Working Knowledge is a social enterprise that partners with colleges and schools to help prepare young people for the workplace. They have worked with over 23,000 learners, 2,300 staff members, and 3,850 businesses. Their programs include employer awareness events, live brief projects with employers, and staff training. Surveys of learners, businesses, and staff show improvements in employability skills and positive perceptions of the programs. They are looking to expand their programs and partnerships in the coming academic year.
How Whole Brain Thinking Helps A Large International Professional Serv- ices Firm’s Employees Cultivate Their Creative Side And Stay Connected To The Firm’s Overall Strategy
University Recruitment an Employer Manual-Florida International UniversityAndrea De La Cruz
Acquiring and retaining talent is crucial to an organization’s success. College Recruiting can provide additional strategic benefits to your Recruitment plan. It can help your organization manage its talent gaps as well as promote your brand message on campus. A University recruitment program is not determined by the size of the company, every company regardless of large or small should examine their recruiting opportunities as a way to attract the best and brightest; and having a strategic College Recruiting program in place, can help an organization with:
1. Creating a pipeline of interns and entry level hires that will help grow the organization.
2. Choose and select the best talent in a shorter amount of time than traditional recruitment
3. Save time and effort in Advertisement, Screening and Selection.
College Recruiting goes beyond the career fair, this manual will walk you through how you can create a College Recruiting program that can transform your recruitment efforts and brand your company effectively to the best Student/Alumni talent beyond the career fair.
SoaringEagles Learning is an innovative talent development company.
Mission: Helping individuals be successful by making them purpose driven and confident.
Justifying eLearning: ROI and Key MetricsEduson.tv
eLearning specialists constantly face a lot of “why” questions. Why is eLearning indispensable for the company? Why does it need special (and annually increasing) budget? Why can’t online courses be replaced with conventional mentoring or training? It isn’t always easy to prove the worth of eLearning.
How Whole Brain Thinking Helps A Large International Professional Serv- ices Firm’s Employees Cultivate Their Creative Side And Stay Connected To The Firm’s Overall Strategy
University Recruitment an Employer Manual-Florida International UniversityAndrea De La Cruz
Acquiring and retaining talent is crucial to an organization’s success. College Recruiting can provide additional strategic benefits to your Recruitment plan. It can help your organization manage its talent gaps as well as promote your brand message on campus. A University recruitment program is not determined by the size of the company, every company regardless of large or small should examine their recruiting opportunities as a way to attract the best and brightest; and having a strategic College Recruiting program in place, can help an organization with:
1. Creating a pipeline of interns and entry level hires that will help grow the organization.
2. Choose and select the best talent in a shorter amount of time than traditional recruitment
3. Save time and effort in Advertisement, Screening and Selection.
College Recruiting goes beyond the career fair, this manual will walk you through how you can create a College Recruiting program that can transform your recruitment efforts and brand your company effectively to the best Student/Alumni talent beyond the career fair.
SoaringEagles Learning is an innovative talent development company.
Mission: Helping individuals be successful by making them purpose driven and confident.
Justifying eLearning: ROI and Key MetricsEduson.tv
eLearning specialists constantly face a lot of “why” questions. Why is eLearning indispensable for the company? Why does it need special (and annually increasing) budget? Why can’t online courses be replaced with conventional mentoring or training? It isn’t always easy to prove the worth of eLearning.
U-Spring: 2016 Corporate University Global Survey ResultsBPI group
Results of BPI group's 2016 global survey on corporate universities and new methods of organizational learning. Join us in reimagining the corporate university!
Communication Skills Courses For Your Organisation’s Managers and LeadersMerry Hadden
Explore this presentation to know leadership, Management and Communication skills courses for emerging leaders and managers.
This presentation is credited from Axiom Communications, the employee engagement specialist.
“Destination Outdoors” endeavours to provide corporate-training programmes using outdoor experiential learning. This facet deals with Experience Based Training & Development (EBTD). This experiential learning combines interactive business simulations and games with serious learning and is an extremely powerful medium for imparting training in new skills and helping individuals to improve existing ones. All this is simulated through theatre, music, adventure simulations, role plays, water, CSR & navigational simulations. The methodology is based on \'real\' experiences and moves away from the theoretical and rigid learning methods of traditionalist education and training. A "shared experience" that involves working together on tasks which are unfamiliar and which require a high degree of interdependence quickly builds trust and rapport across the group. To rely on others in ways which are not customary for individuals in a normal working environment generates mutual respect and support often far beyond anything previously experienced by colleagues in the workplace. With Destination Outdoors, you can expect to be engaged in a powerful learning process that will provide your teams with the chance to learn new skills and then to practice those skills. You can also expect to develop new methods for goal setting, building trust, creativity, customer orientation and effective communication apart from core skill sets to gain optimal performance from your associates.
ADDRESSING THE SKILLS GAP BY IDENTIFYING, DEVELOPING, AND REWARDING LIFELONG ...Human Capital Media
Organizations are struggling to find skilled workers to fill jobs. Workers are struggling to stay up to speed on the skills they need to succeed in today’s labour market. Students are graduating with skills that are already obsolete. Despite this, there is massive voluntary turnover happening across industries as employees seek jobs that offer them education and growth opportunities. Businesses and educators today need to invest in workforce learning and development in order to stay relevant and prepared for a rapidly changing economy. Employers need to work with education institutions to recruit, develop, and retain lifelong learners who have the capacity and desire to upskill and reskill over the course of their careers.
In this webinar:
Explore the skills gap facing organizations today
Analyze the role of workforce and educators in solving the skills gap
Learn how to identify lifelong learners who will be able to upskill and reskill over time
Discover strategies for effectively rewarding and encouraging lifelong learning at your organization
Towards Maturity’s 7 secrets of top performing L&D teamsLaura Overton
Today’s L&D function is under intense pressure. Globalisation, technology, continual change and focus on talent means that more is demanded of learning teams who have diminishing resources to draw on. This presentation by Towards Maturity Managing Director, Laura Overton, draws on research with over 2,900 organisations to outline 7 secrets of top performing teams. The presentation was first delivered as part of a webinar in conjunction with SuccessFactors, an SAP company.
If you would like to find out about becoming a top learning company, find out more about benchmarking with Towards Maturity visit: http://towardsmaturity.org/static/survey
If you have had successes in any of these 7 areas, we’d love to hear from you!
World of Learning 2014 Closing Keynote: Linking Learning to BusinessLaura Overton
Laura Overton provided the closing keynote at World of Learning 2014 (Birmingham, UK), sharing why it's important to prioritise the alignment of learning to business needs instead of focusing on the latest fads and technologies.
U-Spring: 2016 Corporate University Global Survey ResultsBPI group
Results of BPI group's 2016 global survey on corporate universities and new methods of organizational learning. Join us in reimagining the corporate university!
Communication Skills Courses For Your Organisation’s Managers and LeadersMerry Hadden
Explore this presentation to know leadership, Management and Communication skills courses for emerging leaders and managers.
This presentation is credited from Axiom Communications, the employee engagement specialist.
“Destination Outdoors” endeavours to provide corporate-training programmes using outdoor experiential learning. This facet deals with Experience Based Training & Development (EBTD). This experiential learning combines interactive business simulations and games with serious learning and is an extremely powerful medium for imparting training in new skills and helping individuals to improve existing ones. All this is simulated through theatre, music, adventure simulations, role plays, water, CSR & navigational simulations. The methodology is based on \'real\' experiences and moves away from the theoretical and rigid learning methods of traditionalist education and training. A "shared experience" that involves working together on tasks which are unfamiliar and which require a high degree of interdependence quickly builds trust and rapport across the group. To rely on others in ways which are not customary for individuals in a normal working environment generates mutual respect and support often far beyond anything previously experienced by colleagues in the workplace. With Destination Outdoors, you can expect to be engaged in a powerful learning process that will provide your teams with the chance to learn new skills and then to practice those skills. You can also expect to develop new methods for goal setting, building trust, creativity, customer orientation and effective communication apart from core skill sets to gain optimal performance from your associates.
ADDRESSING THE SKILLS GAP BY IDENTIFYING, DEVELOPING, AND REWARDING LIFELONG ...Human Capital Media
Organizations are struggling to find skilled workers to fill jobs. Workers are struggling to stay up to speed on the skills they need to succeed in today’s labour market. Students are graduating with skills that are already obsolete. Despite this, there is massive voluntary turnover happening across industries as employees seek jobs that offer them education and growth opportunities. Businesses and educators today need to invest in workforce learning and development in order to stay relevant and prepared for a rapidly changing economy. Employers need to work with education institutions to recruit, develop, and retain lifelong learners who have the capacity and desire to upskill and reskill over the course of their careers.
In this webinar:
Explore the skills gap facing organizations today
Analyze the role of workforce and educators in solving the skills gap
Learn how to identify lifelong learners who will be able to upskill and reskill over time
Discover strategies for effectively rewarding and encouraging lifelong learning at your organization
Towards Maturity’s 7 secrets of top performing L&D teamsLaura Overton
Today’s L&D function is under intense pressure. Globalisation, technology, continual change and focus on talent means that more is demanded of learning teams who have diminishing resources to draw on. This presentation by Towards Maturity Managing Director, Laura Overton, draws on research with over 2,900 organisations to outline 7 secrets of top performing teams. The presentation was first delivered as part of a webinar in conjunction with SuccessFactors, an SAP company.
If you would like to find out about becoming a top learning company, find out more about benchmarking with Towards Maturity visit: http://towardsmaturity.org/static/survey
If you have had successes in any of these 7 areas, we’d love to hear from you!
World of Learning 2014 Closing Keynote: Linking Learning to BusinessLaura Overton
Laura Overton provided the closing keynote at World of Learning 2014 (Birmingham, UK), sharing why it's important to prioritise the alignment of learning to business needs instead of focusing on the latest fads and technologies.
Businesses often deal with interns that deplete the office coffee pot or spend more time reading through social media than actually working. But, building a successful internship program, however, need not be an impossible task. You can build an internship program that draws motivated applicants who are ready to learn and contribute to your company if you take the proper approach and are committed to professional growth.
The Professional Development and Coaching Cooperative(PDCC)is a new group targeted toward helping young professionals set their career path. Keywords: Mission; Plan; Coaching; Mentoring; Education,Training; Professional Development; Young Professional
Supporting statements are usually the most significant parts of the employment applications because the allow to justify the reasons you should be taken. If well written, it can give one an edge over other applicants. It avails one the opportunity to buttress other points that would have otherwise been impossible on the application form
This platform ensures a rapid match of students and companies. The global internships train students and unlocks a global network of relations with the world's most exciting companies
CHAPTER 9 Training and DevelopmentLEARNING OBJECTIVES· UnderJinElias52
CHAPTER 9: Training and Development
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
· Understand how training and development activities can contribute to an organization’s strategic objectives
· Describe how to conduct a needs assessment as part of a training program
· Explain the different modes of delivery of training and how to maximize transfer of training
· Gain an appreciation for the various levels of evaluation of training and the benefits and limitations of each
· Describe the role of organizational development in promoting change with an organization
· Understand the critical link between training, performance management, and compensation in ensuring the success of training
Using Training to Rebrand Sofitel Hotels
With an increasingly competitive marketplace in the high-end hotel industry, worldwide luxury hotel chain Sofitel embarked on a rebranding program in 2008 to position itself as an exclusive chain that offered its guests a unique experience. To facilitate this, an extensive employee training program was put in place across all 40 countries in which Sofitel operates to make every one of the organization’s 25,000 employees “ambassadors” for the brand. Every employee, from new hires to the most long-term employees, from hourly employee to executives, went through a two-year long onsite training program at the individual hotel site in which the employee works. Training was provided by a corporate training team that traveled from location to location. Training centered on how to create a sense of luxury for customers, empowering employees at all levels with the freedom to make unique and personalized experiences for any guests on the spot. Employees are issued “passports” for their training, which are stamped upon completion of individual training units with stamps rewarded through gift certificates, celebrations, accreditation, and heightened responsibilities. Ongoing monthly training is provided to employees who have successfully completed the initial two-year training. The program has resulted in significant improved guest satisfaction and greatly aided in employee retention.1
If an organization considers its employees to be human assets, training and development represents an ongoing investment in these assets and one of the most significant investments an organization can make. Training involves employees acquiring knowledge and learning skills that they will be able to use immediately; employee development involves learning that will aid the organization and employee later in the employee’s career. Many organizations use the term learning rather than training to emphasize the point that the activities engaged in as part of this developmental process are broad based and involve much more than straightforward acquisition of manual or technical skills.
Learning implies ongoing development and continuously adding to employees’ skills and knowledge to meet the challenges the organization faces from its external environment. A focus on learning, as ...
final OAP report for the Edventureurs team project, HireLearning, a career education and professional networking site that harnesses the power of collaborative learning to increase career prospects.
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: