Employer Pack – Enterprise Adviser Network Information

careersandenterprise.co.uk

EMPLOYERS: JOIN THE FAST-GROWING ENTERPRISE ADVISER NETWORK

i) Provide Enterprise Advisers

The Enterprise Adviser Network operates across England and is the cornerstone of The Careers & Enterprise Company’s work to inspire and prepare young people for their futures. It has been set-up to bring together schools, colleges, employers and careers and enterprise service providers to support better careers and enterprise programmes for young people, aged 11-18.

Together with the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) we are building a network of up to 200 full-time Enterprise Coordinators who operate regionally to make it easier for employers, providers, schools and colleges to connect. It is their role to understand the local careers and enterprise landscape, including growth sectors, skills shortages and the opportunities that employers and providers of careers services offer to schools and colleges in their region. They enable employers and existing providers of careers and enterprise services, easier access to schools to inspire and prepare young people.

To strengthen this network, LEPs are actively recruiting a network of up to 4,000 senior and strategic industry volunteers, or Enterprise Advisers, to better connect employers and education.Enterprise Coordinators support a cluster of approximately 20 senior and strategic volunteer Enterprise Advisers (EAs) who represent businesses of all sizes across the public, private and third sector. Enterprise Advisers are carefully paired with a Head Teacher of a school, or Principal of a college to provide friendly counsel to support the careers agenda.

We are currently actively recruiting EAs across England and would like your business to support us. As an EA, an employee will regularly meet with their paired local school or college, alongside the Enterprise Coordinator initially, to provide strategic counsel to the Head Teacher or Principal about their strategic careers, enterprise and employer engagement plan. Together, the Enterprise Coordinator, School/College and Enterprise Adviser will create an actionable whole school plan that equips students from year 7 onwards with more meaningful encounters with employers and the world of work, better information about their future options and a plan that prepares them to reach their full potential.

careersandenterprise.co.uk

“Research shows that young adults who have greater levels of contact with employers whilst at school are significantly less likely to become NEET and can expect, when in full-time employment, to earn up to 18% more than peers who had no such workplace exposure.” Percy, C and Mann, A. 2014

Is the Enterprise Adviser role right for your employees?Our Enterprise Advisers include entrepreneurs, senior managers and directors in the public, private and third sector. Each of our EAs are different, shaped by the successes and challenges of their own career journeys, although all have a shared passion about improving the future prospects of young people. The EA role offers a meaningful opportunity for your employees to make a difference in their local community, develop their own influencing and leadership skills while also supporting your business and sector more broadly, to ensure young people are better equipped for their transition from education to employment.

Did you know?

1 There are more than 700,000 job vacancies in the UK, one quarter of which result from a skills shortage

2 Unemployment amongst young people is three times higher than the national average

3 Young people who recall 4 or more encounters with the world of work are 5 times less likely to become NEET (Not in Education Employment or Training)

4 Only 40 per cent of schools offer students one encounter a year with employers from year seven onwards, despite work experience being critical or significant when hiring for 66 per cent of employers.

The ideal Enterprise Adviser is: – passionate about motivating young people to fulfil

their potential– a strategic professional who can provide friendly

counsel to a school Head, or college Principal– a networker who is happy to share knowledge of their

sector to shape understanding of the skills needed and opportunities available for young people

– able to provide leadership for their nominated school or college, helping focus their careers programme on local opportunities

– able to offer around eight hours a month of their time, flexibly, to help the school prioritise their careers and enterprise provision

Enterprise Advisers will be supported by:– a fulltime Enterprise Coordinator and Local Enterprise

Partnership (LEP) who will carefully match an EA to a local school or college, to best utilise their skills and strengths

– an induction, toolkit and training to develop knowledge of the careers space to support discussions

– a network of other EAs in their region and nationally, during regular training events and networking opportunities, to share ideas and best practice

“The ability to fire the imagination of young people and encourage them to study STEM subjects is critical to our long term success. The Careers & Enterprise Company and in particular the Enterprise Adviser network is set to become a key enabler in helping to make this happen.”Paul Broadhead, Head of Community Investment & Education Outreach, Rolls Royce, Enterprise Adviser, Derby

Benefits and challenges Working in a school or college can be very demanding. Senior Leadership Teams are balancing multiple educational, financial, staffing and policy challenges, so pushing careers provision to the top of the agenda can be difficult. However, the successful delivery of change in education can have a lifelong impact on students, while also having a positive effect on your employees too. EAs will be placed in the new context of a school or college, encouraging them to develop fresh perspectives beyond their current job role and sector, while translating their skills and developing leadership both inside and outside of your business.

“We need the Careers & Enterprise Company to help schools and businesses all talk together so that schools understand what businesses need and businesses understand what schools need. It’s a no-brainer!”Helena Yeaman, Citizenship Team, Nationwide

ii) Creating diverse workforces by supporting ‘cold spot’ regions:

You can support the Enterprise Adviser Network and young people, by providing EAs nationally, or regionally; strategically focussing on areas where young people are in greatest need; a ‘cold spot’ region where there are high levels of deprivation, poorer attainment outcomes and low levels of existing work experience or work inspiration on offer to young people. Enterprise Coordinators can help you access more diverse schools to support your social mobility goals and talent pipelines, helping you to reach untapped talent. Please see the ‘cold spot’ report to review the areas of greatest need and pair the locations with your Head Office and regional offices / sites.

iii) Scale up your school engagement activities:

We can also support you to scale up your existing school engagement activities, by delivering them through our network of schools and colleges. Please share information with us about your programmes, including work experience activities, skills sessions or early-career roles and we can help to share this across the network to improve access for you. If you need support delivering your school engagement programmes, you may find our partner providers a good starting point. Please see the careers and enterprise fund list for more information.

Employers: Join the fast-growing Enterprise Adviser Network

To join the fast-growing Enterprise Adviser Network, please ask your employees to register as an Enterprise Adviser at www.careersandenterprise.co.uk or to explore how your business can play an active role across the Enterprise Adviser network then please contact Sarah Bohn, Employer Engagement Manager sbohn@careersandenterprise.co.uk We will be delighted to hear from you and will happily answer any questions you may have.

Why This Matters

Supported by The Careers & Enterprise Company

Regular events to guide and inform

Training

4,000 Enterprise Advisers(all business volunteers)