Hertfordshire Training & Development Consortium

Welcome to:

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS – MAKING IT WORK

Wednesday 17th July 2013

Aims of Today

• To share the experience/outcomes of recent employability skills improvement programmes

• To demonstrate the benefits of partnership working and promote networking

• To provide ideas for further improvement programmes for providers

LSIS – East of England Programmes

Mark Barnsley

Regional Development Manager

Employability Skills Improvement Programmes

Sarah ElliottDevelopment Worker

Hertfordshire Training & Development Consortium

Agenda

• HTDC – Introduction

• HESPIP – Hertfordshire Employability Skills Provider Improvement Programme

• Empower– Regional programme with Learn EAST

• Workshops for Children’s Centre Managers

• Sustaining voluntary sector provision

HTDC - Introduction

• Conceived Autumn 2007; Launched Autumn 2008

• Over 300 Full and Associate Member Organisations

• 2 principal aims:– To bring together VCS Training Providers– To promote and facilitate VCS Workforce Development

• Lead body - Hertfordshire Community Foundation

HESPIP

• Funded by LSIS

• Led by HAFLS– Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service

• Worked with 6 providers in Hertfordshire:– ASCEND– Dacorum Communities for Learning (DCFL)– Groundwork Hertfordshire– Herts Mind Network– Herts Trade Union Learning Centre– Safer Places

HESPIP – Programme Outline

Self Assessment

Lesson Observations

Workshops

Action Planning

Regional Dissemination

Provider Questionnaires

1. Differentiation

2. Best Practice Sharing

3. Partnerships

Best Practice Sharing

• Based on end to end process from learner perspective• Developed a blank template in Excel• Master sheet and tabs for each provider• Participants’ laptops connected with facilitator’s• File shared across the “mini network”• Initial discussion of each section followed by completion by

participants• Able to save, view and further discuss each response• Overall analysis available to share more widely• Enjoyed by participants:

– “The technology used allowed for everyone to participate and share ideas”

Building Partnerships

• Jobcentre Plus• Other Funded Training and Advice e.g.

– SFA Support for the Unemployed ; www.tchc.net – National Careers Service ; – Self Employment/Business start-up – New Enterprise Allowance

• Wenta (Herts and Beds)• Ixion (East Anglia and Essex); iain.lockhart@ixionholdings.com

• Job and Enterprise Clubs• Work Experience• Volunteering – local Volunteer Centres

– www.do-it.org.uk

• Links with Employers

Empower Programme

• Funded by LSIS

• Led by the Learning Partnership Bedfordshire and Luton

• Programme of Capacity-Building workshops

• Delivered via Learn EAST

• HTDC delivered Building Partnerships session

Employability “Checkerboard”

Pre-/ Planning

Core Delivery Follow-on activities

Monitoring

Employability Programmes –The Process

• End to end

• Client not provision focussed

• Sequence and timing may vary by client group/provider

• Recognises that it’s fine not to do everything yourself

Key Steps in Process

Understand Local NeedLocal Community (unemployment %, skills, existing provision); Employers (vacancies, skills needs)

Recruit Learners Marketing, Referrals

Skills Training e.g. IT, Vocational skills

Personal Skillse.g. Confidence-building, Communications, Teamworking

Job Searche.g. using the internet, online tools, cvs/ application forms, interview skills

Business start-up Inc self employment, business planning

Volunteering/Work Experience Linking with the right employers/roles

Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) National Careers Service

Job (or Work) Clubs Maintaining activity, motivation, contact

Tracking/ProgressionKeeping in touch, Project evaluation, payment by results (PBR)

In work support Sustaining work, PBR

How do you approach each step?

• On your own – your facilities, staff/tutors

• In partnership – working collaboratively with other organisations

• Use external providers – bring them into your premises or refer clients out

• Or is there currently a gap? – you haven’t yet identified how to tackle

Workshops for Children’s Centre Managers

“Working Together Better – To Help Parents into Employment”

HTDC and HCC Childhood Support Services

• Commissioning small projects designed to reduce Child Poverty in Hertfordshire

• HTDC involved in a range of initiatives around developing Employability Skills provision

• Welfare Reform changes mean more lone parents need to seek employment– Unable to claim income support once child is 5

• Identified the potential to develop the capacity of Children’s Centres to support parents into work

The Workshops:WORKING TOGETHER BETTERto help parents into employment

• Choice of 2 dates and venues in Watford and Stevenage

• For Children’s Centre Managers, Family Support Workers, Providers of Careers Advice, Employability Skills and Housing

• The workshops aim to help Children’s Centres to:– Improve understanding of current Welfare to Work programmes – Identify the role of Children’s Centres– Develop links with providers of employability skills and housing– Establish best practice in engaging/supporting unemployed parents

Key messages

• Children’s Centres are well placed, but you can’t do it on your own

• Partnerships are key to developing provision:– Bring in expertise– Utilise existing funded programmes– Partner with each other in local areas– Communicate to share best practice/learning

• Via findings from table discussions - developed Top Tips for Engaging with Parents

Sustaining Voluntary Sector Provision

• Sources of funding – a continuing challenge– ESF Community Grants– Adult & Community Learning– Other/various

• Future ESF Programmes 2014-2020– Need to engage with your Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)

• DWP Work Programme– A missed opportunity to help the long term unemployed– Limited VCS participation

Key areas for development

• Accreditation of training

• Links with employers

• Tracking outcomes

• In work support

HTDC is a project led by Hertfordshire Community Foundation, registered charity number 299438.

Sarah ElliottDevelopment Worker

Hertfordshire Training & Development Consortium01707 251351

sarah.elliott@hertscf.org.ukwww.htdc.org.uk