Colleges at the core of the entrepreneurial economy: A review of enterprise provision in FE An entrepreneurial organisation The enterprising college Equipping learners with enterprising skills & mindsets Preparing communities for an entrepreneurial economy
Contents Contents 2 1. Executive summary 3 1.1. Introduction 3 1.2. Summary of findings 4 1.3. Summary of recommendations 5 2. Background to research 7 2.1. Policy context 7 2.2. Research methodology 9 3. Research findings 11 3.1. Attitudes towards enterprise and entrepreneurship in the sector 12 3.2. Colleges - creating entrepreneurial organisations 16 3.3. Learners being equipped with enterprising skills and mindsets 25 3.4. Communities - supported for success in an entrepreneurial economy 38 3.5. Looking ahead 43 4. Appendices 45 4.1. Checklist of enterprise and entrepreneurship provision 45 4.2. Survey questions 47 4.3. Sample profile 58 4.4. Topic guide for site visits 60 4.5. Literature review 62 4.6. Survey findings in full 86
Chapter 01 1. Executive summary 1.1. Introduction At the start of 2011 as the UK emerges from a recession, its effects continue to be profoundly felt within society. It is in this context that entrepreneurship is attracting increasing attention as a way to rebuild economies and stimulate growth. The Coalition Government has set an ambition for this to be the most entrepreneurial decade ever. This research attempts to shed light on the relatively under-researched area of enterprise and entrepreneurship provision in FE colleges in England. Further Education Colleges train over 4 million people every year, so have a critical role in creating a more enterprising UK - equipping people with the enterprise confidence and skills to be successful in their working lives. Enterprise UK was commissioned to conduct this research by a consortium of partners including the Association of Colleges, the 157 Group and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust as part of the Department for Education-funded Enterprise Network. It is hoped that this research helps identify good practice and stimulates the development of more enterprise activity in the sector. However, this research also highlights areas for improvement, including the support that is provided by FE Colleges to their local business and entrepreneurial communities. In addition, there is room for development in the sector to better articulate its role in contributing to economic growth in the UK. This research concludes that enterprising colleges are places that effectively combine; being an entrepreneurial organisation with a clear strategic focus on enterprise; a focus on equipping learners with enterprising skills and mindsets; and an appetite for preparing local communities for success in an entrepreneurial economy. Peter Grigg Head of Policy & Research, Enterprise UK Overall, there are many signs for optimism reflecting that Further Education has long been a natural incubator for enterprise; that many courses prepare learners for self-employment; that many lecturers have previous experiences of being entrepreneurs; and that the sector itself has always been entrepreneurial in adapting to funding pressures and policy changes. The Executive Summary Page 3
Chapter 01 1.2. Summary of findings This research is the first comprehensive stock-take of enterprise provision in further education colleges. The following broad definitions are used in this report: Enterprise the development of skills such as creativity, problem-solving and risk-taking Entrepreneurs people who start and grow innovative businesses Entrepreneurial a more general set of capabilities that lead to business improvement and generation of revenue, be it within a college, business or community setting For the purposes of this report, enterprise activity is characterised into three distinct strands. These are based on relevant research into enterprise education in a range of contexts and offer a useful framework for analysing provision in further education and to identify the characteristics of enterprising colleges. 1 1. Colleges creating entrepreneurial organisations 2. Learners - Being equipped with enterprising skills and mindsets 3. Communities - Supported for success in an entrepreneurial economy Overall, research findings show that the colleges surveyed are characterised by a great appetite to increase their enterprise offer in all three of these areas. In fact, despite anticipated cuts to college budgets, 92% of respondents think that they will increase their enterprise provision over the next two years. Nevertheless, when looking in more detail at what colleges provide in terms of enterprise education and support for entrepreneurs, it appears that there is a gap between their attitude towards enterprise education and current provision: Colleges - Creating entrepreneurial organisations - 93% of colleges thought the sector needs to become more entrepreneurial - Yet only 43% have a written policy on enterprise and only 51% have an individual in charge of enterprise Learners Being equipped with enterprise skills and mindsets - 98% of colleges think that students should be increasingly equipped with entrepreneurial skills and mindsets - Business competitions (50%), enterprise awareness events (43%), and the opportunity to run a real business on campus (43%) were the most popular forms of enterprise provision offered to learners. - Yet, the overall level of learner participation in enterprise activities is relatively low: 55% of colleges say that less than one in five of their learners accesses some form of enterprise education; Communities Supported for success in an entrepreneurial economy - 92% of colleges believe enterprise education should help build links with the local community. - Yet just 21% of colleges offer incubation space for businesses 1 A more detailed explanation of these three strands is presented in chapter 3 Research findings The Executive Summary Page 4
Chapter 01 1.3. Summary of recommendations Colleges creating entrepreneurial organisations Enterprise and entrepreneurship are not new concepts for the FE sector, but there is increasing recognition of the need for colleges to develop entrepreneurial responses to the current economic climate. The majority of colleges are working to create entrepreneurial places, but there is more that could be done. 1. Responsibility for driving an enterprising culture is increasingly featured in the role of Principals and the Senior Management Team (SMT). Leadership development and CPD around enterprise and entrepreneurship should be further developed wherever possible in conjunction with experienced entrepreneurs. 2. Staff-ventures are a relatively unknown quantity across the sector at the moment but present exciting opportunities for developing income, staff motivation, and enhancing the work-readiness of students. Guidance could be developed to support those colleges wishing to pursue staff-owned/led businesses within the college. 3. To support enterprise strategies, colleges should consider enhancing the awareness of enterprise and entrepreneurship among existing governors for example through training or briefing sessions. 4. There is a lack of research on enterprise provision in FE. In response to this research, sector representative bodies and government should commit to an annual review of enterprise provision in FE. 5. Government should support the scaling-up of successful college enterprise initiatives and the dissemination of effective practice. Dialogue with the sector representative bodies, including AoC and the 157 Group would clarify the most appropriate mechanisms to facilitate this. Learners being equipped with enterprising skills and mindsets There remains a yawning gap between the number of people thinking about starting their own enterprise and those who do. Further education is in a unique position to address these issues and convert enterprising attitudes into entrepreneurial behaviour through enterprise teaching and learning. 1. Sector representative bodies should support the sector by promoting networking and the sharing of good practice. This could include the development of existing websites such as the Enterprise Village and the Excellence Gateway and the adaptation of existing teaching and learning award schemes (such as the AoC Beacon Awards) 2. Colleges should stimulate demand for enterprise among students by creating opportunities for local entrepreneurs to work on-campus in business start-up space or as ambassadors. The creation of a national Enterprise Ambassador programme would support a more systematic use of entrepreneurial role models in colleges. 3. Entrepreneurial opportunities should be enhanced for teachers and lecturers to become more familiar with the world of entrepreneurs, current industry practice, and the practicalities of business start-up 4. Colleges should utilise learner destination data as a way to understand how many students go on to self-employment and improve their evaluation of the impact of enterprise programmes 5. Although Social Enterprise is of great interest to young people, this aspect of enterprise received little emphasis in the case study colleges visited. Support could be provided to raise awareness of developments in social enterprise. The Executive Summary Page 5
Chapter 01 Communities - Supported for success in an entrepreneurial economy Colleges are well placed to serve business growth and innovation and catalyse enterprising communities, but although some colleges are contributing to the competitiveness of their local economy, there remains room for development. Colleges could do more to contextualise their offer in the changing shape of the economy and there is further scope for the sector to demonstrate its role in driving entrepreneurship and economic growth. 1. The infrastructure of the enterprise support landscape is changing dramatically which provides opportunities to more clearly demonstrate their role in the context of economic growth. Nationally at policy level, the sector should vocally articulate its role, and locally in the development of business support and advice to entrepreneurs 2. Colleges should be encouraged and supported by government and sector representative bodies to perform a stronger role in relation to Local Enterprise Partnerships. 3. There is room for the exploration of whether colleges might perform an effective investor role in student-led businesses either through microfinance or angel investment. This is an area that could be jointly explored by leading enterprise colleges. 4. Colleges should emphasise a need for innovative entrepreneurship and encourage the importance of avoiding the establishment of businesses that merely produce business churn creating duplicate more of the same businesses in a local area. 5. College s traditional expertise in building social capital is not currently reflected in the provision of specific business support services for groups under-represented groups in entrepreneurship for example for female entrepreneurs or for ethnic minority groups. Colleges could develop more specific offers for these groups including networking and enterprise awareness events The Executive Summary Page 6
Chapter 02 2. Background to research 2.1. Policy context Entrepreneurship has long been recognised by UK governments as important to economic growth. Increasing attention has been given to the existence of an entrepreneurial economy characterised by growth in the number of small firms (SMEs), increasing access to global markets thought globalisation and new technologies, and the rise in portfolio careers and the death of the concept of jobs for life. It is in this context that the desk research 2 highlights a series of measures implemented to support entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to build an enterprise culture in the UK. Of more immediate relevance to the topic of this review, in recent years a range of initiatives and policies have sought to support the emergence of an entrepreneurial economy by increasing educational provision related to enterprise and entrepreneurship. 2 The full literature review is contained in the appendix 4.5 with references Background to research Page 7
Chapter 02 Summary of measures to support enterprise education in the UK In 2002, a Review of Enterprise and the Economy in Education (known as the Davies Review) recommended a national strategy for building enterprise capability, economic understanding and financial literacy in all young people. The Government accepted recommendations and committed 60 million annually for enterprise education in secondary schools in England. In September 2003, 151 pathfinder projects across 400 schools piloted approaches to enterprise learning at Key Stage 4. Subsequently, enterprise, as one component of work-related learning, became statutory at Key Stage 4. In 2004, Ofsted published an Evaluation of enterprise learning at Key Stage 4 citing good practice and noting that the lack of common definitions of enterprise learning was impeding progress. Enterprise Insight was launched in 2004 (later called Enterprise UK) to promote an enterprise culture among young people in the UK through initiatives such as Make Your Mark and Enterprise Week. The National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship was launched to raise the profile of entrepreneurship among graduates and students. In 2006, the SSAT set up the Schools Enterprise Education Network (SEEN) to share good practice and inform continuous professional development (CPD) for secondary schools on enterprise education. In 2007, the DfES published many of these case studies in Enterprising Heads, Enterprising Schools. Between 2006 and 2008, the AoC championed enterprise in colleges through The Northern Way initiative, which saw funding into 32 colleges across three regions for enterprise activity and CPD. In 2008, SEEDA and NESTA established a 3-year programme to support colleges in fostering a culture of enterprise and innovation and creating CPD programmes for senior staff. In 2008, the Government published an Enterprise Strategy which noted a challenge in extending enterprise provision to all tiers of education. It committed 30million to extend enterprise from secondary to primary and tertiary education. The Strategy announced the setting up of a National Enterprise Academy and stated that the Government will ensure that enterprise is also an element of all new Diplomas In 2009, a government Skills Strategy announced the creation of a Qualify with a Business package for FE students, especially those training in trade skills like plumbing who would also need business start-up help. Summary of current business support context in the UK In January 2011, the new government confirmed the closure of regional Business Link advisory services by November 2011. New measures to help businesses included the enhancing of the businesslink.gov.uk website, the creation of a national telephone contact centre and a network of 40000 business mentors. In October 2010 the New Enterprise Allowance was announced. Based on a previous scheme in the 1980s, the NEA will be available to those who have been unemployed for six months or more and wish to start up their own business. It offers to provide business mentoring and financial support worth up to 2,000. It is intended to be rolled out nationally from autumn 2011. Background to research Page 8
Chapter 02 2.2. Research methodology The diagram below outlines the overall methodology for the research. This report draws together findings from all phases of the research: the desk research, the online survey, and the site visits. Research with AoC and 157 Group Figure 1: Overview of research methodology 1) Scoping and desk research Provide context and identify gaps in existing research Develops key lines of enquiry 2) Online survey of colleges Provides snapshot of current practice in the sector Identifies colleges for observational research 3) Case studies and observational research Detailed insight into provision of enterprise education in 6 colleges Provides detailed case studies and learning 4) Reporting and stakeholder workshop Expert workshop to validate findings and explore implications of the research Comprehensive report consolidating findings of all stages of the research Commentary on methodology Stage 1: Scoping and desk research This phase consisted of a commissioning meeting with the core AoC, 157 Group and SSAT project team, the aim of which was to ensure that objectives and priorities were properly identified and understood. A desk review of relevant documentation was conducted to identify gaps in the research and identify examples of good practice in the UK and internationally. A full copy of the literature review is contained in the appendix. Stage 2: Online survey targeting all colleges For stage two, a web-based survey was designed targeting all colleges across England. The survey was intended to provide breadth of data and evidence through extensive coverage of colleges in England, which could be used as a benchmark for future research. The survey is contained in the appendix. The survey contained a mix of closed (i.e. multiple choice) and open (i.e. free text) questions. A short survey report was produced outlining the key findings from the survey, which will be sent to all participating colleges. The survey was sent to 352 colleges in England in November 2010, targeted at Principals, but giving them the option to pass it on to a more appropriate colleague if preferred. The option was also provided of completing a paper version of the survey. The survey was scheduled to close in December 2010, by which point too few responses had been received to enable detailed analysis. Therefore, the decision was taken to extend the deadline and undertake targeted phone calls to all colleges that had not responded by that point. In January 2011 and February 2011, phone calls were made to over 200 colleges, resulting in an additional 111 responses. Background to research Page 9
Chapter 02 Reasons cited for non-participation in the research, taken from the follow-up phone calls to colleges, included that some colleges were not interested in the research because enterprise did not feature high in their mission and despite interest others did not have enough time to complete the survey. The survey closed on the 23rd February 2011 with 146 colleges responding in total providing us with a response rate of 41%, which gives a confidence level of 88.5 that the response is representative of the sector. The sample profile is contained in the 4.3. Stage 3: In-depth site visits to six colleges Survey results were examined to identify six colleges to work with in greater detail to better understand how enterprise education is undertaken in colleges. Colleges were identified from those that had expressed an interest via the survey in participating in additional research. A range of colleges were selected, which varied in terms of the following: Size (turnover and number of students); Location; and Attitude and commitment towards enterprise education. The site visits took place between the 31st January and the 18th February 2011. At each site visit, a day was spent at the college speaking to a range of stakeholders directly and indirectly involved with enterprise provision. These included: Teaching staff Non-teaching staff Leaders; including governors Local entrepreneurs local authority etc Other local stakeholders, including individuals from the RDAs, Learners Administrative staff Where possible, staff were included who were not directly involved in enterprise provision to get a sense of how enterprise education is positioned within the wider college environment. This broad range of perspectives provided a rounded picture of enterprise provision in each college. During the visits, semi-structured interviews were held as well as focus groups and observations. Materials for this stage of the research were structured loosely around the research areas of the national survey. A copy of the topic guide is contained in the 4.4. Over 100 individuals were consulted in total and a short write up of each individual site visit was sent to each participating college. Background to research Page 10
Chapter 03 3. Research findings This is the first comprehensive survey of enterprise provision in Further Education. It provides evidence of attitudes towards, and provision of, enterprise education and entrepreneurship that will be critical in informing future policy and initiatives in this field. With 146 colleges responding to the survey, this provides confidence that results are representative of the entire sector. However, the recommendation is made to build on this in future years by the AoC, the 157 Group and other partners, using this as a benchmark survey to demonstrate progress and areas for improvement. Research findings are organised here under three distinct strands: STRAND ONE - Colleges creating entrepreneurial organisations Is there strategic emphasis on instilling an enterprise culture across the organisation? Does the college culture seek to reward new ideas and demonstrate an appetite for managed risk? Are staff supported to be more enterprising and encouraged to seek innovative solutions and new income streams? STRAND TWO - Learners - being equipped with enterprising skills and mindsets Are enterprise skills embedded in courses Are there sufficient learning opportunities to practice enterprise and entrepreneurship? Is teaching and learning done in a way that encourages creativity, autonomy and self-efficacy STRAND THREE Communities - supported for success in an entrepreneurial economy Are business support services provided to local SMEs and entrepreneurs? Are courses firmly contextualised in the changing shape of the economy, self-employment and portfolio careers? Does the college have wide engagement with its local business community and local entrepreneurs? Research findings Page 11
Chapter 03 3.1. Attitudes towards enterprise and entrepreneurship in the sector This section describes how the sector perceives the importance of enterprise and entrepreneurship. The section is divided into three parts: 1. 2. 3. Overall attitudes towards enterprise and entrepreneurship across the college sector Colleges understanding of the words enterprise and entrepreneurship The aims and benefits of enterprise provision. Overall attitudes towards enterprise and entrepreneurship across the college sector In the survey, colleges were asked about their general attitude towards enterprise and entrepreneurship. The findings are very encouraging, showing a great appetite to position enterprise at the top of their agenda: almost all colleges believe that students increasingly need to be equipped with enterprising mindsets and skills (99%); 93% of colleges think that the sector needs to become more entrepreneurial; and 92% of colleges believe that one of the aims of enterprise education is building links with the local community and businesses. This positive attitude towards enterprise provision within the FE sector is backed up by the observations from the site visits. High levels of enthusiasm and energy were observed amongst staff and students, with clear commitment of staff across different levels and different functions to support enterprise education. However, many staff recognised that enterprise education is a journey and that both in terms of their college and the sector as a whole there is still some way to go. I think we have made good progress over the last few years in our college and in the sector as a whole but we still have a way to go. The journey is just beginning. (Principal) The development of enterprise and innovation skills is central to our vision for the future of our College but we can always do more (Vice Principal) Research findings Page 12
Chapter 03 Colleges understanding of enterprise and entrepreneurship During the site visits, colleges were probed around their general understanding of the words enterprise and entrepreneurship. Broadly speaking, colleges refer to enterprise as a mindset, enabling individuals to respond positively to change, introduce new ideas, and understand the concept of risk and reward. In terms of what this means for delivery, colleges tended to focus on enterprise skills as building employability, confidence, innovation, team working, and building understanding of risk and reward. Entrepreneurship on the other hand tends to mean putting enterprise skills into action, usually in terms of setting up a business or becoming self-employed. Staff not directly involved in provision were less confident with terms and tended to use words like enterprise and entrepreneurship interchangeably. Where staff were less able to clearly articulate activities it was less about a lack of understanding and more about a lack of confidence in using the correct terminology. In other words, the issue of definitions being a barrier to more enterprise education may be over-emphasised. Definitions seemed less relevant than clearly defined communication and strategy around enterprise regardless of absolute definitions. The staff interviewed spoke to felt that written strategies should also be supported by real-life examples, so that staff not involved in the delivery could also relate to. A lot of people are doing it already without knowing it (Subject lead) This observation is backed by the survey findings, where only 25% of colleges believe that a more consistent definition of enterprise would greatly help the sector in delivering enterprise education. 3 Aims and benefits of enterprise provision Overall, there seems to be a consistency between the aims of enterprise education and its stated benefits. However, measures of success and monitoring of enterprise education are areas that could benefit from further development. As shown in Figure 2 below, the main aim of colleges enterprise education is to develop learners general employability skills (97% state this as an aim). Increasing learners self-confidence (94%) and developing learners specific enterprise skills (86%) are also aims of the vast majority of colleges enterprise education programmes; and a similar proportion report that their programmes have seen benefits in these areas. 3 To note that 25% of colleges think that a more consistent definition of enterprise education would help the sector to s great extent, and 45% of colleges think that it would help the sector to some extent Research findings Page 13
Chapter 03 Figure 2: Perceived aims and achieved benefits of enterprise education! "#$%&! '!! ()*)+#,%&!!! Base (all): 146 These findings are backed up by the site visits, where the benefits of being an entrepreneurial organisation were seen as essential to bringing in income, but other motivations included staff engagement and loyalty, retention of key staff and driving up innovation. A central theme of developing learners general employability skills was an essential purpose of enterprise education for the colleges visited. Individuals in the colleges visited felt this was particularly acute given the current economic climate and the increasing costs of continuing in education and the withdrawal of the Educational Maintenance Allowance. It can only become increasingly important in the current economic climate and with growing fears about the costs of HE. (SMT) In terms of getting more people in employment it is crucial to develop enterprise (Stakeholder) Research findings Page 14
Chapter 03 Staff in many of the colleges visited considered enterprise as an extension of employability and were focused on experiential learning opportunities in vocational subjects. Staff recognised the need to build in real-life business experiences to all courses. Many felt that while it is not there yet across the board, there are excellent examples in a wide range of subject areas. Initiatives that increase the impact, application and importance of enterprise learning for young people must be embraced by FE colleges to begin to break down barriers between education and business! (Stakeholder) The construction people we talk to emphasise students need practical work so they know what they are doing in the real world. (Staff) It is interesting to notice that, despite the fact that enterprise education is recognised as important, there is occasionally a tension observed between enterprise outcomes and progression to higher education. This is partly linked to funding some staff are worried that if their students leave to start businesses that they will lose funding. The importance of enterprise in terms of developing employability skills is based on feedback from employers too. Students need different skills and courses to help to prepare employees for the world of work. Research findings Page 15
Chapter 03 3.2. Colleges - creating entrepreneurial organisations This section will explore the strategies and approaches colleges are developing in order to build a culture of enterprise across their organisations. In the survey, colleges were asked a set of strategic questions about how they are developing and approaching their enterprise provision and site visit colleges were probed around the same issues, focusing on the involvement of the Senior Management Team and on staff engagement. The section is structured around the following key themes: 1. Written policies related to enterprise ; 2. Enterprise and entrepreneurship embedded within the college mission; 3. Single individual with the overall responsibility for enterprise ; 4. Support from the Senior Management Team; 5. Support from Governors; 6. Engaging staff; 7. Incentives and support to the staff to be more entrepreneurial; 8. Measuring and evaluating success Written policies related to enterprise Survey findings show that just over two fifths of the colleges surveyed have a written enterprise policy (43%). From the site visits, it seems that these enterprise strategies are sometime split between the internal enterprise strategy (opportunities for students, teaching and learning etc) and the external strategy (looking for funding, partnership relationships). Half the site visit colleges also had a written enterprise strategy. Whilst, in the ones without, this did not appear to restrict delivery, overall it did mean that there were occasionally inconsistencies between departments, and meant that some opportunities for learning and cross-disciplinary approaches were lost, particularly in some of the larger colleges. Enterprise and entrepreneurship embedded within the college mission statements In terms of embedding enterprise in colleges mission statements, just over half of colleges (52%) state that enterprise is currently embedded. 4 Qualitative feedback from the site visits showed that having enterprise written into a mission statement helps ensure that all staff and learners understand and relate to the enterprise agenda. The mission statement] means that students have enterprise on their radar as soon as they join, and encourages them to keep this top of mind It also means that staff have a greater ownership of the agenda. (SMT) 4 Note the variable embedding enterprise in the college mission has been re-coded from a 5 points scale variable (1 strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree) to a binary variable (1 = yes; 0 = no). Refer to the binary variable from now on. The Executive Summary Page 16
Chapter 03 Single individual with the overall responsibility for enterprise In terms of ensuring a clear enterprise strategy, many colleges visited emphasised the importance of having one individual responsible for the delivery of enterprise within the college, whilst recognising the need for a wider team to be involved. In all colleges surveyed, over half (51%) state that there is an individual responsible for the overall delivery of enterprise education within the college. This individual tends to be from the Senior Management Team (57%) or is a Head of Department (22%), with smaller proportions falling to Enterprise Managers (3%) or Principals (4%). Figure 3: Who has overall responsibility for enterprise? Principal 4% Non responding 1% Other 17% Head of Department 22% Senior Management Team 56% Base: (the ones responding yes in the question is there an individual having overall responsibility for enterprise?): 70 5 It should be re-emphasised here that the survey was largely completed by members of the Senior Management Team, which is likely to influence the responses to this question. The Executive Summary Page 17
Chapter 03 Support from the Senior Management Team In terms of the commitment of the SMT to support enterprise education, the vast majority of colleges say that their SMT is supportive of enterprise education: nearly nine in ten colleges (88%) agree, with 42% of colleges strongly agreeing with the statement. 5 Survey results confirm that the more the Senior Management Team is committed to enterprise education, the more likely the college is to have other elements in place (e.g. a written policy, enterprise embedded in the college mission, one individual in charge of the strategy) 6. For example, while a written enterprise strategy is present in 62% of the colleges which strongly agree with the statement Enterprise education is supported by the SMT, it is in place only in 31% of the colleges which only agree (rather than strongly agree) with this statement. Figure 4: Impact of a supportive SMT on enterprise strategy Base: strong support from the SMT: 62; support from the SMT: 66 There was visible leadership across the enterprise agenda in all site visit colleges, with the Principal or SMT s commitment and drive regularly cited as the driving force behind the college s successes and entrepreneurial culture. It was apparent how important it was for staff to have support from the Principal and to be allowed to fail and have the space to succeed. This is particularly the case for colleges adopting innovative approaches to enterprise. Ultimately it comes from outstanding inspiration and entrepreneurial leadership (Staff) 6 Cross tabulations have been run between the variable Enterprise education is supported by the SMT (independent variable) and the variables having a written policy on enterprise delivery, having one person in charge of enterprise education, mentioning enterprise education in the mission statement, enterprise and entrepreneurship feature highly in my college (dependent variables). The results are statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Base: strong support from the SMT: 62; support from the SMT: 66 The Executive Summary Page 18
Chapter 03 When you kick off you have to start with the Principal. As you build up the momentum you can set up an enterprise and innovation group meeting regularly and reviewing activity. It reports back to the Principal. (Vice Principal) The enthusiasm that came from staff as a result of the Principal s support for the agenda came through strongly. Staff felt empowered and were able to talk about enterprise education in a way that was far above and beyond what their role required. We re excited about the whole idea of enterprise. We tell stories about students at SMT not as an agenda item just because we are excited about it. (SMT) There are no barriers and you re looked on strangely if you don t come up with ideas! (Staff) That is not to say that the Principal needs to necessarily be entrepreneurial, or directly involved in the provision of enterprise. Rather, that they provide tacit support for the delivery of enterprise within the college, and set the overall importance of enterprise within the college agenda. In fact, in some of the case study colleges, individuals on the SMT (e.g. Deputy or Vice Principal, Commercial Director etc) were empowered to lead the agenda, rather than the Principal. However, as one member of staff emphasised, this Principal and SMT support has to come with appropriate resource and time to enable staff to deliver enterprise activities. This could include flexibility around timetables, extra training and other opportunities for staff development. You have to have the buy-in of the SMT but without giving any resource too it will not get off the ground. No college has any lean left in it, so we used reserves to take staff off-site and trained. Only because the management team bought into it could we free up staff and back fill. (Staff) The Executive Summary Page 19
Chapter 03 Support from Governors Alongside support from the Principal and the SMT, the role of the governors was observed in the site visits as providing an excellent source of support in terms of advising on delivery and giving insight into the local economic landscape. Governors can play a key role in adding value to existing provision by being the critical friend that colleges need. They are distanced from delivery, but seem to have most value in terms of helping build and expand college businesses. Some colleges felt more could be done to support enterprise understanding among governing staff. The role of governors and effective strategic leadership is regularly cited as a contributing factor in both the success and failure of colleges 7. And so it is no surprise that in the colleges visited, the governors served either as firm advocates in supporting enterprise strategies and activities or, in one case, held up as a major barrier for more enterprising approaches. Engaging staff It is clear that SMT support can often form the basis behind leading and shaping the agenda for enterprise education. However, without staff commitment, the delivery of a successful, varied programme is likely to fall short. As such, many colleges are exploring ways in which staff commitment could be encouraged. During the site visits, it became clear how central the role of teachers and lecturers is in terms of effective enterprise delivery. Their enthusiasm and drive was infectious, and their passion for enterprise came across strongly. In some colleges, even the staff who weren t directly involved with enterprise provision had the sense that they could get involved when the time was right for them. It seems culturally embedded at the college everyone is at it. (Staff) It feels like an enterprising place to work and anyone can get involved if they want it s knocking at an open door. (Staff) Individuals with an industry background are often the members of staff who are leading the agenda spurred on by ideas and practice developed from within their industry. Some attitudinal differences were observed between those staff that have been in FE for many years (without any industry experience), compared to those who were either new to the sector, have an industry background, or have recently revisited industry. Whilst it is important not to generalise too much from this, the benefits that time in industry can provide to staff were clear. Coming from a background in industry I see the kinds of commercial opportunities that are open to the college. It s just a case of taking them forward and making it happen. (staff) 7 See Why Colleges Suceed? and Why Colleges Fail? Need full reference The Executive Summary Page 20
Chapter 03 Returning to the (catering) industry sharpened up my act and I brought it all back everything from the menus, equipment, training techniques, to the suppliers it s all that much fresher now. Not to mention the contacts! (Staff) Amongst those who are more sceptical about the benefits of enterprise, even if there is recognition of the importance of its role, there is less of a commitment to pushing for a real change in delivery, and a stronger leaning towards the status quo. Some staff saw enterprise as somebody else s responsibility either a full time person in charge of delivering enterprise, or some external involvement, such as external experts coming to the college or companies training students. Incentives and support to the staff to be more entrepreneurial The survey also examined the extent to which teaching staff have opportunities to develop their entrepreneurial skills and embark on CPD in relation to enterprise education. Only 16% of colleges have embedded CPD opportunities for staff in relation to enterprise education, again it is difficult to know whether this is high or low in relation to other subject areas. 45% of colleges say that they have offered CPD but that this is not embedded. 22% say this is not provided. Two in five (62%) colleges do not provide their staff with relevant support to start up a business and there is little appetite to increase this offer in the future (only 14% of colleges are planning to develop this opportunity). We cannot teach people to be enterprising they either are or they aren t. Students need outside knowledge that the college does not have. It is always down to people who put hours into these things it is a full time job delivering enterprise. I don t have the time. (Non-enterprise staff) The Executive Summary Page 21
Chapter 03 Figure 5: - Which of the following opportunities are provided to teaching staff by your college? CPD and training in enterprise education 16 45 17 22 Yes this is embedded Support for staff setting up/running their own businesses 4 20 14 62 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100% % of colleges This has been provided but not embedded This has not been provided before, but we are planning to Base: mixed 8 During the site visits, most of the teachers felt that they were offered good or satisfactory CPD opportunities, yet for the most part were unable to recall any specific opportunities they had encountered relating to enterprise or entrepreneurship. Staff in this college stressed the importance of formal training being done away from college premises to give the staff the space to get away and think about new opportunities without being restricted by the college environment. The away day helped remove ourselves from the daily confines and enabled us to see what we could come up with. There never seems to be the time, but we have to do this sort of thing we d be failing the students if we didn t. (Staff) Colleges where the SMT is strongly committed to enterprise education and where there is one person in charge of enterprise delivery are more likely to provide CPD on enterprise. 9 In fact, 73% of the colleges which strongly agree with the statement Enterprise education is supported by the SMT provide CPD on enterprise, where only 58% of those colleges just agreeing provide these trainings. Similarly, 72% of the colleges where there is an individual responsible for enterprise provide training, where only 49% of colleges where there is no a person in charge develop CPD for teachers specifically on enterprise. 8 The bases exclude missing cases and don t know answers 9 Cross tabulations were run between having a committed SMT and having one individual responsible for enterprise strategy (independent variables) and provision of CPD (dependent variable). CPD was re-coded into a binary variable (1 = provided; 0 = not provide). Results are significant at 0.05 level. The Executive Summary Page 22
Chapter 03 Measuring success Colleges were asked whether they have a strategy in place to monitor their enterprise activities, and whether they monitor the self-employment rates for learners. The majority of colleges do not monitor their enterprise activities (53%), and a similar proportion (50%) do not track the number of self-employed learners. Figure 6 : Does self-employment or business start up feature in your learner destination data? Don't know 12% Not Responding 4% Yes 34% No 50% Base (all): 146 From the site visits, formal monitoring of enterprise provision was one of the weakest areas, even in colleges where the provision and strategy was strong. Likewise, very few colleges have clearly articulated data relating to where their alumni go, and therefore no way of tracking the longer-term impact of their interventions. Even in the most advanced colleges this is something that needs improvement. As such, success is often talked about in vague, abstract terms. The attitude seems to be that the metrics would eventually follow. This means that colleges sometimes struggle to articulate and justify why they have chosen a particular approach, and evidence how and why it works. The Executive Summary Page 23
Chapter 03 Without clear measures of success that are clearly articulated and communicated across the college, there are likely to be inconsistencies in terms of approach, those who are less directly involved in provision are unlikely to understand what the aims and benefits of enterprise activities are, and finally and crucially important measures of success will be lost. For example, one college was engaged in a range of activities supporting the local business community, but the return on investment of the college s programmes was not being captured. Having this information may help enable colleges to better demonstrate the value of engagement to local business. One college was undertaking an enterprise audit which was an interesting approach speaking to teachers and learners to establish what was currently being undertaken, and then using this to ensure that their delivery across the college was as joined up as possible and that learning was shared across departments. This was particularly useful as the college was very large. Summing up Colleges - Attitudes and Strategies Even if the great majority of colleges responding to the national survey perceive enterprise as crucial in the current climate, in reality few of them translate this attitude into a clear strategy to develop a better enterprise provision for learners and the community. Around half of colleges or less embed enterprise in the college mission statement (52%), have an individual responsible for enterprise (51%) and have a written policy on enterprise (43%). Few colleges provide support to their staff to be more entrepreneurial (only 16% of colleges have embedded CPD opportunities for staff in relation to enterprise education and only 14% of colleges provide their staff with relevant support to start up a business) The majority of colleges do not monitor their enterprise activities (53%), and a similar proportion (50%) do not track the number of self-employed learners. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm towards enterprise is backed up by the fact that 88% of colleges stated that the SMT is supportive of this agenda. The Executive Summary Page 24
Chapter 03 3.3. Learners being equipped with enterprising skills and mindsets Almost all the colleges surveyed believe that learners increasingly need to be equipped with enterprising skills and mindsets (99%), positioning enterprise education at the top of their agenda. The great majority of colleges think that the aims of enterprise education are developing learners general employability skills (97%) and specific enterprise skills (86%). A smaller proportion of respondents aim at equipping learners to be self- employed through enterprise education (67%). Furthermore, in the site visits respondents were probed about their understanding of enterprising skills. For many colleges, enterprise was defined as central to the notion of key employability skills, and this observation is backed up by the survey findings, where 97% of colleges responding stated that one of the aims of enterprise education is developing learners general employability skills. While common debate around employability tends to focus on the skills of literacy, numeracy and communication all of which are valuable and potentially life-changing many felt that these skills alone would be insufficient to equip learners in a global economy. College staff described the additional need for calculated risk-takers, entrepreneurial mindsets, positive attitudes, and resourceful and networked leaders. This section explores how these objectives are put into practice in reality. In the survey, colleges were asked a set of questions about how they are delivering activities aiming at developing enterprise skills and knowledge, and what colleges are currently providing in terms of: 1. Enterprise activities for learners 2. Providing qualifications on enterprise 3. Embedding enterprise skills and knowledge across the curriculum 4. Encouraging innovative teaching and learning 5. Engaging learners Enterprise activities for learners Colleges are offering a wide range of different enterprise activities, but most are offered on an ad-hoc basis rather than embedded as a core part of the college offer. The exceptions to this are business competitions, such as Dragon s Den-style pitching, opportunities to run a business on campus and enterprise awareness days which are more likely to be embedded as part of the college s offer. Half (50%) of colleges say that business competitions are embedded as part of their offer and it is encouraging to see that two thirds of colleges (67%) have provided opportunities to run a real business on campus at some point, with 43% currently offering this opportunity as part of their offer. Supporting business start-ups appears to be less of a focus for colleges both in terms of advice provision (35% provide this as part of their offer) and practical support (17%). However, over a quarter of colleges (28%) are looking to provide practical support for business start-up in the future. The Executive Summary Page 25
Chapter 03 Figure 7: Which of the following elements of activity are provided to learners who encounter enterprise or entrepreneurship activity at your college? 10 Business competitions 50 40 8 2 Opportunities to run a real business on campus 43 24 13 20 Yes this is embedded as part of our offer Enterprise awareness events Presentations by entrepreneurial role models and speakers Work experience opportunities specifically with entrepreneurs Advice on business start-up or self-employment 43 41 36 35 47 53 48 49 7 3 33 8 8 9 8 This has been provided but not embedded This has not been provided before, but we are planning to Networking opportunities Student-led enterprise societies/ enterprise students councils 25 25 57 39 20 9 9 16 Not provided Practical support for business start-up 17 27 28 28 0% 50% 100% % of colleges Base: mixed 11 Real opportunities to run a real business on campus and advice on business start-up are more likely to be embedded within the curriculum only if there is a written policy on enterprise. For instance, 47% of the colleges having a written policy on enterprise embed advice on business start up within their curriculum, where only 25% of those colleges not having a written plan on enterprise give this opportunity 12 A wide array of enterprise activities were observed in the site visit colleges, demonstrating good levels of creativity and innovation amongst staff, and providing a plethora of opportunities for learners. Examples included: Placement opportunities with businesses: One college has set up a scheme working with local employers on specific briefs, such as testing new products, designing and delivering marketing strategies, and identifying and developing new business opportunities. For each brief, a competition is set up across the college to establish which learners would be best suited to the programme, resulting in multi-disciplinary teams of students across subjects such as management, catering and graphics. Students are provided with real-life experiences of operating within a business, working to a specific brief, and the experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams. The project also helps to build strong links between the college and businesses demonstrating that the college is an institution that provides real benefits to the sector. 10 The graph is organised by proportion of respondents who rate options as Yes it is embedded as part of our offer. 11 The bases exclude missing cases and don t know answers 12 Cross tabs have been run between having a written policy (independent variables) and business advice (dependent variable). Results are statistically significant at the 0.10 level. Bases: Written policy on enterprise: 59; NO written policy on enterprise: 82 The Executive Summary Page 26