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UNDERSTANDING OPPORTUNITIES: DEVOLUTIONThe view from Birmingham

Prof Julian Beer20th October 2015

Devolution offers up many opportunities for universities to play a pivotal role with other partners. Key opportunities include: Skills agenda (including productivity); Innovation (including productivity); Business support; “Anchor” role - regeneration and infrastructure.

Devolution – Opportunities for universities

In “The Thick of It” - Negotiations are live and at an advanced stage; Eventual model could contain all four of the earlier key opportunities; Sheffield model looks likely for the West Midlands consisting of Combined

Authority and Elected Mayor; Other elements are fluid and in negotiations revolving around different

geographies i.e. local authority and Local Enterprise Partnership boundaries among other things;

Midlands Engine combines the West and East Midlands.

Midlands Engine – what might the model look like?

To meet anticipated employer demand for skilled labour is the equivalent of increasing everyone from a current average of five GCSEs to an average of three ‘A’ levels (or their equivalents) by 2022. 

The consequence of not meeting this challenge by 2022 will be: 9.2 million low skilled people chasing 3.7 million low skilled jobs – a surplus of 5.5

million low skilled workers with an increasing risk of unemployment ; 12.6 million people with intermediate skills will chase 10.2 million jobs – a surplus of 2.4

million people;  employers will struggle to recruit to the estimated 14.8 million high skilled jobs with only

11.9 million high skilled workers – a gap of 2.9 million.

If employers can’t recruit by 2022, 16-25 per cent of growth could be lost by not investing in skills. Achieving a higher skilled workforce is not possible by relying on ever better qualified young people – adults already in the workforce will need to train. 

 LGA: Realising Talent: a new framework for devolved employment skills: March 2015

 

The numerical skills gap, in Birmingham as elsewhere, is not the real problem;

Skill gaps and deficiencies are the results of a broken system;

Our systems for recruiting, developing and deploying skilled and talented people are not fit for the purposes of those they are intended to serve;

The problems are systemic, and demand systemic solutions.

The skills numbers …

The region’s performance in Innovation needs addressing: The West Midlands is the joint lowest performing region in terms of the Regional Innovation Scoreboard.

• West Midlands 7.0, • National Average 8.75, • Highest Performing Region 11 BIS UK Innovation Survey 2013,

West Midlands as the 6th region out of 9 in terms of percentage of innovation active businesses. 

HEFCE (ERC) report Collaboration Between SMEs and Universities 2015 shows GBS LEP as performing below the national average in terms of SMEs involved in collaborative innovation

• GBSLEP at 18%, • National Average 20% • Highest Performing Region 31%. 

The innovation numbers ….

The numerical skills gap, in Birmingham as elsewhere, is not the real problem as they are symptoms rather than the cause;

Skill gaps and deficiencies are the results of a broken system; Our systems for recruiting, developing and deploying skilled and talented people

are not fit for the purposes of those they are intended to serve; The problems are systemic, and demand systemic solutions.

 

Its not about the numbers …

Mismatched demand for and supply of talented people

Cap

abili

ty s

pect

rum

Demand

Supply

Shortages of highly talented

recruits

Underemployment of mis-skilled

graduates

It’s all about STEM …… we need STEAM-based creative problem-solvers

It’s all about jobs and employment …… we must prepare people for careers that don’t yet exist

Employers are the customers for skills …… individuals must prepare for multiple employments

Skills are gained through education …… competences and capabilities develop through practice

Providers must compete for market share …… better co-operation will grow markets for everyone

It just needs more money …… we can use current resources much more effectively

Six myths that we must challenge …

Instead of fixing symptoms of current mismatches, we can imagine a world-class skills and talent ecosystem that: Engages all regional stakeholders, aligned around local needs and benefits; Builds the talent and skills base for a 21st century learning economy; Defines capabilities and competences for solving societal and economic

problems; Provides tailored, multi-faceted learning solutions to business needs; Supports personalised and progressive learning journeys through evolving

careers; Builds connections between talented people and problem-solving opportunities; Fosters partnership working to generate shared value for all.

Attributes of a world-class skills ecosystem

Working with regional and global partners, BCU is developing the Virtual Polytechnic as a design for a new learning and innovation ecosystem for the West Midlands.

The Virtual Polytechnic: is a triple-helix partnership of learning providers (HE and FE), employers and regional

development agencies, supported by global business partners and learning pioneers; promotes the concept of STEAM-based formation for developing the skills,

competences and qualities needed to solve societal and economic challenges; provides personalised opportunities and support for learners at different career

stages and levels, from post-school to professional development; relates regional challenges, talent and skills development, and the production of

innovative solutions within a single borderless ecosystem; offers a new model for university engagement with local growth and innovation

strategies, as orchestrators of cross-regional partnership working.

The Birmingham Virtual Polytechnic

How will the Virtual Polytechnic work?

TalentEscalator

STEAMAcademy

Innovation Forum

Talent Connector

VirtualPolytechni

c

What will the Virtual Polytechnic do?

STEAM Academy Developing STEAM-based learning Curating world-class resources Commissioning new programmes Enhancing learning practice

Talent Escalator Promoting STEAM Learning Passport Facilitating personalised pathways Accrediting learning experiences Maintaining register of achievements

Talent Connector Sponsoring SME-based apprenticeships Brokering placements and internships Match-making employment opportunities Extending global reach - Academy Cube

Innovation Forum Networking for innovation teams Commissioning solutions Growing problem-solving collaborations Identifying capability and skills needs

Information exchange, resources and communications across the system enabled through a shared digital platform, open to all partners and passport holders

The Virtual Polytechnic concept offers new ways of thinking about universities’ engagement with the devolution agenda: engaging all providers and stakeholders in purposeful, focused partnerships; focusing on the human dimensions of growth and innovation challenges; breaking down the boundaries and silos in current systems; tailored to individual learner journeys, while reflecting employer needs; creating new collaborative structures, independent of institutional interests; delivering the high level skills strategies of Combined Authorities.

It is not about a nil sum game and pitting different types of providers against each other but, growing the cake for everyone!

Rethinking university engagement in devolution: “skills and productivity”

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