Employer support for part-time study in higher

educationGeoff Mason

National Institute of Economic and Social Research, London

HECSU Futuretrack Conference, Manchester,

7 November 2012

Arguments in favour of employer support for PT

study in HE

• Potentially important means of developing high-level skills….

• and increasing supply of highly-educated people with ‘employability skills’

• Benefits from individuals’ willingness to invest own time and effort in study, minimising time off work

• Employer support for PT college study widespread in US

• So why are there not more UK employers providing support for PT study?

Part-time HE students aiming for First degree, Foundation degree or Higher National

qualifications

Part-time students as % of total employment

% of part-time

students Manufacturing 0.4 7 Construction 0.7 9 Other production industries (b) 0.2 1 Wholesale and retail 0.3 7 Hotels and restaurants 0.5 3 Transport, storage and communications 0.4 4 Financial services 0.4 3 Business services 0.8 14 Other private services (c) 0.4 4 Public administration 1.1 12 Education 1.0 13 Health and social work 1.3 25

Total 0.7 100 Source: Labour Force Survey 2008 (Four-quarter average)

HECSU/BIS surveys of employers

of part-time HE students• PT Student survey, 2008• 3288 PT students in employment, of whom:• 908 supplied contact details for employers

• Employer survey, 2009• 294 completed and usable interviews• 180 refused participation• 85% of employers in sample aware of at least one

employee studying part-time in HE

• Follow-up employer survey, 2011• 145 completed and usable interviews

Employers Sample, 2009

A. Employment size-group:

% of employers B. Sector:

% of employers

1-9 10 Manufacturing, utilities, construction 14 10-24 16 Professional, scientific and technical

services 7

25 – 49 14 Public administration 16 50 – 99 11 Education 33 100 – 199 9 Health 5 200 – 499 12 Social work 14 500-999 8 Other services 9 1000+ 19 Sector not known 2 Don't know 1

Total 100 Total 100 (n=294)

2009 Employer Survey: Main findings (1)

• 80% of employers provided full or partial support with course fees for part-time student employees

• Very supportive group of employers – not representative of employers in the wider economy

• Majority of organisations report improvements in staff skills, knowledge and performance from part-time HE study, especially:– Job-related skills, practical skills communication

skills– Plus increased confidence, better prepared for

next role in organisation, more proactive

2009 Employer Survey: Main findings (2)

• In many cases employers respond to individual initiative for study, showing willingness to support staff development

• Large majority of employers able to impose strict conditions on fee support– Courses typically must be work-related– Employees obliged to pay back fees if leave

organisation within certain time• Employers value combination of job-specific

experience and high-level skills gained through employees undertaking PT study in HE

So why don’t more UK employers support part-time

HE study?• Not all employers have high-level skill requirements

or recognise the need for this level of skills• Employers have many other options for meeting

high-level skill needs, eg, internal training provision, private sector training providers – some prefer to use HE providers only for short training courses

• Many employers still prefer to recruit Bachelor degree graduates educated at state and individual expense

• Disappointing given willingness of so many individuals to self-invest in PT study in HE

Follow-up survey, 2011:Effects of recession on employer support with

course fees

Decrease IncreaseNo

change

Never existed

before or after

recession Total n =

First degrees 25 0 70 5 100 86Foundation degrees 21 2 72 6 100 54Higher Nationals 24 2 70 4 100 51

% of employers

Follow-up survey, 2011:Likely impact on employer

support of higher tuition fees in HE

Provide full support with

fees

Provide partial support with

fees

First degrees (n=93)Less likely 43 20More likely 1 18No change 38 42Never have provided fee support 18 19

Total 100 100Foundation degrees (n=62)Less likely 47 27More likely 2 19No change 39 40Never have provided fee support 13 13

Total 100 100Higher Nationals (n=63)Less likely 43 22More likely 5 22No change 38 40Never have provided fee support 14 16

Total 100 100

% of employers

Follow-up survey, 2011

• ‘We’re already starting to [support fewer people]…. It’s already gone down substantially from where it was before, so you know there will probably still be… 10 or 12 [next year]….. but a year ago it would have been 20 or more, but it’s already going down, it’s more to do with the economic situation here than to do with funding or fees’

[Manufacturing, Utilities, Construction, 250 – 499 employees]

• ‘I think we’re inevitably going to have to look at [fee support] because I mean the money’s just not available and, you know, if we’re not recruiting qualified people, then we’re not going to be sending so many unqualified people to college’

[Professional, scientific and technical services, 100-199 employees]

Employers’ willingness to take on school-leavers to study part-time for

HE qualifications while receiving work-based training

Positive factors:• Ability to develop staff with better job- and firm-

specific skills and knowledge• Improved staff retention• Prepare for future without currently ageing

employees• Support for young people in generalNegative factors:• HE courses not sufficiently relevant or cost-effective• Prefer to train existing staff• Limited resources to supervise trainees• Few vacancies in prospect

Assessment• Many positive reasons for employers to support

employees to study part-time in HE• But only minority of employers across whole

economy provide this kind of support• Not all employers have high-level skill requirements

or recognise the need for this level of skills• Employers have many other options for meeting

high-level skill needs, eg, internal training provision, private sector training providers

• Many employers still prefer to recruit Bachelor degree graduates educated at state and individual expense

• Even previously supportive employers showing signs of being deterred by increases in HE tuition fees and weak economic growth prospects