Through being an early adopter of ‘learning done differently’, University Centre Quayside has supported the professional development of workforces for three decades. Here, founder Dr Nick Mapletoft reveals his ambition for the higher education provider to become the North East’s next University, to enable it to up the ante on the delivery of bespoke learning for decades to come
Having been supporting businesses and their employees with professional development for 30 years, leading the way in the adoption of alternative forms of training and education, University Centre Quayside (UCQ) is now working to become the North East’s newest university.
With years of expertise in delivering work-based learning, both in further and higher education, UCQ is hoping to validate its own degree programmes by the end of next year – a huge step in its ongoing development as an education provider.
After it achieves this milestone, UCQ – which is based in Newcastle with sites in six other major locations around the UK – will then be looking to gain recognition as a university in its own right, becoming the fifth such prestigious institution in the region.
As a validated partner of the Open University (OU), UCQ helped to popularise the concept of flexible learning well before the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting businesses locally and nationally in developing the business and management skills and capability of their workforce.
Its delivery of the degree apprenticeship has been a crucial factor in its ongoing growth over the years, with the qualification gaining in popularity and profile as a flexible and accessible option for working people to upskill while continuing to earn.
With clients ranging from the likes of Santander, Rentokil, ISS, OCS, Del Monte and a number of NHS Trusts for its higher education offering, through to North East SMEs for its further education, UCQ’s comprehensive offering is helping it continue to win new work.
And now, working towards having its own degree awarding powers in 2024, UCQ will expand its offering into delivering degree programmes and becoming a privately-owned university – a step its founder Dr Nick Mapletoft believes will be transformational in its future.
“It will be a massive step, and will enable us to develop our portfolio of not just degree apprenticeships, but also degrees within the business and management subject area,” says Dr Mapletoft.
“There are several degrees we could deliver within the same sector and subject area with the extensive expertise and staffing we have here. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us and our clients.
“And then the plan will be to apply to become a full university. You have to have had full degree awarding powers for a minimum of three years before you can reach this point, but at that time we will apply.”
The growth of UCQ into a nationally-renowned vocational training and education provider came from Dr Mapletoft’s realisation early into his own career journey that learning needed to be more accessible.
As a computing graduate, he established NIMIS – which he is quick to explain: “stood for Nick Mapletoft Information Systems, rather than the Latin word for ‘too much’, which some people thought I’d cleverly come up with!” – to support businesses in the creation of bespoke computer systems.
But quickly, Dr Mapletoft realised the need for something much broader. While NIMIS could put the systems in place, developing people is more important and often there was a gap in provision for the training around that, as well as training more generally across the wider business.
“The computing support morphed into management consultancy, really. We went from working with a maximum of two people at the senior level in the company to training people more generally. And for me, that was a very natural fit,” he says.
“Both my parents are retired lecturers, my sister is a teacher, there are lots of teachers within the family. Initially, I did try and keep away from teaching, but in many ways it was a great option, it’s what we talked about at every meal time in the family. So it did feel like the right path.
“I had also been on the Graduate Enterprise Programme at Durham University Business School (DUBS), which, in many ways, probably taught me more than other academic programmes I’ve been on.
“Professor Allan Gibb OBE, who set up the Small Business Centre at DUBS, and who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, used to say something along the lines of ‘teaching entrepreneurship via traditional teaching methods is like teaching someone how to drive a car by only looking in the rear view mirror’. And there’s a lot of truth in that. Being an entrepreneur is such a forward-looking thing, that it doesn’t really lend itself to traditional ways of learning.
“So while teaching felt like a good path for me, I also wanted to do things differently.”
Initially starting off as a full cost provider of training, the business then become a sub-contractor, later moving into winning contracts in its own right. A key moment in the development of NIMIS – and a key step in its decision to rebrand as UCQ – was the advent of the degree apprenticeship.
“When I first heard about the concept of a degree apprenticeship, it just sounded like a mad idea. But I was intrigued and spoke with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), who encouraged us to come on board,” says Dr Mapletoft.
“Quickly I realised what a brilliant opportunity this is for people who may not traditionally go to university, or may need to be re-skilled later in life, but who also need to work. If you have a family, secure job, mortgage, commitments, it’s very hard to leave that and go back into a student life.
“But this way, it allows them to get the skills and development they need, while being based around the business. So it benefits everyone.
“Combined with our range of other further and higher education opportunities, we are offering something very few other providers can. A learner can start with us, as some have, at even entry level and progress right up to a degree or even Master’s level. They could join us as a potential team leader, having never managed anybody, and progress through to being very senior in their organisation.”
Forming a partnership with the Open University to secure institutional approval, UCQ was then able to devise a range of programmes which meet the exact needs of businesses.
“We’re not restricted by being place-based and subject to geographical politics, so the Open University was a great fit for us. They’re open to people, places, programmes and ideas, and doing things differently,” says Dr Mapletoft.
“That was very important to us in creating bespoke programmes – not, like some other universities offer, bolt-ons to existing degree courses, or variations of what they offer within them. Ours have all been built from scratch, created from the ground up with employers and potential learners, which is why they are fit for purpose.
“The Open University have also understood from day one that our ambition was to deliver our own degrees, and have supported us as much as they can.”
This ‘open’ approach has seen UCQ deliver learning to businesses and learners across the country from its seven locations – Newcastle, Teesside, Leeds, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool – and also enables the possibility of working globally once it becomes self-awarding.
That crucial step will pave the way for its route to becoming a university – something Dr Mapletoft, while taking inspiration from others, wants to do in his own way.
“We want to be a leader. We don’t want to be the biggest, but we’re very much looking at being one of the leaders in the work-based learning sphere,” he says.
“We don’t want to just follow others, although we do recognise there is some brilliant practice in the region and across the country, and we want to incorporate some of that good practice. But we’ll be doing things our own way – and because we’re privately-owned, we can do that.
“But in being a leader, we will have successes and failures, that is part of the journey we’re on. We have set up an institution from scratch already and continue to build that, but there has been trial and error along the way. The recruitment of students and staff, governance, infrastructure, the IT infrastructure, every single thing has been built.
“Through taking this next massive step, we go even further on this journey and will no doubt face more challenges along the way. But as we transition, we are learning ourselves and others can learn from what we are doing. We are documenting and sharing it for the public good.”
While remote learning continues to be hugely effective for UCQ, it is also mindful of the need for in-person contact where possible. Its recent inaugural Learning Fair is now set to become an annual event, building that commitment further.
“Students don’t come to us for that campus-based experience, that’s not what we’re about, but we know students like to see each other and our tutors are the same, they like to see their students,” says Dr Mapletoft.
“Our graduations to date have always taken place in Newcastle and inductions take place around the country, but our Learning Fair is something that we are definitely going to be doing again – it’s already booked in for next year.
“It was a great opportunity for students to get together, meet each other, meet the staff and hear from external speakers. It was such a motivating and positive event with great feedback from students and tutors alike.
“We feel this really helps to address the issue of not seeing people face-to-face, and also helps to build the relationships which are developed so well remotely.”
For more information about UCQ and the range of training and learning opportunities it delivers, visit www.ucq.ac.uk
