Regional Strategic Planning; Local Delivery

Transcription

1 Regional Strategic Planning; Local Delivery Regional Learning Partnership South West Wales (RLPSW&CW) Regional Delivery Plan for Employment & Skills for South West & Central Wales Expression of Interest Form (EOI) Please note this EOI does not form part of any funding application process. The purpose of the document is to identify proposed activity areas to implement the Regional Delivery Plan for Employment & Skills SW&CW. Please note as a guide that the EOI should be completed in 12 point font and each box should not exceed a maximum of words 1a. Name of Organisation: (responsible for submitting the application and managing the activity): Centre for Business and Social Action Ltd 1b. Proposed Activity Title: Pathways to Work 1c. Details of the Activity: What is the purpose / aim of the activity? Which priority from the Skills Plan does it address? This intervention aims to improve the life chances of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) through a comprehensive package of development and support that moves participants closer to the labour market, self-employment or further learning in an incremental fashion. It will also help meet the needs of employers by equipping young people with the soft and employability skills and work-readiness often identified as being lacking. As such, it will address the following priorities: 8, 10, and 11 The intervention will incorporate the following elements that will combine to create a tailored package of development for participants, allied by intensive support services: Soft skills, including: - Resilience - Assertiveness - Motivation - Aspiration - Personal development - Goal setting Essential Skills - including Communication, Application of Numbers and/or ICT Employability Skills, including: - Communication in the workplace - Customer service - Time management - Team working RLP Team

2 - Problem solving and decision making Participants can then opt for different pathways towards employment, self-employment or further learning: 1. Employment Job search skills: - Exploring job opportunities - Applying for work CV, application form, covering letter - Interview skills Job search support Work experience, including: - 3-day preparatory course. This will provide the individual guidance on workplace demands, health and safety training and allow for a work experience development plan to be established and agreed - Work tasters - Structured work experience placements, guided by the development plan. 2. Self-employment, including: - Understanding what an enterprise is - Understand what is meant by enterprising skills and behaviours - Understand the benefits of having enterprising skills and behaviours in different settings - Developing basic self-employment knowledge and skills. 3. Preparation for further learning - Discovering learning styles - Study Skills - Planning Learning - Identifying Learning Opportunities 2. Please indicate which Thematic Area of the Framework your activity fits with: Engagement In Work Support Pre-Employment CPD 3. Please explain why the activity is needed, identifying where your evidence of need has come from and how this aligns with the intelligence, priorities and themes contained within the Regional Delivery Plan. The need for these interventions has been identified through a number of activities, including our considerable experience of working with young people NEET and our consultations with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Wales. CBSA is one of the largest business membership organisations in Wales and we regularly undertake consultation exercises with regards the work-readiness of young people. Many of the conclusions of these consultations accords with the findings of those outlined within the Regional Delivery Plan for Employability & Skills with regards the absence of workreadiness amongst many education leavers (p31). At the same time, our links with the business community will help ensure that we can get the necessary buy-in to ensure that interventions are best suited to meeting their needs and that the private sector plays a meaningful role in helping addressing these.

3 At the same, time, CBSA has delivered NEET prevention and reduction projects for a number of years, and continues to do so, including being a delivery partner in the pan- Wales Symud Ymlaen/Moving Forward working with young people known to the criminal justice system or those leaving care. Collectively, these projects have demonstrated the extent to which many young people NEET are distant from the labour market and the need for a prolonged period of development and preparation to enable them towards employability. It is also evident that such a process is best delivered via a single initiative that works with the young people in a seamless fashion to increase their work-readiness, or that for selfemployment or further learning. Too often, projects working with young people NEET have been fragmented and lacking a coherence, meaning that many participants have not received the continuity of service and support necessary for them to make the journey towards employability. 4. Please indicate the geographical coverage proposed: All Wales Regionally (South West & Central Wales) Swansea Carmarthenshire Neath Port Talbot Powys Ceredigion Pembrokeshire 5. Please detail how you have consulted and collaborated with other stakeholders of similar activities in the region (and outside if relevant). How have you ensured that this does not duplicate existing activity/ provision? We have consulted with a range of stakeholders in the region, most particularly employers and small businesses which collectively represent the largest source of private sector employment in Wales. Additionally, through employability-related project delivery across the region, we have gained knowledge of exisiting provision and gaps in it. However, this exercise has been hampered by the hiatus in structural funding, the delays in getting transforming rehabilitation procurement finalised, etc 6. Please give details of the partners involved in the activity, directly or as consultees, and your ongoing working arrangements. Our main delivery partners will be employers within the SME sector in the region, who will provide resources in the form of time, work placements and training opportunities. These have already demonstrated a willingness to support for such initiatives through contributions made to previous and/or existing employability and NEET reduction projects. 7. What change will the proposed activity seek to achieve and what barriers will be overcome? The interventions aim to reduce a number of barriers to employment and further learning experienced by young people NEET. They will achieve this in an incremental and targeted manner in order that the specific needs of participants are met, and that they are in a significantly more favourable position to engage in the labour market. Collectively, these barriers encompass soft and employability skills, an absence of essential skills and qualifications, and poor work place understanding and experience. The interventions outlined above will help overcome these by providing individuals with:

4 the resilience and ability to recover from set-backs quickly and positively and to be able to take a greater control of their lives the aspiration, motivation, and confidence to engage with the labour market the communication, literacy and/or ICT skills that are essential to the workplace and/or life, generally a range of attributes and skills that are considered as being important by employers, but frequently identified as being lacking in applicants for jobs the confidence and skills to apply for work and to be more effective in their job searching a basic understanding of the attributes and skills required for self-employment, as well as an insight to the requirements of starting a new business the knowledge, understanding and skills to be able to improve their learning performance, thereby increasing their ability to take full advantage of learning opportunities and develop to their full potential. the opportunity to gain valuable experience or develop new skills within a real-life working environment. This will also provide them with greater insight into employer expectations and workplace demands. 8. Please specify the target audience that the activity would seek to support? We would seek to work with young people aged and not in employment, education or training, or oherwise having development needs with regards employability - eg might be on a part-time college course 9. How does the activity propose to be financed? It is proposed that the intervention will be funded by grant-funding, matched by contributions from the private sector through time provided by employers to coach, mentor and train participants, as well as to support and supervise work placements. 10. Organisation Details Address: The Stebonheath Centre Stebonheath Terace Llanelli SA15 1NE Tel No: gdavies@cbsa.org.uk Contact name for queries On the EOI: Gerald Davies Legal status of the Organisation: e.g. charity, constituted voluntary organisation, company limited buy guarantee etc. Company Limited By Guarantee Name: Gerald Davies Date: 27 th May 2014

5 Please submit your form to: The RLP is facilitating the development of the Regional Delivery Plan for Employment and Skills. For any queries please contact GUIDANCE NOTE Please note as a guide that the proforma should be completed in 12 point font and each box should not exceed a maximum of words. The total length of the proforma should ideally be not more than 4 pages, dependent on the complexity of the project. Please ensure when completing question 1c that you describe what the proposed activity is, stating which priority under the headings; Building Skills in Education, Transition into Work and Raising Demand and Improving Skills the activity will address. The answer to this question should give the reader a quick overview of what the activity is and will do. Ideally, test your answer on a nonexpert. Remember this is an introduction to the activity, not your organisation or field of work! When completing question 2 there is a need to indicate which thematic activity area of the Regional Employment & Skills Delivery Framework your activity fits into. A copy of the framework can be accessed via this link. Please provide the evidence of need for your activity, the source and reference where it aligns to the contents of the Regional Delivery Plan for Employment & Skills. Please complete all relevant boxes with regard to the geographical coverage of your proposed activity. Consultation You should make it clear what other organisations / sectors you have consulted with in relation to your proposal. How can you demonstrate / ensure that your proposed activity will not duplicate either existing or other proposed activities? Partners & Partner Arrangements You should make clear what role partners have are they consultees or involved in delivery and financing? Have all organisations listed as consultees already been consulted? If not, please make this clear. When completing question 7 you need to outline what change your proposed activity is aiming to achieve and note what barriers the activity will aim to address. Please be specific with respect to what target audience the proposed activity will focus on. Please provide detail on the proposed funding package of the proposed activity including your organisation s own contribution.

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