EPPING FOREST COLLEGE

INCOME GENERATION STRATEGY, 2017 - 2020

(Note: this report focuses exclusively on business income

generation)

BACKGROUND

For several years, EFC has made less than successful attempts
to develop its commercial presence and success within the
local business community. The lack of success has contributed
recently to the award of a Grade 4 for the college from Ofsted.

In response to this, and as part of its business priorities, EFC

has set up a Business Development Unit (BDU) within the
college, led by the Head of Enterprise and Innovation.

One of the first initiatives of this BDU has been to devise an

Income Generation Strategy, which is outlined in the following
pages.

CONTEXT (situation, 2017 2020)

Demand side: market analysis

EFC is located in the north-east London/south-west Essex

region, within the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
There is a Local Enterprise Zone at Harlow and the college is
close to the London-Stanstead-Cambridge Corridor. Both areas
have aspirations to excel in growth sectors with the Harlow
Enterprise Zone being specific and targeting life sciences,
biotech and related specialist engineering, whilst the LSC
Corridor has a broader vision looking for high-end skills in
science and technology within high-value industries
incorporating innovation and enterprise.

Although these cutting-edge industries are the headline

employers, it is recognised that outstanding administrative,
creative and business services are vitally important to support

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the overall growth. It is equality important that public services
are able to recruit high calibre people to maintain an attractive
environment and life style enabling key industries to attract
and retain the right people.

One of the key areas of skills shortage, common to all areas, is

ICT/ digital. This will impact on both the new and traditional
industries as demand for high-end services increases.

It is also recognised by the Essex Area Review that There is a

need to consider commissioning a specialism to support Essex
FE Colleges for learners that are autistic and/or have social
emotional and mental health needs.

The number and type of businesses located within the region

are provided at Appendix A.

A more comprehensive list of skill demands identified within

this region is provided at Appendix B.

Supply side: competitors

A list of our FE regional competitors is provided at Appendix C.

A list of the recent funding provided to our competitor FE

colleges is given at Appendix D.

A list of commercial training and development providers within

the region is given at Appendix E.

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EFCs CURRENT POSITION

EFCs current and projected business income generation (actual

and projected, 2017-2020) is given at Appendix F.

SWOT analysis

Strengths
Commitment by the Board and Principal to business
development as one of the Colleges top 6 priorities
for the next 4 years
Significant investment in this function as part of the
College restructure establishment of a BDU and
Head of Enterprise and Innovation, with budget and
staff EFC is geographically well positioned to deliver
training and development (T&D) services to the rest
of the region

Weaknesses
Reputation: EFC is not well regarded among local
businesses
Profile: EFC has no or a low profile as a skills provider
to businesses
Standing start: there is no current success to build
upon

Opportunities
Huge potential market within easy geographical
reach
10 business skill categories identified as a regional
shortage are currently provided within EFC (see
Appendix G)
The prioritisation of this within the college means key
resources will be made available form within the
college (and possibly beyond)
Potential merger of the college could provide an
already-successful base to build upon

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 Threats
Significant competition, already established, within
the region
Re-inspection by Ofsted my come too early for the
BDU to have proved itself
Potential merger of the college could mean this
function is already successfully provided within the
merged college, making this unit redundant/surplus
to requirements

All the above will be addressed in the Action Plan, set out
below.

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INCOME GENERATION

Key Result Areas (KRAs)

The Key Result Areas for business income generation for the
next 4 years (2017-2020) are:
1. Net contribution to profit
2. Customer/client satisfaction
3. Repeat business (sustainability)
4. Profile
5. Scope/responsiveness
6. Internal business competence
7. Cost effectiveness

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

1. To generate an average net business income of at least
500,000 per year (ie contribution to bottom line profit)
2. To achieve an average satisfaction rating from business
customers/clients of at least 75%, year on year
3. To have repeat business from at least 50% of our business
clients, year on year
4. To have an awareness rating from the target business
community of at least 70% by 2020
5. To offer a can do response to an average of at least 70%
of those business skills identified as in short supply within
the region (or target market) by 2020
6. To have a BDU workforce which achieves an average 80%
score on its annual PDR/Development Centre assessment
7. To ensure that, year on year, and across an average of all
its provision, the BDU provision returns a profit margin of
at least 30% (ie its provision costs no more than 70% of its
income) (accepting that in some instances there will be
loss leaders, which will be clearly identified at the outset)

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Strategy

Short term (by September 2017)

Appoint Head of Enterprise and Innovation
Set up the BDU within the college
Agree the strategic imperatives for the next 4 years (see
Appendix H)
Agree and allocate the BDU budget for the next 4 years
Set overall 4 year income generation targets, within
specific business sectors and/or skill areas
Agree JD/PS and outline contract for various types of staff
Appoint FT staff
Begin to recruit associate staff
Agree premises, including offices and in-house delivery
venue(s)
Agree clear working relationships and responsibilities
between BDU and the 4 College Directors, to include clear
lines of communication and information flow between the
BDU and the Directorates (as part of QA and MIS)
Agree marketing strategy, including target markets and
marketing mix
Agree and achieve short term income targets
Set up the new college CRM to collect, store and present
relevant BDU information which is accessible, reliable, up
to date and relevant
Meet all KPIs

Medium term (by September 2018)

Review success of short term strategy, and take into
account in devising medium term strategy
Set and achieve medium term income generation targets
Build further capacity within and through the BDU
Identify further business needs through personal contact
and market intelligence
Develop new products, services and offers to both meet
perceived need, and attract new business or extend
existing business

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Longer term (by September 2019)
By and large as above, adjusted as necessary in response
to changing market demands

Targets, 2017 2020

To be decided once the strategy is clear and agreed.

Resource requirements
Again, to be decided once the strategy has been agreed.
Headings for key resources include:
Budget (revenue and capital?)
FT staff
PT staff
Associate staff (including internal and external associates)
Additional college-based support (eg for website)
Premises/space (not only office space, but guaranteed
space for any internally run provision, which is at a
business standard specification
Information especially market and competitor
information (primarily managed through new CRM);
dedicated space on the website
Technology: equipment and support
Materials and equipment (eg publicity materials and
course materials)
Travel, accommodation, subsistence
Other typical subjective budget headings(insurance,
etc)

Action plan
Again, this can only realistically be specified once some key
strategic decisions have been made. Essentially though the
structure of the action plan should be:
1. What:
2. By who:
3. By when:
4. Resources required:
5. Intended outcomes:
6. Measures: (standards/targets)

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 7. RAG rating:

This will be a live document, monitored and reported on

weekly, and adjusted ideally as anything on the plan is either
achieved or amended.

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APPENDIX A: NUMBER & TYPE OF BUSINESSES WITHIN
REGION

(Data to be provided probably by Epping Forest DC, & possibly

MC&Co)

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APPENDIX B: KEY SKILL DEMANDS WITHIN THE REGION

London-Stansted-Cambridge Corridor Areas of growth:

Life Science and Medical
IT Digital and Media
Low Carbon, Clean Tech and Energy from Waste
Food Production
Business Services
Engineering, Transport, Logistics and Distribution

South-East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) (Essex region)

Areas of Growth:
Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering
Care
Construction
Health
Finance & Insurance
IT, Digital & Creative
Logistics

SELEP areas to watch:

Low Carbon
Energy
Life Sciences (Including Med Tech)

Harlow Enterprise Zone Areas of growth:

ICT
Health
Advanced Manufacturing
Science Industries (Cogent)

SELEP (Essex, Kent and East Sussex) skills requirements:

Current: IT, Creative, Construction, Manufacturing, Health,
Strong innovation and entrepreneurship skills,
Future: technical skills, L4+ Apprenticeships in growth
areas, College specialisms, training for adults including
reskilling for growth areas

(Source: Epping Forest DC, 2017/MC&Co)

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APPENDIX C: FE COMPETITORS

SELEP backed FE College initiatives in our area for future

growth:
Braintree College and Colchester Institute STEM Training
Chelmsford College Surveying and Soil Technology for
technical construction
Harlow Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Centre
of Excellence
Harlow College Digital Labs for the Construction, Health
and Social Care and Science Sectors
Harlow College E-Hub
PROCAT Basildon Advanced Construction, Motor Vehicle,
Aviation, Infrastructure and Telecoms
South East College Centre for Logistics and Centre for
Health Professionals
South Essex College Centres for Excellence for Advanced
Industrial Technologies and Engineering Manufacture

(Source: Epping Forest DC, 2017/MC&Co)

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APPENDIX D: RECENT IN-AREA FE INVESTMENT

SELEP Recent funding in our area for FE Skills capital spend:

Chelmsford College Construction:
o Surveying Equipment and Soil Laboratory
57,490
Colchester Institute:
o STEM Training Centre at Braintree College
3,640,000
o STEM Training 161,687
o STEM (apprenticeship equipment) 52,304
Harlow College:
o Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
Centre of Excellence (HAMEC) 2,500,00
o Equipment for HAMEC 346,572
o Digital Labs for Construction,
Health and Social Care science sectors 350,000
o E-Hub
116,783
South Essex College:
o Centres of Excellence for
o Ind. Tech and Engineering Manufacture 73,475
o Centre Excellence Logistics 27,407
o Science Support to
o Health Professionals 148,972
o Development of Construction
Facilities 366,705
Writtle College:
o Science Hub 38,806

TOTAL: 7,880,201

(Source: Epping Forest DC, 2017)

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APPENDIX E: LIST OF BUSINESS SKILLS PROVIDERS
OPERATING WITHIN THE REGION

(Data to be provided possibly Epping Forest DC or local

Chamber of Commerce, MC&Co)

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APPENDIX F: EFC CURRENT AND PROJECTED BUSINESS
INCOME

YEAR: SOURCE PROVISION

AMOUNT 1

2017-18: Full Cost FD Childcare 271K

& Sport Centre

2018-19: Full Cost New initiatives 312K

& 2017/18 activities

2019-20: Full Cost New Initiatives 343K

1
Recurring Foundation degree provision will be recurring at
190K per annum

(Data to be provided by EFC)

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APPENDIX G: REGIONAL SKILL PRIORITIES MAPPED TO
COLLEGE DIRECTORATES

(bold = regional skill priorities)

Directorate A:
Art & Design
Administration, Secretarial, AAT, Business
Business Services
Engineering
Finance and Insurance
Logistics
Hair & Beauty
IT Digital
Media
Performing Arts
Transport Logistics and Distribution

Directorate B:
Construction
Motor Vehicles
IT (generic)
Low Carbon, Clean Technology and Energy for
Waste

Directorate C:
Health & Social Care
Early Years
Public Services
Sports & Fitness
Travel & Aviation

Directorate D:
LDD
Progression
GCSE
Functional Skills
A level

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 ALS

APPENDIX G: REGIONAL SKILL PRIORITIES MAPPED TO

COLLEGE DIRECTORATES (cont)

No Area yet identified:

Life Science and Medical
Food Production
Engineering, Transport Logistics and Distribution
Advanced Manufacturing
Engineering & Science Industries

(Source: Epping Forest DC, 2017)

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APPENDIX H: STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES

The Board/CLT will have to decide some strategic imperatives,

which will drive the BDU strategy for the forthcoming 4 years.

Considerations under this heading include:

Definition and scope of income generation: currently this
report is focused solely on business income generation;
should it include other sources of income generation
within its purview/responsibilities? Should the BDU be
responsible for targeted income generation via EFC-
promoted conferences and events, for example
Scope of market: type of sector or business to target
Scope of provision: range and type of courses, workshops,
learning and development events to put into the BDU
offer
College source of provision: BDU direct (including vai BDU
associates) and/or via Directorates
Routes to market/channels: how we will reach our target
customers
Provision venue: in company, in college, as required?
Staff remuneration: incentivised, via commission, or not?
Covering costs: how much of any BDU expenditure is met
via corporate college budget, and how much by the BDU?
Any recharge arrangements? Any SLA between the
college and the BDU

The above are examples only. Others may be added to this list.

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