Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT)
Worting Road Basingstoke
Hampshire RG21 8TN
BCoT for Business: 01256 306237
Email: [email protected]
www.bcot.ac.uk/business
Follow BCoT on
and BCoTforBusiness
Employer
Engagement
Strategy
BCoT for Business is the division
of Basingstoke College of
Technology established to work
in partnership with employers
to develop workforce skills. We
are committed to providing high
quality education and training that
will help individuals to improve
their skills, maximise on efficiency
and support improvements in
business profitability. We combine
educational expertise with in depth
knowledge of local industry to
offer a cost effective, commercial
approach to the delivery of training
– in the workplace, via distance
learning or at BCoT.
The college’s
vision and
objectives is to
support local
economic
development
Our Strategy
This strategy sets out the College’s vision and
objectives with regard to its development of work
with employers to support economic development
through flexible training and skills development for
the current and future workforce.
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Objectives of the Employer Engagement Strategy
Confirm the priorities for the college in relation to workforce development and set
clear targets to measure performance and progress.
Create new business activities and income to develop the skills that employers
need and accurately predict future activities using Labour Market Intelligence.
Determine actions to be taken to further develop relationships with a wide range of
small and large employers to grow our market share.
Social and educational context
Our strategy is shaped by the needs of the local area. Basingstoke and Deane has
a competitive employment rate, which is higher than both the south east average
and the national average. Equally, the Barriers to Growth Survey, undertaken by
Hampshire Economic Partnership, revealed that business confidence over
the next two to three years appears strong, with 64% of respondents forecasting
expansion. Significant growth is expected with half the businesses surveyed
expecting increases of up to 10%.
One of the reasons for being optimistic about growth is that North Hampshire
has high designated house building targets requiring skills in all construction trades.
The confidence of the construction sector is shown by the responses of employers to
the Barriers to Growth survey:
75% expect their business’ head count to increase between 0% and 25%
76% see ‘shortage of skills’ as the most serious barrier to growth
35% indicate they would seek to address skills shortages by recruiting apprentices
75%
expect headcount to increase
between 0% and 25%
76%
see ‘shortage of skills’ as the
most serious barrier to growth
35%
would seek to address skills
shortages by recruiting
apprentices
All areas of the care sector (hospitals, care homes and early years) across
Hampshire continue to report difficulties in recruiting qualified and experienced staff.
Our strategy is
shaped by the
needs of the
local business
community.
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Employer Engagement Strategy / BCoT for Business
While retail workers are being made redundant by some employers, growth is still
predicted in the sales, retail and warehousing sectors.
This context shapes our employer engagement strategy and shapes our future curriculum.
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Our Vision
To deliver this vision, we will:
To be the provider of choice for
employer engagement and workforce
development training.
Increase the number of businesses we work with
We will work with employers in the
region and the local community to:
Equip businesses and employees
with the skills, knowledge and
qualifications that they need to
remain competitive and ensure
future sustainability.
Provide support and guidance to
help young people progress to
employment.
Develop those already in
employment to progress their
careers and meet their aspirations.
Develop new services for learners and employers to increase participation
on programmes. This will include consultancy services from industry experts,
language support and translation services and an enhanced recruitment service
for employers.
Access funding, wherever possible, to help support employers’ training plans.
Ensure training is flexible to meet employer needs including programme content,
mode of delivery, timing and location.
Review the existing portfolio of courses and develop a curriculum strategy
to ensure a steady and consistent increase in the range of programmes and
qualifications to meet and to prompt employer demand.
Raise awareness of the benefits of apprentices with employers to increase the
number of apprenticeships available across the sector.
To raise the profile of the college with employers, particularly those we are not
currently engaged with.
Develop an employer e-newsletter to raise awareness of training opportunities
with an emphasis on business impact.
Ensure our apprenticeship offer is wide ranging and comprehensive and
provides learners and employers with clear, structured progression routes.
Expand the range of Higher Apprenticeship programmes.
Develop niche provision targeted at specific industries to meet the ongoing
development needs of employers.
Design appropriate curriculum to engage employers through web based
and distance learning programmes
Offer relevant commercial courses at full cost to employers.
Continually strive to achieve the highest levels of professionalism and customer
service in our work.
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Employer Engagement Strategy / BCoT for Business
Our vision is
to be the
provider of
choice for
employer
engagement
and workforce
development
training.
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Increase the number of
apprentices engaged by
employers
Ensure our courses are
developing the skills that
employers want
Work in close partnership with employers
Further develop employability
programmes and pre-apprenticeship
programmes to equip learners with the
skills they need to gain employment.
Strengthen links with local schools to
promote apprenticeships as an alternative
route to higher education.
Maximise the use of grants as an incentive
for employers taking on apprentices.
Further develop our employment hub
to help learners get jobs at the end of their
courses and help employers recruit
new staff.
Work with employers to train their staff as assessors to build capacity for workplace
delivery.
and Sector Skills Councils to ensure the
training provided is relevant, up to date and
of industry standard.
Provide appropriately qualified and
experienced teaching, training and assessing
staff to deliver the high level of service
expected by the college and employers.
To further develop links with curriculum
departments to improve the offer to
employers and continually improve the
quality of the provision.
Establish effective employer partnerships
in each area to keep up to date with new
developments in the sector and shape the
future curriculum.
We are one of the top
performing providers of
Apprenticeships across
Hampshire, Berkshire,
Surrey and Wiltshire.*
Increase the range of guest speakers from
industry.
To develop commercial awareness and
business skills of learners.
Effectively use Labour Market Intelligence
to identify gaps in the market and
pro-actively plan courses to meet the
identified needs.
Develop a CPD policy for lecturers and
assessors to update competencies and
keep up to date with new technology.
*100% of employers said BCoT’s
training had improved their business.
*72% of BCoT’s work is repeat business
demonstrating that employers agree that
we are adding value to their businesses
.
SOURCE: Recent Employer Survey
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Employer Engagement Strategy / BCoT for Business
Develop Partner Provision
Increase the number of partner providers to expand
provision and geographical locations and be responsive
to opportunities as they arise.
Work in partnership with a recruitment matching
company to maximise the number of applicants for
apprentice vacancies.
Performance Targets
Performance targets are set against the
following indicators:
To increase the number of apprentices each year
To increase the number of learners completing employability
programmes each year
To increase income from employers each year
To increase the number of employers with apprentices each year
Achieve outstanding employer satisfaction in the annual survey.
Responsibility
The Director of BCoT for Business has overall responsibility
for this strategy including ensuring that the strategy is
appropriately implemented.
Work in partnership
with a recruitment
matching company
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Employer Engagement Strategy / BCoT for Business
This Strategy will be shared with key stakeholders. All
relevant College staff will be made aware of this Strategy and
its provision. Front line staff will be briefed on any changes on
an ongoing basis. This Strategy will be disseminated to staff
not directly involved with Employer Responsive provision via
the College Intranet and all staff email.
This strategy will be published on the College intranet site
and BCoT for Business website.
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