Bridging the gap

Dr Rebecca Gater heads up Stratford-uponAvon College and is helping to lead the charge to improve skills across the region. In an interview with C&W in Business, she reflects on the opportunity to bridge the gap between education and business and on her own rise to being an educational leader.

More recent events – from Brexit to Covid – coupled with a rise in new industries have made the issue more acute.

Finding a solution which understands the complexities involved has long been talked about at a national level but has, until now, fallen short.

That might be about to change.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce – together with other Chambers and business groups across the West Midlands and Warwickshire, alongside local education establishments – has led on a new Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) to look at all of the issues in a rounded way.

That has seen the creation of a new Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) and Dr Rebecca Gater, the chief executive and principal of Stratford-upon-Avon College – now part of the Solihull College and University Centre Group – is one of the experts leading the charge to see it delivered.

“We’re focussing on the skills needs for the area and we’ve been working with the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce on the LSIF, which we’re leading on in the West Midlands and Warwickshire,” said Rebecca.

“This process is definitely at the forefront of addressing the skills needs for the area and we are working collaboratively with other providers to fill those gaps.

“In terms of our LSIF, we’ve got six key projects. The first one is around electrification, electric vehicles and battery technology, and looking at how we can support engineering and other businesses to upskill their staff and access training. The second project is focussed on low carbon and sustainable future housing.

“The third is looking at green skills and then, as one would expect, there’s digital across two ends of the spectrum. We’re looking at the very basic digital skills needed for work. The Midlands is coming from a low starting point because 15 per cent of people don’t have those skills, which is double the national average.

“That means getting out to the harder to reach areas and taking the learning to them when it comes to Word, internet searching, Excel – the basic packages and skills needed for work – rather than expecting learners to come to us.

“Then there are the really high level digital skills such as machine learning and artificial intelligence and how businesses can use those to be more productive and efficient in their own industries.

“And, finally, the sixth project is looking at employer engagement and having a systematic approach across the region. At the moment, the feedback from our businesses is that they get approached all the time by lots of providers and it becomes quite overwhelming. We need a much more aligned, joined-up approach.

“We’re looking at a dating service, almost, where businesses say what they need and we match them with the providers who can supply that. We’re putting employers in the driving seat for that but in a joined-up way that works collaboratively rather than providers competing with one another.”

Rebecca started her career in business before moving into education and, although it was a brief stint, it has given her an understanding of how the two can work better together.

Her own learning has covered business and education too – she has an MBA in Executive Leadership and Management from the University of Worcester, and a Doctorate in Education from Birmingham Newman University.

After working in retail management, firstly in the crystal industry and then with the Early Learning Centre, she moved across to teaching and gained experience both in FE and in a school.

Eight years ago, Rebecca joined Solihull College as assistant principal and was part of the team that led the merger with Stratford in 2018.