Our Employer Academies
Shape your future workforce
Our Employer Academies bring together learners, educators and employers to establish long term partnerships that will inspire the next generation into your industry.
As part of this dedicated approach, Employer Academies are the result of our investment toward consistently improving skills and job opportunities for learners and employers. By involving employers in the design and delivery of our curriculums, we are further aligning our strategy with employer needs by ensuring our learners develop modern and sector specific skills for success.
A central feature of our sector specific academies will be the opportunity for employers to become an active member of our new initiative. With an academy for each of our subject areas, employers can become an integral part of our comprehensive and collaborative approach to academic and hands-on learning and progression onto securing employment.
Our Academy Sponsors
What is an Employer Academy?
Employer Academies enable learners, educators and employers to identify collectively the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviours which are essential for success in your industry.
This collaboration will influence our curriculum to develop practical skills and experience that you want, and need, from your employees.
When you sponsor an Employer Academy you can lead a number of activities for our learners including; masterclasses, workshops, site visits, volunteering opportunities and industry placements; alternatively, you can run projects and competitions that our learners can take part in, testing their knowledge and skills in a real business context.
The Employer Academies also offer you the opportunity to recruit from our pool of talented and ambitious learners, giving you the chance to choose your future workforce from the local area.
Sponsor our Employer Academies
When you register as a sponsor of an Academy you will pledge your support based on the capacity and commitment that suits your organisation.
As well as influencing our curriculums and learning outcomes for your industry sector you can choose from a range of options including:
Mentoring
Mentors act as role models to shape the future career of learners and inspire them to progress whether it be to further study or into employment. Our employer mentors are offered full mentor training to help develop their own understanding of what it means to develop a learner.
Mentoring sessions can take place by phone, email, face-to-face or Skype, and are designed to help partners in supporting learners to understand the skills, knowledge and behaviours expected of them when they enter employment within your industry.
Guest speaker slots
Deliver a guest speaker slot to an audience of learners interested in a career within your industry.
Our learners are looking for an insight into your industry, or into the requirements for a specific role within the sector. You can choose whether to speak at a lecture to a large audience, a small group talk or a round table discussion and we are flexible on timings.
Host a Visit
This is your chance to open up your business and show our learners behind the scenes.
As well as a chance to showcase a workplace you’re proud of, you can inspire future job applications and set-out the expectations for behaviours in the workplace.
Set an Industry Brief
Work collaboratively with our curriculum staff to develop the high-level thinking and problem-solving skills that learners will need to demonstrate in the work place through setting real business projects, challenges and competitions.
You can set tasks that are completed in College, in a work environment or out in the community, with an end goal of having genuine benefit to your company long after the project has been completed.
Offer industry placements
Industry placements are a great way to develop your prospective future workforce.
You’ll receive fresh insight in to your organisation through well-planned placements, based on meaningful tasks that support your business, while providing our learners with the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and practical skills so that they are ready to enter the world of work and can complete their studies to a high level.
Educator Placements
In addition to learner placements, employers can also benefit from hosting educator placements whereby our staff will work with or shadow your employees.
These opportunities help to maintain the dual professionalism of our educators, who often started their career in industry, through refreshing their knowledge and skills so that this translates into their curriculum design and delivery.
How will my organisation benefit?
As an Academy Sponsor you can access a range of training and promotional opportunities.
Online staff training packages
We can provide flexible online training packages to your organisation covering key business topics including GDPR, Equality and Diversity, Safeguarding, British Values and Prevent.
Webinars supporting student experience
Learn more about target setting, coaching techniques and how to provide constructive feedback.
Promotion of your organisation
As an Academy Sponsor you can attend College open events, careers activities and parents evenings to outline your organisation and the career pathways available. We’ll also promote your involvement in the Academies on our College websites and social media channels.
How to get involved
If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring an Employer Academy, or would be interested in joining an existing academy, please contact our Employer Engagement Team at RNN Group on 01909 504777or email enquiries@rnngroup.ac.uk