An Orange future

Here at Teesside we have launched a Foundation Degree in Contact Centre Management for Orange managers throughout the UK.

The specially designed management degree is a combination of taught courses, in-company training and work-based learning. This allows managers from Orange to complete a degree in any location.

The programme uses the internet and a flexible approach to learning that can be completed according to each manager's situation. For example, five of the managers are based in Plymouth and many of the in-company training sessions take place across the UK.

Partnership The new degree is a partnership between us, Orange, and Darlington College. It was launched last year on our campus, with subsequent workshops at Darlington College close to Orange offices. The managers have been selected by Orange from across the country as part of the Orange Management Academy.

Adrian Evans, Director of Corporate Programmes in the University's Business School, said: 'This is an excellent example of our workforce development strategy in action - bringing together the 'real world' of business through a progressive organization like Orange with the University to achieve work based learning solutions.

'We have a high calibre of manager studying on this course, quality managers who oversee 100 people. What makes the course innovative is to how the managers can bring their in-house company training and massive experience into the framework of an academic qualification.'

Continuous professional development Lisa Blewitt, Training and Development Manager, Orange Talent, said: 'The partnership between Orange and the University of Teesside provides a fantastic opportunity to develop and externally recognise the skills and abilities of our managers through our own Training Academy and a credible educational body, helping realise our ambition of developing a culture of continuous professional development.'

Shaun Brankin, Professional Development Specialist, Orange Talent, said: 'Developing the Foundation Degree in Contact Centre Management with the University of Teesside has allowed us to bring together perfectly academic and business worlds and provide a great tool for developing and retaining Talent in Orange.'

The Foundation Degree in Contact Centre Management is one of a number of workforce development programmes developed in partnership with local employers by ourselves and our partner colleges.

Quotes from Orange Managers All of the Customer Service Managers quoted manage 100 staff each and are in the first cohort to undertake the qualification.

• Darren Austin, 39, works in the company's Darlington offices. He said: 'By doing this Foundation Degree I'm giving something back to the company. I started a degree in Maths and Computing many years ago but didn't finish it and started work. Now I have this opportunity to achieve a qualification. A lot of the course material is work-based; I can consolidate what I've already completed within the company. Some of the elements have been immediately useful, such as a module on CV writing which I was able to apply in the recruitment and selection process.'
• Marcus Stevenson, 35, works for Orange in Plymouth. He is originally from Wimbledon, South London and said: 'It's been 17 years since I did any homework and the coursework takes up about three hours a week. It's a question of finding the right work, course and leisure balance but absolutely it's worth it. The course has reinvigorated some of the skills I already had and I'm now able to reuse these skills in the workplace. What we're learning I can take into the future of the business. I've already recommended this course to my colleagues.'
• Asz Rahman, 35, also works for the company in Plymouth. He said: 'I have no education behind me at all; my background was in catering before joining Orange ten years ago. The course gives me an opportunity to build something up over time. The course is like a jigsaw, putting all the pieces of our work together and it's also an eye opener. I'm already starting to bring some of the knowledge into my work, such as the self-reflection module. With my background, learning can be challenging but when I passed my first assignment I felt things were falling into place.'

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