More, Different and Better

The engaged institution: reviving the civic university

Many British universities were founded with a ‘civic’ mission to contribute to the social, economic and cultural life of their city or region. The tradition survives, though in different, and, in some cases, barely recognisable forms. Most universities today take seriously their civic engagement role but, often, in the recent past, the work has taken place at the margins of institutional activity – usually some distance from the ‘core’ business of teaching and research.

For a variety of reasons, this has begun to change. A number of trends have helped close the gap between universities and their towns, cities and regions, including: the introduction of social and economic ‘impact’ as part of the criteria for funding research; the widening participation agenda, and, in particular, the requirement on HEIs charging higher fees to submit access agreements setting out their plans to attract under-represented groups; and the localism agenda, which has brought with it an expectation that university leaders will contribute to ‘leadership of place’ and local economic and civic renewal by helping join up a range of national policies and programmes at a local level. Sir Andrew Witty’s recent report on universities and growth argued that universities can play a stronger role in realising the economic benefits of research for localities and urged greater collaboration between HEIs and Local Enterprise Partnerships.

The context of economic recession – and the promise of a decade of cuts to education spending – has also been a significant factor. On the one hand, it has prompted universities to think harder about their potential role in wider society and the value of collaborative working with local, national and global partners; while, on the other, it has prompted government and other stakeholders to actively question the purpose of universities. The government’s 2010 White Paper, Students at the Heart of the System, reflected a growing appreciation that HEIs in receipt of large amounts of public funding have a civic duty to engage with wider society, and that, by and large, they had been failing in that duty.

Nevertheless, a wide range of formal and informal relations do exist between HEIs and their civic and community partners, and a number of institutions have worked hard to develop a leadership role within their wider communities. Where it is done well, civic engagement is characterised by committed leadership, a strong sense of mission embedded across the institution (rather than seen as a separate, ‘third’ stream of activity), a commitment to listening to and dialogue with key partners, and the provision of support, encouragement and resources for staff and students to develop and participate in the work.

But there are significant challenges too, including the complexity and inaccessibility of some institutions, the sometimes poor level of public understanding of what universities do, and the perception that not all universities are interested in building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with partners. The situation has been made more challenging by the decline of university lifelong learning, which, historically, has been responsible for much of the most creative and innovative HEI engagement activity. The picture overall is quite mixed, and there is clearly potential to do more and to do things better; however, there is plenty of good and innovative practice from which institutions and potential partners can learn.

For that reason, NIACE has worked with three partner organisations – Action on Access, the Forum for Access and Continuing Education, and the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning – to organise three conferences which will examine different aspects of partnership and collaboration in HE and consider how engagement with institutional partners, employers and communities can help HEIs make sense of a rapidly evolving higher education environment.

Each conference will focus on a different area of HEI partnership and collaboration – engagement with institutions, particularly schools, local authorities and FE colleges; engagement with employers; and engagement with communities – and consider how they can be encouraged and incentivised. We hope the events will contribute to the further development of this agenda, bringing together a wide range of colleagues from higher education with experts, politicians and partners and collaborators from the public, private and community sectors. At NIACE we have long argued that HEIs are key public bodies with important civic duties to wider society. Discussing what precisely this entails is timely, and necessary, if the potential of HEIs as key civic and community partners is to be realised and civic engagement is to become – as we believe it should – one of the guiding principles of HEI activity.

A series of posts exploring different aspects of HEI engagement will appear here over the summer and further details of the three conferences are now available online:

17 October 2013 – Institutional Engagement

14 November 2013 – Engaging with Employers

24 January 2014 – HEI Community Engagement

How an internship at NIACE has restored my hope for the future

Written by Ryan Mercer, NIACE’s Policy Development Intern who graduated from the University of Leicester in 2012, with a BA (Hons) Ancient History and History.

On 11 July 2012, I graduated from the University of Leicester with a 2:1 History degree. In the distant past this would have been seen as the first step in building a career, but with so many young graduates out of work it is only a small part of what’s needed. Like most other recent graduates, my CV was a vain attempt to persuade employers that working in a charity shop amounted to high level customer service and that I was an experienced events manger having organised my department’s summer ball. Needless to say, employers saw right through it – in the end all I had at this point was potential. Over a hundred applications later and £20,000 in debt, I couldn’t help but wonder what had been the point.

At a careers event organised by the University of Leicester – for struggling recent graduates like me – I was made aware of their internship scheme where they fund a large chunk of the salary for a paid 3-month internship. They encouraged me to apply for a Publications and Events internship with NIACE – an internship paying a living wage is a dream for a graduate from a poor background, offering the chance to learn and develop in a graduate level role, while actually being able to afford to eat. With no grasp of marketing or publications (but with outstanding events management skills), I rewrote my CV and hurriedly sent it off on what I was sure was yet another futile exercise.

To my astonishment I secured an interview and even more surprisingly, the interview seemed to go well, though it must have been very obvious I was clueless about marketing. A few days later I was called back for a second conversation, but with a different team. I was asked how I’d feel about an internship in Policy Development, which I enthusiastically accepted (not knowing what policy development meant). NIACE had taken the time to gauge my potential and decided that even though I wasn’t right for the position I’d applied for, it was worth giving me a chance in a post they felt would suit me better.

At first I struggled a lot, having never worked in an office before – I made a lot of mistakes, said the wrong things, overlooked important details. But my line manager was exceptionally patient and gave me the time I needed to settle in, understand my job, work better with people and grow more confident in the environment. I was given numerous opportunities to develop and prove myself and as time went on, I became better at taking them. I was able to attend numerous events which stand out as highlights in my experience – European Conferences in Cardiff and Leicester, a Parliamentary reception and of course Adult Learners’ Week.

My work has been diverse, having supported policy, research, advocacy, communications, events and publications in various ways throughout the six months I’ve been working at NIACE. The range of opportunities has been fantastic and has given me a fairly comprehensive understanding of the work NIACE does in a relatively short space of time. Being able to try different things has helped me develop skills that previously I barely knew existed, blogging amongst them.

I have been able to really commit to my internship, because it has been my job rather than a voluntary unpaid role where I would have to worry about supporting myself around it. As a result I’ve had a truly fulfilling experience and I feel I have been able to make a significant contribution to the important work that NIACE does in supporting equality and opportunity through adult learning. For me, my only regret from the experience is that it has to end.

Despite this, I can go forward with optimism. A year ago I just had a degree and was more than a little lost. Now I have clear idea of the career I want to pursue and concrete experience I can build on towards it. I have hope that had almost evaporated before, and I know that this time, it is not a matter of if I will get a worthwhile job, but when.

The pot at the end of the rainbow

In the build up to last week’s Spending Review there was much speculation about the role of skills in the Single Local Growth Fund, otherwise known as the ‘single pot’ resulting from the Heseltine review. Skills, transport and housing were flagged as being the key priorities.

Of course we now know that the amount of funding in the ‘single pot’ is far lower than had been anticipated. The £500 million a year of skills funding to the pot will be made up of £330 of Further Education Capital and £170m of ESF skills match funding.

However, equally important for the adult learning and skills sector is the announcement of the notional allocation of European funding to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). This provides further investment into local areas and Government has highlighted how this represents a dramatic move from 50% of EU funds retained for central programmes to less than 5%. LEPs will need to submit a strategic plan agreed with Whitehall for this European funding and match funding will also be crucial.

The achievements of European funding in meeting the learning, skills and employment needs of adults for a range of communities, individuals and businesses have a long and successful history. At NIACE, we have celebrated the ability of these funds – most notably through the Adult Learners’ Week Awards – to respond to difficult times and support those who need to gain the skills to move into sustainable and fulfilling careers. During the current economic challenges this support grows ever more critical. Our response to the consultation on the priorities for LEPs highlighted how using innovative approaches to adult learning and skills – tailored to local areas – supports sustainable local growth and social inclusion in many different and vital ways.

NIACE supports employers, communities and skills providers to develop a common local understanding of how to meet current and potential learning and skills needs. Often we find that there is a gulf in understanding around rationales of supply and demand for learning and skills programmes and many of the potential wider impacts from investing in adult learning and skills are not fully recognised. Now more than ever, it is critical for LEPS, providers, employers and communities to come together to plan the local scaffolding so desperately needed for all learners to gain skills that will support local sustainable growth, gain and progress in employment and build vibrant and thriving communities.

The single pot of gold at the end of the learning and skills rainbow may not be nearly as full as was hoped for by some, or indeed expected. What’s needed now are the partnerships across and beyond the sector to make what we’ve got go that extra mile. NIACE is committed to this issue now more than ever and if you’re interested in joining our work then please get in touch by emailing penny.lamb@niace.org.uk

Families have a critical role to play in helping ‘unseen children’

The publication, by Ofsted, of Unseen children: access and achievement 20 years on seeks to re-shape the entire English education system so that the spread in regional performance is narrowed and its ‘long tail of underachievement’ is shortened.

For the first time, Ofsted identifies and puts centre-stage, a group of ‘unseen’ children from poor families who are let down by coasting schools. Such schools may achieve satisfactory, or even good, results for the rest of their pupils, but which fail those in receipt of Free School Meals.

The report makes a convincing case that poverty of expectation, from both parents and schools is a greater problem than material poverty in blighting achievement, especially among under-privileged White British communities. It also considers education from birth to the age of 19, although it does not take the jump of extending its thinking to encompass continuing education through the life-course.

The report recognises that underachievement starts from birth and identifies the features of effective nursery and primary schools, among which is a readiness to engage with parents. Where the report is curiously silent, however, is around the potential for educational interventions with parents or with whole-family approaches.

When considering vocational and skill-based training post-16 the report does not pull its punches, suggesting that the further education sector also needs to improve its performance in helping disadvantaged teenagers who did not succeed at school, particularly in English and mathematics. It also suggests that employer engagement in FE and skills requires further strengthening – a message that successive reforms over the past 25 years have promised to deliver.

Ofsted acknowledges though that the sector has simply been responsive to the incentives it has been given by different governments. Its solutions – to dismantle large colleges found to be inadequate and to require post-16 providers to monitor students who had previously been eligible for free school meals – are likely to provide a challenge, not least logistical, to colleges and other providers.

This is an important report which is about far more than the headline-catching proposals for external testing in Key Stage 1 or teams of teachers employed by central government to be sent in to help in areas causing concern. NIACE agrees with the analysis that underachievement needs to be tackled in early years and hopes that the National Inquiry into Family Learning, which we are co-ordinating under Baroness Howarth, will help them take the next steps needed when it reports in the autumn.

NIACE also welcomes the opening-up of a debate about what constitutes success in FE, which goes beyond simply counting qualifications and which could take more account of ‘distance travelled’ and the outcomes for learners.

The benefits adult learning can bring to an organisation

Our second guest blog in a series following on from NIACE’s initial thoughts on the upcoming Spending Review, comes from Aoife Ni Luanaigh, Senior Research Manager at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

The nature of work is changing. New developments in technology mean that people need to continually update their knowledge and how they use it. Learning and training are key to making sure businesses have the skills they need to survive and grow.

Training and learning – whether part of a formal course or not – is good for individuals and employers.  For employers, having committed employees who do their jobs well is crucial in meeting customer needs. While the media often focuses on young people, many older workers will be changing jobs over the next 20 years. Adult learning plays an important part in making sure that businesses have the skills they need.

For individuals, learning can improve self-esteem, increase skills and support social mobility. A recent UK Commission research project found that low skilled employees want to access training and think it will help them do their jobs better and learn new skills. Employees who continue to learn are more engaged at work. Those who do not risk not being able to adapt to changes at work – whether new jobs, products, or technology.

Adult learning covers a wide range of ways of gaining knowledge and skills. For many people, training at work is an important element. The majority (59%) of employers invest in training. But 46% of the workforce receive no training – and those in low skilled jobs are least likely to receive training.

Providing training and opportunities for learning benefits employers. Firms that do not train their staff are almost twice as likely to close as those that do train. And in some business areas, such as hotels and restaurants, non-training firms are up to nine times more likely to close.  More than eight in ten job openings are to replace people who have retired or left the labour market, so many employers are keen to recruit experienced staff. Having an adaptable workforce makes it easier to fill these posts.

High staff turnover and recruitment problems are a headache for businesses. Some businesses have roles they cannot fill because they can’t get applicants with the right skills or experience. They complain of increased workload for other staff, difficulties meeting quality standards, increased operating costs, and losing business to competitors. Providing training and development opportunities improves staff retention and increases job satisfaction.

However, making sure people can use their learning and new skills is important: three in ten businesses with retention difficulties recognise that lack of career progression is a problem. Providing training and opportunities for progression can cut recruitment costs and help retain valued knowledge. For example, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin saw staff turnover drop by 17% year on year after implementing a new approach to training. Red Carnation Hotels helps staff identify clear career paths, and has reduced staff turnover from 80% to 24% over eight years.

There’s a clear business case for employers to support learning, provide training and build a learning culture. For employees, barriers to learning include family commitments, a lack of suitable courses, cost, and lack of time. Employers can play a role in overcoming these by providing time to train, and having training managers or Union Learning Reps to support staff. It’s a win-win situation for learners and employers.

Join the conversation on Twitter by following @NIACEhq or using #niaceSR