15.08.28_Impact report_V3_SW
- 1. Working Knowledge is a social enterprise that exists to open the eyes of business to the young talent available locally. With Ofsted applying pressure on educators to better prepare young people for the workplace, it is essential we also positively change the perception of business as to the benefits that a young person can bring to them. Inspiring employers to create new career opportunities for young people. We have 9 years of experience helping colleges engage relevant employers to co-design and co- deliver the curriculum to maximise employment opportunities for their learners while evidencing activity against the CIF. Currently we partner with 17 colleges and 3 schools, have worked with 23,000 learners, 2,300 staff and 3,850 businesses to date, providing them with a range of partnership services including delivering learner-employer programmes, staff training and strategic consultancy. Ultimately building their capacity to deliver an education to young people that employers value and actively recruit from. This report sets out the impact our work has had during academic year 2014/15 on our key stakeholders, alongside lessons learned and changes which we are implementing going forwards. INTRODUCTION I am extremely proud of what we have achieved this year with the young people we represent. But of course our achievements only occur through the dedication, passion and creativity of the fantastic Working Knowledge team. Thank you! Dr James Lott, Managing Director
- 2. Our partner education establishments Academic Year 14/15 17 1 680 3,147 College partners University partner Total Business Volunteers (BVs) Total students/ staff 433 Individual student opportunities offered 3 110 3,690 67 Schools partners 115 BVs who offered student opportunities Total number of events Total volunteer hours BVs who attended multiple events
- 3. is a ‘dragon’s den’ style high-energy entrepreneurial activity day. We engage a variety of Business Volunteers, these are local employers who work in industries relevant to the learners’ subject areas and career aspirations. Throughout the day the learners and Business Volunteers interact and have workshops on promotion, finance and operations culminating in a pitch to the volunteers. The learners then receive feedback from the volunteers based on their performance and the volunteers are able to offer them further opportunities if they wish, such as apprenticeships, work experience and even jobs. The key outcome is positively changing the perception of business people as to what a young person could do for them and the success of their business. is an employer-led live brief project that usually takes place over three days. The Working Knowledge engagement team collaborates with an employer relevant to the learners to write a project brief. This could be around designing a new product, writing a marketing campaign or developing a solution to a problem, sometimes the briefs are based on real projects the company needs completed. The students then work on them before going in to the company to formally and informally get advice on their initial approach. Finally they create and pitch to camera their response to the brief, which is reviewed by the employers who give the learners an individual employer reference for use on UCAS forms, job applications and CVs. The key outcome is to highlight to the host employer, and others in the sector, the key skills and behaviours of young people to make them attractive to employ. At our Employer Aware and Employer Experience programmes we provide the learners with a pre-event survey which they must complete. They then complete a post-event survey to show us how they have progressed over the course of the programme. The feedback they provide allows us to chart their progress against a 9 point employability skills framework which we have devised based on CBI and UKCES surveys of employers on why they want to see in young people. At our Employer Aware events we also provide the learners with a feedback form to complete at the end of the day, this form allows them to directly feed back to Working Knowledge about their experience of the day and provide us with a quote about the day to use for marketing purposes. Student Services Evidencing
- 4. During our Employer Aware events all Business Volunteers complete a Volunteer pack, this pack lets them assess and provide feedback on the learners they are working with. It also provide us with feedback on their experience. Pre Post Change Communications and literacy: 89.1% 92.1% +3 Business awareness: 59.9% 82.9% +23 Teamworking: 89.2% 93.4% +4.2 Problem Solving: 87% 90.8% +3.8 Pre Post Change Communications and literacy: 58.6% 67.3% +8.7 Business awareness: 59.5% 68.3% +8.8 Teamworking: 78.7% 82.9% +4.2 Problem Solving: 84.1% 81.5% -2.6 98.9% feel we help prepare young people for the workplace 99.4% enjoyed helping the learners develop business skills 92.9% enjoyed utilising skills in a new environment 98.9% want to be kept informed about future volunteering opportunities 100% would recommend the experience All of the below stats are averages based on 413 students who completed the pre-event survey and 101 who completed the post-event survey. Skills that they improved during Employer Experience: All of the below stats are averages based on 2,430 students who completed the pre-event survey and 650 who completed the post-event survey. 85.3% feel more likely to get a job 91.6% would recommend the event to a friend Skills that they improved during Employer Aware: Student feedback: Business Volunteer feedback:
- 5. The Learning Futures programme, commissioned and funded by The Education and Training Foundation, is a learning technologies programme. The project aims to upskill teachers and students to develop strong professional networks using LinkedIn. The ultimate aim is to improve students’ line of sight to work and their chances of securing meaningful careers. By how much has your LinkedIn network grown over the course of the programme? More than 86 20% 26 - 45 20% Less than 10 40% It hasn’t grown at all 20% As a result of the successes of the Learning Futures programme Abingdon and Witney College and Aylesbury College are rolling it out college-wide from September 2015. Working Knowledge are also developing a new programme based on this one called Personal Career Networks. This programme will launch in September 2015 and be marketed to Colleges nationwide for the academic year 15/16. We will be collecting data from the learners that take part in this programme which will be included in future impact reports. I think in education changes come in and out because they’re important at the time, but some things stay and they get embedded and contextualised because you can see their value. Employer engagement has become much more embedded as a result of understanding its meaning and value. The Learning Futures programme has enabled it to be much more integrated for everybody not just teaching staff. I think when you actually embed something fully into the culture of the college it’s got to be teaching and support staff recognising it’s importance, and everybody talking about employer engagement. - Paula Kavanagh, Curriculum Director at Aylesbury College Student feedback:
- 6. In order to make our Business Volunteer engagement process as efficient as possible Working Knowledge is always on the lookout for new Corporate Strategic Partners. These partners guarantee to provide Business Volunteers for all of our events nationwide, this partnerships not only benefits Working Knowledge but also meets the Corporate Social Responsibility and leadership development objectives of our partners. We surveyed our partners about their experience partnering with Working Knowledge last academic year. Statement Rating (Average rating out of 5 where 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree) 2016 target I feel our partnership with Working Knowledge is beneficial to our company and staff 5 5 I feel our partnership with Working Knowledge is helping young people achieve fulfilling careers 5 5 I am satisfied with the level of contact we have with Working Knowledge 4.5 5 I enjoy collaborating with Working Knowledge 5 5 I am proud to partner with Working Knowledge 5 5 Corporate Strategic Partner Feedback:
- 7. 100% 98% 93% 100% Would recommend the workshop Developed a clearer understanding of how to use LinkedIn as an employer engagement tool Feel more confident to meet with employers face to face Feel confident to deliver the curriculum in a way that meets the needs of employers 100% Have a clearer understanding of what work experience should look like now and in the future 38% Plan to form an employer skills board to ensure the experience of students remains relevant to their career aspirations is a 2 day staff development programme to inspire and equip staff to engage relevant employers to raise their commerciality and dramatically improve active links with employers. Staff Services Immerse opened my eyes to how willing business people are to get involved with the college. That led to the creation of our new L4 Creative Business qualification as we felt we could get enough employers willing to be involved to make it relevant, useful and different from just being a normal course with the odd guest speaker, we could really have it as a major selling point that the course involves employer-set project briefs, mock interviews and multiple employer-learner networking opportunities. - Jade Brown, Course Leader at Aylesbury College
- 8. 100% I have a clearer understanding of the challenges colleges face when preparing young people for work 100% I have a clearer understanding of the challenges colleges face when engaging with businesses 100% I have a clearer understanding of what work experience should look like now and in the future 75% I have a clearer understanding of what work experience should look like now and in the future 95% I plan to maintain my link with the college 100% Would you recommend todays workshop I think in terms of cultural change stemming from Immerse there is a much greater understanding of employer engagement and the managers almost feel like they have been given permission through the project to work creatively and flexibly to be able to work with employers needs as opposed to awarding body needs. There will always be the tension that we have to deliver the qualification as it’s written and there’s a tendency in the sector to play very safe and follow things in a very mechanical way. What arose from Immerse is a new understanding of what the awarding body wants while taking into account how to make it work for the employers. There has been a much greater response for doing live briefs, community briefs, employer-led briefs as opposed to playing safe and keeping it all in the classroom. - Fiona Morey, Vice Principal at Aylesbury College Business Volunteer Feedback: I already had some understanding of the challenges colleges and schools face however, the Immerse programme gave me a deeper more specific insight. - Paul Broadhead, Head of Community Investment and Education Outreach, Rolls Royce I have always tried to provide a rich and vibrant work experience however, in the past I have only worked with graduates, I am now open to working with younger talent and would introduce a programme applicable to their needs, ability and experience. - Carol Hay, Director or Marketing UK and Europe, Caribbean Tourism Organisation The scope and complexity of the issue of supporting transition from school / college into the world of work is truly challenging. Our involvement as business volunteers on the Staff Immerse programme today demonstrated the professional ability of Working Knowledge to positively engage all participants and create joint value while addressing the challenges. - Ian Sterritt, Managing Director, Martec
- 9. Throughout this academic year we have discovered from conversations with our College partners as well as prospective ones, that there is a need for high-level management training to get them ‘on board’ and championing the embedding of employer engagement in their college curriculum. This realisation has led to the creation of our consultancy package for which we are rolling out in academic year 2015/16. This is a 1 day bespoke workshop with Dr James Lott and a Working Knowledge facilitator which is designed to challenge, inform and advise whilst sharing examples of best practice gained from our experiences with partner colleges. We believe this package will allow us to make an impact on the Senior Management Team of a wider variety of colleges that don’t have the budget for our other services. What we have learned:
- 10. The Working Knowledge Sales Academy provides businesses with the sales stars of the future by selecting and training ambitious young sales talent. Our 9 years’ experience partnering with more than 3,100 businesses has shown us that many employers are struggling from a lack of sales talent they need to grow their business. Our Sales Academy meets this demand by selecting ambitious young people and providing them with world-class sales training, 12 months 1:1 coaching and assessment. Our partnerships with colleges and schools nationwide enable us to select and identify the best young sales talent (aged 17-24) for our employer partners. ‘We know that many employers are struggling to find the young sales talent they need to grow their business. We believe that providing world class sales training to young people is a great way to reduce youth unemployment and provide employers with the sales stars of the future.’ James Lott, Managing Director Working Knowledge From June 2014-July 2015 we ran a pilot year of Sales Apprenticeships in Sheffield and London. 2014/15 2016 target Number of host businesses 6 26 Number of students started 32 79 Number of students completed 29 71 Number of students still working at the host company 24 64 Working Knowledge Academies Pilot year data: If anyone had said before that I would be in sales I wouldn’t have believed them. The course has been hard, but I’ve enjoyed being here and it has really improved my confidence. - Stephen, Sales Apprentice I never liked school or 6th form – I never saw any value. I was drifting and I realised I needed experience. This apprenticeship has taught me a lot about myself. The course has made me more comfortable about being outside of my comfort zone. - Josia, Sales Apprentice
- 11. Following the pilot year we have decided to focus on fewer geographical areas to allow us to firmly establish the academy and streamline our processes before expanding. We have chosen to focus on London and Bristol. In academic year 2015/16 we have 6 planned Academies, 3 focused on Sales based in Bristol and 2 focused on Customer Services and Facilities Management in partnership with Mitie which will be based in London with the potential for another Academy in another location. Data about these Academies including their impact on the apprentices and employers will be included in our next report. What we have learned: I’ve learned more about being confident in myself. Having the tutors and coaches there to reassure and support me has helped me grow. - Amy, Sales Apprentice This has been a real challenge, in a positive way. I’ve learned to have more confidence in myself and have more resilience. - Jack, Sales Apprentice The confidence, tenacity and self-motivation of the sales apprentices is inspiring, they have grabbed this opportunity and are achieving very challenging targets. - Carol Derbyshire, Head of Learning & Developments, Johnston Press Our Apprentice is an asset to the team, hardworking and motivated. They came into the business ready to hit the ground running. - Darryl Hazeldine, Property Manager, Local World It’s been a real two way process that has brought massive benefits to our business in the way that we manage and recruit new talent. The apprentices have the ability to go head to head with any of our other salespeople and they could go to any company and carve out hugely successful careers for themselves. - Martin Hitchcock, Account Director, Johnston Press
- 12. To ensure all our events run smoothly Working Knowledge has a group of dedicated associate facilitators who help run our events nationwide. All are respected business people in their fields and many run their own companies. Like any company we would be nothing without our trusted Suppliers. Below is how they feel about their collaboration with Working Knowledge. Statement Rating (Average rating out of 5 where 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree) 2016 target I enjoy working with Working Knowledge 4.9 5 I feel Working Knowledge is helping young people achieve fulfilling careers via student services / Working Knowledge Academies or staff training 4.89 5 Working Knowledge pays invoices promptly 4 5 I am happy with my level of involvement with Working Knowledge 4 5 I am passionate about the work Working Knowledge does 4.78 5 Statement Rating (Average rating out of 5 where 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree) 2016 target Working Knowledge are prompt payers 4.33 5 Working Knowledge are easy to communicate with 4.7 5 My overall experience working with Working Knowledge has been positive 5 5 Other Working Knowledge Facilitators Feedback: Working Knowledge Suppliers Feedback:
- 13. The Working Knowledge team are a professional, hard-working but fun-loving bunch. As a social enterprise we passionately believe in our mission to raise the aspirations, confidence and employability skills of young people whilst opening the eyes of employers to the value young people can bring to their business. Therefore, it is important to measure how passionately we believe this as individuals. Below are the results of this year’s anonymous staff survey. Statement Rating (Average rating out of 5 where 5 = strongly agree and 1 = strongly disagree) 2016 target Working Knowledge makes me feel valued 4.2 5 I enjoy working for Working Knowledge 4.5 5 I feel Working Knowledge is helping young people achieve fulfilling careers 4.6 5 I feel my role within Working Knowledge is making a difference to young people 4.2 5 I feel proud to work for Working Knowledge 4.6 5 Working Knowledge Staff Feedback:
- 14. 5 Academies for 79 young people and circa 26 host businesses 20 college partners and 3 school partners Student programmes with 8 colleges and 3 schools Teaching staff training programmes with 18 colleges and 3 schools Senior Management Team training programmes with 13 colleges and 3 schools Improve all employee, supplier and facilitator survey responses. Have 20 articles in FEnews.co.uk Get 1 article in either business or national press Get 2 stories on local television or radio This year we have been challenged by the impact of the election, which led to continued uncertainty related to funding within the 16-19 year old education sector. For example the 25% reduction in the Adult Skills Budget created an average £2million reduction in funding for colleges. This has resulted in dramatic changes with Working Knowledge. 1) We now work less with students directly but train the trainer / teacher to engage employers and involve them in curriculum design and delivery. This has then developed into Whole College Strategic Consultancy and programmes of whole college culture change. 2) There had been a huge focus on funding of apprenticeships so therefore we have had to learn and hire skills in this area to develop our own apprenticeship provision focussed in areas of sales and customer service. Academic Year 2015/16 will continue to be a challenging trading environment for Working Knowledge despite our expertise being highly sought after by the sector. However, we look ahead with confidence that we are making a genuine difference to young people, educators and business for the benefit of all. Conclusion Targets: Looking to the future: