Engaging with Employers

UKSPA Member Meeting Oct 6th/7th John Holton

Strategy DirectorCogent Sector Skills Council

Cogent SSC Skills for Science-based industries

Cogent Industries:

• Oil & Gas• Petroleum• Chemicals• Pharmaceuticals• Life Sciences• Polymers• Nuclear

Employers

Government NSA accredited

providers

Science-based Industries

The Science-based Industries: • employ 900,000 UK employees • in approximately 23,000 employers and• produced £201bn turnover # • contributing £65.5bn GVA to the UK

economy

# 2008 ABI figures (released 2010)

The Value of Skills

• Cogent industries are of strategic importance to the UK economy and a vital part of the UK manufacturing and energy infrastructure- They keep the lights on.

• Increased productivity and competence derived from industry up-skilling is worth an additional £1.5bn to the UK economy

• This is Cogent’s mission- to deliver the skills these industries need to be sustainable, to compete internationally, and to generate wealth and essential resources

Cogent Role

• Providing the Employer Voice on Skills

• Developing fit-for-purpose qualifications and standards

• Producing sector labour market intelligence

• Attracting new talent to the sector and retaining talent

By working with Employers and understanding their skill needs

Engaging with employers

• Cogent’s employers are often large organisations, many of whom operate globally. 80% of the 900,000 workforce work in the top 20% of the 23,000 UK employers

• Employer engagement strategy has been to work primarily with the larger companies to reach the most employees

• Our employers priorities are at UK and international level

• Challenge for Cogent is engaging the small, medium enterprises which predominate life sciences and polymers

SME’s are the future talent pipeline for life sciences and polymers

UK Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology

Cogent and the Skills Academies

Engaging SMEs

• The SME population in the Cogent industries is estimated as some 19,100 Employers and 394,100 Employees

• Our existing business model is working well with larger companies; a bespoke ‘Skills Assurance’ offer through the National Skills Academy Process Industries that is: – Assuring what companies do against the Gold Standard– Identifying gaps and solutions– Stimulating up-skilling and investment by Companies

• This approach is too ‘heavy’ for SMEs

• Discussions with SME employers tell us that a more tailored approach is needed

Engaging SMEs

SMEs are generally:

– Focused on the short term business objectives

– Unable to release staff for periods of time

– Require specialist skill sets to bridge gaps

– Devoid of HR support

Additionally for small & micro enterprises a lot of support is available often free of charge e.g. legal, investment and business advice

Engaging SMEs

SMEs are looking for:– Training with immediate business impact

– Short courses

– Focused training courses

– Flexible delivery models

– Value for money

And are not particularly seeking qualifications

And often do not have a training strategy, time to plan or search for training solutions

Engaging SMEs

Cogent is seeking to develop an SME Skills offer

• To do this we are looking to– Engage better with SMEs

– Map training that SMEs value and invest in

– Develop a sustainable support service

– Provide self help tools for individuals and companies

– Identify or develop flexible training courses that meet the needs of SMEs

Engaging SMEs

External TrainingLaboratory Skills, Technical trainingTechniques training (GPC, HPLC)First AidFork Lift truck drivingHealth & SafetyIT TrainingManagement trainingMarketing & sales trainingApprenticeships

In-house trainingHealth & SafetyKnowledge transferHR skillsCompany specific skills GMP/GLP

Engaging SMEs

Technical Small molecule drug discovery-a biological perspectiveIntroduction to drug development

Intro Course Lab TechniciansBespoke microbiology trainingPre-clinical EvaluationBio-transformations for industry

Functional & BehaviouralProject ManagementScientific Presentation SkillsCommercial Awareness-from Bench to balance sheetIntroduction to Management

ComplianceMedical Devices Risk ManagementRegulation of Drug Device combinations US Regulation of Med. Tech.Managing SafelyLaboratory Health & SafetyBio-safety Practioner Level 1 (Foundation)

Short Courses

Engaging SMEs

Next Steps

• Developing a skills diagnostic tool for individuals and companies

• Developing a route map for SME training

• Holding 7 seminars autumn/spring with multiplier organisations to understand SME skills needs in life sciences

• Working with institutes and associations to engage SMEs in skills

Engaging SMEs

Finally Cogent is seeking a sustainable SME engagement strategy

•Could this be through Science Parks or Business Parks?

•How could this work?

•What is the offer?

•If you have any comments or would like to engage please contact me at:

John.holton@cogent-ssc.com