Over the past year Oxford Brookes University has invested to provide high quality staff development, knowledge transfer and training for employers. We have established our Workforce Development with Oxford Brookes team to provide a specialist service.

This initiative is about delivering university-accredited and continuing professional development learning and skills development programmes that are research informed to public and private sector organisations using flexible learning delivery, at competitive market rates. These programmes may be bespoke for specific organisations, customised to meet the requirements of an industry or sector or possibly modified in some way from our existing programme portfolio.

Oxford Brookes wishes to provide more “in-business” learning provision targeting employers and employee groups not traditionally engaged in higher education. We are developing more flexible programmes and frameworks which are responsive to employer and employee demand including in–service continuing professional development programmes and accreditation for in-house training, short courses and employee’s prior experience.

Key objectives

• A fundamental understanding of the business’s individual organisational needs
• To develop and sustain long term relationships with employers
• An ability to design and deliver within commercially acceptable timescales, credit bearing, accessible, creative and market leading programmes to meet business needs
• To draw upon the university’s core competencies and expertise and be informed by its cutting edge research activities.
• Our mission is about identifying and providing a comprehensive response to a workforce’s continuing development requirements brought about by working in a sustainable partnership with employers from the private and public sector.

Employer benefits

• Raises efficiency and competence levels
• Addresses identified skills shortages
• Improves retention and recruitment
• Enhances multitasking potential of employee
• Increases output and productivity

Employee benefits

• Improves earning potential
• Broadens range of competencies and capabilities
• Increases chances of promotion
• Career, professional and personal development

Our experience

Oxford Brookes University has a proven track record of working with organisations across the private, public, voluntary and humanitarian sectors. It has provided a wide range of traditonal learning programmes - particularly at postgraduate level , worked on collaborative research and more recently developed specialist bespoke learning programmes.

We have worked with over 90 organisations including Oxford University, Oxfam, A C Nielsen and Thames Valley Police to name just a few. To see the full range of organisations to have worked with us, please download our organisations list (PDF)

Our programmes

 Whilst flexibility and being customer led are two principles that are central to the concept of our workforce development programmes, Oxford Brookes University has a well developed portfolio of existing programmes - both Accredited and CPD that are available off the shelf.

An extensive guide to these programmes by subject area can be accessed from our professional development courses  link.

Oxford Brookes University also has a number of specialist centres offering learning programmes. These include:

• Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development 
• Institute of  Public Care,
• Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies        
• Oxford Institute of Legal Practice
• The Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development  which includes the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice

Our Partners

Oxford Brookes University has a well established relationship with a number of colleges across the Thames Valley region and beyond who deliver our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. This group are know as our Associate College Partners. This means that our courses are not just available in Oxford but could by arrangement be delivered at a more accessible venue. This group of colleges are particularly experienced in delivering our Foundation Degrees which have proven to be popular with employers looking to develop their workforce.

Courses we have offered to date

See the Workforce Development courses we have undertaken or are under development to date.

How to find out more

We have a specialist team of Workforce Development account managers. To discuss your requirements, giving you a focused point of access to the University's many different disciplines, training and staff development programmes. If you would like to discuss further how we could help you, contact the Workforce Development Team within Oxford Brookes University on (0)1865 484044 or engage@brookes.ac.uk