July 2017

WARWICKSHIRE MEANS BUSINESS

More than 60 businesses sign up to Employability Charter

More than 60 firms now carry the prestigious Employability Charter from Warwickshire County Council after six more were recognised for their commitment to supporting young people to succeed in the workplace.

The Employability Charter is awarded to businesses for activities which encourage and facilitate employability skills among young people.

It is a key part of the county council’s £2.4 million Skills for Employment programme to improve the employability skills and attributes of young people so that businesses can recruit more readily to address skills gaps.

Arlington Automotive (Coventry), Hilton Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon, Infinite Pixel (Southam), REPL Digital (Henley in Arden), Seco Tools Ltd (Alcester), Sunshine Recruitment Group Ltd (Southam) and Chapter 1 (Nuneaton) received their charters from Warwickshire County Council leader Cllr Izzi Seccombe.

They joined 58 other businesses which have already received the Charter since it was introduced in 2015.

Chapter 1, a Nuneaton based furniture re-use company has worked closely with Exhall Grange School and The George Eliot School.

Nat Kidd, service manager, for Chapter 1, said: “Our 2nd Chance project is proud to be able to work with Warwickshire County Council towards our shared aims of addressing youth unemployment. We believe that by engaging with younger people and providing them with the opportunity to learn, gain confidence and skills, a tangible change in their outcomes can be achieved.

"Via the volunteering and training opportunities that we provide both for individuals and groups, we have seen a shift in attitudes which has genuinely helped to change lives one by one.”

Hilton Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon earned the Employability Charter having worked with Southam College as a result of a £3,000 grant awarded by the county council’s Skills for Employment programme. The project involved ‘mock’ interviews of pupils who created CVs and letters of application for specific jobs.

Hilton HR manager Vicky Martin said: “It’s very important that we work with local schools and colleges to help us recruit the people we need in a range of roles. We are aiming to increase this activity in the next year.”

REPL Digital, Henley in Arden, has worked with Alcester Academy as a result of the Build a Business network grant of £3,000 from the Skills for Employment programme. The business has pledged to work with the academy on a range of activities and provide insight into jobs available at the company.

Dan Haywood, group resources manager at REPL, said: “Helping the development of young people is a personal passion so I’m delighted to be involved in improving the employability skills of tomorrow’s workforce.”

Infinite Pixel's partnership with Southam College involved work-experience placements. Their operations manager Alex Foster said: “We are delighted to provide work experience opportunities for pupils from Southam College and hope to recruit one later this year.”

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council and portfolio holder for Economic Development said: “We are delighted to award the Warwickshire Employability Charter to these innovative Warwickshire companies for their commitment to working with young people. Partnership projects like this one are invaluable in helping more of our young people on the path to gaining the skills and expertise they need to succeed in the workplace. We hope more organisations will be inspired to take up the challenge and consider working with local schools on other worthwhile projects.”

Businesses and education providers interested in finding out more about Warwickshire County Council’s Employability Charter or any other aspect of the Skills for Employment programme visit: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/skillsforemployment

 

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