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Evaluation of the Scottish University for Industry

The Scottish University for Industry ( SUfI) - branded as learndirect scotland - launched its activities in October 2000. In November 2005, SQW was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to conduct an evaluation of SUfI, with the overall aim of assessing its impact in qualitative and quantitative terms.

Main Findings

• The survey of callers to the main SUfI helpline found that 24% of those who went on to undertake learning would not have done so without the support from SUfI. This equates to an estimated 6,800 new learners, a quarter of whom are from socially excluded area postcodes and 23% of whom have done no learning since leaving school.
• The survey results suggest that 3,100 learners who were not in work at the time of their call to the SUfI helpline have subsequently moved into employment. Of these it is estimated that 400 would not have enrolled in learning without contacting SUfI, and SUfI is therefore directly responsible for assisting them into work. Additional benefits to individuals include increased self-confidence and self-esteem, and positive shifts in attitudes towards learning.
• SUfI's Training Partner service achieves high levels of satisfaction amongst SMEs. Of the total of 44 survey respondents who had received a visit from a Training Partner, 37 reported that the service had a positive impact upon their business.
• It is estimated that between 4,500 and 5,000 ¹ employees have undertaken learning or training who would not have done so without SUfI. Based on evidence from a number of training impact studies, it is estimated that this activity would lead to increased wage payments of around £3.4m. The total estimated new value added for business is around £7m.
• A strength of SUfI is the regular and widespread generation of monitoring data relating to its operations, its impact, and the receptiveness of individuals and SMEs to what it offers. In addition, SUfI's dynamism, responsiveness and 'can-do' culture are widely acknowledged by stakeholder organisations.
• High levels of customer satisfaction are evident amongst callers to SUfI's helplines for individuals and companies.
• The overriding conclusion to be drawn from the study is that the funding allocated to SUfI represents good value for money, when viewed in the context of its contribution to the longer term economic and social goals of Scotland.

The Scottish University for Industry ( SUfI)

SUfI's main objectives are to: stimulate the demand for learning; provide information and advice; improve access; and develop infrastructure and capacity.

To support these aspirations SUfI has established a technology-enabled infra-structure with the following features: a network of over 500 quality-assured branded learning centres; a national database of over 80,000 quality-assured learning opportunities; two national information and advice helplines for individuals and businesses; a team of field-based support staff who assist learning centres and small businesses to engage more effectively with their clients.

Survey of individual learners

The evaluation included a telephone survey of 300 individual callers to the SUfI helpline. Almost two thirds of respondents had either completed a course since contacting SUfI or were undertaking learning at the time of the survey.

Respondents were asked about their motivation for calling SUfI. The most commonly cited reason was 'wanting to learn a new skill', followed by 'looking to improve career prospects'. Survey findings support the notion that employment or work-related reasons lie behind the majority of decisions of adults to engage in learning activity.

It is one of SUfI's key aims to attract interest from people who might not previously have felt that learning is for them. An encouraging finding from the survey was that a significant proportion of respondents who had completed a course of learning since contacting SUfI can be described as 'new learners': almost one quarter had not done any learning since leaving school.

Around one fifth of respondents of working age who were not in work at the time of contacting SUfI reported that they had subsequently found a job. Of these, a substantial proportion felt that their new employed status was directly attributable to SUfI. Likewise, a small but significant number of people already in employment reported that they had found a better job since calling the helpline and attributed this directly to SUfI. Of the 65 people in the research sample who had gained a qualification since contacting the helpline, 64 attributed this directly to SUfI.

It is important to remember, however, that 'hard' benefits such as jobs, qualifications, etc do not provide the full story about engagement in learning. For many individuals, less tangible benefits can be equally important. The survey results also provide evidence of gains in confidence, self-esteem, contentment and positive shifts in attitudes towards learning.

Survey of SMEs

SUfI provides information and advice to businesses via the National Business Training Advice Line ( NBTAL). The evaluation included a telephone survey of 200 SMEs that had contacted the NBTAL.

Although 35 per cent of respondents already had a specific training course in mind when they called the helpline, a significant proportion were unsure about their training needs. Survey findings highlighted the need for a considerable degree of input from Training Partners in working alongside employers to identify needs and discuss appropriate means of addressing them.

Of the 44 respondents who had received a visit from a Training Partner since calling the NBTAL, 37 reported that this had a positive impact upon their business. This suggests that, where awareness can be generated, there is considerable potential for Training Partners to influence employers' attitudes to, and subsequent participation in, training.

Around half of SME respondents indicated that employees within their organisation had undertaken training in the period since the initial contact with SUfI. Of these, more than two thirds said that the training was likely to have happened anyway. However, many pointed out that it would have taken them longer to find the information that they needed, or that it would have been more expensive. By speeding up training activity or making it more cost-effective to employers, SUfI can be said to be contributing to greater productivity, profitability and efficiency among employers.

SMEs reported considerable tangible benefits arising from their contact with SUfI, particularly in the form of skills and qualifications. Moreover, additionality levels are high. Of the 65 SMEs that reported increases in skills, more than three quarters said that this was directly attributable to SUfI intervention.

'Soft' benefits arising from training were also highlighted by the survey: these include more confidence amongst employees who had received training, increased contentment, higher aspirations and a better appreciation of the value of learning.

Branded learning centres

The evaluation included a survey of 30 branded learning centres ( BLCs) and two focus groups with BLC managers.

The survey showed the actual benefits accruing from becoming a branded learning centre were greater than those anticipated at the time of applying. The cash funding which SUfI has provided for centres to upgrade equipment or resources was noted and appreciated by respondents. It should be appreciated, however, that such funding is not an ongoing programme, and is only available through discrete arrangements with the Scottish Executive. However, many felt that the real benefits came in the form of other things, particularly the training provided to administrative staff, being part of a network, and the opportunity to share experience with other centres.

These benefits are captured in the words of one BLC interviewee: "Branded status gives us support from a national organisation with a good reputation. The materials that SUfI provides - promotional literature, guidance, etc - are well thought out. Branded status keeps us in touch with news and developments in the world of learning and training. It gives us access to new ideas and innovations - it always keeps us thinking."

As BLCs are neither owned nor managed by SUfI, they are not formally obliged to provide SUfI with statistics about learning activity. The majority do, however, provide basic monthly figures on the number of learners using the centre. More than half of interviewees indicated that they would be willing in principle to provide more detailed monthly statistics if asked to do so, if it would help SUfI monitor its impact more effectively.

Value for money

The assessment of value for money in the case of SUfI is challenging, for several reasons. First, SUfI is not a provider of learning: it is a broker of learning, providing only one component of the process by which individuals or companies embark on learning activities. Second, much of SUfI's work is driven by aspirations as much as concrete objectives: it aspires to engage the 'hardest to reach' who have exhibited no desire to learn or even to consider that learning was for them. SUfI's successes in inculcating widespread attitudinal and cultural change may not be evident for many years.

Such challenges notwithstanding, it is possible to provide an indicative assessment of the costs and benefits inherent in SUfI's operations.

The total allocation of funding to SUfI in 2005-06 was £8.5 million, excluding VAT, as core budget, and £133 thousand for specific projects. Extrapolating from the survey results to produce indicative values, it can be concluded that this £8.5m of public investment has generated the following:

• around 6,800 additional learners
• directly moved around 400 people into work
• engaged around 4,500 additional SME employees in learning
• an increase in GVA in Scottish businesses of at least £7m.

Overall, therefore, the funding allocated to SUfI represents good value for money when viewed in the context of the potential contribution of the service to the longer term economic and social goals of Scotland.

Methodology

The methodology used to conduct the evaluation comprised the following:

• desk based review of data and background information
• consultations with key SUfI personnel
• telephone survey of 300 individuals
• telephone survey of 200 SMEs
• telephone interviews with 30 branded learning centre managers
• two focus groups with branded learning centre managers
• consultations with 6 external stakeholder organisations.

Evaluation report

The full evaluation report comprises chapters on the following:

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Methodology
• Policy, economic and environmental context
• Survey of individual learners
• Learndirect scotland for business
• Branded learning centres
• Value for money
• Key performance indicators and progress towards targets
• Conclusions.

If you or have any enquiries about social research, please contact us at:

Tel: 0141 242-0262
Fax: 0141 242-5455
socialresearch@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch

The report, "Evaluation of the Scottish University for Industry", which is summarised in this research findings is a web only document and is available on the publications pages of the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent

This document (and other Research Findings and Reports) and information about social research in the Scottish Executive may be viewed on the Internet at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch

The site carries up-to-date information about social and policy research commissioned and published on behalf of the Scottish Executive. Subjects covered include transport, housing, social inclusion, rural affairs, children and young people, education, social work, community care, local government, civil justice, crime and criminal justice, regeneration, planning and women's issues. The site also allows access to information about the Scottish Household Survey.

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