About me:
Role

Dr Andrew Dean is Head of Regional Engagement in Exeter Innovation (EI) at the University of Exeter. He is a senior manager and a specialist in the topics of civic engagement, employment, skills, the labour market, and regional impact.

He also leads the University of Exeter’s Marchmont Employment and Skills Observatory, a research centre dedicated to supporting real-world interventions in local and regional labour markets. His main interests include: local and regional higher education impact; labour market and employment policies; vocational education and training; regional and local labour market monitoring; the role of social partners in employment and skills policy; and linking policy with practise.

Interests:

His main research interests include: local and regional Higher Education Impact, labour market and employment policies; the Future of Work; regional and local labour market monitoring; the role of social partners in employment and skills policy and, linking policy with practice.

Qualifications:

1987 – 1991 PhD, University of Exeter

1986 – 1987 MSc, University of Sheffield

1983 – 1986 BSc (Hons), University of Hull

Career:

Within the University of Exeter, Andrew is managing the establishment of a suite of new Civic University Agreements between the University of Exeter and its host city and region. He manages a diverse team of subject experts in fields as diverse as labour market analysis, CPD, housing policy, and civic engagement. His work in the region means he is extensively networked, particularly with the region’s organisations that are active in skills and economic development, but through his work with the HotSW LEP’s Innovation Board, Andrew is also networked with many of the region’s leading innovation-driven enterprises.

Andrew leads on many regional aspects of EI’s work such as delivering three very large innovation-driven EXPOs; producing the University of Exeter’s Regional Skills Strategy (2024-2027); refreshing the Data Analytics Skills Escalator and driving a new Skills Escalator in Social Care; and managing the analytical support for the region’s Skills Advisory Panel and Local Skills Improvement Plan. This has resulted in his being extremely well-networked regionally and, in particular, with organisations responsible for civic engagement and skills strategy.

Andrew is the UK expert for a major CEDEFOP project looking at real-time LMI and web vacancies with the University of Milan-Bicocca (2020 - 2024). He has significant experience in managing complex multi-partner projects and designing and carrying out pragmatic (mixed methodology) social science research and evaluations. In 2019-2020 he was manager, co-author and researcher on one of the largest UK skills surveys as part of a major research project for social partners (UNISON), achieving 38,000 responses and informing future skills priorities. He also carries out annual impact studies on the effectiveness of the TUC Union Learning Fund.

He managed the ACSOL (ERASMUS+) Project, which examined the impact of COVID on digital skills needs and the European Mid-Life Review Project, which sought to boost IAG for older workers. In 2018 he completed a piece of research for the British Council on Institutional Leadership in TVET governance. He managed the innovative ESCALATE project, which examined future approaches to AI and digitalisation within Europe’s’ universities.

Andrew has recently authored a new (2022 – 2025) Skills Strategy for Digital Jersey, having co-authored the Jersey Skills Strategy and the Centre of Excellence Strategy and Roadmap for Digital Jersey in 2017. In 2023/24 he authored a review of trade union education in England and Wales for the TUC. He recently evaluated four ESIF innovation projects for London South Bank University. He has previously authored two reports for the OECD LEED Programme, one on the Greening of Energy Intensive Sectors and the other on the problems of delivering Apprenticeships to Hyper-Rural Geographies (Norway). Other recent projects include a number of bespoke pieces of analysis and impact support for Local Enterprise Partnerships; writing a Handbook on Long Term Unemployment for the OECD. Andrew has done a number of pieces of work for the TUC (unionlearn) including Evaluations of the Union Learning Fund, and supporting the Rainbow Years (mid-life skills review) project (and its successor).

Now in his second career, Andrew trained initially to work as a scientist (earth sciences and environmental sciences) before switching to support the creation of a new labour market observatory, the Marchmont Observatory, in 1998. Since then, he has worked as a labour market researcher, project manager, and, more recently, Head of Regional Engagement.

Andrew also leads the Secretariate for the international network, EUniverCities (medium cities with research intensive universities), and has been Vice Chair of the Scientific Committees for the European Network on Regional Labour Market Monitoring since 2014, authoring several pieces for the network’s anthology.