A Vision of a UK Region in 2012 Peter Rees Jones, University of Leeds, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, University of Nottingham, JISC consultant “We understand the need for supply-side investment. But we have also taken up the more complex challenges involved in creating healthy skill ‘ecosystems’ capable of sustaining skill formation and use”. ( Leslie Loble, Deputy Director General, Strategic Planning and Regulation, New South Wales Department of Education and Training, Australia)

Background Research question: How may UK HEIs contribute to the development of higher skills in regions building on the work of Lifelong Learning Networks? I draw on one aspect of the evaluation of Australian work on skills ecosystems undertaken by Johnathan Payne of SKOPE in order to review the potential role of ICT Skills in context: what can the UK learn from Australia’s skill ecosystem projects? SKOPE Research Paper No 70. May 2007.)

The Landscape A Regional Development Agency A University that has provided hundreds of free ePortfolios to many kinds of learner The HEI is demonstrating an ePortfolio Repository accessible to providers and employers but controlled by the individual. I focus here on employer demand: - The key underlying issue may be the learner’s ability to control his/her personal information and realise the value of his / her learning.

An educational view; the supply side Rob Koper OUNL 2004

The Problem “Despite progress on the skills front [in the UK]…there is a persistent ‘productivity gap’ relative to competitors such as France, Germany and the US.” (ibid) BUT why has Britain not witnessed a more dramatic improvement in its economic performance? 2001 UK Skills Survey of year olds: the proportion holding qualifications higher than needed for their present job grew from 33% in 1997 to 37% in UK Workplace Employment Relations Survey > 50% of employees considered that their skills were higher than those required to do their current job (Kersley et al 2005: 86)

Aligning Supply and Demand The research questions we need to ask are less about the supply side and more about the demand side: “how may Regional Development Agencies and HEIs align the supply of skills education for the workforce with the demand for skills from employers to enable them to “make better and more effective use of employees’ skills?” (Payne 2007) “Part of the answer appears to lie in finding new ways of linking up skills policy to a wider business and economic development agenda aimed at stimulating employer demand for higher levels of skill across the workforce.” (ibid) How may a Skills ecosystem help? A Skills ecosystem is: “a cluster of high, intermediate or low level competencies in a particular region or industry shaped by interlocking networks of firms, markets or institutions” (adapted from Buchanan et al 2001: 21). I will look at the ecosystem from the perspective of the employer, i.e. the demand side The full paper will also take proper account of the employee/potential employee perspective another aspect of the demand side.

Stakeholder: The employer A medium size engineering company is contracted to support big projects but is unable to win them in its own right. The MD recruits an HR professional with a strong background in talent management to act as Change Manager. The shared services provided by the Regional Development Agency are key to success: For the first time the company is enabled to profile its workforce against roles and skills requirements and identify skills gaps (& overprovision). The first task is to flatten the company’s structure:

Flat versus Tall structures

Empowering staff (and making them personally accountable) The company links its staff with customers directly through a CRM As well as assessment by a line manager and 360 degree feedback the individual is enabled to evaluate & evidence their own performance using using the regional ePortfolio repository. Progress Review sets challenging targets and the individual is responsible for identifying how s/he can attain the learning goals that are agreed using IAG and Course Information services provided through the RDA. S/he proposes a learning plan using a service developed by MIAP. The company makes the contracts and funds the learning. An ERM (employability relationship management system) assists the employee develop and manage and report on the progress of this learning. The ability of the commercial network provider to enable the learner to manage and control access to her personal data is fundamental to success.

The Company Transformed Using a stakeholder analysis based on Donaldson and Dunfee the Change Manager had provided a baseline map of the stakeholders of the old enterprise and commissions a review of the transformed company. BEFORE there was a company culture with six separate departmental sub-cultures competing for resources from senior management. NOW teams of individuals from different departments are being set agreed targets and take responsibility for meeting them with access to a broad range of support, information and learning resources. The departmental silos within the company are being eroded and new project cultures developed which reflect demand for the company’s services rather than the competing interests of departments. Corporate culture values entrepreneurship, feedback and agility. There are as many sub cultures as projects with the average employee contributing to 2.5 projects

Sustainable Change The company adapts a JISC model of experiential learning to allow new recruits to contextualize NVQs and services and understand how they can develop their role within the company. This is made available to feeder colleges to encourage and prepare applicants The networks and shared services provided by the RDA both transform the company and feed back into the wider regional community. This feedback loop is indicative of the value added to the region. The new problem: Inducting new recruits, the step up is too high: colleges are still producing the skills required for a routine job rather than the confidence and self discipline needed by an innovative, customer- responsive employer.

Stakeholders: The University The university which played an important role in providing and proving the technology undertakes a review of its engagement with employers: Over a six year period it will break even. BUT that the value of the relationships which have been created with employers and the RDA are strategically significant and place the university in a leadership role. People originally sponsored by the employer are now funding themselves for additional courses.

Stakeholders: JISC & Government HEFCE considered extending the HESA return to cover HE investment in employability (see the DIUS debate). But instead metrics were built into new JISC & MIAP services: the contract electronically signed by an employer was linked through ULN to the results of the learning reported by the HEI back to the employer. The repository holding the authenticated documents flagged this information for a data collection service to harvest. This high quality evidence leverages long term investment by Govt & other stakeholders.