Come along and find out about the Big Bang South West 2016 Event. How you can take part and what it could do for you…
Judges at The Big Bang Fair, Photo by Pinnacle
You are invited to celebrate the launch of The Big Bang South West, the region’s largest celebration of youth Science and Engineering. During 2015/16 The Big Bang will reach over 12,000 young people in the South West. The year’s activity culminates in the headline event hosted by the University of Exeter where we are joined by 2,000 young people who are talented, creative and bursting with enthusiasm for a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
The event fuels the future talent pool in the region and is the perfect place for students to discover career opportunities on their doorstep. It gives employers a chance to highlight their offer and stop the migration of talent out of the South West.
The success of The Big Bang South West is built on a fantastic partnership of education and employers. There are numerous opportunities throughout the year to be a part of it. You could be a competition judge, a project mentor, an exhibitor at the Fair or, an event sponsor helping to make this Big Bang the best regional event in the country.
The Big Bang South West 2016 Launch is:
on Wednesday 11 November
at Exeter Science Park, Babbage Way Clyst Honiton EX5 2FN GB
between 17:00 and 18:00 hours.
To view the Big Bang 2015 videos and gallery click here.
Aaron and Dan prepare for RWC 2015 Tonga v Namibia match (c) Nick Hook
What do a young person, a Managing Director, a local charity, a national retailer and the Army have in common? They are all part of a journey originally designed to help Aaron move from worklessness towards employment but which turned out to be something much, much more…
Aaron–The Young Person–the mentee
Aaron, has mingled with business leaders, watched two RWC 2015 matches and met HRH Prince Harry but his achievements have been much more profound and his prospects are even more positive. Aaron joined REEP* after leaving Southbrook School in Exeter and having struggled to get on the employment ladder. Intensely shy, quiet and lacking in self confidence, Aaron worked steadily through the intensive ten day programme presenting his vision of his future to employers on the final day. Working with Dan, his mentor, Aaron formulated an action plan, learnt new skills and gained in confidence through volunteering and working, and recently attended the Army Careers Office. Aaron has a quiet smile, a sense of purpose and now recognises that he has something to contribute too.
Dan–The Managing Director–the mentor
Dan initially became involved in REEP through Astley Media’s generous in-kind PR support of REEP. Intrigued by REEP, Dan volunteered for mentor training and, once completed, he was partnered with Aaron. Dan provides Aaron with continuity. He is a trusted and valued person who has the time and the training to mentor him, as well as providing very practical support. It was Dan who waited anxiously as Aaron went for his interview with the Army. Dan has been on a journey too. He has learnt more about young people and the challenges they face, used his mentoring skills at work and more widely, and become a champion for REEP and now BEEP˚.
Hospiscare–the Local Charity–the placement employer
Hospiscare in Devon provides high-quality care and support to the terminally ill. Much of Hospiscare’s income is derived from their charity shops. Volunteers greet customers, prepare donations for sale and work on the tills. The Cowick Street, Exeter branch and its “happy band” opened its doors to Aaron. More than a staging post, volunteering at Hospiscare has improved Aaron’s confidence, required his commitment, demanded routine and enhanced his skill set. Hospiscare gained a young volunteer, an insight into the challenges facing some young people and met Aaron, someone who will never forget the opportunity to work with Hospiscare.
Tesco–the National Retailer–the employer
Tesco Express in Exwick is Aaron’s employer. Once Aaron had gained confidence and valuable work experience at Hospiscare, he, with new positivity, and Dan began to work on his next steps. Sitting together they researched job adverts and planned a campaign. Aaron’s application to Tesco was successful and now Aaron is part of the Tesco team.
The Army–the destination–the future employer?
For Aaron, a career in the Army has become his destination. Only months ago, this seemed far too remote a dream. But now Aaron’s continued progress through training, mentoring, volunteering, employment and, most recently, his interview with the Army Career’s Office (while Dan waited patiently for him to reappear), make his future career a real possibility!
To find out more about REEP and BEEP please contact Sandra Sampson on 01392 873939 or email sandra@sampsonhall.co.uk
Work Experience enables young people to sample careers, get a real sense of a particular work sector, to demonstrate their interest and passion for the area and to get a general introduction to the world of work. We know that young people who have Work Experience are more likely to be successful in their job search, but often the quality of the Work Experience depends upon factors other than interest and motivation. Sometimes Work Experience Placements are the result of parental contacts, second preferences and the ‘luck of the draw’. Employers who host Work Experience placements vary too. Some employers see the advantage of show-casing their sector or their organisation, of talent-spotting and of Corporate Social Partnership, whilst others squeeze-in something less than the best or do not participate at all. Where Work Experience works it makes a huge difference to the young person and benefits the business too.
Our World-class Work Experience Placement pilot will, we hope, become a flagship of our work. We aim to provide un-paralleled opportunities for quality controlled, accredited, Work Experience in Exeter and the Heart of Devon. For this initiative we are teaming up with Industrial Cadets and Education Business Partnership SW. Through this pilot our employer members will provide challenging and motivating accredited one week World Class Work Experience Placements at Silver Level (30 hours) for a group of pilot schools.
At this stage our employers are each meeting with Industrial Cadets and Education Business Partnership SW to plan and accredit each Work Experience opportunity and to ensure that the necessary insurances and paperwork are in place. Once the placements are agreed they will be offered to young people in our pilot schools for young people to start the application process. Although Industrial Cadets has its roots in STEM industries we are piloting it across our complete range of employer members.
The Industrial Cadets Silver Award accreditation offers clear advantages to the young people and to their hosts as all join the Industrial Cadets Online Network with advice and tools for during and after the placement, including advertising work opportunities. Each young person who successfully completes their Work Experience receives, among other things, a certificate which details their experiences and achievements.
Our employers are enthusiastic about holding a joint graduation ceremony of all our World-class Work Experience Industrial Cadets silver award graduates in June 2016.
Once the pilot is completed we will be in a position to consider growing the scheme in more ways than one!
Celebrating with HRH Prince Harry Photo from Exeter Chiefs Official in “HRH Prince Harry Visits Sandy Park”
Ten young people who have been working hard as part of the REEP programme met HRH Prince Harry before the Nambia v Georgia RWC 2015 match at Sandy Park on 7 October. For these young people who have struggled to gain self-confidence and to make positive steps towards work, last night was a milestone and an opportunity to tell Prince Harry about their aspirations, work and the difference the REEP programme has made. Matt B who featured in a recent BBC Inside Out programme chatted to Prince Harry about his forthcoming apprenticeship organised through Exeter College and Charlie Houlden thanked Prince Harry for coming to see them and presented him with a gift of Exe Valley beers!
For Ryan, Matt and Charlie it is less than a week since they addressed an audience of business people at the Great BEEP Launch held at the Innovation Centre, University of Exeter; a testament to the increase in their new self-confidence and to the compelling nature of their achievements.
The good news is that Prince Harry, business leaders, council officials and many members of our community believe that “every individual matters” and they are ready to support and celebrate success.
We have launched a new charity BEEP (Business Empowering Employment Programme) and we are looking for businesses to get involved. If you would like to find out more visit BEEP or please contact Sandra Sampson of Motiv-8SW on 01392 873939.
Employers, business leaders, mentors, the Motiv8-SW team and REEP* partners all got together on Thursday 1 October at the Innovation Centre, University of Exeter, for ‘The Great BEEP Launch’.
All agreed the stars of the show were three young people. Matt, Charlie and Ryan captured the audience and shone! They demonstrated in a few minutes the power of the REEP initiative in helping young people to gain confidence and make positive steps towards employment. Matt, who had been featured in BBC One’s Inside Out programme, watched himself and his REEP journey as it was screened at the start of the launch. Matt, Charlie and Ryan were inspiring! Many professionals at The Great BEEP Launch would have declined the opportunity to address the audience and yet these young people, who only months ago, felt ‘written off’ kept everyone in rapt attention.
The Great BEEP Launch aims to make the immensely successful REEP sustainable by replacing Rugby (RWC 2015 Legacy Funding) with Business support. In order to do this a new charity BEEP (Business Empowering Employment Programme) has been set-up and business engagement is sought at a variety of levels, not just to gain sponsorship but as active Corporate Social Partnership.
Enthusiasm for BEEP is strong but as Mark Shepherd, Chair of Exeter and Heart of Devon Employment and Skills Board, said “Employers need to be behind BEEP and to remember that ‘every individual matters’”. If you would like to find out more visit BEEP website or please contact Sandra Sampson of Motiv-8SW on 01392 873939.
Ten months ago we set out to pilot a work-readiness programme with a difference. A young person-centred journey of discovery with employment as one of the destinations. Realised through an intensive initial programme with the benefit of ongoing support from trained volunteer mentors. Our collaborative endeavour reaped rewards and what we hope will continue to be longer term relationships between mentees, mentors and the REEP Team. Motiv8-SW have ‘gone the extra mile’ and continue to do so; every young person and mentor knows that help is at hand.
To reward their fabulous efforts and celebrate their achievements, the young people and their mentors were promised, at the outset, a ticket to attend a RWC 2015 match at Sandy Park courtesy of the RWC 2015 Legacy Fund. Last week the young people began their World Cup Match day celebrations with a pre-match lunch and catch-up meeting in Dart’s Farm Estuary Room, this was kindly sponsored by Midas and Darts Farm. They then headed off to the Tonga v Namibia RWC 2015 match at Sandy Park. Aaron and Dan had indeed picked the winners!
Preparing to head-off to watch Tonga v Namibia
In order to continue this immensely successful initiative we have launched a new charity BEEP (Business Empowering Employment Programme) and we are looking for businesses to get involved. If you would like to find out more visit www.beep-uk.org or please contact Sandra Sampson of Motiv-8SW on 01392 873939.
We are delighted to be able to share a flavour of over 1500 hours of training in less than 3 minutes! Please enjoy finding out more about this collaboration between Exeter and Heart of Devon Employment and Skills Board and Purple Cloud Consultancy following our successful bid for European funding. Just click the link:
81 tourism and hospitality organisations from Exeter and beyond took the opportunity to prepare to give a world-class welcome to the expected 165,000 RWC 2015 visitors by participating in a fabulous free day of training.
216 delegates enrolled on 16 courses held at Sandy Park to help their help businesses:
Maximise the opportunities for rugby-related business
Understand how to manage super-happy or unhappy rugby supporters
Promote places to visit in the area
Gain a competitive edge
Each delegate received:
A mini-tour of Sandy Park
A special Visit Exeter guide, a Host City pin badge and a certificate
The option of taking a free City & Guilds Level 2 qualification at the end of the day.
By all accounts RWC 2015 visitors from home and abroad have enjoyed their stays!
Rewarding hard work and celebrating success. Young People and Mentors RWC 2015 Tickets.
BBC Spotlight has been documenting the progress of some of the young people on our REEP work-readiness pilot. Film maker, Phil Tuckett and his colleagues have successfully squeezed ten intensive life-changing months into ten minutes! The film is due to be aired on BBC at 19:30 hours on 28 September, the day before the first RWC 2015 game at Sandy Park when Tonga meets Namibia.
To reward their fabulous efforts and celebrate their achievements, the young people and their trained volunteer mentors will attend the Tonga v Namibia match courtesy of the RWC 2015 Legacy Fund. But the celebrations start earlier in the day with a pre-match lunch and catch-up meeting kindly sponsored by Midas in the wonderful Estuary Room, at Darts Farm. Michael Dart was pleased to be able to support REEP and the positive difference it makes to the young people and the community.
As the RWC 2015 Legacy Funding ends and in order to continue this immensely successful initiative we are launching BEEP (Business Empowering Employment Programme) on 1 October. We hope that businesses will see BEEP as more than Corporate Social Partnership, acknowledge that it is the “right thing to do” and makes good business sense too. If you would like to find out more about “the Great BEEP Launch” contact Sandra Sampson of Motiv-8SW on 0844 848 9594.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in REEP. REEP exemplifies our mantra “every individual matters” and was a remarkably successful partnership project.
Artist’s impression of the future home for Met Office Supercomputer on Exeter Science Park
The Exeter & Heart of Devon Employment and Skills Board (EHOD ESB) are working with local councils and the Growth Point team to maximise the potential for recruitment of local skills development and employment. In the Construction Industry this may be achieved through the adoption of the Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) Client Based Approach (CBA) which sets the expectation that construction companies and their sub contractors, whether new build or for maintenance, invest in local skills development and employment opportunities, managed and measured through a set of key performance indicators (KPI) commensurate with the project type and scale.
We are delighted that Willmott Dixon who will be building a home for the final part of the Met Office’s new supercomputer at the Exeter Science Park have already committed to:
Local spending, labour and employment which through a set of KPIs enable them to quantify the indirect economic impact of their work on local communities
Participate in the Construction Ambassadors’ scheme, where Willmott Dixon employees, visit schools, colleges and career events, and organise site visits and share positive experiences, promoting construction as a rewarding career.
Nationally Willmott Dixon’s 2014 community investment activities included:
£2.27 million contributed to enhancing local communities
1,854 young people mentored
326 young people had work placements
500+ fundraising events for charity
57 careers events interacting with 3,700 young people
372 community events, from garden makeovers to renovations and repairs
11 fantastic activities in the management trainee challenge contributing over £250,000 to local communities
1,546 young people had their prospects transformed, (under Willmott Dixon’s definition) which is halfway towards h their target of 3000
£2,827 added by The Foundation’s Just Giving process to the £49,000 raised by staff through individual projects
Willmott Dixon say that “social and community investment and engagement is locked into our corporate DNA!”
This pilot RWC 2015 Event Customer Service Training for Hospitality and Tourism sectors was highly successful. It received very positive and complimentary delegate feedback, exceeded targets, was within budget and developed a model which could be adapted for training in preparation for other significant events in this region and beyond.
Some learning points from the pilot are listed in the table below. We also carefully reflected on other areas including how to reach participants, the information required by Europe and the Skills Funding Agency on the application form, the “Logo Conundrum” (the Catch 22 of logo compliance) and collaborative working. The evaluation report is available in full below.
Learning Point
Reason
Use the event venue or location if possible for the training
It forms an important part of the learning
Encourage the event venue or location to positively support and engage with the training
Ultimately the venue or location will benefit from the training and a positive relationship would add value to the programme
Encourage accreditation, make it free but not compulsory
To reinforce value to employers and encourage individuals especially those attracting priority sector payments
Integrate event resources in to the programme delivery
To acquaint the delegates with the material and demonstrate its usefulness
Use networks and multi-media for recruitment
To reach a broad spectrum of potential delegates and reach those with which you do not currently network
Mix cohorts from different organisations
For mutual benefit and more interesting discussions
Invest time in clarifying the funder’s requirements for paperwork at the outset despite the pressures to start to recruit
In order to minimise irritation to delegates and work load of training organization
Some interesting facts and figures:
Participants
256
Funded
231
Non-funded
16
Non-eligible
9
Percentage of target achieved (excluding non-eligible)
109%
City & Guilds Level 2 taken
203
Percentage of delegates undertaking accreditation
79%
Courses delivered
14
Businesses trained
80
Businesses with 1 or 2 delegates
55%
Mean rating of trainers
97%
Mean rating of overall course
91%
Exeter and Heart of Devon Employment and Skills Board and Purple Cloud Consultancy worked well together. Our approach leveraged our capacity to use networks, to quickly formulate the bid for the second tranche of funding and most importantly to access the initial funding opportunity and deliver excellent customer services training to the local hospitality and tourism industry. We would like to work together again!
Greater Exeter Skills Partnership 