A strategic industry partnership that develops talent
Schneider Electric exploring leadership and talent at Warwick
Schneider at Warwick Science Park
A flourishing strategic partnership exploring leadership, talent and research and development, between Schneider Electric and the University of Warwick, is collaborating to align skills development within WMG’s BEng (Hons) Applied Professional Engineering (APEP) degree apprenticeship with the needs of the engineering sector. This promises ambitious, talented school-leavers a pathway to early career opportunities in electro-mechanical engineering.
Nurturing collaborations at Warwick Science Park
Schneider Electric, a global energy management and automation business focusing on sustainability, has a workforce of 168,000 people and more than a million partners operating in over 100 countries. In 2022, Schneider opened their Electric Coventry Innovation Hub at the University of Warwick’s Science Park, attracted by its central location within the UK and its STEM-based innovation and business focus. At events and industry showcases hosted at the Science Park, stakeholders from Warwick and Schneider were soon meeting and talking about synergies in their talent development and research and development (R&D) business strands and exploring Schneider’s expertise in sustainable building management.
“Schneider Electric has been a longstanding technology supplier to the University of Warwick, particularly across energy management systems. We operate one a key innovation centre in the university’s science park which facilitates an engineering training academy and Industry 4.0 customer experience hub. With a shared commitment to sustainability and business efficiency between Schneider and the University, this partnership will advance world-leading research and talent development in the green skills sector.”
Kas Mohammed, Vice President Digital Energy Division UK & Ireland
Structuring a high impact strategic partnership
Initially the partners collaborated on talent development, with Schnieder working with WBS to deliver executive and leadership training, and WMG to offer their degree apprenticeship programme. Further meetings between subject specialists and stakeholders within the two organisations began to explore shared areas of thought-leadership, and the potential benefits of working strategically. The partnership has now established a programme development structure, around leadership, talent and R&D, and theme leads within each organisation advance strategic tasks, while the partnership leaders have an overview of the different commercial, talent, R&D, and executive education strands.
“Schneider’s partnership with Warwick University brings together our shared ambitions on sustainability, skills development and innovation. We have the plan to reinforce this partnership; providing career opportunities to support the growth of our business and green skills, supporting student research and career orientation together with partnering with the University to support development and education programs both for our early career programs together with the wider business”
Dan Hutchinson, Vice President HR UK & Ireland
A degree apprenticeship for real world challenges
In little more than a year, through an extensive programme of consultation, the partnership has tailored the APEP electro- engineering degree apprenticeship to enhance industry-focused skills for real world applications. Although Schneider works with a number of universities to provide its programme of apprenticeships, the synergy between its values and expertise and those of Warwick is driving the business partnership forward to deliver a wider talent pipeline and to deepen learning and innovation.
Commitment to long-term benefits
Many business partnerships emphasise transactional relationships and never develop further or look to the future benefits of partnering on projects.The clear synergies between the organisations, and the relationship building commitment that underpins this partnership, has embedded trust and a pathway for exploring new activities. With the first quarterly review by the partnership steering group underway, workstream leads are evaluating progress and considering resources and looking to planning the next phase. Celebrating successful student recruitment to the APEP degree apprenticeship, and talent programmes attracting graduates, is a measure of the achievements the partnership has made in such a short time.