The Enhanced Professional Development Programme at Cranfield University is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). It is a specific response to economic conditions and is designed to help professionals who are unemployed or under notice of redundancy to find new employment.

The programme is based on Cranfield’s successful and long-established Fellowship in Manufacturing Management. It contains elements of technical skills for process improvement and operational efficiency; elements of personal effectiveness based on an understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses and how to harness these to work effectively with others; and presentational skills through reports, presentations, CVs and interview technique. All of these elements are combined in a 2-day industry project which leads to a written report and presentation. The project presentations will be given to an invited audience of companies and recruitment agencies with whom delegates can then network over dinner.

The programme ends with reflective learning and the creation of personal action plans for the future.

Delegates will be treated as visiting students of Cranfield University for the four week duration of the course. This will give delegates access to University resources including library services, databases and the careers office. Subject to assessment, delegates may earn credits of up to 20% against any part-time MSc Degree at Cranfield, should they wish to continue to study. These credits are valid for five years.

The Course Fee is fully funded by HEFCE for delegates who are unemployed or under notice of redundancy. For any other delegates the Course Fee is £5,200. Accommodation at Cranfield University is not included.

Cranfield University is currently accepting delegates for the Enhanced Professional Development Programme starting 18th January running through to 5th February.

For more information, please call 01923 698439 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary, Lord Mandelson, announced on Friday that four further Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) have been relicensed: Creative and Cultural Skills(covering the creative and cultural sector), Lantra (covering the environmental and land-based sector), Proskills (covering the process and manufacturing sector) and Skillsmart Retail were all successful in their applications.

Sector Skills Councils are employer-led bodies, established to enable employers to exert influence on the UK’s education and skills systems to ensure they meet their needs.

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A new national framework published today – Partnerships for Growth – sets out plans to coordinate the work of RDAs and local authorities to promote the industries that will drive growth and pursue national priorities for skills, innovation, investment and enterprise.

RDAs and local authorities across the country will collaborate more closely to build on their local strengths, while ensuring public investments are targeted at the projects where they can have most impact.

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Click here for the East of England Development Agency.

 A major milestone for skills investment in England has been reached, as the number of employers making the Skills Pledge hits 20,000. Over 7 million people are now benefiting from new training opportunities and a culture change in the workplace, as

This quarter's economic brief, available from Insight East, confirms that this is now the longest recession since records began in 1955. Business confidence is improving and growth is expected to return to the region next quarter. However, the economy remains in a fragile state and there is still a lot more to do until the region returns to a state of sustainable growth. Here is a summary of the findings:

• Skills shortages remain an issue. Half the companies in the East of England are looking for new staff and half of these are having trouble finding people with the right skills for their vacancy.
• Expenditure on training has picked up, but only modestly.
• Redundancies continue to be made, but at a slower rate than the beginning of the year. Men remain much more likely to be made redundant thant their female colleagues and male re-employment rates are also lower than women's.
• Unemployment is increasing less rapidly than previously fear, but has reached 6.7% and continues to rise. The national average has reached 8.1%, its highest rate since 1996.
• Businesses remain under pressure. Although business confidence seems to be returning to region and the country and a decline in wage increases is offering some relief, investment remains weak and the experiences of individual organisations vary greatly - virtually all sectors continued to contract in the third quarter of 2009.

Click here to download the brief in full.

To find out more about how TCHC can help businesses and individuals visit our Training Services pages.