Career Choices Dewis Gyrfaales Gyrfa Cymru Annual Report ... · Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Careers Wales Gyrfa Cymru Annual Report 2013 - 2014 7 In this context CCDG was required

Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa

Careers Wales Gyrfa Cymru

Annual Report 2013 - 2014

Career Choices Dewis GyrfaCareers Wales Gyrfa CymruAnnual Report 2013 - 2014

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Foreword

It is with great pleasure that I present the first annual report of Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Ltd (CCDG). Trading as Careers Wales, we are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Welsh Government which was formed on the 1st April 2013 following the merger of seven careers companies. The overall focus for our service is to help people secure the best possible career available to them and to deliver the statutory careers service for young people in schools and FE colleges. We provide support to help clients make effective decisions and to become more independent in managing their own careers. This includes making realistic career plans and ensuring successful progression and positive outcomes for individuals, who we support to gain appropriate training, further learning or employment.

In our first remit letter from the Welsh Government we were charged with delivering a revitalised, impartial and independent, bilingual, all-age careers service providing information, advice and guidance. As you will read in this report, we have worked with a wide range of partners to make significant progress towards that vision.

During 2013-14 we delivered 64,324 one-to-one guidance interviews and 5,651 group sessions to support school pupils and college learners to help them understand the labour market and be able to make effective career decisions. Nearly all the young people we supported (96%) believed their Careers Adviser had helped them. A total of 5,199 (or 81%) of unemployed young people aged 16-18 working with Careers Wales progressed into education, training or employment and 489 (8%) were referred to other agencies to address identified personal barriers to progression. We delivered 11,611 guidance interviews with adults aged over 25, and 967 employability group sessions through job clubs and clinics


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with clients, aged 16 and over, seeking entry to the labour market. In addition, we delivered 8,948 interviews with adults facing or having been made redundant and supported 3,284 people in this situation to access the Welsh Government’s ReAct programme. Further details on the range of services we delivered during the year are set out in the report.

We have also taken huge strides to develop the systems, policies and structures required to underpin the new organisation. We have worked collaboratively with Welsh Government, local authorities, the Youth Service and key partners to support the development and implementation of the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework. We successfully merged six different client record databases to produce a coherent all-Wales system that has enabled us to report to partners on the status and whereabouts of all 16-18 year olds through the 5-tier model of engagement, helping a range of organisations to focus their services on those in greatest need. We modernised our delivery model and successfully introduced Careers Wales Connect, a new system which allows clients to access Careers Wales services in ways that are convenient to them, by telephone, email, live chat and text phone (for people

“ “The creation of the new organisation will also help us develop and strengthen the critically important Careers Information Advice and Guidance offered across all our services and delivery channels


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who are hearing impaired). We introduced and evaluated Career Check, an online assessment and diagnostic tool which provides efficiencies in the identification of client needs and the subsequent deployment of resources. We worked collaboratively with Welsh Government, schools, colleges and training providers to introduce and pilot the online application and Common Area Prospectus (CAP) and, in partnership with Accenture Ltd, we introduced the Skills to Succeed interactive learning resource which enhances services to clients in the labour market by improving their employability skills. Further details on these developments, and a wide range of other collaborative achievements, are set out in this report.

Looking forward, we have an exciting role to play in relation to the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework, and other important Welsh Government priorities. I am sure that being an all-Wales organisation will help us make the most of these opportunities. The creation of the new organisation will also help us develop and strengthen the critically important Careers Information Advice and Guidance offered across all our services and delivery channels.

Underpinning our contribution to these outcomes is a focus on delivering high-quality and effective services centred on the need of clients. To do this we will support our staff, who are the key to our success, through extensive training and the development of our systems and management information capability. We will also implement a comprehensive evaluation programme, disseminate good practice and establish new approaches to measuring impact and managing performance.

I am most grateful to our Board of Directors, including my predecessor Trina Neilson, for their vision and drive in creating the new organisation and developing a responsive and efficient careers service.

I would also like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all the staff employed by Careers Wales. The 2013-14 business year was another one of significant change and challenge, which has been met by dedication and professionalism. The content of this report represents the tip of the iceberg in relation to the achievements of my colleagues throughout the organisation.

Richard SpearChief Executive

Career Choices Dewis GyrfaCareers Wales Gyrfa Cymru

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Contents

Annual Report 2013 - 2014

Page

Introduction\01 6

Delivering Service\02to Clients in Education

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Delivering Services\03through the website, telephone (Careers Wales Connect)and other media channels

19

Delivering Services\04by providing links between Employers and Educational Establishments

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Delivering Services\05to Post Education Youth and Adult Clients

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Equal Opportunities and Social Inclusion\06 28

Environmental Sustainability\07 32

Welsh Language\08 33

Financial Statement and link to Audited Accounts\09 34

European Social Fund (ESF) Projects\10 35


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Introduction\01

This has been the first year, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Welsh Government, of working to a formal remit letter issued by Welsh Ministers, underpinned by the Governance Framework Document agreed between the Welsh Government and Careers Choices Dewis Gyrfa (CCDG), the Company’s Articles of Association and the 2013-14 Annual Business Plan. The remit letter for 2013/14 was set in the context of the following Welsh Government policy documents:

> Programme for Government which sets out a plan of action for making a difference to the lives of people in Wales - healthy people living productive lives in a more prosperous and innovative economy; safer and more cohesive communities; with lower levels of poverty and greater equality; a resilient environment with more sustainable use of our natural resources and a society with a vital sense of its own culture and heritage.

> Together with several of the key recommendations which were accepted from the Ministerially commissioned independent report “Future Ambitions: Developing careers services in Wales”, published in 2010.

http://gov.wales/docs/caecd/research/101115-future-ambitions-developing-careers-services-en.pdf


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In this context CCDG was required to deliver a revitalised, impartial and independent, bilingual, all-age careers service providing information, advice and guidance, where:

> Individuals make well informed realistic decisions about progression and their future career

> There is clear prioritisation and different methods of delivery, including web-based services

> There is active employer engagement and an effective facilitation of the Careers and World of Work programme in schools/colleges

> CCDG and all other relevant parties work effectively and efficiently to ensure vulnerable young people receive appropriate services and support

Welsh Government recognises the key role that CCDG has, as part of the wider ‘careers family’, in supporting the engagement and progression of young people, particularly those who are disengaged or at risk of disengagement. The aim is to reduce the number of young people under the age of 25 who are disengaged from employment, education or training. It is recognised that in order to achieve this, effective partnerships are required to ensure that there are collaborative processes in place to support the effective progression of young people.

In order to deliver the remit and provide the service within budget, CCDG has developed tools and effective partnerships to enable the prioritisation of people in need of careers information, advice and guidance. The service has been further improved to promote and deliver information and advice through careerswales.com, web-chat and telephone services.

As part of the remit letter Welsh Government set 3 Key Performance Indicators to be piloted during 2013-14.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

1 Sustained progression of young people through education and into employment or further training/education

2 Reductions in the number of young people who are outside the Education, Employment and Training system

3 Wide scale and effective programme of employer engagement which is shown to improve the learning outcomes from Careers and the World of Work Curriculum delivery


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Reports from evaluations conducted between April 2013 and March 14 found that Careers Wales achieved these KPIs:g progression through the transition

a. Improvements in young people sustaining progression through the transition from full-time education

A comparison of the all Wales destination data for Year 11 pupils found that:

> The number of Year 11 pupils entering full-time education post-16 increased by 1.81% in 2013-14 (86.41% of year 11 population) in comparison to the previous year (84.6% of year 11 population)

> Slightly fewer learners left full-time education prematurely in 2013-14 (2.90%) than in 2012-13 (2.95%)

> Between October 2013 and March 2014 numbers of clients in employment and training rose by 2.67% (from 2839 to 3798). This was 0.85% higher than the same period

in 2012-13 (1.82%)

> More young people leaving their initial destinations in October 2013 (full time education) had entered employment and training by March 2014 (2.67%)

b. Careers Wales makes a significant contribution to the reduction in school leavers becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training)

> School leaver destination reports identified a drop of 311 young people who were NEET in October 2013, compared to the previous year. The total reduction of school leavers becoming NEET in the five years to October 2013 was 1220.

> In 2013-14, a total of 5199 (or 81%) of unemployed young people aged 16-18 working with Careers Wales progressed into education, training or employment and 489 (8%) of these were referred to other agencies to address identified personal barriers

to progression.


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c. Employer participation in school careers and world of work programmes improves young people’s awareness of the labour market

In a 2014 study1 of education-business link programmes facilitated by Careers Wales, researchers found that over 90% of the schools and employers surveyed felt that the learning objectives had been met.

> The impact of the activities on a wide variety of students’ skills, knowledge and understanding was generally well received. The majority of both employers and schools believed that the objectives had been very well or fairly well achieved

> Improving job interview technique and awareness of the job interview process were particularly well received by students

> All of the following ‘soft’ skills were seen as being achieved by more than 9 in 10 employers and schools and included around 6 in 10 who believed they had been very well achieved: Improving students’ confidence and communication skills, awareness of the importance of a positive self-image and an understanding of the skills and personal qualities that employers want

d. Awareness of Careers Wales’ services has improved

In the February 2014 an independent research company2 conducted a survey of clients’ awareness of the Careers Wales brand. Results were compared to a similar survey conducted in 2006 and found that:

> Three-quarters (76%) of the 2014 sample were aware of Careers Wales; a considerable increase from 2006 (63%), highlighting an increased brand presence

> Awareness and use of the website careerswales.com has increased significantly since 2006. In 2014 approaching half of the target audience were aware of our website and around a quarter had used it

1Beaufort Research (2014)”Research Report “Impact of World of Work Activities: Careers Wales KPI 3”, Cardiff July 2014.2Beaufort Research (2014) “Research Report Careers Wales Brand Awareness”: Cardiff, July 2014


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e. Careers Wales helps to improve young people’s awareness of the labour market

A survey conducted by a research company3 in 2013 with Year 11 pupils found that:

> Nearly all (96%) of the students claim to have taken into account Labour Market Information (LMI) to some extent when deciding on their next step, with around a quarter (26%) claiming to have used it a ‘great deal’

> Furthermore, usage of LMI in future planning (beyond the immediate post Year 11) looks set to increase, with over four in five planning to use it either a great deal (44%) or to some extent (39%)

> Respondents cited Individual interviews with Careers Advisers (84%) and careerswales.com (81%) as the most used ‘formal’ source of LMI, and interviews with a Careers Adviser the most ‘useful’ source of LMI

3Beaufort Research (2013) “Careers Wales: Labour Market Information Survey: Year 11 Clients”: Cardiff, July 2013


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Delivering Service\02to Clients in Education

The Welsh Government’s remit letter required CCDG to identify client needs and to prioritise the service accordingly based on the categories below:

Over the past 30 plus years, school staff, clients and parents alike have come to expect that a face-to-face careers guidance interview is a ‘norm’ and that learners at all key transition points will be offered them. Looking back over the year, it is apparent that good progress has been made in changing from this ‘norm’ and developing differing approaches to the work with clients.

(i) Young people with statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or equivalentThere already existed well-established relationships with key professionals so that young peoples’ needs were assessed jointly with Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs), parents, educational psychologists, counsellors, and health professionals. All learners with statements of SEN have been supported during the year, with particular help focused on Year 9 (Transition Planning) and years 11, 12 and 13+ for annual reviews, Learning and Skills Plans and Further Education (FE) residential funding applications.

i) Young people with statements of Special Education Needs (SEN) or equivalent

ii) Potential NEETS and Labour Market Entrants (LMEs)

iii) Learners requiring career planning and management support

iv) Young people ‘educated otherwise’ than at school

v) Those in need of assessment for the Jobs Growth Wales programme

Achievements during 2013 -14 have included:

> Setting out the service offer to those with additional learning needs (ALN)

> Ensuring that Careers Wales has delivered this service appropriately

> Working more closely with Welsh Government’s Support for Learners Division

> Further developing network opportunities with other professionals and agencies involved in this field of work


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During 2013-14 our lead managers in this area have contributed to the design, testing and delivery of professional development workshops to Careers Advisers to support their compiling of Learning and Skills Plans. As part of this development we have revised and reissued our:

> Standards for Learning and Skills Plans

> Learning and Skills Plan Template

> Specialist Funding Application Guidelines

As a result of working closely with the Welsh Government’s Support for Learners Division and the Careers Policy Branch, Careers Wales has contributed to the Welsh Government’s Knowledge and Analytical Services-sponsored ‘Research into Employment Outcomes for Young People with Autistic Spectrum Disorders’. Contact with organisations including RNIB Cymru and Contact a Family Cymru has been initiated to discuss the respective service offers and to identify where there might be opportunities for collaboration.

The service was designed to ensure that Careers Wales fulfils its role in contributing to each client’s transition planning, in line with the requirements laid down in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice; this includes:

> Face-to-face interviews with the pupil (and parent / guardian as appropriate)

> Further interactions with pupils and/or parent /guardian as required (face-to-face, telephone, email)

> Attendance at Transition / Annual Reviews

> Providing ‘Moving Forward Plans’ and relevant information

> Group sessions as appropriate

> A Learning and Skills Plan for those entering further education, higher education specialist college provision and work-based learning

> Submitting Specialist Funding Applications where appropriate


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High Impact events for young people with Additional Learning Needs (ALN)

In October 2013 the annual ‘What Next’ careers convention for students with ALN was held in Merthyr Tydfil. In total, 365 students attended the event from over 25 special and mainstream schools from the surrounding local authorities. Activities on offer included bricklaying, carpentry, catering, hair and beauty, panel beating, child care, art and craft, first aid, animal care and sport. Neville Southall, ex Wales and Everton goalkeeper, also attended and ran a penalty shoot-out.

Evaluation of the event was extremely positive, comments included:

“Great fornetworking, meeting lots of people who were really keen

to have a go”

(provider)

“It was wellplanned and

set out. A good range of

activities – an enjoyable experience for pupils”

(school)

“A fantasticevent for children

with ALN”

(school) “It was awesome”

(student)


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(ii) Potential NEETS and Labour Market Entrants (LMEs) Identifying this group was done in partnership with the particular local authority/ school. This work is undertaken at the end of the summer term so that young peoples’ needs are understood and resources are allocated in readiness for the start of the new academic year in September.

Careers Wales has also worked closely with the Welsh Government to gain a better understanding of and approach to the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework and to use data alongside professional discussion with teachers and other partners in identifying young people who are at risk for disengaging from education, training or employment.

To assist with the ‘case loading’ of these young people, amendments have been made to the company client database making it easier for the Careers Adviser to keep track of this priority group.

Discussions have been held with Wales Principal Youth Officers Group with the purpose of enhancing working relationships and identifying areas where each of the services complement and augment each other.

This year, refreshed agreements with individual schools, closer collaboration with careers family colleagues, and a revised approach have meant that we have seen a broader range of activities in support of potential labour-market entrants in schools.


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Examples of good practice include:

Open Days for school leavers at Careers Centres: Difficulties in gaining regular access to potential labour-market entrants in schools during the run-up to examinations has meant that we needed to find alternative methods of engaging with this group of young people outside of the school environment. Opportunities Open Days at a number of Careers Centres have been organised and held throughout the year. Parents and pupils are invited by letter and a range of activities organised during the day; Learning Providers are present to inform clients of opportunities in work based learning (WBL) and demonstrations are provided during the sessions with assistance in completing applications for the Apprentice Matching Service (AMS) and Jobs Growth Wales (JGW) opportunities.

Employer-led engagement sessions: Oystercatcher in Anglesey is a local restaurant that has a training kitchen, run on the same principle as Jamie Oliver’s ‘Fifteen’, and offers opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET. Careers Advisers supported events with the restaurant to highlight aspects of the Hospitality and Catering industry.

Transition Event in Bridgend: working with schools to identify and arrange transport for learners, and using hired leisure centres, we put on an event to support the transition of young people from school to work and training. 148 young people attended the event from mainstream schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), Educated Other That at School (EOTAS) provision and special schools. A range of external providers participated, including ACT, ITEC, Bridgend College, Neath Port Talbot College, Coleg Y Cymoedd, MPTC, Just Ask Youth Service, PreVent, Bridgend Business Forum, ISA, XR Training, BAVO and Elite Supported Employment.

Over 78% of learners evaluating the event rated it at 7/10 or better, with nearly a quarter (24%) rating it at 10/10. 100% of the staff who completed an evaluation form said that the event had helped their pupils with their future plans and that they would bring pupils to similar events in the future. 100% of exhibitors said that they would be prepared to take part in similar events in the future.


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(iii) Learners requiring career planning and management support ‘Career Check’ is used to identify how well learners are developing their career management skills and the barriers they may have which, will affect their ability to make effective decisions at key transition points. Along with other identification processes, it allows the Careers Adviser to make a professional judgement on the type of interaction that will be appropriate for the client. Approaches include vocational group sessions, diagnostic clinics, identification of appropriate employer interactions, and /or referral for other support.

This tool sits alongside a range of other methods for assessing client need. These include early identification tools developed by local authorities (e.g. RONI in Torfaen, VAP in Cardiff, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot) which help to identify those clients who are priority on the basis of being “at risk of NEET”. Professional conversations with key school staff also lead to a richer knowledge of the priority clients within the cohort.

The appointment of Engagement & Progression Coordinators (EPC) by local authorities has made the task of identifying potential NEETS significantly easier and more robust. For example:

> The existing ‘Early Identification’ tool used by Careers Wales and the City and County of Swansea afforded a level of sophistication in identifying support needs and in mapping providers/provision.

> In Neath Port Talbot, the seconded EPC from Careers Wales was able to devise and introduce an effective early identification tool which was used in 100% of schools in the Borough to ensure that careers (and other) support was resourced appropriately in accordance with the needs of the learners.

> An increasing engagement with partners is helping to ensure that those clients with priority needs are identified over time, and not limited to one point in time. For example, the VAP (Vulnerability Assessment Panels) in Cardiff continue to provide a rich source of data which school advisory teams are using to better understand the needs of young people in a more systematic way and to help predict the number of potential labour market entrants.


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> The education team in Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT) local authority undertook a provision audit mapped against the Careers Wales 5-tier model which led to an agreement to refocus the work of their transition workers from Tier 3 to Tier 2 and resourcing a course aimed at addressing personal barriers to progression called ‘Your Future First’. This is in addition to the agreement of an Information Sharing Protocol (ISP), the use of a full vulnerability index that helped identify 54% of Year 11 for support because of their ‘at risk’ indicators, and the signing of a placement agreement that supports cross-referral and the access to Careers Wales’ client record database for transition workers.

The proportion of the Year 11 cohort identified as having high support needs was around 40%, whilst the proportion of learners identified as having high or medium support needs was 66%. Arrangements for supporting these clients varied depending on existing school-based provision and the complexity of the needs identified. All clients deemed to have ‘high support’ needs were offered a minimum of one face-to face guidance interview, with additional support interactions as required. Clients with medium support needs received information and advice interactions, group sessions etc., and clients deemed to have low support needs were offered support via clinics or targeted group sessions as agreed with the school.

At the end of the summer term (July 14), around 66% of the Year 11 cohort had received a face-to-face interaction, most of this work was completed before the end of March as advisers concentrated their work on those needing the most support.


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Key Stage 5 (17-18 year olds) in schools: The work with clients in Years 12 and 13 this year has been targeted at learners likely to drop-out of learning, those on one-year courses and learners not progressing to higher education.

In order to reinforce the support for potential early leavers, vacancies notice boards were set up within schools and assembly-announcements arranged to more widely publicise them and the support Careers Wales can offer to learners who need help with their learning and career decisions.

This year face-to-face interviews have been carried out with around 20% of the Key Stage 5 cohort in schools. Analysis of data would support the view that a focus on client need at Key Stage 5 is necessary, as historically data suggests the risk of dropping out actually increases with age despite the client being engaged in continuing learning. This is a particular risk area at Year 12 and in the first year of Further Education provision. To this end, for example, the new Skills to Succeed job-search resource was piloted with a group of sixth formers not planning to enter higher education.The feedback has been very positive from staff and clients alike and we plan to extend this provision.

By working more closely with the staff in Further Education Institutions (FEI) establishments a more effective process of identifying priority clients has become established. Learners are still able to self-refer for interviews with Careers Advisers in college. A number of FEI have provided monthly (weekly in some cases) lists of clients who are in danger of dropping out of courses. At least one college also includes clients whose attendance drops below 60% in these lists. This has made it easier to ensure that the right people are supported in a timely manner.

Further Education

This year, support focussed on FE clients who were:

> Previously in receipt of a statement of special education needs

> On one-year courses and who may therefore need support with transition

> On courses with previously low-rates of transition into education, employment or training

> Not planning to progress to higher education on completion of two year courses

> In danger of disengaging

> Early leavers (dropping out or wanting to change courses mid-year)


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Delivering Services\03through the website, telephone (Careers Wales Connect)

and other media channels

During this first year the focus has been in setting up a completely new computerised telephone service for clients (0800 028 4844) and businesses/suppliers etc. (0300 123 3833). This involved staff training and a marketing exercise to publicise the phone numbers.

It has also become more usual for clients to be contacted by email or text which has been particularly useful for vacancy and event notifications. Clients have responded positively and have been eager to provide us with email and mobile phone contacts.

Throughout the website the different channels by which clients can access our services are promoted including web chat, email and a new text phone number (for clients with hearing impairment).

The majority of work, from a technical perspective, has focussed on the security of the site, moving the infrastructure onto its robust current platform. To keep the website information fresh, the features carousel is changed regularly and used to promote features contained in the website as well as events and Welsh Government campaigns. Careers Advisers have contributed to creating articles and sourcing images together with other web links on topics

including; Year 9 Options, Work Experience, facing redundancy, National Apprenticeship week and National Science and Engineering week.

A video presentation (‘I am’) has been added to the home page for first time users, giving an overview of the site and how it might support them in their career research. An interview coaching video is being produced that will support people preparing for job interviews.

In order to ensure that the website contains up to date information presented in a user friendly manner, an EU procurement exercise was completed between January and March 2104 to buy an Interest Guide and suite of occupational information to complement and update the website content. At the same time a framework of Welsh translators was procured to ensure

1. Website


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that these products could be displayed in both languages; this project will go ‘live’ by the end of December 2014. As part of this development the Welsh Government has provided funding towards the development of quick reference icons so users can see LMI at a glance, including, for example, the salary range and qualifications needed. These will be displayed on the Careers Search results page.

Table illustrating the usage of the various parts of the site

Careers Wales has had a presence on Twitter since April 2012. In March 2103 two additional Careers Wales Twitter streams (Welsh & English) were launched to specifically promote the vacancies held on careers wales.com including Apprentice Matching Service and Jobs Growth Wales. Advisers have been informing young people of these services and the numbers following have been steadily increasing over the 12 months with approximately 2,000 followers by the end of March 2014.

Total

Overall numbers of visits (sessions) to the website 1,790,838

No. of Unique visitors to the website 819,062

No. of users of AMS/JGW 346,999

No. of Registered accounts/users 81,684

No. of uses of Courses in Wales 66,026

No. of users of Work Experience Database 65,080


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3. Other Media

On May 7th 2013 a new free phone (0800 028 48 44) bilingual telephone service was launched for clients and partner organisations to contact Careers Wales. The service was designed to handle information enquiries and have Careers Advisers available at the time of the call or on a call-back basis to provide full careers guidance interactions. As this was a new approach to our service offer a marketing campaign was launched simultaneously which included; credit card style cards given to all clients in Years 11, 12 and Further Education Institutions, advertisements on buses, and a radio commercial broadcast across Wales.

In the period July and the end of September 2013 over 10,000 calls to the free phone number have been handled. In the six months until the end of March, the numbers of calls has increased to over 4,000 per month, with a total of 27,461 received over the year.

2. Telephone

Web chat was launched officially in April 2013 and has developed to be an increasingly popular channel for clients to request information and advice. Clients are able to access chat through the website, careerswales.com and this facility is actively being promoted by staff and marketing materials.

With very little advertising of this service, other than on the website, there has been a total of nearly 4,500 web chats in the year.

Greater use of texting and emailing are also being made by Careers Advisers and Careers Assistants to engage with and provide clients with information such as dates for open days, reminders of actions to take, follow-ups on progress. During the year nearly 107,000 emails were sent and over 7,000 received and over 41,000 SMS text messages were sent with nearly 9,000 received.


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A significant element of our work in schools is based on the “prevention” model to ensure that young people are appropriately supported to make an effective transition into further learning or employment. This required CCDG to create and maintain effective partnerships with the schools and a range of other organisations including employers to support the delivery of the Careers and the World of Work Framework and opportunities for work experience, including the achievement by schools of the Careers Wales Mark.

During 2013/14 CCDG worked closely with Welsh Government to develop an online common area prospectus (CAP) to enable young people in year 11 to view all the post-16 courses available in their area. The aim in the next 2 years is to develop an application process so young people can select and apply for their subject/courses as one process. A pilot programme was established with schools and FEIs in North Wales and West Wales the achievements included:

> Testing of the CAP prototype in schools in Neath Port Talbot and Denbighshire

> Fixes and refinements identified and built into a development plan for CAP

> Invited schools and colleges in North and West (including Powys) regions to join an extended CAP pilot project and trained and supported those school staff who came forward

> Invited a second wave of 11-16 schools throughout Wales to take part in a training programme to use CAP

> Worked with work based learning representatives on the presentation of their offer through CAP

> Worked with Welsh Government officials to action plan the further development of CAP into a Youth Guarantee Prospectus

During 2013-14, in respect of education-business partnership activity, we embarked on a significant change in approach from one focused on delivering activities in schools, to one which concentrates on engaging employer support and for schools themselves to sustain those partnerships.

Delivering Services\04by providing links between Employers and educational establishments


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Education Business Partnership has passed the following milestones:

> A memorandum of understanding with Business in the Community has been agreed detailing (a) a shared approach to setting up and running employer panels in each region and (b) a shared approach to implementing the Business Class programme and the Careers Wales EBP service to schools. To date there are 2 Business Class programmes being developed as pilots.

> Introduced a formal ‘Brokerage Agreement’ that:

i) Lists the type of support that an employer can offer to a school, a description of their skills and experience together with their expectations of working within a school setting.

ii) States the commitment of the school/college to providing the employer with:

> Appropriate notice of any request for support

> Prior information concerning the class, subject area and level

> Directions to the school and a welcome on arrival

> Any resources agreed in advance

> Support of a teacher throughout the visit

> Constructive feedback

Early indications are that the Employer Brokerage Agreement is making a positive difference to the ‘communication of expectations’ between schools and employers.

> Devise and trial Class Acts programme

After discussions with Futures First we are exploring the options to offer each state secondary school and college with a thriving, engaged alumni community. These alumni have an affinity with the young people who study in the years after them and are a part of the same community. Future First’s vision is for school volunteers, e-mentors and role models, all helping to equip young people with the support, aspiration and information they need to succeed.


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> Review and standardise the Business Ambassadors training programme

At the close of 2013-14 business year the Business Ambassadors training resource has been standardised. Working with University of Wales Trinity St David a set of presentations and tutorials, available in both English and Welsh, have been developed aimed at preparing an inexperienced business volunteer to deliver an engaging presentation to young people.

This resource is issued on memory stick to Ambassadors on completion of their training.

The resource includes:

> An introduction to the education system in Wales - information on the range and levels of qualifications, how schools are structured e.g. Key Stages, Year Groups, Mixed ability groups etc

> Tips on presenting to young people and structuring the presentation to fit an hour’s lesson

> Recognising and accommodating different learning styles

> Using technology e.g. interactive whiteboard

> During 2013-14 Careers Wales Mark resources have been updated and uploaded to careerswales.com website. Of the 95 establishments that who have already achieved the Mark, a further 61 establishments are being supported in working towards its achievement.

> By forming partnerships with the Sector Skills Council, in particular the Financial and Legal Services Partnership, information sharing and networking has identified opportunities where resources such as career information and videos can be shared, teacher and work experience placements undertaken, and the opportunity to address employer groups.

> To support the development of careers in STEM subjects Careers Wales organised a meeting of partner organisations linked to the Energy Island developments and the Enterprise Zone in Deeside, including Techniquest, CITB, EESW, STEMnet, and Energy island with the purpose of developing better partnership working and to avoid duplication of effort. A strategy has also been developed with Airbus to better support them in their recruitment of higher level apprenticeships.


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During the year refresher training on the National Work Experience Database, has been delivered for staff in schools across Wales. The team remain flexible to training requests and continue to carry out ad-hoc training sessions if requested. Support is also provided to schools, parents and students by telephone. Over 21,000 employers are registered on the database providing over 30,784 placements. In the year, nearly 23,000 students in KS4, Year 12 and Year 13 organised their placements through the database. In order to maintain the availability of these placements on the database, nearly 6,000 health and safety vetting visits were completed on employers’ premises.


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The Welsh Government Remit letter identified priority groups of people to receive services from Careers Wales. These included:

> Unemployed young people aged 16 and 17

> Unemployed young people aged 18-24 not accessing the Job Centre Plus Work Programme

> Young people in the Youth Justice system

> Adults made, or likely to be made, redundant

In order to achieve a service to meet the information, advice and guidance needs, Careers Wales has worked with Welsh Government officials in the preparation of ‘Early Identification – effective practice guidance’, a document that is primarily for local authority use, but, in the context of the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework, relevant to all who support young people to engage and progress into employment, education or training. The document sets out Careers Wales’ approach to working with schools, local authorities and others to identify and provide a service to young people who may be at risk of not entering employment, education or training. The document ‘Working with Careers Wales’ sets out our position on:

> The use of Vulnerability Assessment Profiles and equivalent approaches

> Approaches to planning our service in conjunction with adjacent provision such as Youth Service support

> Our role in working with local partners and opportunity providers to facilitate each learner’s transition into an appropriate and sustainable post-16 pathway

Careers Wales has played an active role in Welsh Government’s Youth Engagement Delivery Group; presenting and participating in the inaugural round of Youth Engagement regional meetings and collaborating with the DfES marketing and information team on YEPF stakeholder engagement and communications.

From October 2013, the 5 Tier Model data was made available to all local authorities on a monthly basis. Whilst work continues to refine the reports and to adjust the data analysis, feedback from partners has been positive with the findings being discussed and analysed in NEET multi-agency and inclusion meetings in all local authorities.

Delivering Services\05to Post Education Youth and Adult Clients


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The Youth Engagement Progression Framework (YEPF) identifies Careers Wales’ staff as the lead workers for young people in Tier 3. During the period April 2013 to March 2014, 8074 young people were in Tier 3; 6923 entering for the first time (86%). During the year 6427 young people left Tier 3 of whom, 5199 (81%) left to a positive outcome into Tier 4 or 5 a further 631 (10%) left into an unknown destination into Tier 1 and 489 (8%) joined Tier 2 as not able or not ready to enter employment education or training, and 108 (1%) moved away from Wales.

A 5-Tier model handbook has been developed and shared with each local authority. This will help to assure consistency of support in the way Careers Wales staff case load, manage, support and signpost clients within the Tier system, as well as, managing the expectations of each local authority.

A key component of this service is the development of an effective case loading model. A full review of Careers Wales’ case loading model for clients in the labour market was undertaken with staff in October 2013 identifying good practice and areas for development. The updated guidelines have been shared with staff and implemented. A key feature of the guidelines is that all clients aged 16, 17 and those who are 18 in the 5 Tier report have an allocated a Careers Wales member of staff responsible for tracking, keeping in touch and providing CIAG support as required.

The 5 Tier model provides a solid foundation for partnership work to support the sustained progression of young people in employment, education and training. Practitioners groups, whose role it is “Keeping in Touch” (KIT) with clients who are not in employment, education or training, are now in place in most local authorities. Information Sharing Protocols (ISPs) are being agreed to protect young people’s personal information and to ensure they are accounted for and given the opportunity to engage. Although it is still early days this framework has encouraged a more open system for working together and the avoidance of the duplication of services.

As a result of this collaborative work the retention rates on Work-based Learning (WBL), particularly on Engagement programme traineeships, has improved this year. As a consequence fewer trainees are dropping out and returning to Tier 3 than in previous years.

During 2013 Accenture made their Skills to Succeed programme available to Careers Wales for use with clients wishing to go into employment. This job search skills resource is used in group settings as well as in coaching individuals with a specific need (e.g. developing interview skills) and early feedback indicates that the resource is of benefit to users.


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Equal Opportunitiesand Social Inclusion\06

%

Year 11 Statutory Education 43.2%

15-17 Post Statutory Education 27.8%

18-24 17.8%

25-60+ 11.2%

GENDER - the percentage of males and females accessing Careers Wales services

The 2011 Census statistics shows the overall population of Wales as 3.06 million with a breakdown of 49% male to 51% female. The Careers Wales client figures across all age categories illustrate that more males than females are accessing our services. This is reflected throughout Wales with an increased differential between males and females for the 25-60+ age category.

Male % Female %

Year 11 Statutory Education 51.7 48.3

15-17 Post Statutory Education 52.1 47.9

18-24 56.5 43.5

25-60+ 60 40

Considerable effort is made to ensure that the services are delivered to individuals in a way that promotes equality and social inclusion. The tables below illustrate the percentage of clients accessing the service categorised by, age, gender, ethnicity, qualifications, employment status and disability.

AGEOverall the majority of clients accessing the service (45.6%) are post statutory education

i.e. between 16-24 years of age. This is in line with the Careers Wales remit for 2013-14.

The overall male/female split is in line however with the economic activity rate for 16 - 64 year olds which was recorded in December 2012 as higher for males (83%) than females (71%).


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EthnicityThe largest percentage of clients who access Careers Wales services identified themselves as ‘White British’; this is reflected throughout each of our operational regions and across all age categories. Our teams covering the South East of Wales recorded having the largest percentage of clients (across all age groups) who identified themselves as other ethnic groups.

This is reflected in the Local Labour Force Survey/Annual Population Survey Ethnicity, by local authority (ethnicity type, local authority) reports that the percentage of people identifying themselves as from a non-white background are:

Source : Local Labour force survey/Annual population survey. Last update 21 March 2013

Wales4.2%

North

West

1.9%

2.8%

South Central1.7%

5.6%

Percentage of population from a non-white background

South East


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Clients in Statutory Education WALES % North % West % South

East %South

Central %

White Welsh/EnglishScottish/N. Irish/British 36.7 40 40.2 32.6 35.3

White Irish or Other 0.73 0.7 0.66 0.8 0.8

Other Ethnic Groups 1.9 0.89 1.87 3.8 0.67

No information on ethnicity 3.9 4.22 1.84 1.65 8.1

Proportionately the number of people receiving services from Careers Wales from a non- white background is slightly lower than that recorded for each of the regions.

16 - 17 Post Statutory Education WALES % North % West % South

East %South

Central %

White 24.5 22.9 26.7 23 24.6



No information on ethnicity 1.26 2 0.5 0.73 2


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25 - 60+ Years Old WALES % North % West % SouthEast %

SouthCentral %

White 8.6 13.2 7.19 9.2 8.7




Disability

Just over 35% of 18-24 year olds accessing Careers Wales services declared themselves as disabled.

WALES % North % West % SouthEast %

SouthCentral %

Year 11 StatutoryEducation 16.15 27.12 19.91 12.29 3.48

15-17 Post StatutoryEducation. 25.53 30.29 36.74 20.3 4.2

18-24 years old 35.68 32.28 34.45 43.37 35.06

25-60+ years old 22.64 10.32 8.91 24.03 57.17

18 - 24 Years Old WALES % North % West % SouthEast %

South Central %

White 15.5 13.2 15.5 17.4 15.3


Other Ethnic Groups 1 0.36 0.62 2.6 0.26



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CCDG actively pursues polices and initiatives that seek to reduce the impact its operations have on the environment, the main delivery being achieved via the Green Dragon Environmental Standard.

In July 2013, CCDG was awarded Level Two accreditation of the Green Dragon Standard.

The main sustainable practices used throughout CCDG are as follows:

> The use of video and telephone conference facilities to reduce the number of individuals travelling to events

> Old ICT equipment, paper, toner cartridges, bottles, batteries and cans are collected and recycled

> Photocopiers are used for printing instead of printers

> There are recycling stations throughout all offices

Additionally CCDG has closed two offices and re-located staff to existing offices.

CCDG has recognised a need to bring a more consistent approach to sustainability and has implemented a Corporate Environment Policy which will guide the organisation in its future actions.

Environmental Sustainability\07


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Prior to CCDG the six regional Careers Companies and Careers Wales Association had Welsh Language Schemes in place which ran up until March 31st 2013. From April 2013 work was undertaken to develop a single Scheme for the whole of Wales. Although the seven schemes were all based on the same template, the targets and content were different.

With the introduction of the Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011 there is a requirement that English and Welsh are afforded equal status in Wales and it establishes the principle that the Welsh language should be treated no less favourably than the English language. The Measure also requires organisations to look at internal practices as well as the external customer.

The Standards included in the Measure go further than the previous Welsh Language Schemes in several aspects and this resulted in significant consultation work with operational, policy and corporate colleagues to ensure all understood the requirements of the Measure and were clear on its impact on CCDGs working practices.

Working on advice from the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office, CCDG agreed to develop a Welsh Language Policy, which was agreed by its senior management team in May 2013. This outlines the principles which CCDG would adhere to in working its Policy into practice and provides the basis on which to develop the Welsh Language Scheme.

Work on the Welsh Language Scheme involved internal consultation, auditing staff skill, assessing the current capacity of the company to provide services across Wales, briefing staff and ensuring that achievable targets are set over the three year period of the Scheme.

As CCDG’s business status and remit is different to the previous companies’ , meetings took place between the Welsh Language Commissioner and CCDG which included a presentation to the CCDG Board during December 2013.

The Welsh Language Commissioner confirmed CCDG’s status following this meeting and the first draft of the Scheme was presented to the Commissioner’s office in February 2014 with an action plan for the Scheme to be formally consulted on in June/July 2014. The target date for the production of the final Scheme was August 2014.

Welsh Language\08


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The financial statements for 2013-14 for CCDG have been prepared in accordance with international finance reporting standards and audited by the Wales Audit Office. The figures for 2012-13, previously prepared to GAAP standards, have been re-instated to IFRS.

A copy of the accounts can be accessed via the following link

CCDG Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year ended 31st March 2014

Financial Statementand link to Audited Accounts\09

http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/static.live.careerswales.boxuk.net/ccdgFinancialStatement2014.pdf


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CIAG (April 2010 – September 2014) The aim of the CIAG Project was to “increase the number of economically inactive/unemployed participants accessing careers information, advice and guidance support”. The project was designed to indirectly raise levels of employment and economic activity, and secure higher participation in the labour market by delivering independent, impartial and bilingual careers information advice and guidance to eligible adults.

This project was geared towards participants who were furthest away from the labour market. Our Careers Advisers were able to challenge participants thinking, particularly when their aspirations were low, stereotyped or unrealistic. Participants were able to talk through their ideas and were helped to make plans, choices and decisions based on their interests, abilities and values. Many participants engaged in multiple interventions, which included activities such as: job search, CV writing, developing employability skills, confidence building and action.

The project targets and achievements were:

European Social Fund(ESF) Projects\10

April 2009 - September 2014 Delivery ProfileTarget

Project FinalAchievement

Participants 25,000 24,588

Participants entering further learning 3,450 3,557

Participants gaining other positive outcomes 12,000 13,259

Employers adopting or improvingequality and diversity strategiesand monitoring systems

5 5

Projects integrating sustainable development into awareness raising education and training programmes

1 1

The project met 98.3% of its participant targets and over achieved in the number of participants entering further education, and also participants gaining other positive feedback.

The project was evaluated in 2011 and a small case study review was undertaken by BMG in September 2014. Both the evaluation and case study can be viewed within the professional section of carrerswales.com. The project has now reached its closure with all staff members working on the project returning to their substantive post within our core contract activities funded by the Welsh Government.

Documents

Career Choices Dewis Gyrfaales Gyrfa Cymru Annual Report ... · Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Careers Wales Gyrfa Cymru Annual Report 2013 - 2014 7 In this context CCDG was required