Facing up to Cumbria’s Challenges
It was a refreshingly honest appraisal of the challenges facing Cumbria’s higher education institutions given by the University of Cumbria‘s Vice Chancellor Professor Julie Mennell and Professor of Practice Jackie Arnold MBE at LA23NET on Wednesday 10th October. Our county has a huge amount to be grateful for including two UNESCO World Heritage Sites combined with some of UK’s most significant engineering and defence projects. However, we are sparsely populated with an increasingly ageing population. Currently there are only 5000 18-year-olds across the region. The percentage of those who choose to go on to higher education is below the national average, and from that pool, a significant number choose to leave the county to attend university. Sounds like a challenge for a young university? It is.
Engaging Big Business
Prof. Mennell and Jackie Arnold MBE have a plan though, working collaboratively with numerous big businesses in the region, the University of Cumbria has mounted a practical and tactical assault plan. Courses specifically designed to support the recruitment gaps for the county’s biggest employers are proving popular already. Degrees and courses such as Project Managing, Engineering Level 7 Apprenticeships and more will address some of the countrywide skills gaps in these area. Collaboratively working alongside top-class employers such as BAE Systems, Sellafield, Siemens and many others, the University hopes to provide students with much-needed employable skills that are desirable both in and out of the county. The ideal scenario being that a student ‘walks into a job’.
Encouraging Ambition
Before all this though, the current generation of young people have a difficult decision to make when it comes to going down a higher-educational path. Tuition fees now stack up a hefty £9000 a year and in Cumbria we have the dichotomy of extremely wealthy areas existing cheek by jowl with some of the country’s most deprived. This unusual mix impacts the ambition of our young and University of Cumbria is taking a rounded approach to this. It’s multi-site campus is advantageous in that it is ‘on the ground’ and again a collaborative approach engaging schools, colleges and more is thought to be key.
Playing to Our Strengths
Living in an area of outstanding natural beauty provides huge personal benefits, but when it comes to finding well-paid work, perhaps not so much so. The tourism industry is one of Cumbria’s biggest economic contributors, but provides relatively low income employment for much of its workers. Today, Cumbria promises a world-class tourism offering to the globe and the University of Cumbria hopes to bolster this industry too by supporting employers and their staff with post-grad courses that enhance people’s skills, ambitions and wages.
Want to learn more?
It all sounds quite serious doesn’t it? Well that’s good, because LA23NET aims to foster real change for our area and business community. We do it by sharing the big issues in an informal way (aka giving everyone great food from local independents, interesting venues and a complimentary bar.) Why not come along next time and find out for yourself? In the meantime, Prof. Julie Mennell and Jackie Arnold MBE are very much ‘open for questions’ so contact the University to find out how your business can collaborate and make a difference to your bottom line, the University and young people.