ACTION FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PLAN

							                      Basingstoke College of Technology

                         Action for Business Case Study


As a result of gaining Action for Business we spent the following year on the
objectives below. The objectives are in bold and the actions are underneath.

The College will participate in a mutually supportive A4B Network so that strengths of
all providers may combine to meet training needs of employers across mid and North
Hampshire.

      The A4B Administrator was appointed to gather information regarding employer
       engagement and celebrate it across the College. The employer notice boards in
       every area are regularly updated and new stories appear on a regular basis.

      The Assistant Principal Business and Communications continues to sit on A4B
       Steering Group.

      The Train to Gain partnerships have contributed towards the A4B colleges networking
       and sharing good practice and protocols; also including partnerships with work-based
       learning providers.

Introduce more effective marketing, customer service and administrative options.

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       A Sales and Marketing Manager started at BCOT on 1 December and her remit is to
       build the full cost income from employers particularly in the field of Management
       Development training.

      Two telemarketing campaigns have been delivered and as a result there were 55
       meetings arranged. 73 information requests and good contacts were made with
       strong links for future development. So far there has been one purchase of a Three
       Day Facilitation for Security and Detection Systems costing £2625. Other areas of
       interest yet to be delivered are CIPP, Sustainability development, Health and Safety,
       Team Leading, Apprenticeships, Equality and Diversity and Train to Gain.

      Two of six sector newsletters have been produced in the Construction and
       Engineering sectors.

      The sponsorship of the Gazette Jobs Page has been really successful in raising the
       profile of employer work on behalf of BCOT. Every week an employer case study is
       profiled. This stimulates a great deal of interest and prompted six enrolments on a
       Manual Bookkeeping course after this was featured.

      Two Engineering Employer Breakfast Forums took place in January and May where
       employers (Gillette, Vitacress, APPH) presented at the events. They were chaired by
       the HR Director of Linde Materials Handling and altogether over 45 employers
       attended.

      High profile event featuring Michael Heppell, ‘motivational’ consultant, was held with
       over 100 employers in attendance, most of whom were new contacts. As a result we
       are now working with Balfour Beatty on work placements and employment of
       students.

Invest in systems to provide a professional service to employers, especially databases
and management information systems that provide comprehensive information about
the history, extent and type of employer engagement.

      New CRMS has been purchased and is in the process of implementation and a CRM
       Co-ordinator has been appointed to manage it. Pilot over summer and roll out in
       September 2007.



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Invest in facilities to provide training and expertise employers require.

       BETA (the engineering work-based provider acquired by BCOT in August 2006) has
        been reorganised to better cater for employer needs and the centre is extremely busy
        with commercial work. Investment has taken place in new IT facilities, cleaning,
        catering services and premises improvements.

        Other BETA developments include:
            Identification and targeting of key employers with regard to a BETA Loyalty
               Scheme; to date we have 10 interested employers.
            Reconstruction of its website.

       The Business Unit website has also been reconstructed.

       A request by CBI to host and take part in a major conference led us to refurbish our
        restaurant/conference facility to bring up to industry standard. The conference is
        being planned, in conjunction with the Regional LSC, to take place in Autumn 2007.

Development of new course provision.

       See point below ref Foundation Degrees.

       New provision in 2006-07 as follows:
               Business Improvement Techniques NVQ2
               Certificate in Sustainable Development
               Certificate in Training Practice
               Certificate in Event Stewarding
               BII Door Supervisor

Establish a one stop shop for apprenticeship training by bringing together BETA, BETS
(BCOT’s Apprenticeship Department) and other training providers under one roof.

       BETS and BETA have merged successfully under one LSC contract for
        apprenticeships which means that we are able to offer a much more flexible provision
        to meet the individual needs of employers.

       Two ‘Meet the Employer’ events held to promote apprenticeships.

Develop Foundation Degrees as progression routes from apprenticeships.

       In September 2006, 11 students were recruited onto the Logistics Degree – BCOT’s
        first Foundation Degree and a precursor to a planned HE Strategy focusing on part-
        time, work-focused provision. Research into employer/employee requirements was
        facilitated at one of the Engineering Employers Forums, including an enthusiastic
        reception for BCOT’s latest model of Young Apprenticeship, Advanced
        Apprenticeship and progression into Foundation Degrees in the workplace.


                             Towards the New Standard
Action for Business accreditation demonstrated that we work effectively with employers but in
order to sustain this and continue on to achieve the New Standard for Employer
Responsiveness and Vocational Excellence, we will be addressing the following:

       Collection of more employer feedback on a regular basis on a range of issues, not
        just training.

       Demonstrating the impact of employee training on their business through case study
        and dissemination to other employers.

       Improving the flow of information throughout the organisation to be recorded on the
        CRMS and then used for employer focussed marketing.


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       Undertaking some formal competitor analysis and disseminating appropriately within
        the organisation.

       Formally record our own staff’s CPD and ensure regular updates.

In order to keep momentum going we will continue with telemarketing, continue to run high
profile business events, sponsor the Jobs Page of Gazette and continue producing sector
newspapers. It is also vitally important that we retain the posts of Sales and Marketing
Manager, CRM Co-ordinator and CRM Administrator.

It is predicted that new full cost activity in the areas of Leadership and Management,
Executive Diploma in Management, Project Management and Health and Safety will generate
substantial income.

Extensive preparation and development this year will contribute to a growing and sustainable
programme of higher level full cost provision.

In the Engineering sector it is proposed to increase full cost provision with the introduction of
new courses in Building Services and Maintenance.

In the Construction sector there is planned new full cost provision in the field of Sustainable
Technologies.



Beverley Flanagan
Basingstoke College of Technology
June 2007




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