Employers face a confusing array of STEM related organisations seeking to gain their support. In any region or nation, employers are at the receiving end of requests for interaction from Sector Skills Councils, careers organisations, science promotion organisations, Government agencies as well as HEIs and FEIs through ad hoc as well as more established initiatives such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. This presents a very crowded market that can fail to demonstrate sufficient value to employers for them to wish to engage. The South East Wales Employer Forum has the scale and partners to provide a coordinating role and to build a strategic and action based relationship between HEIs and key employers. The forum meets every four months at the offices of one of the member organisations which include Wales and West Utilities, BT, Mitel, Dow Corning, Penn Pharmaceuticals, UES Energy, SCS Group, Costain, International Rectifier, Daniel Consulting Limited, Capital Symonds, Rockwool, Vinci Construction, Arup and GE Aviation.

The south east Wales Employer Forum is engaging with HEIs and representatives from at least ten of the largest employers in south east Wales. The aim is to establish a coordinated model of engagement enabling employers and HEIs to engage more effectively.

Identify the key employers in the target area of south east Wales (Monmouthshire, Newport, Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan, RCT, Merthyr Tydfil, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent).   

 

Visit and interview at least ten HR managers from the largest employers in the target area.

 

Invite employers to form an ‘employers’ forum’.

 

Promote activity areas to the forum such as work experience for students, workforce development and outreach.

 

To hold forum meetings three times a year and coordinate activities between the partners to build a sustainable pipeline of STEM related skills for industry. These activities will include direct intervention between the partners at school, FEI and at HEI level.

Three forum meetings each year, supporting a minimum of 10 employer representatives.

A better coordinated regional approach to employer engagement. 

 

More focused opportunities for employers and HEIs to interact.