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Chapter Three Main Findings

Observations Across the Business Sample

Commonalities

3.1 It emerged that many commonalties existed across the 2 groups in the sample, the ' DtS only' and ' DtS and before' groups. All were aware of the existence of the DtS strategy and its underpinning philosophy.

3.2 In terms of specific knowledge there was very limited awareness of the specific 20 recommendations of the DtS strategy. However for business purposes, such specific knowledge is of limited importance as, as far as businesses are concerned, they are engaging with schools and their pupils as opposed to executing or fulfilling specific constituent parts of DtS strategy.

3.3 Indeed, businesses who had been engaged in enterprising opportunities with schools for several years were unable to name previous Enterprise in Education government strategies, despite their relatively long term and significant engagement with schools.

3.4 Businesses held the attitude that they would be engaged in opportunities with schools regardless of the existence of the DtS strategy. Some expressed the sentiment that involvement with schools was something that they would be 'doing anyway'. Therefore, DtS was not perceived by businesses to be the main reason that they were currently engaged with schools. Many of the businesses were involved in enterprising opportunities with schools for some time before the launch of the DtS strategy.

3.5 At the outset of the study, the Scottish Executive believed that the main difference between the 2 sample groups (' DtS and before' and ' DtS only') would be that the ' DtS and before' group would have been engaged in EinE opportunities with schools prior to the launch of the DtS strategy, whereas the ' DtS only' group would have begun their engagement with schools after the launch of DtS. However, this was not found to be the case.

3.6 As expected the ' DtS and before' businesses had been engaged in EinE opportunities for many years and certainly prior to the launch of DtS. However, both business groups had been engaged, in some form or another, in enterprising opportunities with schools since before the launch of the DtS strategy. Indeed, some businesses from the DtS only group had been engaged in enterprise opportunities for many years. Moreover, some of the DtS only businesses had well established and highly structured EinE policies in place.

Business Perceptions of DtS

3.7 Perceptions of DtS strategy are generally positive. Businesses feel that DtS fits with their own thinking around EinE. Also, DtS is a good fit for those businesses relatively well defined school engagement / EinE policies.

3.8 Some businesses felt that the DtS strategy acted as a useful check or means of comparison for their own EinE strategy. Also, the existence of DtS meant that there was a tangible nationwide EinE strategy that could be referred to when advocating increased or sustained commitment to business involvement in EinE for the coming year. There was also some satisfaction expressed from businesses over the goals of DtS being very similar to that of their own EinE policy.

3.9 Businesses believed that DtS was a coordinated, nationwide strategy. There was an awareness that a variety of stakeholders such as schools, Local Authorities, Young Enterprise Scotland and Careers Scotland were all behind DtS and were collaborating in order to deliver DtS strategy.

3.10 All businesses were in favour of DtS in principle. For businesses, DtS was helping to push EinE up the agenda. There was a realisation that DtS had enjoyed initial high-level political involvement as its launch and this helped to articulate the importance of the strategy.

"It puts it on a broader footing. It has encouraged us to be more precise in terms of what we think we can do to help children…developing a relationship with the schools" ( DtS only)

"It is really good to get it recognised at a high level in the company…a Scottish Executive initiative …and this is how we are supporting it. It really helped when I put my proposal together for my manager" ( DtS and before)

"I think nationally there has been a major change in the strategy, and I think perception has changed, that there is encouragement of enterprise education in schools. There is clearly quite a lot going on because I have other business colleagues who have been engaged" ( DtS and before)

"They seem to have teams of people from education and Careers Scotland…working together on DtS so it does sound like it has…got more focus" ( DtS and before)

The business view on engaging with EinE

3.11 Businesses realised that engagement in enterprising opportunities yields a variety of benefits for schools, businesses and ultimately Scottish society.

3.12 Schools, pupils and teachers were thought to benefit from engagement with business in several ways. Engagement brought an awareness of the realities of the world of businesses and practical knowledge of how businesses turn ideas or theory into workable practice. Pupils were perceived by businesses to gain valuable knowledge and experience and businesses felt that exposure to the business world sparked interest in pupils that could potentially influence their future subject and/or career choices. There was also the belief that businesses could offer pupils and schools a form of active learning that could not be presented to pupils by traditional 'text book' school teaching methods.

3.13 For businesses, perceived benefits included that they felt they were giving something back to the community through engagement with schools. There were also specific, more tangible benefits that businesses could refer to when discussing benefits yielded through EinE involvement.

3.14 Businesses believed that they were helping to redress specific skill shortages that were a cause of concern in the current workforce and the workforce of the future. This was especially true for those businesses involved in industries where a lack of skills is believed to be particularly acute (i.e. physics, maths and engineering). Business also believed that exposure to their businesses may spark an interest in the pupil and therefore aid future recruitment for their businesses if a relationship could be forged at an early stage, although this was not a priority.

3.15 Other specific benefits to businesses included that business staff could complete continuing professional development ( CPD) activities through involvement with teachers and/or pupils and this would help with their career development. Also, business felt that through engaging with schools there could be positive public relations ( PR) benefits.

3.16 Ultimately, businesses believed that the benefits to businesses and schools / pupils would have a positive effect on Scottish society as a whole.

What is enterprise?

3.17 Businesses believed that enterprise, whilst rather difficult to accurately define, was comprised of both attitudinal and practical elements - therefore it was not enough to have an 'enterprising attitude' without having the know-how to put theory into practice.

3.18 Attitudinal elements included having a 'can do' attitude and being ready / having the courage to try out ideas and take risks. An enterprising attitude also meant having the ability to think differently about business problems.

3.19 Businesses believed that the rationale behind engaging pupils in enterprising activities was not to encourage a nation of entrepreneurs, as this would be both unrealistic and unsustainable. Rather, enterprising opportunities should help to furnish young people with the necessary skills and business insights to succeed in their working life.

"Not with the objective that everybody's going to start a business because that's not possible and the economy couldn't stand it…they will take their enterprising attitude with them. An understanding of the business process and some enthusiasm for it …will strengthen what they do in whatever organisation they get involved in and that's my understanding of DtS" ( DtS and before)

"There are some people who say that what we have to do is to engender in our young people a 'have a go' mentality. That's only part of it. There's no point in having a go if people don't know how to have a go" ( DtS and before)

"What are the characteristics of your Richard Bransons…Alan Sugars?...It is a certain determination and single mindedness that perhaps we should be nurturing in some way. It's not going to be everybody but you still need...to help support somebody who's like that" (DtS and before)

Business Engagement with DtS Enterprise Opportunities

3.20 Businesses were engaged in a wide variety of engagement opportunities with schools. This involvement ranged from the more traditional week-long work experience placement, to co-coaching programmes with teachers, long-term pupil placements, teacher placements at business sites, bespoke 'curriculum-friendly' EinE packs, judging enterprise days at schools and hosting project or subject related day trips from schools.

3.21 It is when the method of first engagement between businesses and the DtS strategy is considered that the main difference between the 2 groups comprising the business sample emerges.

3.22 The ' DtS and before' group were likely to have had their first involvement with the DtS strategy when the strategy was being formulated by the Scottish Executive. Indeed, many of the ' DtS and before' had been consulted in person by representatives from the Scottish Executive before the launch of the strategy. The ' DtS and before' group were also likely to have been engaged with other agencies such as Careers Scotland or Young Enterprise Scotland before engaging with DtS.

3.23 Whilst the ' DtS and before' group had also been engaged in EinE opportunities post DtS launch through the efforts of Local Authorities, the ' DtS only' group were most likely to have been first engaged in DtS via this route. Indeed for the ' DtS only' group, the Local Authorities tended to have played a greater role in terms of their engagement with the DtS strategy. For the ' DtS only' group, Local Authorities played an important role in terms of acting as educators about what the DtS strategy meant for them and they also introduced businesses to Local Authorities. The ' DtS only' group also benefited from Local Authority involvement who acted as useful sources of advice and guidance regarding ways in which a business might get involved with schools.

Local Authorities and DtS

3.24 Local Authorities, like businesses, were positive about the philosophy underpinning DtS. All Local Authorities included in the research study were confident about achieving the national target of 5 partnership agreements per school cluster.

3.25 Each Local Authority was currently engaged in a highly tailored, localised approach to implementing DtS strategy in their area. This meant that each Local Authority adopted a unique approach toward DtS and therefore there was no standard approach across the 10 Local Authorities. An individualised approach was thought to be the optimal way to implement DtS strategy in each respective area, as each area had its own particular physical, economic and social set of circumstances.

3.26 Across the Local Authorities there was a wide variety of enterprise opportunities currently being undertaken with local businesses. The type of activity was dependent on the particular approach adopted by the individual Local Authority. The opportunities included: business breakfast meetings with SMEs, partnership agreement introduction and sign up sessions, face-to-face one-on-one meetings with businesses to explain the DtS strategy and targeted information mail outs introducing and explaining the DtS strategy.

3.27 The Local Authorities regarded their experiences when working with local businesses on DtS to be positive. Local Authorities had found businesses to be, in general, receptive to the concept of DtS and there was good evidence of businesses being 'signed up' to partnership agreements with schools.

3.28 However, whilst the formal partnership agreements were regarded as a recognisable and tangible tool by Local Authorities, they were not believed to be an appropriate means of engaging all types of businesses. Some Local Authorities reported a level of dissatisfaction with partnership agreements as they were perceived by some businesses as too formal. This was especially the case for areas where business was conducted on a very informal or ad-hoc manner.

3.29 In terms of their experiences when working with the Scottish Executive on DtS, Local Authorities regarded this is being a fruitful working relationship. In particular, Local Authorities appreciated the advice and assistance that the Scottish Executive had been able to give them when required. The Scottish Executive was regarded as a good source of ideas around how a Local Authority might formulate and carry out their individualised plans for engaging businesses with the DtS strategy.

3.30 Figure 3.1 below illustrates an approach actually adopted by a Local Authority. This approach shows the intent from the Local Authority post holder to use existing business communication networks to disseminate the message of DtS. This example also shows how the post holder aims to have put measures and procedures in place so that the model for enterprise between businesses and schools in the local area is sustainable in the future.

Figure 3.1: an example of best practice from a Local Authority

DtS CHALLENGES

3.31 A number of challenges relating to the DtS strategy implementation emerged during the course of the research with both businesses and Local Authorities. This section will discuss each in turn.

Communication

3.32 The type rather than the volume of communication reaching businesses from Local Authorities emerged as an issue of concern for businesses. In general, knowledge about the DtS strategy held by businesses did not extend beyond the overall philosophy underpinning the strategy. Whilst specific knowledge of the recommendations and targets was not desired by businesses, there was a feeling that businesses did not have an appreciation of how the strategy was 'bedding in' since its launch. Therefore, businesses held no appreciation of how successful or otherwise DtS was proving to date.

3.33 Businesses were concerned that they did not know what was happening with DtS either in their own Local Authority area, in neighbouring areas or nationwide. This lack of knowledge regarding progress left businesses with some questions as to the efficacy of their own EinE involvements.

3.34 Businesses wondered why there was no progress update contact from the Scottish Executive regarding the progress of DtS, especially since many of the businesses had received significant contact from the Scottish Executive in the run up to DtS launch. Similarly, businesses felt that Local Authorities could have provided information about how DtS was being implemented (and to what success) in their area.

3.35 The desire for progress updates expressed by the businesses is perhaps indicative of the difference in pace between the business and education worlds. Those in the business world are perhaps more used to see results in a shorter timescale than expected in the world of education / policy formulation.

"I haven't had a school from…[name-of Local Authority]…approach me to be involved in anything to do with DtS. Now whether this Local Education Authority has taken up the DtS challenge I am not sure" ( DtS and before)

"I don't really know how it's gone. I talk to other business people…Some have good experiences; some have bad experiences...Taken quite a long time for this thing to bite and get going" (DtS and before)

"There's a sense of fragmentation sometimes, the sort of things that come out, but I always think that's the key things. As I say, sometimes you'll feel that it's not very joined up" ( DtS and before)

Public relations to date

3.36 There was little recall of the newsletter Engage sent to businesses in the spring 2005. However, this may be due in part to the timing of the research, as it was also conducted in spring of 2005. Each of the 24 business interviewees was shown a copy of the newsletter. Whilst relatively interesting, the newsletter was thought to be of more use to those businesses who were not currently engaged with DtS. Ways in which the newsletter could be made more relevant to businesses currently engaged included if a progress update was given on how DtS was being implemented across Scotland. Regional progress updates were also cited as desired information for businesses.

3.37 There was little recall of the media campaign aimed at businesses. Although the primary aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of DtS rather than to engage businesses, awareness of the campaign across the 24 businesses was very low. Local Authorities commented that they had not received any enquiries from businesses as a result of the media campaign. Some Local Authority contacts commented that in certain, more rural areas, the best approach to adopt if trying to communicate with businesses was a face to face informal approach.

Private sector involvement

3.38 There were varying attitudes found toward the involvement of the private sector. Some Local Authorities had employed the services of private companies to act as enterprise consultants. These companies assisted the Local Authority with their individual DtS strategies - opportunities included acting as the link between businesses and schools, acting as enterprise idea generators for schools and signing up businesses to Local Authority partnership agreements. Some Local Authorities had decided to adopt this approach as some felt they did not have the appropriate level of knowledge of enterprise and business. Another reason for private sector involvement was that it reduced the workload for the Local Authority (given their finite resources).

3.39 A small number of businesses had reservations around the use of private consultants in this way. These concerns were based around the belief that private companies were profiting from enterprise opportunities with schools as the businesses themselves were giving of their time for free.

3.40 Some businesses intended to promote their own enterprise programmes which have been formulated in line with their own businesses agendas. However well intentioned, it may be that these private business initiatives do not have the education and development of young people as their overriding objective.

Local vs National delivery

3.41 Businesses and Local Authorities accepted that the DtS strategy must be delivered via Local Authorities, due to the unique set of economic, social and geographic circumstances at play for each authority. There was a realisation from Local Authorities and businesses that Local Authorities could not adopt a 'one size fits all' approach to tying to engage businesses in their area.

3.42 For some businesses, the most recent update regarding the DtS strategy they had received was at the time of launch. On a national level, lack of communication meant that the feeling of being involved in a national strategy was being diluted. At a local level, a perceived lack of communication meant that some businesses were unsure as to how they were performing with regard to DtS when compared to other businesses and they were also unsure as to what was happening regarding DtS in their local area.

3.43 A small number of businesses felt that the priorities of the Local Authority meant that their enterprise activity was not considered for inclusion in DtS. These businesses were likely to have their own programmes, or heavy involvement in existing programmes which involved their business engaging with schools. These businesses reported negative experiences when engaging with Local Authorities and the Scottish Executive, mainly due to their enterprise opportunities not matching with the Local Authorities DtS strategy plan. However, it may be the case that such issues are inevitable when individual strategic approaches are adopted.

Formal Partnership Agreement Formats

3.44 Across the businesses, the formal partnership agreement format was found to be most appropriate for those businesses that were either new to EinE, or had previously been relatively lightly engaged in EinE opportunities with schools. For these businesses, the partnership agreement format helped formalise their relationship with the schools and articulate what was expected from both the school and the business. Also, the partnership agreement provided tangible evidence of their involvement with schools.

3.45 For some of the businesses who had been engaged in enterprise opportunities for a number of years, the partnership agreements were regarded as an unnecessary appendage to their engagement with schools. Some felt that they did not require a formalisation of a relationship that had been in existence for some time.

3.46 Additionally, some businesses felt that the process of 'signing up' businesses and schools in this way suggested something of a tick box mentality being adopted by Local Authorities. However, this opinion was by no means held by the majority of businesses. Indeed, some found the partnership agreements as a relatively useful document.

"She wanted to formalise the partnerships with the businesses that she worked with. Basically she just asked if that would be ok and we said 'Yes we're doing it anyway. We might as well.' It was very painless!" ( DtS and before)

Measurement

3.47 In terms of measuring the effect of engagement in enterprise opportunities, businesses elicited a variety of views and practices around this topic. Generally, the larger the businesses, the more sophisticated the method of measurement applied. For example, some large businesses measured the effect in terms of the number of people who participated in EinE opportunities with them going on to select a related subject (i.e. physics or chemistry) in further or higher education.

3.48 For smaller scale businesses, measurement of the success or otherwise of their involvement tended to be relatively ad-hoc. For example one business commented that if they were invited back to participate next year by the school, they must be doing something right.

3.49 An overall finding was that most businesses were relatively unsure about how to measure the quality or impact of the enterprise opportunity they had engaged with.

3.50 The issue of measurement, although difficult to define in the context of enterprise, was an important issue for businesses and Local Authorities with regard to DtS. There was a general belief held that as DtS remained a strategy in relative infancy, there was no expectation for accurate or comprehensive measurement and/or evaluation to have been conducted. However, there was a desire from businesses to gain an appreciation or feeling for how DtS strategy was progressing, that it was moving forward and that they remained part of something national and worthwhile.

Evidence of Business Engagement with DtS

3.51 This section will highlight a selection of case studies illustrating examples of enterprise opportunities between businesses and schools.

Figure 3.2 Evidence of DtS influencing the design and roll-out of a multi-national company's EinE strategy

3.52 Figure 3.2 illustrates how a multi-national company combined its thinking and planning with that of DtS strategy to produce and innovative programme that involves head teachers of schools across Scotland partnering senior business figures to co-coach each other.

Figure 3.3 Evidence of business being dissatisfied with lack of contact with Local Authority

3.53 Figure 3.3 illustrates a well established SME who expressed dissatisfaction with the level of contact received around DtS post launch. This particular SME had been involved at the strategy formulation stage (had received contact from the Scottish Executive) but not since. This had led to a feeling of ambiguity over why there had been such a lack of contact.

Figure 3.4 Evidence of DtS formalising EinE engagement opportunities

3.54 Figure 3.4 highlights an example of how a partnership agreement can crystallise enterprise opportunities between schools and businesses. In this case, a business that had been involved in ad-hoc enterprise opportunities with schools for several years was increasing its level of involvement as a result of agreeing enterprising opportunities with the Local Authority and school.

Taking DtS Forward Through Communication

Figure 3.5 Communication messages and their potential effect

3.55 Figure 3.5 shows potential messages that the Scottish Executive may wish to communicate around DtS and, on the right, their potential effect on business attitudes and perceptions around DtS.

"Every so often they'll (Barnardos) drop us a note saying 'Here's a list of ten things that we're up to. If you're interested…give us a shout' These are short-term tactical office-based but equally the conversation could be around the planning of a 3 year programme…They are focussing the communication on opportunities that we might want to take, that would be of interest to us, that would fit with our profile" ( DtS only)

"Long term strategy…I think that's something that's needing to be clearly communicated" ( DtS and before)

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