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BIO2017 INTERVIEW
Alistair Fitt, Vice Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and Key Note Speaker at Business In Oxford, talks to us about employability and how to inspire and train the workforce of tomorrow. ALISTAIR I came to Oxford Brookes about 6 years ago actually as Pro Vice Chancellor in charge of all research, and 2 years ago I became the Vice Chancellor. My role is really that I am the Chief Executive of the University; responsible for delivering everything, really, including the educational "mission" of the University. But I also have quite a few roles outside of the University, for example I am on the board of the Local Enterprise Partnership, and am also about to become President of the UK's largest mathematics professional learning society. RICHARD And regarding Business In Oxford, which you've kindly agreed to present at in May: The government have recently announced an industrial strategy, and I believe that is going to be a part of what you will be talking about at the event. Could you give us a bit of a preview of your thoughts on this industrial strategy? ALISTAIR I think the government has done a great job in producing an industrial strategy. We've had industrial strategies before and in this government's strategy they really have put their finger on a lot of things that UK business and industry needs. Now of course the big question is "How can we deliver it?" RICHARD And with regards to the skills agenda: You're obviously seeing day-to-day very talented students coming through Brookes - Would you say they are equipped and geared up for a future in work? ALISTAIR I think they are. We take a tremendous amount of time thinking about graduate skills, graduate attributes, employment skills - A lot of our courses face the professions and the vocations so we are well used to doing that. One of the things which interest me is that in the UK just under 50% of our young people go to University, which means just over 50% don't. If we are going to deliver the industrial strategy we need
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to think about how those people will get the skills that they need. RICHARD Looking ahead to Business In Oxford: You are on the board of the Oxfordshire LEP - Do you feel Oxford is benefitting from many attributes that other places in the country don't enjoy and that we are fortunate here, or do you feel there are an equal amount of pressures here such as housing and transport which stifle growth? ALISTAIR There's a city council booklet on how the 65 cities in the UK all compare with each other, and in all measures Oxford is remarkably either 1st out of 65, or 65th out of 65. For instance it is 1st out of 65 for the "percentage of the population who have a degree", but it is 65th out of 65 for "how easy it is to buy a house compared to your wage". We have a lot of unique advantages but also a lot of unique challenges as well, and that's one of the reasons why I would ask whether we have the governance of Oxford and the Oxfordshire region right and would like to investigate how we could change that setup. RICHARD Talking about investment: We are here in your fabulous John Henry Brookes building, now a few years after having opened - Has everything settled down and is it working as was originally planned? ALISTAIR Oh I think it is working better than originally planned. One of the things that I immediately noticed when I came to Oxford Brookes 5 or 6 years ago was that, although the University had a great number of up-sides, there wasn't a central place where the students hung out. Well there is now: The Forum in the John Henry Brookes building, open 24/7 during term time. It is incredibly popular. If you go in there at 4 o'clock in the morning you'll find the place is full and buzzing, and that is what the University desperately needed and that is why we are doing lots more building work at the moment. For more information on Oxford Brookes University please visit www.indulgemedia.com and for more Business In Oxford videos check out www.businessinoxford.com
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