Employer Engagement Research Project
A research project is currently being undertaken by the University of Exeter to identify and evaluate existing good practice within the South West in work-based learning and employer engagement.
The Research Project team, led by Richard Bolden at the Centre for Leadership Studies, is working to the following aims:
- Uncover cultural, structural and other barriers to effective employer engagement with Higher Education (HE);
- Evaluate and learn from the most effective employer engagement practice in the region through interviews with the main stakeholders (employer and HE representatives);
- Explore the experiences of participants on a range of employer engagement programmes/initiatives delivered by HE providers in the region;
- Identify mechanisms for ensuring timely, effective, relevant and mutually beneficial relationships between HE and employers.
Report 3 - Strategies for Effective HE Employer Engagement
This third report was published in Feb 2010. To download the report click on the link.
Strategies for Effective HE Employer Engagement - full report
Report 2 - Employer Engagement with Higher Education
This report has now been published and was produced in partnership with the CIHE. To download the report click on the link.
Higher Skills Literature Review
As part of the Research Project an extensive review of higher skills-related literature has been completed and is now freely available. The report is structured around seven key themes: higher skills context, market, systems, culture, promotion, pedagogy, and leadership and management.
Within each section, key research findings are considered in relation to employers, HEIs, policy makers, skills brokers and learners. Overall conclusions and recommendations for each of these groups are summarised at the end of the report.
The literature reviewed reveals that there are no easy answers or quick fixes to the issues of employer engagement and higher skills development. Whilst the benefits and opportunities are many, so too are the risks and challenges.
In presenting a summary of perspectives it is hoped that this report will help sensitise the reader to important concerns and considerations so that they are better able to judge what may or may not be appropriate within a given situation.
To download the report, please click on the appropriate link:
HE Employer Engagement Literature Review - Executive Summary
HE Employer Engagement Literature Review - Full Report