09/99/8.7

Engineering Professors’ Council

Future Programmes Working Group Report – February 2009

• Current Activity

At the first (and last meeting) of the Group it was agreed that the Group should take a watching brief and monitor developments.  The Group will be meeting again to take an overview.  There have been significant developments taking place particularly in engaging industry in developing HE strategy.  This is driven by the work based learning, higher skills and meeting the needs of industry agenda.

• HE Strategy Conference January 2009

The Sector Skills Councils for construction have formed an alliance (BESA -  the Built Environment Skills Alliance) to develop their higher education strategy.  A conference took place in January with keynote presentations from David Lammy (Minister for HE), Chris Humphreys (UKCS), Hugh Tollyfield (HEFCE consultant on worked based learning) and Barry Clarke (CIC). 

There were three briefing papers to stimulate debate:-

Briefing paper 1 – Needs and Recruitment

• What are the relationships between recruitment needs in Construction and Built Environment occupations at higher levels and demographic forecasts? What are the impacts, and when are these most likely to strike?
• What activities in support of recruitment are there at present across Construction and Built Environment higher education institutions?
• How may participation be widened, with particular emphasis on:
• increasing involvement of the existing workforce
• encouraging progression from 14-19 Diplomas
• encouraging progression from Apprenticeships
• What can Construction and Built Environment higher education institutions do to help further?

What can BESA members and their partners do to help further?

Briefing paper 2 – Curriculum and Provision

• What are the key issues in developing curriculum and provision that meets employer needs, whilst satisfying the demands of the University, QAA, and accrediting professional Bodies?
• How do universities currently engage with employers when designing, delivering, promoting and reviewing provision?
• How much do universities work in partnership either with each other, with employers or with FE on curriculum design and provision?  What are the benefits, issues and approaches associated with partnership working?
• What are the issues surrounding integrated development, for example, the roles of Professional and National Occupational Standards?
• How is ‘level’ fixed?
• How much provision is ‘enough’?  What are the risks of ‘over – supply’ and how can this be avoided?
• What can BESA and its partners do to help higher education in developing curriculum and provision?

Briefing paper 3 –  Modes of Provision Delivery

• What are the key issues in delivering provision that meets employer needs?
• Where should learning best take place given the need to balance theory with practice and the development of competence with learning?
• What are the issues surrounding integrated delivery between academic, vocational and professional programmes? 
• Is integrated delivery always realistic?
• How can integrated delivery be further encouraged?
• What can BESA and its partners do to help higher education in delivery?

BESA

Asset Skills – property, housing, facilities management, cleaning and parking industries

ConstructionSkills Sector Skills Council comprising:

Construction Industry Council – representative forum for professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the Construction industry

CITB - ConstructionSkills – construction: professional, trades and crafts.

CITB NI – Construction Industry Training Board: Northern Ireland

ECITB – Engineering Construction Industry Training Board

EU Skills – energy and utility: electricity, gas, waste management and water

Proskills – process and manufacturing: building products, extractives, glass and print

Summit Skills – Building Services Engineering

• Engineers for Enterprise Study (RAEng)

The principal objective of this RAEng project is to identify the options for encouraging and enabling universities to develop engineering courses that better meet the needs of industry and to identify the opportunities, barriers and costs involved. 

The project is to address the key messages from the EE21C Report that:

a            University engineering courses must provide students with the range of knowledge

               and innovation problem-solving skills to work effectively in industry as well as

               motivating students to become engineers on graduation.

b            Engineering courses must develop in line with the real and constantly evolving

               requirements of industry.  Regulation and maintenance of standards should

               encourage and enable change rather than inhibit.

c            Much more effective interaction between industry and university engineering

              departments is required.  Support and engagement needs to operate at two levels:

              the provision by industry of strategic advice to help shape course development and

              operational engagement whereby students can experience real-life industrial

              challenges.

d            Universities must continue to teach "core engineering" and not dilute course content

              with peripheral subject matter.

A project management working group has been set up at the CETL for Engineering at Loughborough.  The project steering group includes EPC representation

• UK Commission for Skills

UKCES has produced a report outlining the skills needs for 2007-2017 which focussed on the future demand for skills by occupation.  [http://www.ukces.org.uk/].

BGC  26.1.09.