Students who are also employers - an advisory panel

In a university the size and make-up of the Open University there just has to be a large number of students who also just happen to be employers.

Recently OUSA was invited to get a group of employer students to join an advisory panel to support a new group of the University. The University group is called the 'Work related employers engagement group' or WREEG; it is intended to be a hub for all vocational and continuing professional development (CPD) activity carried out within the whole University. This area of work has huge potential for our university to take a lead in the further development of vocational qualifications ans CPD, however, it is employers that need to signpost and lead developments, because employers are the very people who will be most affected by these developments.

Do you run a business or enterprise that employs anyone?
Do you undertake CPD yourself? Are the National Vocational Qualifications (Scottish VQs in Scotland) aimed at your sector of industry relevant, useful or pertinent to you or your business? Do you know where to find training for you or your staff?
Is your industry fast paced and in need of a fast changing training or education system to cope with it?
These and many other similar questions need to be addressed, and will be addressed by WREEG in the coming months and years. The group could only ever be successful if it is actually answering the questions that employers are asking - which is the reason for forming this group.

This advisory panel will be the employer, non-academic, input to this group; a resource to the university; a direct influence on the direction that future vocational training and CPD takes.
It will be a virtual group, with participants offering ideas, suggestions, criticisms and hopefully asking the very questions that WREEG needs to answer.

If you are a student and an employer, and you have an interest in vocational training and assessment or CPD, then the Student employers advisory panel is your chance to have your say. It is particularly important for employers in what the government describes as small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which represents the vast majority of employers in the UK.

For the time being I shall be the one representing your views to WREEG, since the President and Vice President Education have asked me to represent them. They have done so because I am an OU student, I have owned or have been the senior manager in a number of SMEs over the past thirty years and am an NVQ Assessor; so I have the right background for the role.

If you wish to take part in this panel then please get in touch and we'll get you linked up. If you have already volunteered, please be patient, we wanted a few more before going live. If you wish to make contact then do so via First Class (Ousa Vp Constitut) or by e-mail ousao3@guest.open.ac.uk

Please tell us your PI number (please do not post it in this Blog!) and a bit about your background. The panel will be available on First Class and will not be any more time consuming than you wish.

I hope to hear from you,

Regards
John
Open University Students Association
Vice President Constitutions