Using Labour Market Intelligence

Wendy Fowles-Sweet, CEng MRAeS

CPDA Co-ordinator

UWE Learning and Teaching Associate Fellow

Why Employer Engagement?

1. Skills need to be continually up-graded and enhanced – universities can provide this life long learning

2. 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

3. 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

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Employer Involvement and Commitment

Why Labour Market Intelligence?

• HEIs and Employers do not find it easy to work together

• Real time projects and academic years do not easily map

• Not easy to find ways into HEIs

• Not easy to find ways into Employer Organisations

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

Engaging Employers - PABs• Professional Advisory Boards

o Relatively easy if the subject matter is applied, such as Engineering, harder if subject is “Pure”, such as Maths or Physics

o Developing Professional Institution relationships for award accreditation

• What can be achievedo Employer appreciation of the learning required in that topico Employer input – curricula, lecturing, placements, seminars, etco Academic awareness of current sector needso Long term employer interest in students at all levelso Research opportunities

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

• This approach is likely to achieve ever greater employer / HEI collaboration, enhancing labour market intelligence