Learningcurve

If the company needs a specific problem solved, why not bring in a postgraduate student to focus on it? A TCS associate is not expensive and has the intelligence and maturity to resolve practical problems alone

You have a problem. You want to enhance your company's skills-base but cannot afford to lose staff to university or hire new expensive skilled staff. Furthermore, if you send valuable staff on a part-time university course, can there be any guarantee they won't return with their heads full of theory? To compete in the modern marketplace, personnel must understand and employ the latest skills and techniques.

But this dilemma need not be an impasse, as there are ways around this growth-limiting problem. Firstly, your staff can retrain without taking large tracts of time off work with courses guided by professionals not professors.

The Integrated Graduate Development Scheme (IGDS) was first established by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in 1979 and forms the main programme for continuing professional development (CPD).

Each IGDS is set up and run by a partnership of companies and one or more academic institutions. A programme of short modular courses at postgraduate level is drawn up by the partnership to meet training needs within the company. The selected graduates employed by participating companies are released for short periods of intensive instruction over the duration of the programme. The programmes are open to participants from any company which believes that its employees will benefit.

Typically, an IGDS programme involves a series of short courses at postgraduate level to meet the training needs of the companies. The courses are structured so that they are easily tailored to individual needs, cause minimal disruption to the employee and employer, and enhance the delegates' contribution to the company.

IGDS programmes range in length from a single module through to a full MSc course. Throughout the course there is close liaison between the academic institutions and the participating companies.

Fifty six courses are available to suit a range of industries and their particular technical and managerial requirements.

Alternatively, rather than sending valuable staff out for training, graduate staff can be brought in to solve a particular problem for a company. Started in 1975 and sponsored by 10 UK government bodies, the Teaching Company Scheme (TCS) supports partnerships between companies and universities for technology transfer. TCS partnerships are funded by government grants to the university and contributions by the company. The funds support graduates known as TCS associates to work on specific company projects.

Associates are supervised by senior company personnel and academic experts from the university. In addition to practical learning, associates receive formal training aimed at developing both technical and managerial skills.

Organised by the Faringdon-based Teaching Company Directorate, the TCS involves around 600 companies of all sizes and in a very wide range of sectors. It supports the training of about 1000 graduates and involves almost every UK university.

Typical goals for the companies within TCS partnerships include introducing new or improved products, services, processes or systems, and entering new markets or improving penetration of existing ones.

For further information on TCS and IGDS schemes see their web pages at: www.tcd.co.uk and www.epsrc.ac.uk PE