With shades of the Steve Wright show, some interesting factoids I came across the other day make interesting reading. Did you know that we have the following in the South West: 13 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), comprising 8 Universities, and 5 HE Colleges.
With 33 Further Education colleges (FECs) teaching Higher Education courses.
We have a total population of 155,660 students, of whom 2,405 are registered at FECs, so you will not be alone if you study here (!).
In Somerset every FEC offers some Higher Education study, offering a total of 196 different courses. Somerset College having over 1,000 students taking HE courses for example. The largest HEI is the University of Plymouth with just under 30,000 students, and the smallest was Dartington College of Arts with 645 students. (Although since Dartington College of Arts merged with University College Falmouth in April last year this number will eventually be merged with Falmouth).
A full list of all HE courses in Somerset institutions can be found at this weblink: http://somerset.floodlight.co.uk/somerset/courses-classes-lessons/best-subject-courses/higher-education/study/somerset/16180339/220706/100/domain.html Of course those taken via distance learning, such as the Open University courses, are in addition to this list. If you have any questions about courses and study please email me or contact your nearest Connexions Somerset centre. Details can be found at http://www.connexions-somerset.org.uk/
Wednesday 27 May 2009
Facts about Higher Education in the South West
Friday 22 May 2009
Somerset County Council: We attract more graduates than anyone else
According to the press, when it comes to local authorities employing graduates, Somerset is the best. It attracts more applications for graduate jobs that any other region. If you’re interested then visit: http://www.somerset.gov.uk/gds for more info.
Last year over 200 applications were submitted, with 21 successful candidates. It is competitive, but then everything worthwhile is. Check out what the councils Chief Executive, Alan Jones, called “one of the most innovative and creative local government graduate schemes in the whole of the UK'.
Last year over 200 applications were submitted, with 21 successful candidates. It is competitive, but then everything worthwhile is. Check out what the councils Chief Executive, Alan Jones, called “one of the most innovative and creative local government graduate schemes in the whole of the UK'.
Thursday 21 May 2009
Explore Higher Education – see the world!
Sometimes you just wonder if there is more out in the big wide world than you are aware of. This can be about holidays, people, and places to visit or, as this is a blog about Higher Education, universities! You may have heard about the Russell Group of universities in the UK, comprising 20 research intensive institutions which have quite a high media image, but have you heard of their equivalent in other countries? Such as the Australian ‘Group of Eight’, the Canadian ‘Group of Thirteen’, the American Ivy League institutions or the Universitas 21, which is a group of universities from 11 countries?
Apart from being useful to know in case these questions ever come up in a quiz they can help you be aware of the wider world of HE which you might want to consider. Some degrees in the UK can include time abroad as part of your study. Some uni’s may have links with other institutions abroad which you could benefit from. If you like league tables, of which there are many, the QS World University Ranking lists even more.
Normally this would primarily be of interest to those who like long lists but a helpful fellow in Germany has plotted the location of the Top 100 universities in both the QS World University Rankings and the Shanghai Jiao Tong exercise on a friendly, interactive Google map to be found here. http://www.university-rankings.net . All the other university groupings mentioned above can also be viewed on this website.
Apart from being useful to know in case these questions ever come up in a quiz they can help you be aware of the wider world of HE which you might want to consider. Some degrees in the UK can include time abroad as part of your study. Some uni’s may have links with other institutions abroad which you could benefit from. If you like league tables, of which there are many, the QS World University Ranking lists even more.
Normally this would primarily be of interest to those who like long lists but a helpful fellow in Germany has plotted the location of the Top 100 universities in both the QS World University Rankings and the Shanghai Jiao Tong exercise on a friendly, interactive Google map to be found here. http://www.university-rankings.net . All the other university groupings mentioned above can also be viewed on this website.
Monday 11 May 2009
Welcome to my Blog
Hi and welcome to this Blog, which must get some award for the most precise sounding title of any blog yet seen ..
Although is will be about HE in Somerset, it will have a wide ranging and varied approach. It is for everyone in our area, you might be at school, college or university, working in a business or perhaps a parent/carer, employer or educationalist – I hope you’ll find something interesting on here.
When this was planned some people have asked, why do we need a blog about HE in Somerset…what is the deal about HE anyway? So I’ll begin with a bit of background. For several years now the need to have higher level skills/degrees to compete in the world economy has been identified by various government reports and private bodies, such as the CBI. Those jobs that will be around in 2020 will be requiring higher skills, and those jobs with lower skill demands will be fewer in number. Skills that were once seen as technical and only used by a few, such as those within Information Communications Technology (ICT) are now mainstream. By 2020 more that 40% of jobs could be filled by graduates, currently this stands at about 30%.
In Somerset we are a net exporter of people with higher level skills, we do not have an actual University in Somerset, (yet!), and so a lot of young people go out of county for their education, and many do not return. However although degrees are available in Somerset from the local FE colleges and, of course, the Open University, will this be enough for the future we face? Although there are 13 Universities in the South West region, increasingly more local options might be appealing. The Open University now takes increasing numbers of 18 year olds, but how many young people consider that as an option? Should they?
You can also gain a degree whilst working, combining the experience, (and money!), of a job whilst getting a qualifications. Local companies are offering this, such as Flybe at Exeter, Tesco and McDonalds Restaurants. I’ve also attended a ceremony at Yeovilton of graduates of a Royal Navy initiative which provided a foundation degree as part of their study package see the BBC news coverage here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/7122014.stm
If you think this sounds a bit like an apprenticeship, yet it’s on an HE in Somerset blog, then you are quite right. Words like Higher Level Skills, Foundation degrees, and NVQ 4 and 5 are all part of the drive to upskill our workforce and make Somerset a positive economic centre in our region. As I go through I’ll be looking in such areas in more depth, but if you have any questions about Higher Education in Somerset why not email me? If it’s an interesting question it might even be answered (anonymously if you wish) on this blog in a section I’ll entitle “Question of the Week”!
Although is will be about HE in Somerset, it will have a wide ranging and varied approach. It is for everyone in our area, you might be at school, college or university, working in a business or perhaps a parent/carer, employer or educationalist – I hope you’ll find something interesting on here.
When this was planned some people have asked, why do we need a blog about HE in Somerset…what is the deal about HE anyway? So I’ll begin with a bit of background. For several years now the need to have higher level skills/degrees to compete in the world economy has been identified by various government reports and private bodies, such as the CBI. Those jobs that will be around in 2020 will be requiring higher skills, and those jobs with lower skill demands will be fewer in number. Skills that were once seen as technical and only used by a few, such as those within Information Communications Technology (ICT) are now mainstream. By 2020 more that 40% of jobs could be filled by graduates, currently this stands at about 30%.
In Somerset we are a net exporter of people with higher level skills, we do not have an actual University in Somerset, (yet!), and so a lot of young people go out of county for their education, and many do not return. However although degrees are available in Somerset from the local FE colleges and, of course, the Open University, will this be enough for the future we face? Although there are 13 Universities in the South West region, increasingly more local options might be appealing. The Open University now takes increasing numbers of 18 year olds, but how many young people consider that as an option? Should they?
You can also gain a degree whilst working, combining the experience, (and money!), of a job whilst getting a qualifications. Local companies are offering this, such as Flybe at Exeter, Tesco and McDonalds Restaurants. I’ve also attended a ceremony at Yeovilton of graduates of a Royal Navy initiative which provided a foundation degree as part of their study package see the BBC news coverage here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/somerset/7122014.stm
If you think this sounds a bit like an apprenticeship, yet it’s on an HE in Somerset blog, then you are quite right. Words like Higher Level Skills, Foundation degrees, and NVQ 4 and 5 are all part of the drive to upskill our workforce and make Somerset a positive economic centre in our region. As I go through I’ll be looking in such areas in more depth, but if you have any questions about Higher Education in Somerset why not email me? If it’s an interesting question it might even be answered (anonymously if you wish) on this blog in a section I’ll entitle “Question of the Week”!
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