Get to know the Education Landscape
There are around 5.5 million SMEs in the UK and the demand for fresh talent and skills across an ageing population is at an all-time high. Recruitment, upskilling and retaining staff lie at the heart of our economy. It is integral for businesses to engage with our education system; however, the education landscape is complex. When looking to the future, adaptability is key with 73% of SMEs agreeing that they can be more agile with recruitment and upskilling.
From A Levels to T Levels, apprenticeships, further education, and higher education, let’s face it, our education system is confusing for businesses to understand. However, there is a solution that thousands of businesses are already benefiting from, and the good news is it doesn’t cost anything.
SDN are proud to work in partnership with The Gatsby Charitable Foundation on the Education Landscape Programme. The programme has been developed with strategic partners such as the Federation of Small Businesses, British Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Directors, Careers and Enterprise Company, Department for Education, and the Confederation of British Industry.
Supporting SMEs Through Business Networks
The programme includes simple Guide and Index resources written in plain English, with the main aim being to simplify the complexity of our education system. If businesses gain a greater understanding of how the system works and what it can offer at the different levels, there is potential for higher engagement and solutions to fill the growing skills gap.
The Education Landscape has been designed to support SMEs across England to bridge the gap between business and education. Future talent sits within local education providers such as schools, colleges and Universities, and businesses can take a proactive approach to find it with the support of the free resources available to them through this programme. We partner with organisations such as trade associations and industry/sector led organisations so we can reach as many SMEs as possible. We now have over 100 partners who are already using the Guide and Index and we have seen positive results. You can find examples of how the resources are helping businesses on the Education Landscape’s dedicated website here. There are even options to edit the Guide and Index resources, giving you the option to personalise the assets into your own brand and style relevant to your business and industry.
How you can get involved
The demand for new talent and skills is on the rise across all sectors and the Education Landscape Programme is part of the solution. Here’s how you can get involved to get and grow the talent you need.
Visit the Education Landscape website
You can find out more on The Education Landscape website, where you will discover lots of information and resources to help you. If you are a trade association or sector body, we will work with you at no cost to support your members, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! If you’re an SME, you can download the Guide and Index directly from the website and start using it to support you today. There is also information on the benefits to your business, how to take your next steps and an FAQ with the answers to some common questions about the education and skills landscape and how businesses can get involved.
Take a look at the Education Landscape website: https://educationlandscape.org.uk/
Join our LinkedIn Community
Please join our LinkedIn community and follow our page to keep up to date. You can also email the team directly who are on hand to help you and you can connect directly with our Education Landscape team at the bottom of the page.
Visit our LinkedIn page and join the community today: www.linkedin.com/company/the-education-landscape/
Get Involved!
Be sure to use #educationlandscape, @gatsbyed and @educationlandscape when sharing the Guide and Index on Linkedin – and if you haven’t already, please fill out this short expression of interest form here so we can support you further.
Our Partnership Managers, Ruth Joseph and Carly Ward, are here to help you in whatever way we can. You can contact them below.
Drop-ins and Networking
We host monthly drop-in sessions which provide an overview of the Education Landscape’s FREE resources and are excellent opportunities for networking and developing positive working relationships. The sessions delve deeper into the opportunities for businesses support organisations (trade associations, professional and sector bodies) to support your members to engage with education.
Drop ins are hosted on Teams. Please click on the date that suits you to book your spot. The sessions delve deeper into the opportunities for businesses support organisations (trade associations, professional and sector bodies) to support your members to engage with education. The drop ins also provide a platform for networking, and we have seen positive working relationships flourish.
During the sessions we cover:
- An introduction to the Education Landscape programme and the business benefits for engaging with the education sector
- Case study – how organisations are benefitting from the programme
- Support for SMEs – benefits and free resources for your employer network
- An opportunity to discuss your specific skills and recruitment needs with colleagues from other organisations
All sessions start at 10am and last an hour. Feel free to share the drop-in sessions with colleagues and other organisations who work with SMEs so their network and members can benefit too.
Take a look at the drop in dates we have available: www.strategicdevelopmentnetwork.co.uk/drop-ins-and-networking/
Meet the Education Landscape team
For direct support, you can email us (educationlandscape@strategicdevelopmentnetwork.co.uk) or get in touch with one of our Partnership Managers below.
Ruth Joseph
Partnership Manager
Phone: 07939 934492
Email: ruth@strategicdevelopmentnetwork.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ruthjosephpartnerships
Carly Ward
Partnership Manager
Email: carly@strategicdevelopmentnetwork.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/carlywardsdn