The ICT Foundation Degree Employer Consortium
News Bulletin - October 2007
What are Foundation Degrees…
· Foundation degrees are designed with employers, and combine academic study with work place learning to equip people with relevant knowledge and skills to improve performance and productivity.
· Foundation degrees are flexible: they can be designed and delivered in a range of ways to suit the needs of employers and minimise disruption.
· Foundation degrees are awarded by universities and require equivalent standards of academic attainment as the second year of an honours degree.
The story so far…
In July 2006 the ITP’s Chief Executive Brendan O’Mahony had agreed with a number of HR Directors from across the ICT sector that higher level skills needed to be increased and that the ITP should lead the way in forging new partnerships to address this critical business need.
Following a series of successful meetings and events in the following months, a new and innovative partnership was formed with Foundation Degree Forward and a consortium of leading ICT employers and the ICT employer led consortium Foundation Degree project was born in April 2007.
Project aims…
To design and develop a high quality National Information Communications Technology Foundation Degree, in association with a consortium of
ICT/Telecoms employers, HE providers and other sector stakeholders, that is sector specific, innovative in its design and delivery and is aligned to the business needs of the consortium.
Who’s involved…
The active employers who make up the consortium include BT Openreach, BT Global Services, EDS, National Health Service, O2, Oracle, Orange, RWE Services, Royal School of Signals and Vodafone.
Funding…
The project is being jointly funded by Foundation Degree Forward and The Institute of Telecommunications Professionals, with the majority of funding being made available by FDF to support employers needs and ensure that their interests are fully represented in the project.
Timescale…
The project commenced in April 2007 and is aiming to achieve validated Foundation Degree provision for delivery by January 2009. The project has been split into a number of phases commencing with developing a deep understanding of employer needs
Progress to Date…
Phase one of the project is almost complete and the project has remained on target and on budget. The employers’ skills needs have been identified following some initial research and analysis, further confirmation of findings with Chief Technology Officers will commence shortly. The next steps are to articulate the employers’ skills requirements to a selection of partnering universities.
What employers have told us…
Employers have told us about content, preferred modes of delivery, who the potential learners are and where they fit in their organisations. It is clear that they require a blend of skills and knowledge that would include technology related skills, such as VOIP, a range of commercial skills or business application skills such as project management and importantly to have these skills wrapped in a package of interpersonal skills such as communication, problem solving and working with others. Employers also want consistency of provision nationally but with sufficient flexibility to meet the needs of individual employers within the network.
The next steps…
The consortium employers are now actively engaged in this project and we are maximising on all this activity to develop partnerships with Higher Education establishments to focus on developing provision that fully reflects the employers needs.
Want to find out more…
To find out more about this project or to get involved, please contact the project manager David Willett at: foundationdegrees@pdsolutionsltd.com.
