Short Course Marketing Research Report

Andrew Corcoran

24th January 2007

For full rationale see Proposal of 11.9.06

Online questionnaire through CP@W: 12th Dec-5th Jan

Link emailed to 870 members of H&W Chamber of Commerce (818 got through)

98 responses received (72 were complete) = 12% response

Yielded 67 business contacts willing to talk to us again

19 weeks from Proposal to Report (11.9.06-24.1.07)

Cost £1,530 (63% of budgeted cost)

Process

Profile of Respondents

Operative20%

Junior/Middle Mgt.28%

Board / Owner52%

Micro (<11)39%

Small (11-49)14%

Medium (50-249)7%

Large (250+)40%

Worcs.

Here.

Profile of RespondentsAgriculture, Hunting and

Forestry

Manufacturing

Electricity, Gas and Water Supply

Construction

Wholesale, Retail, Repair

Transport, Storage & Communication

Financial Intermediation

Real Estate, Renting and Business

Education

Health and Social Work

Other Social and Personal Services

Q1: What is the highest education level you have achieved so far?

17

20

5

3728

66% of our audience are graduates

Q2: What would be your main motivator for undertaking a short course?

27

12

29

48

11

Increased jobsatisfaction

Increasedprofessional

standing

Promotionopportunities

PersonalFulfilment

Update Skills

77% have CPD objectives

Q3: Which of the following statements best describes your career stage?

64

103 4 6

11

Happy andperforming

strongly in myjob

Workingtowards apromotion

Looking tochange

employers butremain in thesame field

Looking for acareer change

Not working atmy preferred

level

Planning to beself employed

Our audience looks to develop incrementally

Q4: When do you expect the next change in your employment/career to take place?

610

16 14

52

6 months 12 months 3 years 5 years Not in theforeseeable future

35% anticipate changing roles in under 3 years

Q5: If your desired course is intended to enhance your career, what is the anticipated salary increase you would expect to receive over the next 12 months?

3

8

22

14

1012 12

No response No increase £1,000-£3,000

£3,001-£5,000

£5,001-£7,000

£7,001-£10,000

Self-employed /CompanyDirector

£1,500 for each programme (33% of annual benefit)

Q6: When in the year would you prefer to go on short courses?

8

26

34

13

Easter Summer Winter No preference

Short courses can be programmed year-round

Q7: When during the week would you prefer to go on short courses?

1

118

3733

4

No response Saturday Sunday Weekday,evenings

Weekday,daytime

No preference

May be a clash with teaching commitments

Q8: How long would you expect a short course to last?

26

22

33

7 6

1 day 1 week, intensive 4 months, part time 1 year, part time No preference

Requiring modular short courses

Q9: Where would you expect the majority of the learning contact to take place?

30

6

10

31

2

At University ofWorcester

At my employerspremises

Online Combination of all3

No preference

UW preferred as a base for a blended model

Q10: How would you best like to enquire, book and pay for the course?

57

13

63

All online By phone Face to face No preference

Strong demand for e-commerce

Q11: Who will pay for the course?

32

38

1

13

You Your employer Other sponsorship Joint

Promotion needs to be differentiated for customer and consumer audiences

Q12: Would you want your short course to lead to a recognised academic award?

27

21

31

Yes, immediately Yes, longer term No, not necessarily

61% want course to be award-bearing

Q13: What next after your short course?

51

22

13

Continue with other shortcourses in my area of interest

Collect short courses to build abespoke formal qualification

Progress into a formalacademic programme

We must provide accredited and unaccredited programmes

Q14: If you want to build up towards a formal academic qualification, how far would you want to go?

96 5 4

17

8

14

22C

ertif

icat

e

Dip

lom

a

Bac

helo

rsde

gree

Pos

tgr

adua

tedi

plom

a

Mas

ters

degr

ee

Doc

tora

te

Pro

fess

iona

lQ

ualif

icat

ion

Not

inte

rest

ed in

a fo

rmal

qual

ifica

tion

74% looking ultimately for academic progression

Q15: Please indicate which of the following short courses might interest you (top 21 responses)

11

22

4 4

12

8

12

20

5 4 5

11

16

27

33

25

18

33

7 64

Varied demand from Chamber members for L&M

Q16: Which other University services would you use?

4

24

49

2

27

6

Venue Hire Gym & SportsFacilities

Library CareersService

Canteen Students Union

Opportunities to provide other services

Q17: How do you know about UW?

24

6 7

20

16

Press/PR Advertising As a student Throughfriends/relatives

Previouslyunknown

Good news and personal recommendation are the best promotional tools

Q18: Would UW be your first choice for career development and short course programmes?

4

31

14

2

21

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree No view

Need to develop our reputation

Q19: What other short course providers would you use?

39

28 29

47

13

Chamber ofCommerce

Further EducationCollege

Private Provider Professional Body Trade Body

We have strong and established competition

Client Profiling

Post graduates requiring professional development and looking to progress but not necessarily towards a recognised award

Looking to develop incrementally over 2.8 years

Modular short courses of up to 4 months

Enquire, book and pay online

Costs shared between employer and student

May also use sports centre, library and catering facilities

Market Sizing

Employees in sector

Average employment

of respondents

Number of courses

assuming that 25% of

companies buy 1 course per

every 10 employees per company p.a.

Average value of course assuming

clients pay 33% of median

anticipated annual salary benefit

Annual sales value

Micro 294,636 4 18,400 £1,722 £31,684,800

Small 43,830 21 1,044 £1,875 £1,957,500

Medium 9,388 165 228 £833 £189,900

Large 1,854 1,087 46 £1,254 £57,700

Market value £33,889,900

Value of UW’s target market share of 10% £3,389,990

Summary of FindingsStrengths Weaknesses

Regular semi-structured modular short courses in 3-year frequencies

Lots of Summer capacity

Blended learning

Accredited and non-accredited programmes

Range of facilities

Clash with teaching timetable

Online enquiries, booking and payment

Opportunities Threats

Strong demand from a post-graduate audience with CPD needs

Lucrative market at £1,500 per course

Wide range of individual needs

Well positioned to collaborate

Risk of mis-targeting promotional materials

Must focus on developing our reputation

Strong and established competition

Next Steps

Audit current UW L&M CPD offer

Pilot CPD programme over Summer break

Identify appropriate facilities