The aim of the project would be to counter the difficulties that companies of all sizes face in trying to source STEM information or services from HEIs.

A STEM-focused resource would be able to contain information and resources both to companies direct and to intermediaries operating in this sphere. It is a commonly held view that businesses want to source information in a clear and logical fashion, with no more than 3 clicks to source the detail they require.  A number of intermediaries and support organisations have developed resources to try to support employers in accessing HE, however these can sometimes be partial due to the remit for setting these up (e.g. RSC – chemistry-based placement information).

The ‘Backstop’ would provide a gateway to these resources as well as filling the gaps in information and enhancing the repository of information to make it current and relevant. ‘Backstop’ would not necessarily be the first point of contact for a business, the important focus - its functionality would be promoted to business organisations, cluster organisations, skills academies and professional bodies in order that the resource could be exploited to its full potential. Through links into ‘Backstop’ the information and resources can be accessed.

As the resource is focused to the STEM SIV disciplines, it is not intended that it will be a ubiquitous ‘one stop shop’ for businesses but can companies with an interest in STEM to access a wide range of appropriate resources. Placements would be a key element and will ensure that a variety of schemes and types of activities that are ongoing within STEM disciplines can be detailed in a cohesive fashion. Backstop will play a part in contributing to the increased number of placements taken up or the improved ‘matching’ of students and companies. Placements bring a number of advantages both by improving the vocational skills and knowledge of real-world challenges and solutions to the students, bringing a fresh pair of eyes to the companies issues and enabling academic staff involved to enhance their teaching materials to benefit future students.

The marketing phase would begin initially by liaising with the organisations as discussed with ongoing development through focus groups as the resource develops.

The development phase of the project would progress along a number of strands.
1) Existing activities – the project manager would undertake an information gathering exercise with key stakeholders in order to determine either existing or planned information for employers. One such example is the development of placement information by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
2) Development and enhancement of DiscoverHETM in order that the STEM Strategically Important and Vulnerable disciplines (Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Engineering) provide relevant details and are committed to the updating of the resource. Enhancement of the access to the database will take place alongside to ensure it is business-friendly, as it is currently aimed at users being from support or intermediary organisations.
3) Development of the ‘Backstop’ online resource which will contain;
• Signposting (as outlined in point 1 above)
• Resources (as outlined in point 2 above)

Focus groups and employer bodies would be used to ensure the ‘Backstop’ facility would be recognized and accessible. NWUA has already provided training on HE to Business Link Train to Gain Advisors and the DiscoverHETM resource has been used extensively, however its focus on sectors (particularly as defined by the NW Regional Economic Strategy ’06) means that it is not a tailored resource for STEM-related information. Some re-coding would be required, as well as considerable in-depth work to embed the updating of the resource into institutions activities in order that CPD provision is up-to-date. A login-access is a feature of DiscoverHETM, however this has not been rolled out. This project could provide a trial for this facility, to ensure some of the more frequently altered courses such as short courses and CPD would be provided as soon as information was available.

Backstop involves relationships with information flowing from employer to university in terms of workforce development, and links to the HE STEM CPD programme, also information flows from universities to employers, particularly around placements and internships or other programmes. Communication will be enhanced and strengthened through Backstop. In the future the facility could be developed to enable wider business/HEI linkages such as engagement with outreach, HEIs seeking employer input for other reasons such as careers events, by facilitating employer engagement.

A HE STEM NW Higher Level Skills Action Plan Steering Group will be convened to give strategic direction to the component parts of the NW Higher Level Skills Action Plan, developed by the NW Spoke. This Steering Group will oversee both this proposal and NWUA’s CPD Level 4+ programme, in order to monitor progress and activities. The Steering Group will be convened as soon as possible to enable partners to be fully briefed on the NW activity from the start, meetings will then be scheduled at suitable project milestones, such as the CPD Project’s payment gateways, it is expected the group will meet up to 4 times during the 12 month projects.

An online resource  called ‘Backstop’ which is a repository of relevant information and has enhanced course provision details for employers to utilise.

• Backstop will contain relevant detailed information from the 12 HE Partners listed in section 3, focusing on STEM.
• Information on internships and placements of relevance to STEM employers will be included, again from all 12 HE partners.
• Contributions from wider partners will be incorporated including professional bodies, cluster organisations and STEM-related organisations.
• The current number of visits on DiscoverHETM is 190 per month (all subjects). As Backstop is more specialised but has enhanced resources for STEM companies, we would expect the number of visits to be approximately 100 per month.
• Currently for DiscoverHETM STEM (Physics, Chemistry, Engineering and Maths) searches account for 22%. We would seek to increase numbers as the additional resource will improve the search function and also increase the successful outcomes/results.

a. Easy access to HE for employers
b. Increased engagement between industry and HE
c. Co-ordinated / consistent message from HEIs to employers
d. Reinvigorate marketplace with respect to HE services
e. Ownership by HEIs
f. Address potential HEI concerns around market competition through facilitation role - ease process for industry minimising market impedance.
g. Provision of skills training for a wide-range of employers e.g. SMEs and larger companies (through provision of information to enable this to occur and through linkages to the CPD STEM proposal also seeking funding).