As the Milton Keynes business community gears up for the Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards 2026 being held on March 19 at Stadium MK, Phil Kenmore, Director of Employers and Partnerships at The Open University, shares his thoughts on the awards as the OU returns as headline sponsor for the prestigious event.
The Open University has been a long-time supporter of the awards, what benefits does the organisation see?
Based in Milton Keynes since our foundation in 1969, we are a major local employer and an active contributor to the city’s growth and success. Sponsorship provides an opportunity to strengthen relationships with the business community, showcase our expertise in workforce development, and highlight our commitment to contributing to the local economy.
This year’s theme is ‘The Power of Partnerships: Come Together to Achieve More’ – how does this theme resonate with The Open University?
Partnerships are critical to the OU’s unfolding new strategy and are vital for expanding our mission and impact. As the UK’s largest university, we work in partnership with businesses, public sector organisations, the third sector, and other higher and further educational institutions worldwide.
As a pioneer in delivering supported learning at distance and at scale, we are a natural partner for any organisation looking to enhance its ability to deliver flexible education and widen reach and participation in learning.
More than 2,700 UK employers currently have sponsored staff on OU programmes – how does this type of partnership work?
Our partnerships work in many ways. Many employers sponsor staff on degree programmes or work with us via apprenticeship routes. But there are other models too.
We work with Uber on an impactful and longstanding programme in which eligible drivers (or nominated family member) can study with us, with the fees covered by Uber.
We’ve seen almost 2,000 learners join this programme, driving loyalty and social mobility.
Our Open Societal Challenges (OSC) programme supports and enables organisations to work with our researchers to address society’s most pressing issues.
For example, our STEM faculty is collaborating with the Green Roof Organisation and Milton Keynes-based green roof specialists Bridgman & Bridgman, to turn a traditional flat rooftop into a state-of-the-art green roof research lab to collect data for this growing sustainable solution.
The Open University is part of the Arc Universities Group to foster collaboration, research, skills and innovation to support economic growth. How can this benefit Milton Keynes?
The Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor has been called the UK’s Silicon Valley and Oxford and Cambridge are renowned world-class centres of excellence in life sciences and quantum computing.
Milton Keynes lies at the heart of the Corridor and has a rapidly growing reputation as a tech centre in its own right. Across the Corridor we have more than 200 partnerships with employers to help them address skills gaps.
The Arc Universities Group plays a vital role in addressing the region’s growth needs and societal challenges. Our recently appointed Vice Chancellor, Professor Dave Phoenix, is vice-chair of the group and is keen to build partnerships for the benefit of both Milton Keynes and the wider Corridor region.
Within the city of Milton Keynes, a Responsible AI and Automation conference led by the Arc Universities Group, preceded the signing of a new Civic University Agreement for Milton Keynes at Unity Place. Led by ourselves, Cranfield University and Milton Keynes College, it is backed by some of the city’s biggest and most innovative organisations and aims to capitalise and strengthen the thriving tech ecosystem, high-quality skills training, and world-class research that is already present in the city.
We are also part of the Silverstone Technology Cluster and a new anchor partner of the South Central Institute of Technology – which provides training for a new generation of digital professionals.
The breadth and depth of the courses available through The Open University are second to none. How can the power of partnerships to help to upskill Milton Keynes internal workforce?
Across more than 200 qualifications, seven in ten OU students are already in employment, so our teaching works around workplace and home commitments. Our open access ethos means that prior qualifications are not required for most courses. This gives employers a different option to widen participation in their staff development.
Our free platform, OpenLearn, has a wide range of free courses if you want to explore what we could bring to your organisation and our new Skills Starter tool is a free resource to help with skills planning.
Can you give examples of how partnership working has benefited The Open University?
A great local example is SkillUp:MK. This initiative is designed to empower residents and help employers of Milton Keynes with the skills needed for today’s evolving job market. Launched by Milton Keynes College Group, The Open University, Santander UK and Milton Keynes City Council, the platform offers free and affordable courses in three key areas: digital skills, sustainability and leadership and management.
We also support smaller businesses and founders. We partnered with NatWest and the Department for Work and Pensions on the Open Business Creators Fund, a transformative funding competition which was aimed this year at women entrepreneurs at the early stages of their journey.
How important is it for local business communities to come together and work in partnership with the skills and learning sector?
Collaboration and feedback allow us to shape our offering for the benefit of both employers and employees. For example, we have recently redesigned our digital apprenticeship offer following employer feedback, offering quicker routes at both Levels 4 and 6 to allow employees to learn and progress through to more senior roles.
We are also working closely with NHS Trusts to offer a new, award-winning flexible nursing degree route. So, yes, working together with employers can help us collaboratively deliver huge benefits to local communities.
Find out more about The OU’s offer for employers and partners at the website here.
To find out more about the awards and to book a table go to the website here. For sponsorship opportunities email sponsorship@mkbaa.co.uk or visit the website here.
Follow the Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards on Twitter/X and Instagram and LinkedIn.
