Posted 23 June 2023

Go Higher West Yorkshire (GHWY) has published ‘A guide to engaging with higher education providers in West Yorkshire’, which aims to inform regional employers how they can grow their business through engagements with Higher Education (HE) partners.

West Yorkshire is an economic powerhouse, with the largest regional economy outside London, more than 80,000 businesses and a gross added value (GVA) of over £69bn. However, research has shown that more needs to be done to ‘unlock’ the region’s potential by developing skills and ensuring that everyone has a chance to contribute to our region’s growth.  

The skills strand of GHWY’s work aims to develop collaborative projects which support businesses, HE providers and students to meet skills needs, and ensure all graduates have the opportunity to progress onto high-quality, meaningful employment. 

Our new online brochure, alongside our extensive webpages for businesses and employers, provides information and examples on how organisations can train their existing staff, recruit a diverse workforce, build their business, and access specialist knowledge. 

The guide was initiated through our Go Higher Skills Group (GHSG) which brings together skills, careers and employer engagement experts from each of our 13 HE members, in response to an identified need to provide regional employers with a collaborative resource demystifying all the ways in which businesses can thrive through partnerships with HE.  

The guide was written with input from our members and following consultation with partners including West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Yorkshire Universities and West Yorkshire College Consortium, drawing on our collective wealth of experience in business engagement across the region.  

The HE landscape is complex and nuanced, with many differences in approach according to institution, course or employer. However, our guide includes resources to help unpick some of this complexity: 

• A summary of education qualifications, including those before higher education 
• An indicative employer engagement calendar shows when might be the best times for employers to connect with HE providers 
• Case studies provide examples of what other employers have done, and the benefits of different approaches 
• Contact details so you can get in touch with the right people to discuss opportunities 

GHWY will continue to engage with members and partners to further support engagement between HE and business. 

If you’d like to discuss our employer engagement resources or find out more about how your business can connect with HE providers in the region, please email Nichola Casse, Higher Level Skills Manager n.f.casse@leeds.ac.uk