Citation
(2006), "University of life ... coming soon to an industrial estate near you", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448gab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
University of life ... coming soon to an industrial estate near you
Business experts at the University of Derby are targeting industrial estates across the region to help to recruit new students. Plumbers, roofers, electricians, decorators and administrators across the East Midlands are being invited to think about what university could hold for them. The university believes it can meet the workforce-development and training needs of local firms through foundation degrees and other education opportunities. Its regional enterprise and development (RED) unit is working alongside business organizations such as Business Link to network with companies in the industrial sector and discover their needs. Ejaz Qureshi, head of RED at Derby, said: “Historically, projects involving universities have had difficulty engaging with small and medium-size businesses. The view of these firms in the past has been that it is difficult to identify the correct contact and that universities prefer to deal with large companies.”
The university has teamed up with the Heanor Gate Management Association, funded by the Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership and supported by Business Link, to encourage training and staff development in higher-level skills across small and medium-size firms in the Amber Valley. During the project, Nena Dubaic, a workforce-development adviser seconded from the Derbyshire Chamber’s Business Link (DCBL), supported the companies and brought the three organizations much closer. She worked with 90 businesses to plan training activity for more than 120 employees, focused on achieving clear business benefits. Graduates became an effective resource for injecting innovation and change projects.