Employer engagement good practice

Over the last three years New College Nottingham (ncn) has raised its game significantly in terms of engaging with employers.

ncn’s foundation of providing a quality service, as well as showing employers how training with the College can offer real benefits to their business, has resulted in significant growth in the numbers of industry partners and work-based learners during a period of severe economic downturn.

Over the last twelve months, while the East Midlands region has seen a 30% decrease in Apprenticeships for the construction sector, the College has seen a continuous rise in Apprenticeships and now delivers over 25% of the construction Apprenticeships for the region. In three years our employer numbers across all sectors have grown from 300 to over 2000 and employed learners increased from 700 to over 5000.

Our specialism is engaging with the ‘hard to reach’ with over 70% of our learners coming from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), some of which are engaged through the supply chain of larger organisations.

Feedback from our employers indicates that 93% would recommend us to other employers and our repeat work for apprentices is currently at 63%. Our growth in employer-based income has increased in three years from less than £2 million to more than £8 million.

ncn organises employer forums for many sectors and is part of the National Skills Academies for Retail, Logistics and Creative & Cultural Skills. In addition, the College headed an initiative which encourages employers to take the lead on employer-led apprentice training academies, enhancing additional quality, commitment and presenting a wider employer network to the Apprenticeship environment.

ncn’s Principal & Chief Executive sits on the Employment & Skills Board for Nottingham City and County Councils. As a result, the College has guided the Employment & Skills strategy for the construction and retail sectors, which has ensured 106 agreements for guaranteed Apprenticeship schemes through, for example, the city’s ‘One in a Million’ initiative which ensures an apprentice for every £1 million spent on contracts.

Unlike some colleges who deliver employer provision from within stand-alone units, ncn has fully embedded and integrated this provision across all of its curriculum areas. In doing so, it has established a set of cross-college processes and procedures (encapsulated in an Employer Engagement Manual) which are widely communicated and regularly reviewed. An Organisational Needs Analysis is carried out as part of the process, whereby the business benefits that a training intervention aims to deliver is agreed with an employer; followed by post-training evaluation to determine the outcome. These are supported by a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system which helps to maximise relationships with employers, analyse market penetration and carry out competitor analysis. Allied to this, the College has also developed a strong link between its planning process and Labour Market Intelligence.

There has been a culture change in the College over the last three years. Staff from both FE and commercial backgrounds deliver in a flexible and responsive manner, including working shifts and weekends if necessary. Also, the initial conversation with employers is not simply about a training ‘offer’ but covers full workforce development and cross-selling. Referral to different curriculum areas and partners is now commonplace, despite working to autonomous budget management systems. As a result, ncn is able to offer a recruitment service for Apprenticeships, with current referrals at ~60 per month.

All of the employer-based provision is monitored closely by an externally contracted Quality Audit, ensuring independence, integrity, and compliance with quality improvement agendas.

This development work within employer engagement has led to the College earning a favourable reputation in the sector: ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted grade for employer responsive provision 2009; TQS with excellence in Construction, Retail and Adult Social Care 2010; AoC Beacon Award for College Engagement with Employers 2010; Hospitality Apprentice Provider of the Year 2010; Training Provider of the Year (Hospitality and Catering Work Based Learning team) Nottinghamshire Training Network Awards 2011; and one of our SMEs won Small Business of the Year at the East Midlands Apprenticeship Awards 2010.

Moving forward, the emphasis in the College is very much about Apprenticeship growth including Higher Apprenticeships, commercial activity and full-cost training, a greater emphasis on delivery via our Virtual Learning Environment, the development of twelve new Apprenticeship programmes and courses for our overseas clients.

Mike Motley is director of employer engagement at New College Nottingham