skills and the city - london higher · higher national certificate/diploma technical staff...

London’s higher education institutions workingin partnership with you and your business

Skills and the City

02 | Contents

Contents

Introduction 03

Tailor-made courses 04

Art of the Matter 05

The Strong Voice of the Law 06

Positive Charge 07

Bright Ideas 08

Talk Circuit 09

Retail Therapy 10

Management Knowledge in Action 11

Foundation Degrees 12

Child’s Play 13

Business Sense 14

Crime Seen 16

Fit for Purpose 17

Working with Sector Skills Councils 18

Easy PC 19

In March 2005 the Government published its second Skills White Paper ‘Getting on in business;getting onat work’1 in which employers’ needs are clearly the driving force.The Paper outlines the Government’sstrategy for ensuring that employers have the right skills to support the success of their businesses andthat individuals gain the skills they need to be both employable and personally fulfilled.

Higher Education (HE) has an important role to play in equipping people with higher-level skills.Ashighlighted in the interim report of the Leitch Review (2005)2 of the UK’s long-term skills needs throughto 2020, over the last decade the skills profile of the UK has improved, in part as the result of an excellentHE system. However the interim report also states that the UK still does not have a world-class skills baseand ‘believes that the UK must urgently raise its game and set itself a greater ambition to have a world-class skills base by 2020’.The examples featured in this brochure show the variety of ways in whichLondon’s HE is well placed to meet these challenges.

1 www.dfes.gov.uk/skillsstrategy2 www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/leitch_review/review_leitch_index.cfm

Our research found that 90% of employers believe thatundertaking a part-time course has a positive effect on employees.3

3 www.londonhigher.ac.uk/projects-part.htm

LondonA first-class education A world-class skills base

Introduction | 03

Introduction

London’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can help youdevelop the professional and workplace skills of your staffensuring that your business is equipped to face thechallenges of your competitive market. London’s HEIs canhelp you create a learning culture that is aligned with yourobjectives, providing your business with a competitiveadvantage and helping the UK to meet the challenge of theglobal economy.

Whatever your needs, London’s HEIs are waiting to help you findsolutions.

This brochure provides an insight into some of the courses andqualifications available to you at London’s HEIs, including tailor-made courses which can be delivered virtually at any time, in anyformat and at any place. If you are looking for a more formalqualification for your staff then why not explore the world ofFoundation Degrees which can be designed and delivered inpartnership with your organisation?

Tailor-made courses

London’s HEIs have a wealth of experience inproviding courses customised to meet the specificneeds of your business, delivered at flexible timesand locations, including in-house.

The Government is putting employers’ needs centre-stage in the design and delivery of trainingand the examples that follow provide a flavour ofthe diversity of bespoke courses London’s HEIs are able to offer to you.To find out which HEIs in London can meet your needs visitwww.studylondon.ac.uk/where_study.

04 | Tailor-made courses

Art of the Matter | 05

Tailor-made courses

Art of the MatterBirkbeck, University of London, is London’s onlyspecialist provider of flexible, evening highereducation and has a Business Relations Unitoffering a range of tailored services. RecentlyBirkbeck was approached by Civic Arts/Eric RKuhne & Associates, a leading London-basedinternational firm of architects who are the designarchitects for the multi-billion pound ‘DubaiInternational Financial Centre’ (DIFC) – a projectthat will feature the finest artists in the ArabicWorld and be a showcase for visual arts, crafts andperformance.The DIFC project will includesculpture gardens, murals, furniture, and industrialdesign inspired by Arabic ornament, patterns andtraditions, as well as contemporary innovations.In order to achieve these design features, thearchitects at Civic Arts wanted to learn moreabout how traditional Islamic patterns areconstructed, and so they approached Birkbeck tocustomise a course specifically for them based onthe World Arts and Artefacts course ‘The Art ofIslamic Pattern’; the organisation also askedBirkbeck for additional training in traditionalIslamic architecture.

Birkbeck tutor Richard Henry, a gifted artist andIslamic design specialist, responded to the needs ofthe organisation and the flexibility required by thearchitects by running early morning sessions attheir premises twice a week over a month. By theend of the course, the architects had a goodunderstanding of the origins of Islamic patterns,how they have been developed over the centuries,and how they continue to be used in buildingdesign, together with a practical knowledge of howto utilise Islamic patterns in their design work.

Further information:

T 020 7079 0736E [email protected]

Decagon Table by Richard Henry,Sessional Lecturer, Birkbeck,University of London

Garden View – South Concourse by Civic Arts/Eric R Kuhne & Associates

06 | The Strong Voice of the Law

Tailor-made courses

The Strong Voice of the LawThe Central School of Speech and Drama is aninternational centre of excellence based in Londonserving its professions by providing high qualityhigher education in, and training for, the dramaticarts and the performance and media industries.Central’s desire to reach sectors in business andthe community who do not currently enjoy accessto high quality voice training is exemplified intheir project ‘Knowledge Transfer’.The programmeoffers subsidised voice and communicationstraining to employers and is specifically targetedat entry level/customer facing employees andtrainers working with them.The programme isdesigned to pass on skills to organisations so theyare able to deliver the skills in-house.

To date Central has delivered this trainingprogramme to 15 organisations including a ‘trainthe trainer programme’ specifically tailored to theneeds of women trainers in the MetropolitanPolice.These trainers had been newly promoted toa training role and were apprehensive aboutpresenting to colleagues, some of whom might bemore senior. They therefore needed practicalvoice training in order to give them ‘presence’ infront of an audience, and also to be shown how totrain others in these skills.

As with all Central’s courses, the programme wasdelivered around work schedules and to differentsized groups. Plans are now in place to deliverfurther sessions as a follow-up to ensure that thetraining is embedded.

Central has plans to expand its work with callcentre staff (including developing a CD-ROM, atraining workbook and a training manual), to enableflexibility in how Customer Service Representativesdeal with customers.

“Many thanks for all your creative energywhich I know has definitely been of greatvalue to the trainers, including myself.Thepresentation I did soon after the firstworkshop went down a storm. I was soconfident, I almost did not recognisemyself. I owe a lot of that to yourworkshops.Thank you!”

Trainee - the Metropolitan Police


T 020 7559 3936 E [email protected]/pages/knowledge_transfer.html

Positive Charge | 07

Tailor-made courses

Positive ChargeThe University of Greenwich is a major modernUK university and is a motor for regeneration inthe Thames Gateway area, working in partnershipwith employers.A few years ago the University wasapproached by Kent-based employer CumminsPower Generation (a world leader in the designand manufacture of power generation), to see ifthe University could assist in getting some of theirHigher National Certificate/Diploma technicalstaff qualified to degree level in ElectricalEngineering. The company had found itincreasingly difficult to recruit graduates in theKent area and felt that upskilling their in-housestaff was a way ahead. Greenwich offered totailor-make a degree course specifically forCummins, and after a series of ‘link tutor’ eventswhereby University staff spent time at Cumminsto examine the base and the extended needs ofthe staff on the degree course, the Universityvalidated the BEng (Hons) degree programmefor Cummins.

The part-time degree consists of a day releasecourse and includes a mentoring element wherebya University tutor visits the company to work withstudents in their workplace (outside of the dayrelease), enabling a clear understanding of theirneeds to inform the course.The degree is nowoperating in its third year and alongside theCummins students, it is attracting internationalstudents too – highlighting the success of the course.

In addition to the Electrical Engineering programme,some of the senior technical staff from Cumminsare working towards an MSc in EngineeringManagement, once again on a part-time basis.


T 01634 883094E [email protected]/schools/engineering/index.html

08 | Bright Ideas

Tailor-made courses

Bright IdeasThe Lighting Education Trust’s (LET) Diploma inLighting, delivered by London South BankUniversity (LSBU), is a distance learning coursedeveloped to meet the need for more qualifiedlighting designers capable of providing goodlighting.The Diploma syllabus was determinedand agreed by representatives from the Institutionof Lighting Engineers, the Royal Institute of BritishArchitects, and the Society of Light and Lighting(CIBSE), together with other specialists in the fieldof lighting, and is highly flexible for employers andtheir staff.The course is not only designed forthose wishing to concentrate on ‘lighting’ as asubject and profession in itself, but also for thosewishing to add ‘lighting’ to other professionalqualifications they hold. It is therefore ideal forarchitects, electrical engineers, interior designers,building services engineers and others who needto design interior and exterior lighting.

The main elements of the programme are deliveredon a distance learning basis via CD-ROM andstudent support is provided by e-mail, telephone,fax or post. In addition there are four one-dayworkshops with an emphasis on applyingknowledge acquired from the course to practicalcase studies, covering lamps, their characteristicsand associated control gear, photometry, interiorlighting design, daylighting of interiors andwindow design, and exterior lighting design.

Students can commence the programme at anytime of the year and it is possible to complete thewhole course within one year, but it is expected thatmost candidates will sit the final examination withintwo years.


T 020 7815 6906E [email protected]/rbdo/external/trainingcourses.shtml



Talk Circuit | 09

Tailor-made courses

Talk CircuitThe School of Oriental and African Studies(SOAS), University of London, Language Centreplays a key role in helping individuals, companiesand government agencies to acquire and developlanguage skills, contributing to their effectiveperformance and communication in aninternational setting.A team of over a hundredhighly trained native speaker teachers providetraining in more than 50 Asian and AfricanLanguages - more than any other trainingorganisation in Europe.

In many organisations language training is providedprimarily for management and business staff.Samsung Design Europe (SDE) identified a need fortheir design and creative staff to develop Koreanlanguage skills due to increased liaison with Koreancolleagues at both head office and throughoutSamsung’s international offices. SOAS LanguageCentre was able to provide SDE with syllabusdetails for Korean courses for beginners whichcould be tailored to suit the exact requirements ofthe design and creative team.

The teaching took place at SDE offices between8.30-10.00am to enable staff to accommodatethe classes within a working day.The course wasalso taught in two groups, allowing staff theopportunity to catch up if a class had beenmissed due to work schedules.

SOAS is able to offer a high level of flexibility withclasses scheduled at convenient times in order tofit training into busy work schedules. Clients canattend intensive programmes for maximumprogress within a limited period or on a part-timebasis.Training can be delivered at the SOASLanguage Centre or at clients’ premises and canalso be arranged for organisations outside theLondon area.

10 | Retail Therapy

Tailor-made courses

Retail TherapyThe University of Westminster has always been,and continues to be, imaginative in recognisingnew needs and developing appropriate offerings inits many target markets.

The BA (Hons) Degree in Fashion RetailingManagement is a collaboration between Georgeat Asda, the University of Westminster andNottingham Trent University, and is a truepartnership between industry and academia.Developed in response to a need to enhance staffretention and develop excellence in the field ofbuying and merchandising, it is the UK’s first degreecourse specifically designed to cover these skills forcommercial organisations and is delivered directlyin the workplace and either at the NottinghamTrent campus or the dedicated professionaldevelopment site at the University of Westminster.

The part-time degree has been designed tocombine formal teaching with ‘on the job’ learningand individual study.The modules covered includethe wider aspects of retailing such as law andfinance, as well as technical buying andmerchandising, and have been developed withtutors from industry together with the help ofsenior industry leaders. It is a five year programmeincorporating three levels, each lasting eighteenmonths. The aims of the degree include providinga detailed knowledge of the global retail industryand developing the analytical, numerical, practicaland managerial skills necessary to effectivelymanage fashion buying or merchandising at bothstrategic and operational levels.

The degree is open to a maximum of twelvecolleagues at each level (all employed by Georgeat Asda), and attracts hundreds of applications,due to its unique combination of work-basedlearning and formal accreditation. Working inpartnership with academia, George at Asda aredeveloping managers of the future with a breadthof knowledge and understanding of the retailmarket that is second to none.



Management Knowledge in Action | 11

Tailor-made courses

Management Knowledge in ActionThe University of Westminster’s postgraduatework-based ‘Managing in Health and Social Care’Certificate/Diploma has been delivered to groupsof public sector managers in-house since 1994.The part-time programme is delivered incollaboration with the training department of eachhealth or social care organisation and is tailored tothe requirements of the employing organisationsand taught on site. The learning materials areproduced by the Open University in collaborationwith the NHS, and are designed for managers fromdifferent professions (eg. health, social care,voluntary, etc.), all learning together. The course isa supported distance learning course that requiresattendance of the learning set members for oneday each month.The flexibility of the coursemeans that it can start and finish at any time ofyear and can also be tailored to include a focus onthemes required by the employer, using specialistsfrom the organisation.Westminster provides aUniversity Learning Set Facilitator, teachingmaterials, learning resources and qualityassessment procedures.

The course is embedded in organisationaldevelopment, enabling participants to enhancetheir own career pathway. Support within theorganisation is encouraged from the trainingmanager, line managers and mentors.

To date in excess of 1,000 students havesuccessfully completed either a postgraduateCertificate or a Diploma since 1994.The fourmodules towards the Certificate are: ManagingPersonal and Team Effectiveness, ManagingInformation, Managing Finance and ManagingService Delivery.The Diploma can be achieved bytaking an additional two modules: Managing YourEnterprise and Business and Service Planning.Diploma holders are able to progress on to the MAin Management Studies with the opportunity toachieve a Masters degree after an additional year.


T 020 7911 5000 x4043E [email protected]://srs21live.wmin.ac.uk/ipp/D09BPHSM.htm

Foundation Degrees

Foundation Degrees4 provide you with the opportunity to equip your staff with the relevant knowledge and skillsto improve the performance and profitability of yourbusiness. Designed in partnership with employers,Foundation Degrees are a new type of degree offeringprogression to other professional qualifications and to thefinal year of specified Honours degree courses.

The Government is making a commitment to expandFoundation Degrees designed and delivered in partnershipwith employers in order to ensure that HE programmesequip people with the relevant knowledge and skills thatbusinesses require. An organisation called FoundationDegree Forward has been set up to ensure thatFoundation Degrees are driven by the needs of studentsand employers, satisfying the requirements of allstakeholders.To find out more, including how to getinvolved visit www.fdf.ac.uk/employers.

12 | Foundation Degrees

4 www.foundationdegree.org.uk

Child’s Play | 13

Foundation Degrees


T 01908 655767E [email protected]/employers/index.php

Child’s PlayThe Open University (OU) is the UK’s onlyuniversity dedicated to distance learning. Nearlyall OU students are studying part-time and about70 per cent of the OU’s 150,000 undergraduatestudents are in full-time employment.The OU canhelp businesses to develop and deliver their ownprogrammes based on the OU’s proven blendedlearning materials and methods. In the autumn of2004 Liz Richardson, the Childcare and EducationDirector of Asquith Nurseries approached the OU.Asquith Nurseries was seeking a cost-effectivetraining and development solution which providedan accredited professional development route forits nursery employees and staff working withchildren across the UK.

The OU was able to offer the following courseswhich form part of the Early Years Foundationdegree:

• E123 Working with Children in the Early Yearswww3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01E123

• E124 Supporting Children’s Learning in theEarly Yearswww3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?C01E124

These courses involve study materials, on-linesupport and face to face tutorials; for the E123course the OU provided two additional tutorials inLondon on top of the 10 hours normally allocated.Also, to support students who lack the confidencein undertaking academic study, the OU offers astudy skills day which is scheduled very early on inthe course.

In total approximately 100 students from AsquithNurseries have registered on the Early Yearscourses to date, and as the students weredispersed (due to working in small nurseries indifferent locations), the OU study offered themthe flexibility they needed. The students alsobenefited from joining a tutorial group drawnfrom different settings in which they had theopportunity to share their experiences.

14 | Business Sense

Business SenseKingston University London has a longestablished international reputation as one of theleading providers of management and businesseducation. In conjunction with employers, theUniversity has developed the Foundation Degree inBusiness and Professional Administration (FdA) toprovide career-orientated skills and knowledge.The two-year part-time degree is targeted atpeople with responsibilities ranging from clericalduties to senior supervisory roles. The coursecovers the main business disciplines, finance,marketing and human resource management, andthe flexibility of the programme allows students tostudy optional modules in order to tailor the degreeto their own interests and career goals.A keyfeature of the course is the incorporation of aspectsof students’ workplace roles into the curriculum.

The course is particularly attractive to those peoplewho have not had the opportunity to move on tohigher education after leaving school, but haverealised later on that they would like to do so whilecontinuing to work. Both students and employersare able to benefit from the course, with three-quarters of the graduates from the first cohorthaving been promoted as a direct result of whatthey had learned.The programme is delivered byKingston Business School in partnership withKingston, Richmond upon Thames, South Thames andWest Thames Colleges, allowing students the optionto study at locations most convenient to them.

Students who wish to, can top up their FdA to afull honours degree with further part-time study.


T 020 8547 7248E [email protected]/~kuweb/undergraduate/courses/2007/busprof-fd/index.html

Photograph by Gary Ledden

Foundation Degrees

Business Sense | 15

“One of my biggest regrets was not goingon to university after I completed my

A Levels. I stumbled across Kingston’sFoundation Degree by chance, but it

seemed the ideal course for me in that itwould allow me to get that coveted degree.

I was somewhat apprehensive aboutreturning to education after an absence of

14 years, but am glad that I did.

I have especially enjoyed the fact that most ofthe assignments are work-related and this has

enabled me to have a greater understanding ofhow my organisation operates within the

different business disciplines.The highlight ofstudying on the course was when I received the

Higher Education Adult Learner of the Year awardfrom South Thames College.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on theFoundation Degree. It has certainly been a challenge

juggling a full time job, being a mother to my twoyoung daughters and studying all at the same time.

Fortunately I received vital support and assistance frommy mother, and I certainly would not have been able toenter the further education arena without her unfailing

love and support. I am enjoying my studies so much thatafter I complete the top up to the BA (Hons) I hope to

study for a post graduate qualification.”

Claudia Rock, Secretarial Administrator, House of Lords

16 | Crime Seen

Foundation Degrees

Crime SeenQueen Mary, University of London, has a longand successful track record of working inpartnership with businesses, including SMEs,industry, local and central government, and iscommitted to building stronger relationships withbusiness and the wider community.The FoundationDegree in Crime Scene and Forensic Investigationbegan in 2005 and is unique, as no othercomparable course currently exists in the UK or inEuropean educational institutions.The idea wasborn out of a long-standing awareness of therelevance of the academic expertise in QueenMary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciencesto the forensic examination of crime scenes, andfrom an existing biomedical collaboration with Cityand Islington College in London.The degree istaught jointly by Queen Mary and City andIslington College and is designed for students whowish to pursue a career as a Scene of Crime Officerin the police service or as a serving police officer.

The degree, developed in collaboration with theMetropolitan Police’s Directorate of ForensicService, offers scientifically robust training in themost up-to-date methods of crime scene practice,including skills in pure and applied biology, as wellas forensic instrumentation and evidence.Students gain a powerful mix of scientific andforensic practice skills and they learn how toobtain forensic evidence and present it in a courtof law. Experienced staff members from theDirectorate participate in the delivery ofsimulated work experience to the students; theMetropolitan Police’s involvement is essential inensuring that the qualification is fit for purpose inforensic investigation delivery.

Queen Mary would like to develop its partnershipwith the Metropolitan Police still further, and atthe time of writing, intends to bid to be anacademic partner and lead institution in thedevelopment, delivery and accreditation of theMetropolitan Career Development Scheme forForensic Practitioners.The Foundation Degree willprovide a model for, and also modules towards,the programme if the application is successful.


T 020 7882 3200E [email protected]/admissions/cf94.shtml

Fit for PurposeLondon South Bank University (LSBU) offers arange of exciting courses geared towards futureemployability.The Foundation Degree in Sportand Exercise Science (FdSc) has been created as a partnership between LSBU, Kingston College inSurrey and industry partners, ensuring thatstudents gain the range of skills required foremployment in the workplace. In designing theprogramme LSBU worked closely with thesepartners in order to integrate the technical,academic and transferable skills required tomodernise and develop the workforce in thefitness industry.A key aim of the programme is ‘to drive forward’ knowledge and skills transferbetween industry and higher education.

The degree runs over two years and is composedof both academic learning and work-basedlearning.The programme develops students’understanding of the scientific disciplines whichunderpin sport and exercise science, enablingstudents to explore sport and exercise sciencefrom a variety of perspectives, and to apply andcommunicate their scientific understandingwithin a vocational context. Students also havethe opportunity to develop intellectual andinterpersonal skills necessary for independent andteam work, academic study, employment andprogression to further qualifications.

The flexible programme requires students to studyone day a week (at Kingston College or LSBU), andthey spend the remainder of their time working inthe fitness industry – thus facilitating the ‘earnwhile you learn’ ethos of Foundation Degrees.The FdSc embraces the first aim of the University’sAcademy of Sport, Physical Activity and Wellbeing,which is to offer a variety of high quality courseswith strong vocational content, which are attractiveto students, potential employers and accreditingprofessional bodies.

On completion of the FdSc there is the opportunityfor students to top-up to a full honours degree – BSc (Hons) in Sports and Exercise Science - byentering the third year of the honours degree at LSBU.


T 020 7815 7965E [email protected]/sports/foundation.htm

Foundation Degrees

Fit for Purpose | 17

Sector Skills Councils (SSC)5 are employer-led,independent organisations providing employerswith a unique forum in which to express the skillsand productivity needs that are pertinent to theirsector.There are 25 SSCs covering approximately85% of the UK workforce.

The Government wants to give employers a strong, authoritative voice through SSCs so thatemployers are able to influence education andtraining providers at all levels of learning, includinghigher education. By joining a SSC you can helpidentify the skills gaps in your sector and helpdesign the training needed to fill them. For acomplete list of SSCs including contact details visitwww.ssda.org.uk/ssda/default.aspx?page=16.

Working with Sector Skills Councils

5 www.ssda.org.uk

18 | Working with Sector Skills Councils

Easy PC | 19

Working with Sector Skills Councils

Easy PCe-skills UK (the SSC for Information Technology(IT) and Telecoms) brought together large bluechip companies (including BT, Dell, HewlettPackard, IBM and Morgan Stanley) and universitiesto create the new Information TechnologyManagement for Business (ITMB) BSc (Hons)degree. The University of Greenwich currentlyoffers the ITMB degree, and as it has beenspecifically designed at Greenwich for people atwork, it is available on a part-time basis (‘earn whileyou learn’). Students study on a day release basisand all other study is by e-learning and e-mediatedcontact with tutors and fellow students.

Around 25% of study time is spent working onbusiness related projects and the degree includesa mix of IT, business and personal development,thus making it a blend of traditional degree andgraduate training programme. Students takingindividual courses can build towards exit awardslike CertHE and DipHE.


T 0800 005 006E [email protected]://engweb.gre.ac.uk/itmb

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere”Chinese Proverb

London’s higher education institutions offer an extensive range of courses.To find out more visitwww.studylondon.ac.uk/where_study.

London Higher commissioned research into part-time study in London including employers’ attitudes towardspart-time study.The full research reports can be found at www.londonhigher.ac.uk/projects-part.htm.

Government funding is available for eligible individuals who study for part-time higher education courses. Formore information visit www.londonhigher.ac.uk/services-ptfunding.htm.

London Higher is a membership organisation that promotes and acts as an advocate for London’s highereducation. It represents over 40 publicly funded universities and higher education colleges in London and isthe largest and most varied of the regional university associations in the UK. London Higher works closelywith the London Development Agency, the Greater London Authority, the Association of Colleges Londonand with the business sector and London First.To find out more visit www.londonhigher.ac.uk.

Senate HouseMalet StreetLondon WC1E 7HU


Electronic copies of this publication are available at:www.londonhigher.ac.uk/publications.htm.

Images reproduced courtesy of all the institutions featured in this brochure.

Design and Print by Abbey DPM.This publication is supported by funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

© London Higher 2006PTCSB0906

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