Higher Education Task Force Report - Essay Example

Topic: According to the CBI Higher Education Task Force report ‘Stronger together: Businesses & universities in turbulent times’ (2009), ‘all students need to develop employability skills while they are at university€™ and ‘should leave university with… Proposed Essay Structure The essay needs to dwell mainly on the role of CBI Higher Education Task Force in reporting on the topic of ‘Stronger together: Businesses and universities in turbulent times’ written in 2009. The report has stressed highly on the importance of coming together and closer of businesses and universities for providing higher education to generate employment opportunities. Depending solely on the report won’t be right, so knowing what has been there in the minds of businesses, their opinion on the crucial issues is important to know; whether they have signalled a message to the government and universities on their requirements and expectations from them on what type of higher education, training and vocational courses would be in demand in the near future by the different industry sectors needs to be made. Government policy on this crucial issue is another aspect, which can determine the guidelines to be formulated. The proposed essay structure needs to present an analysis of the view points of different industry heads on the possibilities of investing funds by them and the government to speed up the process of economic growth. The role of media needs to be pinpointed to know the impact of the campaign on higher education policy. Contribution of media in initiating a national debate through various broadcasting channels would add value to the content of the essay. The essay will thoroughly cover the content and remarks made by Sam Laidlaw, Chairman of the CBI HE taskforce. His remarks in the speech made by him on October 20, 2009 will be quoted to reach the thesis statement of the essay, which is justifying the need to develop stronger ties between the different stakeholders who are equal partners in finding and increasing employment opportunities for university graduates to help them fulfill the market needs as soon as students start their career. The government, universities and the businesses are the direct stakeholders while students will reap the benefits indirectly by getting grants on tuition fees and right employment opportunities. Sam Laidlaw is not only the chairman of the CBI HE taskforce but also the chief executive of Centrica. Hopefully, his views should present a clear picture of all aspects including not just employment but the niche area to pay more attention, namely subjects like science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) where the demand of the businesses on hunting talent has not been fulfilled and is going to rise further in future. Arguments given for creating and developing stronger relations between the universities, government and businesses in turbulent times need to be discussed in the proposed essay to substantiate the steps and recommendations made in the report. Other than that commitments made by the 13 businesses involved need to be discussed and analysed to comprehend the possibilities of developing stronger ties between the different stakeholders. The role played by the government should be significant in realising the aims of the task force by providing tuition fees loans, raising teaching standards and research standards besides other such aims to attain targets on higher education. Opinions of business heads on the current downfall in economic growth connecting it to the shortage of right talent will be discussed to provide important feedback to universities in starting such courses that have instant demand in the business marketplace and provide necessary training after the completion of the courses in the relevant businesses is of key importance. Summary: The essay will take into consideration the interests of key stakeholders by creating bridges between businesses and universities to know what types of courses, training, research and funds are needed to help the task of creating skilled man power keeping the future needs of businesses and the country on the whole to contribute where it is lacking. Top areas of interest include employment generation, STEM, research & innovation and funding so that within next few years we expect positive results of the efforts made in the right direction by all stakeholders. The government policy in this regard has been instrumental and positive in releasing necessary funds so that universities don’t face the lack of funds to be invested in research and innovation for the overall growth of the economy. The pillar of support is the role of the government in creating an environment where students opt for such subjects at school and university level which are in demand and effort of the university and school teachers in inspiring the students to choose such subjects that can place them in the job market; students should feel that whatever they have learnt in their studies is of practical value in real life scenarios. Sample Essay Paragraphs Employment generation has been one of the focus points of the CBI HE Taskforce Report. Sam Laidlaw, chairman of the task force and chief executive of Centrica (Centrica, 2009) has stressed on the significance of generating more and better employment opportunities for the graduates. Students need to develop the right set of skills that are needed to help them in finding employment. He has further stressed on the need for employers to provide right training and work experience by offering internships and placements to school and university students. In this context, remarks of Ian Cheshire, Group chief executive, Kingfisher are noteworthy by providing support of the businesses to enhancing the job opportunities, “I want students to leave higher education equipped with the employability skills they will need to cope with the challenges of the workplace. Having good business awareness or the ability to tackle day to day problems will greatly benefit a young person and is highly prized by employers. (CBI HE Taskforce report, 2009 P. 12)” Universities need to play a constructive role in creating enterprising skills in its graduates. Innovation and creativity are the hallmarks of cashing on the emerging opportunities besides a lot depends in taking risky business initiatives. Such courses need to be introduced that provide business management skills other than the degree course opted by the students. Learning of foreign languages also should be promoted to increase the horizon so that communicating skills get enhanced on the global platform; it is highly valued by employers also. According to Rick Trainor, Principal Kings College, London, “Universities are vital to the UK’s long-term economic health and sustainability. By improving graduates’ chances of getting a job, assisting businesses to increase their productivity, or making the technological breakthroughs of tomorrow, the contribution of universities will have a lasting impact.” In this regard, Prof. Ebdon, chairman of the Think tank million+ has raised the issue of government policy and called upon the student community and universities together: “Students and universities can’t be left in the dark. Labour needs to say where it stands well before the election. Do you want the richest universities with very few students to be allowed to charge fees of £7,000 or £10,000 a year? Or, do you want a fairer system that includes part-time students and makes sure that universities like Bedfordshire have the resources they need to teach the students of tomorrow as well as today?... So come on Labour – no shilly-shallying. What is the plan? What is the campaign and what is the higher education promise that will win another term? (News: September27, 2009)”. These remarks show the political support to the cause of students and change needed in the policy of the government. Funding has been another topic of importance in the context of universities’ education programmes promoting employment. The Funding Council’s proposals of the Higher Education Funding Council for England have been encouraging as funding is a crucial ingredient without which universities cannot go ahead. According to Prof. Ebdon, “There has always been a case for research funding in the UK to be better focused on the needs of the economy and society… a step forward in achieving that goal and in part reflect the approach taken to research and innovation in other countries” (News:September 24, 2009). Funding from public sector has been on the down side because of the economic downturn also but the government should maintain the international standards of supporting students. According to Mr. Lambert, CBI Director-general, “The economic downturn makes cuts to public funding for HE inevitable, so new sources of funding have to be found. Universities and business must work together to preserve the quality of teaching and research, waste in the HE system must be cut, with universities sharing more of their services and consolidating to make efficiencies” (Press release 21 September, 2009). The taskforce rejected the three options of cutting cost that include a cut in research funding, cut in teaching budgets and number of students. In stead, dependence should be more on student support system. References: CBI -- the Voice of Business, September 2009, Stronger together businesses and universities in turbulent times A report from the CBI Higher Education Task Force, viewed 4 December 2009, Centrica, October, 2009, ‘Stronger Together: businesses and universities in turbulent times Launch of CBI HE Task Force Report – Speech for Sam Laidlaw’, viewed 4 December 2009, News: "No shilly-shallying" urges Vice Chancellor, 28 September 2009 12:38:49 PM, viewed 4 December 2009, . News: Funding council proposals a step forward says Vice Chancellor, 24 September, 2009 9:30:48 AM, viewed 4 December 2009, . Sam Laidlaw, Chairman of the CBI HE taskforce and CEO of Centrica, said, 21 September 2009, viewed 4 December 2009, . Bibliography http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/task-force/ http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/latest_news/00161/ http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/policy/ http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/policy/employability/ http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/uploaded/CBI_HE_taskforce_report.pdf http://highereducation.cbi.org.uk/media/ Read More