Strategic Marketing For Growth

The strategic alignment of curriculum, marketing strategies and corporate plans is essential to give FE and Skills providers the best possible chance of driving positive levels of learner recruitment. However, quite often these two essential strategies are not considered holistically and organisations fail to achieve the growth targets they set.

This two-day workshop takes a practical approach to helping strategic and operational leaders of marketing and those senior leaders with responsibilities for curriculum planning and delivery, achieve key business targets. It will focus on how to identify growth opportunities and how to develop the strategies required to take curriculum and learning programmes to the market.

Day one of the workshop will provide delegates with an overview of the operating environment for FE and Skills providers and consider the key elements of the current and emerging policy landscape that may impact on learner recruitment. The workshop will build the abilities of delegates to proactively use key labour market intelligence and other data sources to enable effective decision-making and identify opportunities for growth.

*A networking dinner will be held on the first evening, with the cost included in your workshop fee. Accommodation, however, is not included.

Day two of the workshop will provide delegates with the tools required to develop high-impact marketing strategies and objectives and explore the relationship between marketing strategies and corporate plans. The workshop will enable delegates to create a marketing plan that aligns with the organisation’s plans for business development and learner recruitment. Delegates will work through a range of case studies and other activities to choose the right marketing tactics to achieve marketing objectives and come away with new thinking and strategies to drive organisational success.

This two-day workshop has been designed to bring together strategic and operational leaders in curriculum, business planning, marketing and learner recruitment. Typically, delegates will have role titles such as Director of Marketing, Marketing Manager, Vice Principal Curriculum, Director of Curriculum and Director/Head of Learner Recruitment. The workshop is also ideal for marketing professionals who are new to the FE and Skills sector. Delegates from colleges and independent learning providers are welcome to attend this two-day workshop.

Ben Owen

With over sixteen years leadership experience in the FE sector, Ben is an expert in learner recruitment, business development and the use of LMI in curriculum business planning. Ben is the Vice President for Customer Success at Lightcast as well as a Board member of Vision West Notts College. He has held senior leadership roles at Barnsley College, The Grimsby Institute, The Sheffield College and Chesterfield College.

John Gray

John is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. With sector-specific expertise in marketing, brand strategy, business development and customer success, he as worked at executive level in a range of industries and sectors. John is Managing Partner of Gray Manning and has held senior roles with Lightcast and a number of colleges in the South Yorkshire region. He has particular expertise in B2B and B2C marketing at international, national and regional levels.