Paul Blackmore

1
Networking and employer engagement

• Paul Blackmore
• Director, CEEC
• Lancaster University

2
Why do we need employers?

• Operational drivers (CEEC)
• Employment opportunities
• Graduate jobs / training schemes work placements
• Workshops, employer-led
• Career management skills
• Specialist professional schemes
• Sectoral insights
• Commercial awareness
• WRL / projects / Mentoring schemes
• Endorsement / to provide kudos
• CDL materials
• Income generation
• Input to Employer Forums/Boards

• Strategic drivers (the University)
• Political agendas
• Leitch report (40 of workforce to be graduates
  by 2020)
• Sainsbury Review (Science Technology Engineering
  Mathematics)
• Lambert Review (increased Knowledge Transfer)
• Internationalisation agenda
• To inform institutional strategic aims
• Income from bespoke professional courses
• Sponsoring of degree courses (Lancaster Ernst
  Young MMU Bank of NY)
• Assist with professional accreditation of courses
• Students and parents as fee-paying customers want
  graduate employment outcomes!

3
Which employers related stakeholders?

• Large organisations national,
  global/multi-national
• SMEs local, regional, national and
  international (!?)
• Commercial, not-for-profit, public, NGOs, social
  enterprises and so on
• Business intermediaries networks, sectoral
  bodies, government agencies i.e. ACCA, AGR,
  BusinessLink, BNI, Chambers of Commerce,
  China-Britain Business Council, NCGE, NWDA
  (Regional Development Agency) etc.
• University Projects with an employment remit or
  related outcomes
• Prospective funding bodies for employment-related
  activity and projects
• Students (as self-employers current and future
  employers)
• Alumni and Alumni Relations Office
• Potential business intermediaries International
  Office, Student Recruitment Agents etc.

4
What are we marketing?

• Image and perception
• Our position as gatekeepers to the University
  i.e. students and departments
• We are people who understand their needs
• We are people who have an understanding of
  student needs
• We have the means to increase employer branding
  exposure
• Professional and dedicated services (this is all
  we do!)
• We are driven by the need to link to students
  and employers not shareholders!
• Specific services (providing competent candidates
  vs communication activities)
• Vacancy distribution services
• Employer information / LMI services (for students
  employers)
• Workshops/programmes to enhance transferable
  skills and employability
• Workshops/programmes to improve success in
  recruitment and selection processes
• Programmes to provide prospective and
  employable candidates
• On-campus interviewing facilities
• HR(D) support services compiling JD/JSs,
  initial screening, interviewing, training
• Consultancy on recruitment, selection trends and
  LMI

• Ultimately, sound ROI / USPs compared to other
  suppliers (in theory at least!)

5
Strategic approaches

• Prioritising the alignment of strategic aims with
  those of industry and recruiters (not just the
  institution)

CEEC Mission statement Assist students with
their career preparation, identification and
creation of relevant opportunities and successful
transition into graduate-level work and further
study upon graduation

• The offer to employers
• To assist with
• attracting work-ready graduates to help your
  business grow
• recruiting students for flexible, part-time or
  contractual work
• bridging gaps in resources and expertise through
  student projects
• HR(D) issues such as recruitment, selection and
  training
• referrals to research facilities, knowledge and
  expertise in the University

6

• Prioritising the alignment of strategic aims with
  those of industry and recruiters (not just the
  institution and academic timetables)

Affiliations
Director
Career Development Guidance (CDG) team CDG
Co-ordinator Faculty Careers Consultants X 3.6
FTE CRS Development Advisor x 0.4FTE CV
advisers x 0.2FTE

• Employment Development Employer Services (ED
  ES) Team
• ED ES Co-ordinator
• Graduate Destinations Statistics Manager
• Trainee Enterprise WBL Adviser
• Employer Mentoring Admin Officer
• - TBA (Lent 08)
• Employer Liaison Officers x 2
• Graduate Survey Assistants
• (Term-time only)
• 4 x additional posts (0.3 FTE)
• 2 x Market Researchers (students)
• Sessional tutors delivering high-level /
  professional skills (CECA, Insight etc)

• RES (Research Enterprise Services) Partners
• Lancaster Business Creation
• Lancaster Environment Centre
• InfoLab / Knowledge Business Centre
• Strategic Relations Unit
• Business Enterprise Board

• Other campus partners
• Admissions officers
• Student Union Volunteering Unit
• China Business Centre
• Other business-related projects/teams
• Student Recruitment Agents (South East Asia)!
• External Relations Board
• Academics
• Alumni Relations Office
• International Office

Careers Information Administration Team
Information Officer Assistant Information
Officer ICT Assistant (0.5 FTE) Departmental
Officer Projects Finance Officer (0.2) Events
Admin. Assistant

• Business networks
• Chambers of Commerce (Lancs, Manchester)
• Regional Development Agency sectoral cluster
  groups
• Regional SME networks (BNI. FBL)
• British Council
• UK Trade Investment
• China-Britain Business Council

• Professional networks
• AGCAS, AGR, FEDORA, IBA, ISBE, NCGE etc

Management School - EEC Manager - Careers
Adviser - MBA Careers Adviser
CEEC student faculty reps

• Friendly employers, and so on and so on!

7

• Challenges

• Ensuring all students, regardless of nationality,
  degree work experience, have equal access to
  relevant employers
• Meeting (managing?) expectations of students e.g.
  Postgrads, international students and those
  seeking work in over-subscribed industries
  (journalism, media etc)
• Managing expectations of employers (diverse
  subject range with limited captive audience )
• Encouraging SMEs to employ students and graduates
  AND encouraging students to value career
  opportunities within SMEs!
• Avoid alienating students / academics re
  commercial activities inevitable blue-chip
  focus!
• Avoiding duplication of work-effort / conflict
  across University
• service- provider Vs co-ordinator
• Reduced levels of external funding and more
  competition (e.g. HEIF/ERDF)
• Justifying significant levels of liaison time
  with single employers when outputs (successful
  job applicants) are in single figures
• Embedding Work-Related Learning in the curriculum
  (perception of dumbing down the curriculum,
  threatening academic jobs/stealing hrs,
  gaining/scheduling employer input etc).
• Embracing regional graduate retention policies
  (when bulk of employers are hidden!)
• Liaison with overseas networks and employers
• Diversification in recruitment less importance
  placed on targeted research-led HEIs

8
Summary strategic points

• Strategic aims should be employer-focused
• Institution needs to endorse, recognise/acknowledg
  e relevance and value of these aims
• Address disparities between access to
  International/EU and UK-focused recruiters
• Diversify (by sector) as much as resources allow
• Generate strategy for income generation and usage
• Set targets for income generation and ensure
  relevant staff are aware of these
• Make value-added services dependent on income
  generation and self-sustaining i.e. CDL, CECA,
  Insight, Futures etc.
• Use income generation to redress and subsidise
  on-campus presence and marketing of employers /
  sectors without such resources i.e. micros,
  creatives, charities, NGOs
• Out-source or signpost to resource-intensive
  services or dont deliver at all i.e. 1-to-1
  business counsellors, industry specialists etc.
• Collaborate with other University projects and
  business intermediaries and their networks
• Integrate externally-funded projects with core
  provision as much as possible for purpose of
  staffing/service continuity, staff-development,
  cross-selling services etc.
• Develop long-term special relationships with
  small number of employers from each sector for
  mutual benefit dont just target the usual
  players

• Adopt the philosophy that your resources are
  only as limited as your networks

9
Mapping and prioritising networking activity

• Aims
• to think about how their careers services engage
  with various stakeholders i.e. academic
  departments, other careers services, business
  intermediaries, specific employers, other service
  providers etc.
• to prioritise who we engage with
• Identify how we engage with stakeholders

10
Mapping activity

• Using stakeholders identified previously (and any
  additional ones that arise)
• Decide which are
• Champions a stakeholder who is able to
  promote, market and show general support for your
  services or
• Strategic partners a stakeholder who may be
  able to provide you with funding, resources, be a
  co-deliverer of services or project partner etc.
• Using different coloured labels or post-it
  notes, illustrate the level of contact the
  careers service has with the stakeholder and the
  desired level of contact the careers service
  would prefer to have with the stakeholder. This
  is achieved by placing the post-it notes on the
  concentric circles below.

11

• Strategic partners
• Level of contact
• Desired level of contact
• Champions
• Level of contact
• Desired level of contact

Council / senate members
Council / senate members
Chambers of Commerce
Chambers of Commerce
15 minutes
12
Post-mapping exercise

• Where are the greatest distances between the 2
  related post-it notes?
• Which are the most strategically significant?
  List in order of priority those that need
  addressing most urgently 10 mins
• In groups discuss areas of commonality 10 mins
• Devise approaches to create closer
  alliances/relationships with stakeholders
  10mins
• Summarise report findings to all groups 10
  mins

13
Lessons for Lancaster

• Provides a constant reminder as to who we need to
  make contact with and
• why we are keeping contact with them
  (stakeholders Vs champions)
• Shows Senior Managers how connected CEEC is to
  all parts of the University and beyond
• Shows how busy we are!
• Subsequently, less duplication of our services
  now occurs
• Provides a useful induction tool for new staff
• Provides a tool for mapping staff to key
  stakeholders or stakeholder groups for
  maintaining contact