Foundation degrees: providing higher education qualifications to improve employees' skills

Foundation degrees can help to improve your employees' skills and their contribution to your business. Read on to find out how you can get involved and the other potential benefits your business may be missing out on.

How can I get involved and how can my business benefit?

Employers are fully involved in the design, development, and delivery of Foundation degrees. This means that each degree provides students with a specialised set of skills, designed to meet the specific needs of employers in a particular sector.

There are four main ways that you as an employer can get involved with Foundation degrees, all of which can benefit your business:

Support your employees to complete a Foundation degree

Foundation degrees are open to people at any level within an organisation, particularly those who may not have considered higher education previously, as applicants need not necessarily have any formal qualifications.

• Applying for a Foundation degree - details available on the nidirect website

Many courses are available on a part-time basis over a period of three or four years, allowing employees to study whilst continuing to work. You can help support an employee to complete a Foundation degree, through time off work to study or financial support.

The benefits to your business include:

• improving the knowledge and skills of your workforce in line with business needs
• demonstrating your organisation's commitment to staff development, thereby increasing employee motivation and improving staff retention
• spreading good practice throughout your business, by encouraging trained employees to pass on their new skills to others
• generating business solutions and developing new ideas, by assigning employees key project work as part of their course-based assignments
• Foundation degree graduates will have very specific skills and the ability to develop and apply those skills in your workplace

Provide Student Work Placements

Work-based learning is a fundamental part of Foundation degrees so colleges are keen to find new employers who can offer work placements to students. This can help them gain practical experience and apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired.

The benefits to your business include:

• new skills, fresh ideas, and up-to-date technologies from motivated and enthusiastic individuals
• an extra resource who can develop specialist projects that your business needs but hasn't got the time to progress
• a cost-effective way of recruiting new members of staff who have already started to gain the skills and experience relevant to your business and who you know and have confidence in
• a way to provide permanent staff with supervisory experience and to improve their skills in this area
• an active role in helping to train and shape the workforce of the future

Help design and develop Foundation degrees

Foundation degrees are developed by universities, local colleges, and employers, all working in partnership.

As an employer, you can get involved in the design and development of the content of Foundation degrees relevant to your sector and therefore influence what students are taught and how they are trained. This helps ensure that graduates have the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace.

The benefits to your business include:

• ensuring students are trained in the skills your industry or business needs, thereby reducing skills shortages and boosting the supply of future recruits
• developing and improving the skills of your existing employees, by ensuring the course meets their needs
• strengthening links between business and Higher Education Institutions and Further Education Regional Colleges
• raising the profile of your organisation and encouraging new people into your industry
• influencing how Higher Education teaches graduates in your profession and helping to ensure the quality of the workforce of the future

Employ Foundation degree graduates

A Foundation degree graduate comes equipped with a strong mix of academic knowledge, sector-specific technical skills, and relevant work-related experience.

They also acquire a range of general work skills, such as communication skills, team work, organisation and time management.

Contact

If you are an employer who would like more information on Foundation Degrees, please contact your local Further Education College.

More useful links

• Higher education explained on the nidirect website
• Choosing university or higher education course on the nidirect website