Marketing the HLS Offer in a changing environment

Marketing the HLS Offer in a changing environment Shona Paul Katherine Forbes Higher Level Skills and Brokerage Universities for the North East www. skillstogrow. NE. co. uk

Context and background • Legacy and achievements of previous projects • Institutional priorities in employer engagement issues • Businesslink priorities and HLS awareness of advisers • Shared responsibility of HLS issues by HEFCE, RDA, LSC and other partners on HLS Board

Aim • To establish a small central service to help employers, BL advisers, employer intermediaries better understand HLS offer, support better access to the offer, drive demand for skills provision in the NE

Objectives • Deliver CPD events to BL advisers and other employer intermediaries • Effective way to represent and access HLS offer • Raise awareness of HLS needs and solutions • Develop working protocols between brokers and institutions • Support work of Unionlearn in HLS

Immediate Challenges • Business case approved in Oct 2009 shortly followed by • • Shifting Policy Context Shifting Economic Context Changing Institutional Priorities Changing priorities for partners and funders

2009 - 2010 • Unionlearn activity • CPD delivery relationship development with Business Link and SSC • Difficult to further develop and build upon given the previous changes • Shift in focus and continued flexibility in responding to changes

2010 -2011 • Portal became the route to deliver much of the project outcomes • Provided a focus for year 2 rather than supporting the rest of the developments • Not to be product driven due to shifting agendas and funding • Sustainability and portability key in taking forward

Portal • • Sector Based Business Problems Case Study Driven All FE and HE partners in NE Communications and Awareness Raising Sustainability Business Impact

Portal Demo http: //beta. j 4 b. com/Skills. To. Grow. NEv 2

Skills To Grow NE

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Issues • Institutional buy in and key contacts • Business Impact • Limitations on what could be achieved (areas that were not taken forward) • Sustainability and institutional training • Scale of case study collection • End of project funding and implications for above