Engaging with the provision of demand led higher level skills courses is a high risk activity. Between 2006 and 2011 three regional Higher Level Skills Pathfinder Projects (HLSPP), funded by HEFCE, enabled significant employer led higher skills course development by mitigating the financial risk for HEIs through the provision of funding. This provided a test bed to trial the demand and response processes in a manner that encouraged the activity to become embedded more firmly in the region’s HEI strategies.

Resources

An exemplar risk register from the project is available, together with a blank risk register template and guidance notes on how to use it.

• Exemplar risk register.xlsx
• Risk Register template.xlsx
• Risk Management Toolkit User Guide.docx

 

Research led by Universities South West focused on key lessons learned through the pathfinder projects and other higher skills initiatives in respect of identifying and exploring failure and success factors for engaging in the development of new employer led training courses. In particular, it explored the inherent common risks, their indicators, their financial and reputational impact and the probability of occurrence through the provision of an exemplar risk register. As well as this detailed exemplar risk register, the project also produced a blank risk register template (with various algorithms and transformations embedded within) and detailed guidance notes on how to use it. A final report is also available.

Summary

Comparison of data collected from the early stages of the HLSPP with data collected from later stages and other similar projects that commenced activity two or three years later, clearly shows that by acting on the lessons learned in respect of project risks the probability of success can be significantly increased.

Key Risk Factors

The key risk factors that have been identified as having a significant effect on the success of a new course project include:

• Only one employer commissioning the new training course;
• Employer no funding or part funding development of new or revised materials;
• Late delivery of course;
• Low level of support within the commissioning employer organisation for the new course ;
• Lack of dedicated project manager;
• Lack of formal and workable HEI procedures to buy out/free up an academic’s time to develop new curriculum;
• Poor recording of employer skills gaps and course expectations;
• Lack of formal contracting;
• Lack of provision for marketing and customer relationship management.

The other relevant risk factors that have been identified include:

• Lack of learner involvement;
• Lack of involvement of Sector Skills Councils/Professional bodies;
• No process for drawing up contracts/SLA agreement with employer;
• Poor planning when E learning is utilised;
• Complexity of validation not accounted for.

Key success factors

The key success factors, or action taken that significantly reduced the risk include:

• Courses commissioned by or involving more than one employer.
• A well argued business case and fully costed proposal made to the employer and agreed in writing.
• Employers funding or part funding development costs.
• Formal internal policies and working procedures for carrying out ONA, TNA and course specification.
• Formal policies and working procedures for enabling academics to engage with demand led course development and delivery.
• Appointment of an experienced project manager to control the whole life cycle.
• Alignment of new course subject matter with HEI/FEC areas of expertise and growth.
• Adoption of a formal project management methodology and techniques, such as Prince2 or similar to plan, monitor and control quality, budget, progress, communications, risks and issues, supplier management and contracting.
• Well planned sales and marketing plan, together with benefits realisation that includes all stakeholders internal (faculties and departments) and external (SSCs, trade associations, partner institutions).

Irrelevant factors

The following factors appeared to have little or no affect on the success of a new course project:

• Length of provision
• Level of provision
• Whether the course material/curriculum was bespoke or modification of existing.