Staffordshire University initiatives available to support companies and individuals through the economic downturn  

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Working Futures Fund  

The University is investing its £1/2 million VAT windfall into the Working Futures Fund, to give local people and local businesses hit by redundancy access to financial assistance to support vital training and development.

The windfall was generated by November’s VAT rate cut and the University is believed to be one of only two educational establishments in the country to be reinvesting the unexpected cash windfall in this way. Staffordshire University’s Working Futures Fund will earmark up to £3,000 funding per person for training for individuals who are out of work, or people in work who want to gain new qualifications or skills. The training must be provided by Staffordshire University or its partners. Training on offer includes:

• Short courses ranging from management and leadership development (including CIPD and CIM qualifications) to specialist professional courses.
• Part time foundation degrees taught to suit people in full time employment
• Bespoke training for employers matched to organisational needs.

Following the launch on February 13^th, we have received 102 enquiries from individuals and are working with three large employers.

Economic Challenge and Investment Fund (ECIF) proposal  

Staffordshire University has been successful in securing government funding to support individuals and companies during the downturn. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) committed £27million in a call to increase the ability of universities to support individuals and businesses through the current economic downturn. Staffordshire University prepared a successful bid to access to this funding, with a project totalling £590,985 aiming to provide focussed ‘knowledge intensive’ support addressing the immediate impacts the recession has on higher level skilled individuals and local businesses.

The proposal was prepared in consultation with a number of key employers. Consultations have been ongoing at a regional level with partner HEIs and other public sector partners to ensure a coordinated response is offered to address regional issues such as graduate retention and to maximise leverage of existing regional support initiatives including Graduate Advantage, Business Link and Jobcentre Plus provision.

Project delivery will be focussed on local needs in the manufacturing sector and associated supply chains, by providing business resilience and individual resilience support. Activity will be categorized into three portfolios:

• Graduate Futures – Information, advice and guidance to unemployed graduates and professionals to build individual resilience and provide support for entering traditional industries as knowledge transfer agents.
• Working Futures – building employer engagement and work based learning resilience through provision of subsidised and free higher level short course training and development opportunities or access to HE provision.
• Business Futures – building business resilience through knowledge transfer opportunities by accelerating access to HE expertise and establishing a ‘Knowledge Network’.

The Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Lifelong Learning Network are key partners.

Support available for individuals

• Student Hardship Grants.
• HE shop - provides IAG on Higher Education, access to HE courses and short course provision.
• Lifelong Learning Network for Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin- developingan Information Hub which will provideaccess to an easily maintained IAG resources database that will support the needs of the target audience of employees, employers, young people following vocational and work-based learning courses, IAG Advisors, Union learn representatives, teaching professionals and others wishing to find information about career progression, skills updating and learning opportunities in the LLN Discipline areas.

Support for companies

• Business Villages - for current clients we haveabsorbed the increases in energy costs as no increase in rental fees sinceNovember 2007. For new clients (and for existing clients), flexible payment terms are being offered where possible.
• Graduate career development - increased placement opportunities through Graduate Advantage (regional), Graduate Enterprise programmes (SPEED, EFS), increased number of regional Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and mini KTPs.
• 8% rebate on KTPs for companies.
• INDEX vouchers – vouchers of up to £3,000 to access university academic expertise to help solve a business issue.

Other collaborative activity

• We are working with partners to deliver specific networking events and workshops to pool knowledge on responding to the recession e.g. 'Creativity: Innovate through the recession' eventwith the Business Brokers on 4th March 2009 and 'The Current Recession: An analysis of the economic downturn and future prospects on 19th February 2009 with the North Staffordshire Chamber.
• Member of the Chamber Manufacturing network Managing Group.
• Academic staff commenting on situation for local companies in the local press.
• Advantage Innovative Graduates - regional proposal proposed for ERDF funding to link support for unemployed graduates across the region

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