News

It’s Manufacturing Month in Northern Ireland this month. Led by the campaigning organisation Manufacturing NI, there’s a programme of events highlighting the successes and challenges facing the sector currently. To mark the initiative, The Open University (OU) Northern Ireland produced a podcast, discussing the future of skills and learning in Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector.

The report, published by The Open University, in partnership with Public Sector Executive (PSE), highlights almost three quarters (73%) of public sector employees would be more likely stay in a job that allowed remote or hybrid working.

The Open University (OU) has revealed new findings detailing how employers in England are struggling to meet the digital skills gap in their organisation.

The Open University (OU) has revealed new findings detailing how employers in England are struggling to meet the digital skills gap in their organisation.

The social work profession has faced considerable challenges the past 10-15 years. There are significant recruitment and retention issues, particularly in more remote and rural areas. Funding challenges have had an impact on learning and development provision. At the same time, demand for social worker interventions have been rising, with social workers undertaking increasingly complex support of vulnerable people.

Graduate apprenticeships are helping plug digital skills gaps in Scotland, particularly in the business critical area of cyber security. As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week (7-11 March), The Open University in Scotland (OUiS) hosted an employer webinar to talk about the current digital skills landscape in Scotland and the role of apprenticeships in addressing skills challenges.

Prof. Nick Braithwaite, Executive Dean, STEM Faculty and Vice-Chancellor’s Executive Sponsor for Sustainability shares what sustainability means for The Open University (OU).

Dave Hardy’s employees have had quite a lot of downtime the past couple of years. His two businesses – the events company Glory Days and the apartment company Destination Edinburgh – had periods of total inactivity due to Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions, with employees furloughed through the quiet times.

Sometimes in the workplace new projects or new job roles require employees to learn or refresh their skills quickly and efficiently. This might be brushing up on a language they last practised at school, or something to build knowledge around a new technology, customer, market or sector. A short, focused learning programme can play dividends and help the organisation succeed.

There are significant skills shortages in Scotland, with almost two thirds of Scottish employers (63%) struggling to access the talent they need, according to The Open University’s Business Barometer Report 2021. This situation is having a big impact on many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Scotland.