associations (HERAs), Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), Learning
and Skills Council (LSC) and other key stakeholders to support
higher education providers in making effective contributions to
their regions. We publish annually regional profiles of higher
education in England and consult with partners on regional priorities
for higher education. The three HLSPs are exploring how higher
education can make a more strategic contribution to meeting regional
skills needs and connecting providers with brokerage services,
such as Train to Gain. In addition individual higher education
employer engagement projects are attracting significant RDA investments.
5. HEFCE has invested £103 million
in twenty-nine sub-regional Lifelong Learning Networks (LLNs),
to improve the opportunities open to learners with vocational
qualifications for them to progress into and through higher education.
These now span120 universities and 300 further education colleges
and are, increasingly, linking with employers to create effective
opportunities for continuing learning and progression.
6. Since 2003 we have supported Sector Skills
Councils (SSCs): to raise higher education-SSC understanding and
collaboration; to set up projects to enhance HE curriculum; and
to strengthen SSC influence in Foundation Degree development,
Lifelong Learning Networks, and Higher Level Skills Pathfinders.
We look forward to working with the new UK Commission for Employment
and Skills on the criteria for re-licensing SSCs to cement closer
collaboration in growing the sector-based markets for employer
demand-led and co-funded workforce development.
7. Key challenges for us over the next three
years include:
— Improving understanding of the potential
scale of the market for new types of higher education delivered
workforce development, which are employer demand-led and co-funded.
— Testing the policy of employer co-funding
to get beneath the welter of opinion and anecdote to establish
hard evidence on the willingness of employers to pay for the "right"
higher level skills product.
— Identifying effective ways of engaging
with Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
— Finding sustainable business models
for higher education employer engagement.
— Sustaining the higher education reputation
for quality.
— Embedding transformation and ensuring
a permanent change in the culture of higher education.
— Ensuring that people in work continue
with lifelong learning after their first workplace experiences
of higher education.
8. If we can sustain this momentum we can
offer the very real prospect of securing the transformation of
the higher education sector that the Leitch Report envisaged and
of creating a platform for a much more substantial programme of
growth towards meeting the Leitch ambition for 2020.
INTRODUCTION
9. From Southampton to Derby, from Newcastle
to Coventry, universities are engaging with employers in ways
that are deeper and stronger than ever before. That an increasing
number of universities and colleges are already engaging with
employers is no accident: it reflects their refreshed mission,
and for many it is now part of their core business.
10. There are good reasons for this. First,
as the Leitch Report showed, by 2020 at least 40 per cent of our
working population will need higher level skills if we are to
maintain our international competitiveness. The Government's response[54],
in June 2007, recognised the economic value of higher education
intervening to increase high level skills in the workforce and
added to the gathering pace of the momentum for change in the
higher education sector.
11. Universities have long been one of the
great economic stimulants. Higher education now contributes over
£45 billion a year to GDP, for a total public investment
of a third of that amount[55]
Our continuing economic contribution through this century will
come, in part, through greater engagement with employers.
12. Secondly, it is simply good for the
business of higher education providers, whether universities or
further education colleges. The undergraduate profile is changing
and is no longer so dominated by the 18-21 year-old school leaver.
A majority of first year undergraduates is over 21, and a similar
proportion is already in the workforce. The number of older teenagers
is set to decline and universities and colleges need to widen
and deepen participation in both traditional and novel ways, developing
a model that attracts a greater proportion of older students,
most already in the workforce.
13. Thirdly, employers, nationally and internationally,
value the reputation of UK higher education for the highest quality
and standards. Higher education can equip a workforce not only
to meet the demands of today's workplace, but make it more capable
of taking continuing change in its stride and of continuing learning
to meet future demands.
14. In this paper we set out to demonstrate
that the higher education sector is facing up to these challenges
with increasing enthusiasm and commitment, actively reaching out
to employers in new ways to create a highly skilled "world
class workforce".
A MOMENTUM FOR
CHANGE
15. The decade since the Dearing Report
has been characterised by a renewing of the engagement between
employers and higher education. There has been a strong emphasis
on ensuring that higher education graduates possess the necessary
skills and attributes for employment: generic skills, such as
communications, team working and problem solving; and specific
vocational and professional skills, particularly in key disciplines,
such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Leading employers and representative bodies, such as the CBI,
are playing a welcome and important role, which is having a significant
impact on undergraduate and postgraduate education. Employment
outcomes for graduates remain strong and many employers offer
students the opportunities for work placements which are excellent
routes to enhanced employability. Companies such as Ernst and
Young are creating a new range of higher education programmes
in which work-based learning is integral throughout.
16. The development and growth of foundation
degrees—to which HEFCE has committed funding since 2001—has
encouraged closer partnership between employers and higher education
to create a new, employment focused offerings both for people
entering workforce and those already in work. The success of foundation
degrees can be measured by far more than the substantial year
on year growth in their take-up. What we are now seeing is greater
understanding of their potential to underpin the "professionalisation"
of many occupational areas, particularly in the public sector;
and they are meeting private sector demand for managers and highly
skilled technicians in key economic areas of skills growth and
shortage. The collaboration between Aston University, the National
Grid and leading energy companies to develop a Power Engineering
foundation degree exemplifies this trend.
17. These changes are taking time to work
through the worlds of business and higher education; but the evidence
of progress is growing and the pace of change is accelerating.
The Higher Education Business and Community Interaction surveys[56]
which have reported annually since 2001, have shown consistent
growth in the institutions reporting high levels of employer engagement
in the curriculum, use of labour market information in course
design and income generated from continuing professional development
(CPD).
18. The Leitch Review added to an important
debate within higher education, initiated by the Lambert Review[57]of
2003, about its role in supporting future economic growth. A key
question was how higher education should build on its well-established
relationships with business—in areas such as research, knowledge
transfer, undergraduate and postgraduate education—to work
with employers on a larger scale in workforce development and
CPD. HEFCE's leading role in that debate was reflected in its
grant letter for 2006-07 from the Secretary of State for Education
and Skills. He asked HEFCE to "lead radical changes in the
provision of higher education by incentivising and funding provision
which is partly or wholly designed, funded or provided by employers".
We published an Employer Engagement Strategy for the sector in
November 2006 and this encompassed the breadth of the potential
contribution of higher education towards building a highly skilled
workforce.
19. Alongside the strategy, in 2006 we invested
in two important sets of pilot activity. First, we invited three
Higher Education Regional Associations—in the South West,
North West and North East regions—to work with regional
partners to set up "Higher Level Skills Pathfinders"
(HLSPs). Their purpose was to develop new forms of higher education
provision in response to employer demand, more accessible to employers
through Train to Gain and other intermediaries.
20. Secondly, we invited higher education
institutions, either individually or in partnership, to submit
proposals for innovative approaches to stimulate employer demand
for higher level skills, encourage employer investment and create
new flexible ways for meeting that demand. Several pilots built
upon the development of other business focused services supported
through the Higher Education Innovation Fund. This kick-started
some important early projects which are now an important source
of developing good practice and lessons learned. For example,
as a result of first-hand experience of academics developing leading-edge
professional practice, Birmingham City University is linking academic
involvement in knowledge transfer to the development of problem-solving
based curriculum for students.
21. HEFCE has the capacity and flexibility
to support such pilot activity through its Strategic Development
Fund. We have committed £11 million of development funds,
and around £2.5 million a year funding for provision, to
the three HLSPs to support new courses focused on the needs of
employers and employees. Most of this new provision is part-time
and is offered in much more flexible formats. Both the RDAs and
the LSC have actively supported the pilots and have committed
additional funds to the tune of £800,000 in the North East
region to support the involvement of further education colleges
in the region; and £4 million in the North West to extend
coverage to all the RDA priority sectors.
22. We welcomed the Leitch Report and, in
the light of its challenging ambition for high level skills we
decided to move beyond small scale piloting. Our aim was to encourage
many more higher education providers to mount larger scale projects.
We emphasised the need to build sustainable capacity to enable
a quick and flexible response to employer demand for high levels
skills, through provision which employers would be willing to
co-fund. In April 2007 we employed an experienced senior manager
to plan the programme. He provides active encouragement and support
to higher education providers to bring forward ambitious employer
engagement proposals.
23. We also welcome the Government's publication
in April 2008 of "Higher Education at Work"[58]and
the consultation launched to look at ways in which business, trade
unions and employers can work together to encourage demand for
high level skills, as well as incentives to encourage universities
to respond better to employer demand.
24. Our 2008-11 funding settlement includes
at least £105 million to build employer engagement capacity
and achieve targets for growth in the numbers of working people
starting employer co-funded provision (5,000/10,000/20,000 entrants
over three years). The co-funding model we are testing is straightforward.
In delivering employer demand-led provision, higher education
providers must generate financial contributions from employers
which, together with HEFCE's funding contributions will at least
cover their costs. In projects we have approved since September
2007 our expectation is that, after three years, most of the providers
will be able to generate sufficient revenues from employers for
their operations to be financially sustainable with a HEFCE contribution
set at half its normal funding rates (sometimes referred to as
"50 per cent co-funding").
25. To take this forward we set up a major
new programme, underpinned by a new and separate funding mechanism,
specifically designed to encourage transformational change and
support new approaches to stimulating and meeting employer demand.
Thirty-one higher education providers are now leading the delivery
of employer demand-led and co-funded workforce development which
will benefit some 6000 additional employees in 2008-09. Twenty-two
of these are receiving capacity building funds to create new,
sustainable and employer-focused operations capable of delivering
continuing growth in future years. For example Staffordshire University
will be contributing to the regeneration of Stoke through development
of the "University Quarter" and establishment of a Business
Centre, reaching out to 3000 SME based learners in business supply
chains and generating increased employer investment.
26. We have so far committed £44 million
capacity building funds to these projects, over the next three
years. Subject to available funds, we have sufficient proposals
in the pipeline to double the number of projects. In allocating
funds our overriding principle is achievement of the targets set
in our grant letter through long-term, sustainable and transformational
change. We aim to harness the considerable experience, expertise
and creativity of higher education providers—stimulating
demand from employers and employees and meeting it through innovation
in the supply of higher education provision.
27. Our programme has been designed with
the conclusions of the Leitch Report very much in mind:
— Exceed 40 per cent of working people
qualified to at least Level 4 by 2020. We are investing to build
capacity in higher education to create a platform for accelerated
growth from 2010-11.
— Encompass the whole working-age population.
All our projects extend opportunities for employer co-funded workforce
development to the11.4 million working people, aged 19 and over,
who hold Level 2 or 3 qualifications, but have no experience of
higher education.
— Shared responsibility to increase
investment and action. Our programme is specifically designed
to encourage employer co-funding.
— Focus on economically valuable skills.
Project proposals are assessed for thorough research of target
employer market(s), references to Regional Economic Strategies,
employer involvement in curriculum development, and SSC/professional
body consultation and collaboration.
— The skills system must meet the needs
of individuals and employers and should be demand-led rather than
centrally planned. Our funding mechanism supports provision to
meet employer and employee needs—from short, accredited
"bite-sized" units through to full qualification bearing
courses.
— Adaptivity and responsiveness. The
funding mechanism also targets the HEFCE contribution at the point
of employer demand and enables providers to respond rapidly to
new demands from employers.
— Build on existing structures. We
ask providers to bring forward project proposals which build on
their strengths as the basis for transforming their operations
to become more employer-facing. We assess bids for the involvement
of local partners and intermediaries, such as Train to Gain, Business
Link and Lifelong Learning Networks in their delivery plans.
REGIONAL AND
SECTOR RELATIONSHIPS
28. HEFCE is a national organisation and
we allocate core teaching and research grants at a national level.
However, through our network of Regional Consultants we work with
stakeholders to support higher education providers in making the
most effective contribution to their regions. We publish, annually,
regional profiles of higher education in England and consult with
partners on regional priorities for higher education, which are
published. Strong relationships at regional level are important
to us in fulfilling our broad role: not only in relation to employer
engagement, but also for promoting wider access to higher education
and in taking forward the "University Challenge".
29. With the HE Regional Associations, our
Regional Consultants play a strong advocacy and developmental
role in the Regional Skills Partnerships, which include the RDAs
and LSC. The three Higher Level Skills Pathfinders are exploring
how higher education can make a more strategic contribution to
meeting regional skills needs, particularly by connecting providers
with existing brokerage systems, such as Train to Gain, providing
joined-up services to employers across skill levels. Our investment
is not restricted to universities and, to the extent our remit
allows, we fund further education colleges, either directly or
as members of university-led partnerships. For example we recently
approved direct funding for Worcester College of Technology to
deliver an employer co-funded foundation degree in payroll management,
in collaboration with the Institute for Payroll Management and
accredited by Worcester University, which will build to 2,500
students by 2010-11.
30. Employer engagement projects are attracting
RDA funding. For example, University of Derby has secured over
£2 million from the East Midlands Development Agency alongside
a substantial investment from its own funds and our investment
of over £4 million to develop "UoD Corporate".
31. HEFCE has invested £103million
in Lifelong Learning Networks (LLNs), to improve the opportunities
open to learners with vocational qualifications for them to progress
into and through higher education. There are now 29 LLNs, spanning
120 universities and 300 further education colleges. Many are
collaborating with employers, particularly on curriculum design,
and some are adopting innovative approaches to stimulating latent
demand from employers and employees through new qualifications,
credit accumulation, flexible work-based delivery, and accessible
information, advice and guidance. We have, this year, completed
reviews of both LLNs and the HLSPs and are considering the lessons
learned for the future development of effective regional and sub-regional
partnerships to promote employer and employee engagement.
32. Since the publication of the first Government
Skills Strategy white paper in 2003[59]we,
with the Higher Education Academy, Quality Assurance Agency, Foundation
Degree Forward and DIUS have supported Sector Skills Councils'
(SSC) engagement with higher education through:
— Increasing mutual higher education-SSC
understanding and collaboration;
— Joint projects to enhance HE curriculum;
— Strengthening SSC influence in Foundation
Degree development, Lifelong Learning Networks, and Higher Level
Skills Pathfinders.
33. Examples of HEFCE funding of SSC-led
projects include £7 million committed to support implementation
by higher education providers of a new degree qualification developed
in partnership with e-skills and £2 million to support the
setting up of Skillset higher education academies. More than forty
universities and colleges, in 2006, reported engagement with six
leading SSCs—ConstructionSkills, Creative and Cultural skills,
e-skills, Lifelong Learning UK, Skillset, and Skills for Health.
This year, twelve universities in collaboration with leading construction
companies and professional consultancies, will run versions of
the six-day "Constructionarium" working field course,
which was pioneered by Imperial College London, Expedition Engineering
and John Doyle Construction in 2003 and is now hosted by the National
Construction Skills College in Norfolk. It will provide hands-on
experience for more than 1,000 construction industry students
and young professionals and will bring together universities,
contractors and consultants working at a significant scale with
sizeable costs for both universities and industry but excellent
educational and skills benefits. We believe that the planned re-licensing
of SSCs by the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills offers
the opportunity for more and closer collaboration of this type
to grow sector-based markets for employer demand-led and co-funded
workforce development.
34. Collaboration with professional and
regulatory bodies is equally important and there is a long history
of universities working with such bodies across a wide range of
occupations and qualifications. This is also being taken into
new areas—for example a joint project between Harper Adams
University College and the Animal Medicines Training Regulatory
Authority provides a national programme, co-funded by employers,
for over 1,600 people a year to become qualified to prescribe
and supply animal medicines under new regulations.
CHALLENGES
35. Key challenges for us over the next
three years include:
— The potential scale of the market.
There is good evidence of a market for flexible, responsive higher
education focused on meeting the needs of employers and employees,
but less about its potential scale. The limited information available
at present suggests on one hand that higher education secures
6 per cent of a potential £5 billion CPD market; but a study
of private sector businesses employing more than 25 people in
the East Midlands[60]suggests
universities and further education colleges may be delivering
three-quarters of the high level skills training currently purchased
by employers and offers new insights into the potential for growing
the market. We are funding a repetition of the study in two more
regions to add to the research we have already commissioned. But
the action research approach of our programme will provide the
important real-time evidence we need.
— Employer co-funding. There is more
opinion and anecdote than hard evidence on the willingness of
employers to pay for the "right" higher level skills
products. We shall be monitoring and evaluating the success of
our provider projects in generating co-funding revenues from employers,
whether private or public sector; and we shall look for variations
in performance by economic sector, employer size, occupational
groups and geographic location.
— SMEs present a major challenge both
in terms of developing a viable market for higher education delivered
workforce development and the scope for generating co-funding
revenues. We are supporting projects, for example De Montfort
University and Staffordshire University, which are taking on the
higher level risks associated with the SME market and these will
provide us with valuable evidence.
— Sustainability. By the end of their
projects our expectation is that higher education providers should
be able to sustain their employer facing operations on the basis
of our 50% funding rate and the revenues generated by their employer
customers. Achieving this outcome requires a viable market and
an employer willingness to pay towards provision. At individual
provider level it requires the development of a critical mass
of new and repeat employer customers; and well managed service
delivery operations, underpinned by effective costing, pricing
and marketing mechanisms.
— Sustaining the higher education reputation
for quality. The QAA and HEFCE established a task group, in 2007,
on quality assurance required for customised higher education
for employers. The aim is to encourage quality assurance processes
which support responsiveness and flexibility without undermining
high standards which are valued by employers and employees and
are vital for continued demand for this provision.
— Embedding transformation requires
a permanent change in the culture of the higher education. It
will also require us to develop and agree with Government an effective
long-term funding mechanism to support continuing growth in employer
co-funded provision from 2010-11 onwards.
— Continuing Lifelong Learning. To
meet the Leitch ambition we need people who come into higher education
through the workplace to continue learning, either with their
employers or in their own right. Almost all of the projects we
are supporting include opportunities for employees to accumulate
credit towards a higher qualification, but there is more work
to be done to create effective mechanisms to enable people to
transfer their credits between providers.
CONCLUSION
36. We believe we have been successful in
generating a momentum for change within the higher education sector.
This paper shows that by acting early and through a sustained
campaign of raising awareness in the sector we now have a major
programme of higher education projects in place which will enable
us to meet our targets for 2008-09 and beyond.
37. If we can sustain this momentum we can
offer the very real prospect of securing the transformation of
the higher education sector that the Leitch Report envisaged and
of creating a platform for a much more substantial programme of
growth towards meeting the Leitch ambition for 2020.
April 2008
Annex
DATA
This annex presents data in four areas:
A. Contextual data on HE students (entrants
to programmes).
B. Data on students who combine work and
learning.
C. Income from employers to HE relating to
teaching.
D. Engagement between HE institutions and
employers.
A. CONTEXTUAL
DATA ON
HIGHER EDUCATION
STUDENT ENTRANTS
It should be noted that numbers are rounded
to nearest five including totals hence sum of rows/columns may
not match the total shown.
Table 1
2006-07 STUDENT POPULATION (HEADCOUNT STUDENT
NUMBERS FOR NEW ENTRANTS REGISTERED AT HE INSTITUTIONS IE STUDENTS
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THEIR DEGREE AFTER 1 AUGUST 2006)i
| | Full-time
| | Part-time
|
| Total |
| | | |
| |
| Level | Under 21
| 21-24 | 25 and over
| Under 21 | 21-24
| 25 and over | |
| First degree | 236,410
| 40,610 | 31,880 | 4,180
| 9,595 | 42,120 | 364,795
|
| Other undergraduate | 21,220 |
11,140 | 17,825 | 20,610
| 26,210 | 172,235 | 269,235
|
| Postgraduate research | 40 |
7,820 | 11,345 | 15
| 395 | 4,810 | 24,425
|
| Postgraduate taught | 1,170 |
61,085 | 51,885 | 820
| 10,725 | 79,700 | 205,380
|
| Total | 258,835 | 120,650
| 112,940 | 25,625 | 46,925
| 298,865 | 863,840 |
Age is on entry. Students with unknown date of birth have been
assigned to "Under 21".
Table 2
NUMBER OF FOUNDATION DEGREE STUDENTS AND ENTRANTS BY YEAR
AND MODE OF STUDY (REGISTERED AT HEIs AND FECs) 2001-08ii
| Students
|
| Academic year | Full-time
| Part-time | Total
| % full-time |
| 2001-02 | 2,530 |
1,795 | 4,320 | 59%
|
| 2002-03 | 6,295 | 6,015
| 12,310 | 51% |
| 2003-04 | 12,240 | 11,710
| 23,945 | 51% |
| 2004-05 | 19,780 | 18,040
| 37,820 | 52% |
| 2005-06 | 26,910 | 19,870
| 46,780 | 58% |
| 2006-07 | 33,855 | 26,725
| 60,580 | 56% |
| 2007-08 | 40,820 | 31,095
| 71,915 | 57% |
| Entrants |
| Academic year | Full-time
| Part-time | Total
| % full-time |
| 2001-02 | 2,260 |
1,740 | 3,995 | 57%
|
| 2002-03 | 4,805 | 4,095
| 8,900 | 54% |
| 2003-04 | 8,250 | 6,695
| 14,945 | 55% |
| 2004-05 | 12,890 | 9,220
| 22,110 | 58% |
| 2005-06 | 16,810 | 9,850
| 26,665 | 63% |
| 2006-07 | 19,840 | 14,095
| 33,930 | 58% |
| 2007-08 | 24,440 | 16,005
| 40,445 | 60% |
(Home, EU and overseas students and entrants at HEIs and FECs
in England)
Table 3
2006-07 GENERAL QUALIFICATION AIM (HEAD COUNTS FOR NEW
ENTRANTS): HEIs ONLYiii
| General qualification aim of student
| Full-time | Part-time
| Total |
| Diploma in HE leading towards obtaining eligibility to register to practice with a Health or Social Care regulatory body
| 14,410 | 585 | 15,000
|
| First degree | 288,390 |
53,830 | 342,220 |
| First degree leading towards obtaining eligibility to register to practice with a Health or Social Care or Veterinary statutory regulatory body—General Dental
| 860 | | 860
|
| First degree leading towards obtaining eligibility to register to practice with a Health or Social Care or Veterinary statutory regulatory body—General Medical
| 6,780 | 5 | 6,780
|
| First degree leading towards obtaining eligibility to register to practice with a Health or Social Care or Veterinary statutory regulatory body—Other
| 12,875 | 2,060 | 14,935
|
| Foundation degree | 15,070 |
11,480 | 26,550 |
| NVQ level 4 or 5 | | 40
| 40 |
| Other formal HE qualification of less than degree standard
| 705 | 1,970 | 2,675
|
| Other postgraduate qualification | 430
| 10,635 | 11,065 |
| Other undergraduate qualification | 17,280
| 188,600 | 205,880 |
| PGCE | 22,630 | 3,360
| 25,990 |
| Postgraduate (Not professional qualifications or PGCE)
| 108,540 | 76,300 | 184,840
|
| Professional qualification at postgraduate level (not PGCE) with or without academic qualification
| 1,340 | 5,505 | 6,840
|
| Professional qualification at undergraduate level, with or without academic qualification
| 285 | 7,910 | 8,195
|
| Professional qualification for serving school teachers
| | 690 | 695
|
| Qualified teacher status only | 180
| 125 | 305 |
| No formal undergraduate qualification | 2,245
| 7,650 | 9,895 |
| No formal postgraduate qualification | 405
| 670 | 1,070 |
| Total | 492,425 | 371,415
| 863,840 |
| |
| |
B. STUDENTS WHO
COMBINE WORK
AND LEARNING
(Tables 4-6 and 9 are taken from the Destination of Leavers
from HE survey (DLHE) 2005-06 which surveys qualifiers who left
their programme in academic year 2005-06 six months after completing
their studies.)
Table 4
HE LEAVERS IN EMPLOYMENT ON THE CENSUS DATE FOR THE dESTINATION
OF lEAVERS FROM HE (DLHE) 2005-06 WHO RESPONDED THAT THEY WORKED
FOR THEIR EMPLOYER BEFORE OR DURING THE PROGRAMME OF STUDY THEY
RECENTLY COMPLETEDiv
| | Headcount | As % of those who answered
|
| Yes—before my programme of study
| 11,370 | 7% |
| Yes—during my programme of study |
29,995 | 18% |
| Yes—both before and during my programme of study
| 23,995 | 15% |
| No | 98,235 | 60%
|
| Total | 163,595 | 100%
|
Table 5
TYPES OF WORK UNDERTAKEN BY HE LEAVERS RESPONDING TO DLHE
SURVEY 2005-06 WHO WORKED FOR THEIR EMPLOYER DURING OR BEFORE
THEIR COURSEv
| Sandwich placement
| Other placement or project work
| Holiday job | FT or PT all year round
| FT or PT during term time
| Other |
| Employer size | Headcount
| As % of those who answered | Headcount
| As % of those who answered | Headcount
| As % of those who answered | Headcount
| As % of those who answered | Headcount
| As % of those who answered | Headcount
| As % of those who answered |
| Small | 460 | 0.8%
| 950 | 1.7% | 1,160
| 2.0% | 5,290 | 9.2%
| 1,740 | 3.0% | 735
| 1.3% |
| Medium | 415 | 0.7%
| 1,030 | 1.8% | 580
| 1.0% | 3,885 | 6.8%
| 1,295 | 2.3% | 315
| 0.6% |
| Large | 1,640 | 2.9%
| 3,620 | 6.3% | 2,195
| 3.8% | 20,415 | 35.7%
| 3,875 | 6.8% | 1,275
| 2.2% |
| Unknown | 460 | 0.8%
| 1,190 | 2.1% | 675
| 1.2% | 4,900 | 8.6%
| 1,275 | 2.2% | 535
| 0.9% |
| Total | 2,970 | 5.2%
| 6,795 | 11.9% | 4,605
| 8.0% | 34,490 | 60.3%
| 8,185 | 14.3% | 2,865
| 5.0% |
| 5.19% | |
| | |
| | | |
| | |
Note: Percentages sum to more than 100% as leavers can
tick as many of the options on the questionnaire as they wish.
Table 6
SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR STUDY, TRAINING OR RESEARCH IDENTIFIED
BY HE LEAVERS RESPONDING TO THE DLHE SURVEY 2005-06 WHO WERE REQUIRED
BY THEIR EMPLOYERS TO UNDERTAKE FURTHER STUDY OR RESEARCHvi
| | Headcount | As % of total employed and required to study (who answered this question)
|
| Self-funding eg savings/loans/employment
| 430 | 12% |
| Grant/award eg Research Council Studentship/LEA Award for PGCE
| 185 | 5% |
| Sponsorship | 120 |
3% |
| My employer provided financial support |
2,465 | 70% |
| Other | 325 | 9%
|
| Total | 3,525 | 100%
|
| |
|
C. INCOME TO
HE FROM EMPLOYERS
FOR TEACHING
ACTIVITY
Table 7
MAJOR SOURCE OF TUITION FEES 2006-07vii
| | First degree
| Other undergraduate |
Postgraduate research | Postgraduate taught
| Total |
| Major source of tuition fees | Full-time
| Part-time | Full-time | Part-time
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time
| Part-time | |
| Absent for year | |
| | | |
| | | 0 |
| Charitable foundation | 210 |
50 | 45 | 175 |
855 | 40 | 700 |
240 | 2,315 |
| Departments of Health/NHS/Social Care | 7,670
| 2,895 | 11,605 | 21,345
| 265 | 65 | 1,265
| 3,690 | 48,805 |
| Departments of Social Services | 60
| 95 | 60 | 130
| | | 180 |
145 | 670 |
| EU Commission | 50 |
| 120 | 105 | 45
| 0 | 190 | 45 |
550 |
| Fee waiver under government unemployed students scheme
| | 30 | |
30 | | |
| 15 | 75 |
| Fees paid under part-time graduate apprentice study programme
| 5 | 10 | |
5 | | |
| 15 | 40 |
| Government/Local authorities | 335
| 445 | 235 | 3,535
| 235 | 95 | 1,330
| 3,550 | 9,760 |
| Institutional waiver of support costs | 1,600
| 1,210 | 370 | 6,620
| 3,210 | 520 | 4,145
| 2,520 | 20,195 |
| Local government—Channel Islands and Isle of Man/Scottish FE Bursaries
| 655 | 15 | 20
| 40 | 5 | 10 |
90 | 125 | 965 |
| No award or financial backing | 102,090
| 30,150 | 20,120 | 127,720
| 6,245 | 3,480 | 79,295
| 48,515 | 417,615 |
| Overseas | 1,990 | 50
| 785 | 1,225 | 2,140
| 70 | 4,230 | 390
| 10,890 |
| Research Council | 25 | 5
| 10 | 70 | 3,690
| 40 | 1,595 | 130
| 5,440 |
| Student's employer | 1,075 |
6,225 | 995 | 29,780
| 460 | 410 | 1,750
| 20,695 | 61,385 |
| UK industry/commerce | 65 |
535 | 10 | 315 |
155 | 70 | 310 |
1,310 | 2,765 |
| Whole or part SLC, SAAS, DELNI | 189,545
| 12,250 | 12,715 | 11,050
| 60 | 20 | 15,195
| 2,350 | 243,175 |
| Other | 820 | 1,100
| 765 | 4,615 | 805
| 150 | 1,580 | 3,575
| 13,405 |
| No fees | 1,535 | 560
| 1,795 | 10,140 | 290
| 115 | 1,070 | 2,545
| 18,055 |
| Not known | 1,170 | 270
| 535 | 2,150 | 745
| 140 | 1,215 | 1,390
| 7,610 |
| Total | 308,900 | 55,895
| 50,180 | 219,055 | 19,205
| 5,220 | 114,135 | 91,245
| 863,840 |
Table 8
MAJOR SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAMME OF STUDY 2006-07viii
| | First degree
| Other undergraduate |
Postgraduate research | Postgraduate taught
| Total |
| Major source of funding for the programme of study
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time
| Part-time | Full-time | Part-time
| Full-time | Part-time |
|
| Departments of Health/NHS/Social Care | 11,770
| 4,135 | 17,000 | 24,475
| 110 | | 1,365
| 2,395 | 61,250 |
| Departments of Social Services | 35
| 50 | | 5 |
| | | 60
| 150 |
| EU Commission | 5 |
| 10 | 115 | |
| 60 | 85 | 270
|
| Funded entirely by student tuition fees |
550 | 1,090 | 2,595
| 4,040 | 240 | 135
| 3,130 | 2,650 | 14,425
|
| HEFCE | 288,250 | 49,215
| 29,610 | 182,980 | 18,730
| 4,940 | 86,880 | 68,110
| 728,720 |
| Joint between two sources including a funding council
| | 5 | |
| | | 10 |
75 | 90 |
| LEA/DfES | |
| | 235 | |
| | 195 | 430
|
| LSC | | |
| 25 | |
| | | 25 |
| Overseas government or other overseas organisation
| 30 | | 45 |
| | |
| | 80 |
| Own institution | |
| 5 | 45 | |
| | 260 | 315
|
| Research Council | |
| | | 30 |
55 | 30 | 10 | 125
|
| TDA | 7,780 | 115
| 345 | 3,760 | 5
| 10 | 21,635 | 15,645
| 49,290 |
| UK charities | |
| | | | 10
| 10 | 5 | 25 |
| UK government | 365 | 180
| 225 | 1,280 |
| | 400 | 395 |
2,845 |
| UK private industry/commerce |
| 25 | | 675 |
| | 35 | 415
| 1,155 |
| UK public corporation/nationalised industry |
| | | 195
| | | | 140
| 335 |
| Other funding | 120 | 1,070
| 350 | 1,220 | 85
| 70 | 585 | 805
| 4,310 |
| 308,900 | 55,895
| 50,180 | 219,055 | 19,205
| 5,220 | 114,135 | 91,245
| 863,840 |
| | |
| | |
| | | |
Table 9
EMPLOYEES STUDYING PART-TIME WHO WERE SUPPORTED BY THEIR
EMPLOYER (2005-06)ix
| | Headcount | As % of PT qualifiers employed
|
| Yes: my tuition fees were paid |
7,515 | 48% |
| Yes: I was given a grant to cover my tuition fees and living expenses
| 245 | 2% |
| Yes: I was given study leave | 4,980
| 32% |
| Yes: I was supported in other ways | 4,245
| 27% |
| No: my employer did not support me in any way
| 4,385 | 28% |
Note: Percentages sum to more than 100% as leavers can tick
as many of the options on the questionnaire as they wish.
Table 10
INCOME FROM COURSES FOR BUSINESS AND THE COMMUNITY—CONTINUING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) COURSES AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
(CE) (2003-07) (EXCLUDING THOSE FUNDED BY THE NHS OR TDA)x
It should be noted that Tables 10-16 are taken from the HE-Business
and Community Interaction Survey. Figures for 2007-08 are provisional
ahead of the publication of the report which is scheduled for
10 July 2008. It should be noted that the survey is in two parts.
Financial information is accurate up to the period 1 August 2006-31
July 2007. Qualitative data on employer engagement is taken as
a snapshot of activity in January 2008.
| Year | CPD for SMEs, other (non-SME)
commercial businesses and other
non-commercial organisations
| CE and CPD for individuals | Total
| |
| 2003-04 | 198,122 |
57,560 | 255,682 | 131
|
| 2004-05 | 229,109 | 87,642
| 316,751 | 129 |
| 2005-06 | 236,518 | 99,758
| 336,276 | 129 |
| 2006-07 | 290,840 | 110,738
| 401,578 | 130 |
D. ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN
HE INSTITUTIONS AND
EMPLOYERS
Table 11
HEIs REPORTING ENGAGEMENT WITH SECTOR SKILLS COUNCILS
(SSCS) AS PART OF THEIR BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY STRATEGY (2004-08)xi
| Year | Asset Skills
| Automotive Skills | Government Skills
| Construction Skills | Cogent
| Creative and Cultural | e-skills UK
| Energy and Utility skills | Financial Services Skills Council
| GoSkills |
| 2004-05 | 3 |
18 | n/a | 25 |
9 | 52 | 54 |
15 | 18 | 1 |
| 2005-06 | 6 | 22
| 15 | 34 | 14 |
71 | 63 | 16 | 23
| 2 |
| 2006-07 | 9 | 28
| 24 | 40 | 18 |
86 | 70 | 20 | 28
| 6 |
| 2007-08 | 11 | 32
| 25 | 43 | 25 |
89 | 70 | 25 | 34
| 10 |
Year | Improve Ltd
| Lantra | Lifelong Learning
| People 1st | Proskills
| SEMTA | SkillsActive
| Skillfast-UK | Skillset
| Skills for Care |
| 2004-05 | 4 |
18 | 41 | 14 | 2
| 25 | 13 | 12 |
33 | 14 |
| 2005-06 | 9 | 30
| 59 | 17 | 3 |
29 | 19 | 18 | 47
| 23 |
| 2006-07 | 13 | 30
| 73 | 21 | 5 |
35 | 26 | 22 | 57
| 38 |
| 2007-08 | 16 | 32
| 77 | 26 | 7 |
46 | 29 | 24 | 62
| 46 |
Year | Skills for health
| Skills for Justice | Skills for logistics
| Skillsmart | Summit Skills
| Other | Total HEIs responding
| | | |
2004-05 | 37 | 15
| 6 | 10 | 3
| 11 | 130 | |
| |
| 2005-06 | 50 | 26
| 8 | 17 | 7
| 16 | 130 | |
| |
| 2006-07 | 68 | 34
| 9 | 19 | 8
| 17 | 128 | |
| |
| 2007-08 | 74 | 40
| 14 | 20 | 10 |
16 | 130 | |
| |
Table 12
HE INSTITUTIONS REPORTING THEY HAVE A CENTRAL DEDICATED
UNIT TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR SMEs (2004-08)xii
| Year | An enquiry point for SMEs
| Assistance to SMEs in specifying their needs
| Total number of HEIs responding |
| 2004-05 | 116 | 102
| 130 |
| 2005-06 | 117 | 105
| 130 |
| 2006-07 | 118 | 107
| 128 |
| 2007-08 | 119 | 110
| 130 |
Table 13
HE INSTITUTIONS REPORTING THEY OFFER ENTREPRENEURSHIP
TRAINING TO SPIN-OFF COMPANIES (2004-08)xiii
| Year | Entrepreneurship training (HEI provided)
| Entrepreneurship training (Partner provided)
| Entrepreneurship training (Both provided)
| Entrepreneurship training (None provided)
| Number of institutions responding |
| 2004-05 | 66 | 7
| 31 | 25 | 130
|
| 2005-06 | 66 | 8
| 35 | 21 | 130
|
| 2006-07 | 67 | 4
| 39 | 18 | 128
|
| 2007-08 | 66 | 6
| 42 | 16 | 130
|
Table 14
HE INSTITUTIONS REPORTING THEY OFFER COURSES FOR EMPLOYERSxiv
| Year | Distance learning for businesses
| Continuous work- based learning |
Short bespoke courses for business on campus
| Short bespoke courses at companies' premises
| Total HEIs responding |
| 2004-05 | 86 | 79
| 109 | 103 | 130
|
| 2005-06 | 88 | 82
| 113 | 106 | 130
|
| 2006-07 | 89 | 86
| 115 | 110 | 128
|
| 2007-08 | 88 | 87
| 117 | 109 | 130
|
Table 15
HE INSTITUTIONS REPORTING THEY MONITOR SKILLS NEEDS AND
SECTORAL CHANGE THROUGH LABOUR MARKET INTELLIGENCE, AND TAKE THIS
INTO ACCOUNT IN PLANNING PROVISION (ON A PREDEFINED SCALE of ONE
TO FIVE) 2004-08xv
| Year | 3 |
4 | 5 | Total HEIs responding
|
| 2004-05 | 42 | 59
| 10 | 130 |
| 2005-06 | 36 | 67
| 7 | 130 |
| 2006-07 | 36 | 69
| 7 | 128 |
| 2007-08 | 28 | 78
| 8 | 130 |
See Annex B of HE-BCI publication 2007/17 for full description
of levels 3, 4 and 5 (http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2007/07_17/)
Table 16
HE INSTITUTIONS REPORTING THAT EMPLOYERS ARE ACTIVELY
INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTENT AND REGULAR REVIEWING OF
THE CURRICULUM (ON A PREDEFINED SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE) 2004-08xvi
| Year | 3 |
4 | 5 | Total HEIs responding
|
| 2004-05 | 31 | 62
| 32 | 130 |
| 2005-06 | 24 | 66
| 36 | 130 |
| 2006-07 | 24 | 58
| 43 | 128 |
| 2007-08 | 23 | 60
| 44 | 130 |
See Annex B of HE-BCI publication 2007/17 for full
description of levels 3, 4 and 5 (http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2007/07_17/)
GLOSSARY AND
ACRONYMS
| Channel Is. | Channel Islands
|
| CE | Continuing Education |
| CPD | Continuing Professional Development
|
| DELNI | Department of Employment and Learning Northern Ireland
|
| DLHE | Destination of Leavers from Higher Education Survey
|
| DfES | Department for Education and Skills
|
| EU | European Union |
| FEC | Further Education College
|
| HE | Higher Education |
| HE-BCI | Higher Education-Business and Community Interaction Survey
|
| HEFCE | Higher Education Funding Council for England
|
| HEI | Higher Education Institution
|
| HEIFES | Higher Education in Further Education Students Survey
|
| HESA | Higher Education Statistics Agency
|
| HESES | Higher Education Students Early Statistics Survey
|
| I. of Man | Isle of Man |
| LEA | Local Education Authority
|
| LSC | Learning and Skills Council
|
| NHS | National Health Service
|
| NVQ | National Vocational Qualification
|
| OU | Open University |
| PGCE | Postgraduate Certificate in Education
|
| SAAS | Student Awards Agency for Scotland
|
| SLC | Student Loans Company
|
| SME | Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
|
| SSC | Sector Skills Council
|
| TDA | Training and Development Agency for Schools
|
| UK | United Kingdom |
References
i HESA Record 2006-07 (Figures for HEFCE-funded HEIs only.
OU students domiciled in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
have been excluded.
ii Data source: Columns 1 + 2 of HESES and HEIFES (2007-08
values are provisional).
The numbers of overseas entrants for 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08
are estimated by assuming they represent the same proportion as
for the other years, that is 4.6% for full-time and 5.5% for part-time.
2001-02 student numbers include some continuing students from
2000-01 which were marketed as foundation degrees but which may
not have had all the attributes described in the HEFCE foundation
degree prospectus.
iii HESA Record 2006-07.
iv Destination of Leavers from HE survey 2005-06 (Figures
for HEFCE-funded HEIs only. Only those records counted within
the DLHE target population are included.
v Destination of Leavers from HE survey 2005-06.
vi Destination of Leavers from HE survey 2005-06.
vii HESA Record 2006-07.
viii HESA Record 2006-07.
ix Destination of Leavers from HE survey 2005-06.
x HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey.
xi HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey.
xii HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey.
xiii HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey.
xiv HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey.
xv HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey. See Annex
B of HE-BCI publication 2007-17 for full description of levels
3, 4 and 5.
xvi HE-Business and Community Interaction Survey. See Annex
B of HE-BCI publication 2007-17 for full description of levels
3, 4 and 5.
51
Engaging employers with higher education http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/
employer/strat/Board_strategy_plus_ annexes.pdf Back
52
HEFCE 2006-07 Grant Letter http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2006/grant/letter.pdf Back
53
Higher education delivering on the Leitch agenda http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/board/2007/116/67.pdf
and http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/board/2007/116/67a.pdf Back
54
Cm 7181(July 2007) Department for Innovation, Universities and
Skills World Class Skills: Implementing Leitch Review of skills
in England Back
55
The economic impact of UK higher education institutions, Universities
UK (2006) http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk/downloads/economicimpact3.pdf Back
56
HEFCE Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Surveys,
http://www.hefce.ac.uk/reachout/hebci/ Back
57
Lambert Review of Business University Collaboration-Final Report,
HM Treasury, December 2003 Back
58
"Higher Education at Work", Department for Innovation
Universities and Skills, April 2008 Back
59
Cm 5810 (July 2003) Department for Education and Skills "21st
Century Skills: Realising our potential" Back
60
Kewin, Casey, Smith "Known unknowns: the demand for higher
level skills from businesses", Centre for Enterprise
(March 2008). Back
|
