HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS REGIONAL FURTHER AND HIGHER OUTCOME AGREEMENTS 2015/16
Introduction
The University of the Highlands and Islands is the only university based in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. We provide access to undergraduate and postgraduate study, and research opportunities through a distinctive educational partnership of colleges and research institutions. Each academic partner has its own character and contributes to the distinctive organisation that is the University of the Highlands and Islands. Some are relatively large colleges in the urban centres of the region such as Perth, Elgin and Inverness, others are smaller institutions. Most also provide access to further education, while some have a primary focus on research. All, however, have a student-centred culture and an individual approach to student learning.
The university’s current strategic plan, which informed the 2014-17 Outcome Agreement, lays out our purpose and vision:
Purpose:the University of the Highlands and Islands will have a transformational impact on the development and prospects of the region, its people and its communities.
Vision:the University of the Highlands and Islands will be nationally and internationally recognised as a distinctive and innovative partnership which embraces both further and higher education.
Status of the Outcome Agreement:
It is important to understand that this document is a refresh of the current three-year, 2014/17 Outcome Agreement, with content updated where necessary, including any additional requirements as identified within the relevant Scottish Funding Council (SFC) guidance to colleges and universities.
Significant in this respect was the appointment of a new university Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor CliveMulholland, in June 2014. Arising from this, the university partnership is currently engaged in a very significant and far-reaching revision of its Strategic Vision and Plan, a process which will be completed in March 2015, and from which will follow a period of operational planning to implement the revised strategies, including relevant metrics and targets. Although the completion of the strategic plan will come shortly after this revision is required to be completed, every effort has been made to reflect the emerging thinking within this document.
The new Strategic Vision and Plan aims to position the university partnership as a tertiary institution, providing the full range of further and higher education and restates our continued mission to have a transformational impact on the development and prospects of our region.
Structure of the Outcome Agreement:
As currently, the Outcome Agreement is divided into three sections:
- Part 1: provides some context and sets out shared outcomes and targets across further and higher education
- Part 2: sets out outcomes and targets for further education, delivered by the nine Colleges within the region that are funded for further education purposes
- Part 3: sets out outcomes and targets for higher education delivered by the University of the Highlands and Islands and its 13 Academic Partners.
PART1: SHARED CONTEXT AND OUTCOMES
- Regional Context Statement
It is recognised that the regional context impacts on the development and delivery of both further and higher education within the region, although higher education in particular operates in a much wider national and international context.
The key characteristics and features of our region can be summarised as follows: (Appendix 1 provides relevant data tables)
1.1.Diversity of our region:
There are many challenges associated with providing a regional context statement for the Highlands and Islands given its scale and diversity. The region comprises seven local authorities, eight if we include North Ayrshire to cover Argyll College UHI’s Island of Arran activities, and covers half the landmass of Scotland. An added element of complexity in establishing an inclusive context is that our operating area also includes Perth and Kinross. While it is possible to generalise about some of the region’s key characteristics, it is important to note that aggregation to region level can disguise significant variability
However, although this diversity and complexity are essential considerations, much has already been achieved by the university and colleges operating on a regional basis. It is recognised that we have many exciting and challenging opportunities facing the university partnership and it is the essential purpose of the revised Strategic Vision and Plan to meet the needs of the communities that we serve to the fullest extent.
1.2.Population and demographics:
Our operating area accounts for 12% of the Scottish population, however with a significantly lower population density. Remote and rural areas in particular face enormous challenges around connectivity, employment opportunities and accessing vital services such as transport, housing and other infrastructure, as well as further and higher education.
The region is experiencing an increase in population overall, however it has an older age profile than nationally,arguably the biggest challengehighlighted by the evidence is the retention and attraction of working age people. The Highlands and Islands Skills Investment Plan (SIP)picks up on the notion of a ‘missing generation’ stating an estimated gap of 21,700 people between the age of 15 and 39 compared to Scottish norms.
1.3.Participation in post-school education:
The region compares well with the rest of Scotland for participation in post-16 higher education by school leavers, however many young people are still entering higher education outside the region, with relatively few relocating from elsewhere.
Within the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area, in particular, there is continued concern about the out-migration of young people which is even more marked, proportionately, in rural and island areas.
The region compares less favourably in further education, with the exception of Perth and Kinross and Moray. While leaving the area to pursue further education is much less prevalent as it tends to be more local in its reach, direct entry to employment contributes more significantly to the overall positive destinations of local school leavers. The aggregated position of further and higher education is of considerable significance given the tertiary status of the university partnership. Although it appears to be the conventional wisdom that a `positive destination is a positive destination`, it is contended that the balance of outcomes for school leavers merits closer and more thorough investigation to determine whether that is indeed the reality (seen in particular from the perspectives of the young people themselves, and what might be regarded as being in their long-term interest). This is very much a case in point where this could only meaningfully be understood and action proposed at a local level via the community planning partnerships.
1.4.Participation from deprived areas:
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is the Scottish Government's official tool for identifying deprivation, however one of the criticisms of the SIMD is that it does not accurately reflect deprivation in rural areas. For example, the university’s main catchment area has only 4% of the MD20 areas (20% most deprived datazones), none within the islands, but it would be very superficial, and in denial of a considerable volume of other evidence, to conclude that there is little deprivation in the Highlands and Islands.
For instance, consideration of household income produces a very different picture. This is most graphically illustrated by Eilean Siar which, according to the Scottish Government’s own figures between 2005 and 2008, had the most households in relative poverty of all local authorities in Scotland. It is also the case that the Highlands and Islands area suffers much more markedly from fuel poverty and extreme fuel poverty. The latest data on travel to work/study distances in the region also reinforce the difficulties faced by many of our communities.
In summary, with much of the university partnership’s operating area being characterised as rural or remote rural, the SIMD has limited relevance and other measures are being investigated. We have commissioned our own research in this area which will be published early in 2015.We remain concerned that funding and activity decisions are based on a tool that is lacking in the necessary sophistication.
1.5.Employment, unemployment and qualification levels:
The Highlands and Islands SIP reinforces the contention that any contextualisation of our region requires sensitivity to the nature of the ‘sub-regions’. The SIP states that ‘the region is characterised by diverse local economies….’
This is highlighted by the data provided on regional employment and unemployment rates which compare favourably with the overall national position. However, when local levels of participation are considered, the variations are considerable.It must also be recognised that this ostensibly positive picture will almost certainly be masking the existence of higher levels of seasonal and part-time employment, variations in longer-term unemployment rates and rates of pay generally lower than the Scottish average.
Youth unemployment is also well below the Scottish average but again hides significant variations, with Orkney and Eilean Siar being above the national figure. This is also the case in Perth and Kinross.
The qualification profile of the working age population of the region is similar to the national picture and the Highlands and Islands SIP indicates that employers do not see attracting appropriately qualified staff as the most important issue facing their business, although this is more prevalent in the tourism and energy sectors.
However, while the proportion of vacancies in the region as a percentage of all jobs is relatively small, as is the proportion of vacancies attributed to skills shortages, the rate of hard-to-fill vacancies and skills shortages is greater than the rest of Scotland. The SIP provides a list of such skill gaps and shortages and the availability of training provision to respond to these was highlighted as a concern. This will merit serious consideration at a regional and local level.
The SIP does however acknowledge that ‘a key message from evidence assembled is that the level of detail on the skills needs of employers – both now and in the future – is not as comprehensive as it could be.” Thisis not a new phenomenon and underscores the fact that improving the regional and local economic performance will require both those who supply and those who demand skills to `raise their game`.
1.6.Economic Profile:
The Highlands and Islands SIPalso paints a positive picture of the economic performance of the area. Within the region there has been strong growth in the GovernmentEconomic Strategy’s growth sectors, specifically food and drink; tourism; creative industries; renewable energy; business services and life sciences; plus enabling technologies/ICT in Tayside. This is further evidenced by the fact that while the region accounts for 9% of Scottish jobs, it has 15% of the registered businesses in these growth sectors and 11% of Scotland’s growth sector employment.
The SIP does identify an over-reliance on public sector employment in most parts of the region, and in particular the islands stating that “…a large part of the good recent employment performance appears to be related to jobs growth in public administration, health and care...”. Thesearethe sectors that the colleges have historically excelled in supporting however, again according to the Plan, “...this represents both challenges in that it is unlikely to be sustained moving forward, and also opportunities for people being able to transfer their skills into growing sectors...”. The situation is mirrored in Tayside where health and education are two of the three largest sectors by employment.
This highlights the difficulty that the FE Regional Board (and the university) faces in how best to manage a realignment of the curriculum in a context of such uncertainty and the extent to which colleges should or can take risks by way of speculative curriculum planning.
It is further recognised that there are economic pressures and challenges beyond these Skills Investment/Assessment Plans that we must take cognisance of and respond to if they are to be at the heart of economic development. Examples of this can be found in Perth where the Perth City Plan provides for growth from low carbon technologies and in Moray where life science is an important sector identified within the Moray Economic Strategy.
The overarching message from the evidence assembled in the Highlands and Islands Skills Investment Planis one of opportunity. The university partnership has a role in addressing identified challengesby:
- Providing further and higher education opportunities within the region.
- Both directly and indirectly sustaining and creating jobs including through spin-outs and business start-ups and encouraging enterprise.
- Through its applied research, working with partners to improve service delivery within the region (for example in rural health services).
- Attracting people to work and study in the region.
- Regional Structures, Efficiency and Shared Outcomes
Regional Structures:
The planned changes to governance and management of further education within the region, and the changes to the governance of the university, both as a consequence of the Post-16 Education Act (‘the Act’) and following the review of the university’s governance, which pre-dates the Act, have now largely been completed, namely:
- The agreement and adoption of the revised Articles of Association of the University, including provision for its responsibilities as a “Strategic Regional Body” for further education under the Act, and
- The assignation of the eight fundable further education colleges within the region to the university as the Strategic Regional Body.
All that remains to be done relates to the signing of a Financial Memorandum between the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the university relating to further education and an assessment of the University’s fitness to take over the role of funder of further education from SFC, and the signing of financial memorandum between each assigned college and the university.
Regional efficiency:
Greater levels of efficiency in the operation of the university and the region’s colleges remain a top priority.Within the context of this broadly-based commitment to derive greater efficiency, there remains the commitment to an information technologyshared service, embracing the further and higher education activities of the partnership. However, this is not just an end in itself but is also an essential means to the more ambitious outcome of bringing about other shared services such as HR and Finance. The draft Strategic Vision and Plan 2015/20 places great store on the partnership “...further enhancing the economy, effectiveness and efficiency of our activities, whilst maintaining a broad range of geographically dispersed activity, including teaching, research and support functions, across the university partnership.”
Shared Outcomes:
Further specific commentary on these areas can be found in the further education and higher education sections:
- Employability:
UHI for Work and Enterprise is continuing to develop partnership-wide mechanisms and approaches aimed at improving our relationship with employers in particular. It will continue to develop relationships with key regional employers and a network of employer engagement practitioners across the partnership has been set up. This approach is and will continue to increase employer involvement in networked curriculum provision as well as more opportunities for our graduates.
Further developments in this area will be progressed via two of the strategic themes in the 2015/20 Strategic Vision and Plan:
- Our Students: covering integrated curriculum, learning and teaching and programme innovation
- University for All Our Region: covering employer and community engagement
These strategies will set out our aspirations, objectives and metrics in areas including: mechanisms to enhance our responsiveness to current and future regional and local needs linking to relevant area and sectoral Skills Investment Plans (including the Tayside Skills Assessment); the connections between our curriculum and the world of work including placement opportunities; the flexibility of and pathways through our tertiary curriculum; and our employer and community engagement.
- Curriculum Working Groups:
Curriculum mapping covering both further and higher education has now been undertaken in Tourism and Hospitality, Creative Industries and Engineering & Energy using the approach developed in 2012/13 for the Land and Sea Based strategy. The Regional Skills Investment and Assessment Plans and Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy are also key points of reference for planning our future curriculum and will be essential in shaping our programmes for European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF) funded activity.
- Student Representation Project
The Student Representation Project Board, which has been funded by the Scottish Funding Council,is now moving towards the final stages of its work. It has undertaken an investigation into existing structures and practices to establishtheir effectiveness from the vantage point of such interested parties as the University Court and College Boards, but most of all from the perspective of our further and higher education students. Proposals for change have been developed and agreed which will provide for much more effective and sustainable student representation arrangements to be put in place. These will operate at both a regional and local level enabling us not only to meet the high aspirations of our students but also our legal obligations. These will be in place for the start of session 2015/16.