Annual Review 06/07 - Home : Careers Wales Review 06/07 cales ann report doc:Layout 1 13/9/07 15:09...

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Annual Review 06/07

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Developing people throughlifelong career planning

careerswales.com


Contents

04 // Chairman’s Foreword

05 // Careers Wales Structure

06 // Executive Director’s Report

08 // Adults

10 // Employers

11 // Education Business Partnerships

14 // Young People, Schools and Colleges

16 // careerswales.com

17 // learndirect

18 // CLIC

20 // Directors of Careers Wales Association 2006/07

Annual Review06/07


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Chairman’sForeword

Careers Wales has achieved enormous progress since it waslaunched in April 2001, particularly in ensuring that its widerange of services are available to all ages; delivering effectivelyat both local and national levels; and in embedding itsactivities with an increasing number of employers.

Three of our major programmes - Youth Gateway, careerswales.com and CLIC, the National Information andAdvice Service for young people, have been recognised asbeing innovative, client-focused and reaching a much largernumber of individuals of all ages. Of course, our success to datehas been due in no small part to the enduring partnershipswhich we have formed, and continue to form, with keystakeholders in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Looking forward, the new Structural Funds Programme(2007–2013) - with its much stronger focus on growth, jobs andsustainable development - will provide excellent opportunitiesto improve and increase the skills of young people andindividuals both in and out of work. Similarly, this agenda willform the basis of our work in the un-assisted areas of Wales.

Together with all other key stakeholders, Careers Wales willcontinue to consolidate its service delivery across Wales and islooking forward to playing its part in delivering the ‘transformational’ agendas for Wales.

Alan TillotsonChairmanCareers Wales Association

“Careers Wales is lookingforward to playing its part indelivering transformationalagendas for Wales”


Careers WalesStructureFunded by the Welsh Assembly Government, Careers Wales comprises seven independent butlinked companies operating within a unified nationalframework under the Careers Wales banner.

There are six local delivery companies providing acomprehensive careers information advice andguidance service to people of all ages, operatingacross the Welsh regions. The Boards of each of thecareers companies are representative of key localstakeholders drawn from education and training,local authorities, business and the voluntary andcommunity sectors.

The seventh company, the Careers Wales Association(CWA), is wholly owned by the six careers companies.Its role is to provide a focus for pan-Walesdevelopments, raise the national profile of careersguidance, help to influence the development ofrelevant national policies and to manage externallyfunded projects, marketing and information, theCareers Wales web service careerswales.com and CLIC,the National Information and Advice Service foryoung people accessible at cliconline.co.uk

Key Strategic AimsOur key strategic aims are defined by ourbrief from the Welsh Assembly Government:

To help individuals to move successfullyinto education, training and sustainableemployment and make informeddecisions about their careers andlearning options.

To encourage individuals to be ambitiousabout their careers and personal goalsand committed to lifelong learning.

To be acknowledged as the high qualitymarket leader in lifelong career planningand education business links.

To make a positive, expert contributionto national curriculum development andrelevant debate about adult and youngperson’s career development.

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Careers Wales has had much to celebrate during 2006 / 2007, particularly in its development ofintegrated delivery at both national and local levels.

At national level Careers Wales was able to supportEXPO 07, a two day event organised by Public ServiceManagement Wales in January. The People ExchangeWales EXPO encouraged continuous professionaldevelopment of the Welsh Public Service Workforce. A key component was the inclusion of CareerDevelopment Clinics, offering individuals theopportunity to have one-to-one careers advice andassistance. The clinics proved to be extremely popular.Almost two hundred people applied for the onehundred and twenty five clinics provided over thecourse of the two days. Those unable to speak with aCareers Adviser on the day were offered anappointment at their local careers centre.

The event held in Cardiff at the CIA, was so successfulthat a further EXPO is planned in North Wales forSeptember 2007.

Executive Director’s Report

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‘The career clinic session was extremelyuseful as it helped to motivate me in thedirection I am interested in. The infoprovided was excellent and the adviserwas approachable and enthusiastic’.

‘The event provided me with someinvaluable contacts…I especially foundthe one-to-one session with CareersWales useful’.

Career Development Clinics in progress at EXPO 07


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Ever ready to champion equality, diversity and access for all, CareersWales has worked very successfully to deliver activities with keypartners, for example with Chwarae Teg on the Ready SET Goproject. Participation in this project has been the catalyst for manywomen to develop their personal confidence and challenge genderstereotyping, giving them the opportunity to explore non traditionalcareer areas and providing them with a platform for furthereducation and training.

We are not content however, to merely reflect on our past successes.Our Strategic Plan for 2007–2010 is about delivering change. It buildson significant development work already in place or underway, for example, the development and application of careerswales.com,the rationalisation of the number of learndirect call centres, oursecondment of a senior member of staff into the AssemblyGovernment’s 14-19 team and the current remodeling of oureducation business link activities in line with the 14-19 agenda.

I am confident that forward thinking and strategic planning willensure Careers Wales continues to be a key contributor to theeconomic and social prosperity of Wales and will remain the firstport of call for information, advice and guidance on learningopportunities, personal development and employability needs.

The remainder of my report illustrates some of the ways CareersWales is working successfully at both local and national level todeliver services that have a significant impact at both personal andstrategic level.

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Lesley ReesExecutive Director

Careers Wales Association staff on a team buildingexercise with the British Army in February

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Careers Wales helps Julian drive forward his career plans

When Julian Calland from Prestatyn found he was facingredundancy after 19 years working as a distribution driver,he worried that, at 45, he was too old to change careers.

Julian visited his local Careers Wales centre, hoping foradvice on his next steps and voiced his reservations abouthis age affecting his career prospects during a one-to-oneconsultation with a Careers Adviser. After talking through a number of different career options, his adviser suggestedthe possibility of retraining as an NHS radiographer, as theNHS practices a strict all-age employment policy.

Radiography courses also have a very high success rate ofemployment following qualification, something that Julianwanted to be sure of before committing to studying.

With help from Careers Wales North West, Julian enrolledon a higher education science course, which he successfullycompleted this summer, and is now due to start a three yeardegree in Radiography at the University of Bangor.

Julian said “I had no background in science or medicine, soradiography would never have occurred to me before Iwent to Careers Wales, but after talking through thebenefits and being put in touch with the right people, I’menjoying the new challenge and haven’t looked back since.”

Careers Wales is an all-age service, and more and more adults are now accessing our facilities.Adults looking to change career, return to work orlearning, or facing redundancy have all benefitedfrom our help in the last year.

Adults

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Julian Calland

In 2006/2007,25,089 adults had interviewswith our AdultGuidance teams.


Fresh start for Kate thanks to Careers Wales

Staff at Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan & Powys were onhand to help Polish-born, Kate Wojcicka, find her perfect jobwhen she relocated to the UK. Kate, who has a Masters inPsychology, found the transition initially difficult and workhard to come by - taking on a succession of domestic andfactory jobs. After being encouraged by a friend to seekadvice from her local careers centre, Kate received help torework and develop her CV, advice on how to achieve thebest in interviews and general information on appropriatecareers paths.

Now happily settled in her new role as a Youth Worker withPowys Drugs and Alcohol, Kate feels the help and supportshe received was invaluable in her job search:

“I cannot praise Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan & Powys highly enough for the support I received at what was quite astressful time,” she says. “As well as all the practical support -help with CV, general career information etc - I think whatreally helped was the way in which they rebuilt my confidence in my own ability and set me on a path that Ihadn’t maybe thought about but am absolutely loving!”

Adults

A survey of adults receivinghelp from Careers Wales in06/07 found that 88% hadmade career/learning relateddecisions in their lives as aresult of their careersguidance interview.

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We support employers and training providers byenhancing the skills of their staff through our workforce development programmes as well as fillingvacancies for young people age 16-19. We make surewe keep in touch with employers’ needs by arrangingregular visits to employers by Careers Wales EmployerLiaison Officers.

Workforce development strengthensemployee morale and prospects

As the saying goes, a happy workforce is a productiveworkforce, and thanks to Careers Wales’ WorkforceDevelopment programmes, staff at Pen Y Garn Infants School in Pontypool have changed their working environmentand training prospects of the staff for the better.

The Workforce Development team at Careers Wales Gwentworked closely with the school’s staff, completinginterviews and psychometric testing to gauge anunderstanding of their career aspirations and whethertheir job descriptions reflected the actual role that theycarried out.

As a result, six of the school’s support staff, a secretary anda newly appointed teacher have all gone on to developtheir skills as laid out in their individual analysis reports.

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Redundancy counselling helps‘manufacture’ a brighter future

When a Newtown based manufacturing companyclosed at the end of June 2006 with a loss of 21 jobs asa result of a decision to move production overseas,Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan and Powys was called into provide redundancy counselling. Careers Advisersprovided workshops, help with CVs and confidencebuilding and individual advice for the affectedworkforce, over a two day period.

The company team leader commented:

“The help from Careers Wales was invaluable. The advice they provided aboutjob opportunities and assistance available for re-training was extremely realistic andobviously based on sound knowledge of thelocal job market.”


Education BusinessPartnershipsCareers Wales facilitates a wide range of education businesslinks that help schools and colleges to work with employersand provide better focused and higher quality work relatedlearning and experiences for young people - raising aspirationsand challenging all forms of stereotyping. EBP activities includeorganising work experience for young people, mentoringprogrammes, teacher and lecturer placements and enterpriseand business awareness.

National challenge promotes innovation amongstWelsh pupils

The annual ‘Make Your Mark Challenge’ encourages pupils fromacross the UK to enhance their creative thinking, problemsolving abilities, team working and communication skills.

Event co-ordinator, Philip Drakeford of Careers Wales West says:

“The theme for this year’s Make Your Mark Challenge, whichtook place during National Enterprise Week, was ‘Make Life Funand Earn a Ton’ and there was an absolutely fantastic response.”

Pupils from across the UK were invited to enter their businessproposals along with a ‘money matters’ document, outliningcash flow and any projected profit.

The challenge was judged at a regional level with winners fromeach regional heat going forward to a grand final in London.

Philip continues:

“Forty schools from around Wales took part in this year’s challenge with Mary Immaculate HighSchool in Cardiff crowned as the winner of Wales’regional heat. Their idea of creating alternative leisurecentres, combined with their enthusiastic presentation,bowled over judges at the Senedd, and the team wenton to represent Wales in the final which was a real coup!We have a great record in the Make Your MarkChallenge here in Wales and in 2005, Greenhill School inTenby won the Grand Final in London with their proposalto create a pirate festival in Pembrokeshire following thechallenge to ‘Put Your Place on the Map’.

All the Welsh schools involved in this year’s challengepresented viable, exciting proposals, and gained valuableexperience in business planning and presentation sowe’re looking forward to next year’s event.”

L-R: Welsh Regional Final Winners (Mary Immaculate High School) Heather Hannam, Daniel Roche, Matthew

Balzan, Mays Mahadi, Rebecca Campbell, Levi Talbot

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Teachers tackle tag rugby challenge

Twenty primary school teachers from across Cardiff weretaught skills including preparing young players to train andplay, from the all-important warm up routine, through torunning, handling and passing, evasion and how to safelycomplete a successful tackle during a tag rugby trainingsession, organised by Careers Wales Cardiff and ValeEducation Business Partnership (EBP), in conjunction with theWelsh Rugby Union and Cardiff Blues.

The aim of the teacher placement day at the Welsh Instituteof Sport, was to introduce teachers to the non-contact gameof tag rugby - which provides youngsters with a safe andsimple introduction to the game of rugby union within theirown schools.

The free session was subsidised by the EBP, and allowedteachers to practise and hone their skills under the watchfuleye of Cardiff Blues development officers.

Each teacher attending the event left with a curriculum-linked resource pack and also a WRU Tag Leader AwardCertificate of Attendance.

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Teachers tackle rugby skills

Education BusinessPartnerships

Science clubs engineer success

Young women across Wales have been given thechance to learn about careers in engineering at special‘Saturday Clubs’, with the help of Careers WalesEducation Business Partnerships.

Working in conjunction with WISE (Women in Scienceand Engineering) the first ‘Discover!’ Saturday Clubtook place in 1998, with the aim of broadening youngwomen’s understanding of the opportunities availableto them within the fields of science, engineeringand technology.

Gemma Whatling was one of the first girls to attendthe Saturday Club scheme, and is now studying for a

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Girls ‘Discover’ medical engineeringL-R are Hattie Vizard and Sidi Bai from Howells School working at

the Saturday engineering club in Cardiff University.

Careers Wales co-ordinated 46,355 work experience placements for pupils in

2006 / 2007

Education BusinessPartnershipspostgraduate research degree in Medical Engineering atCardiff University, having already gained a First ClassHonours masters degree in the subject.

In a move to show other young girls the opportunities thatare available to them, Gemma recently returned to theSaturday Club that inspired her, to help lead a group aged13 and 14 in learning about working as a medical engineer.The girls, from schools across Cardiff and the Vale ofGlamorgan, learnt how engineers help people withdisabilities by designing and creating artificial limbs.


Support for young people continues to be animportant area of work for Careers Wales. We offer awell-established package of support for those in full-time education. Young people can take advantage offace-to-face interviews with Careers Advisers, as well asgroup sessions and other activities on a whole range ofcareer related topics. We encourage young people toachieve their maximum potential and to consider alloptions open to them, including non traditional male/female job roles. Specialist advice is available for thosewith additional needs.

The Careers Wales Quality Awards are at the heart ofour drive for higher standards in all forms of careerseducation, guidance and work-related learning withinWales. The annual awards recognise levels of excellentservice provided to students between the ages of 14-19in secondary schools, further education colleges,special schools and off-site units. Thirty institutionsqualified for the award in 2006-2007.

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Jane Davidson, Minister for Education, Lifelong Learningand Skills presents Milford Haven School with their Careers

Wales Quality Award

Young People,Schools & Colleges

In a survey of Year 11 pupils in 06/07,95% said that their careers interview hadhelped to inform their decisions aboutcareer and learning choices

In 2006/2007, 223,381 young people receiveda careers interview, 92,870 received a careersaction plan, 16,112 were placed into employment and training and 9,626 startedon Youth Gateway programmes. 13,480 groupsessions were conducted with young people.

Support from Careers Wales doesn’t end when young peopleleave school or college. We provide a vacancy service for thoseseeking employment and training, and our Youth Gatewayand Keeping In Touch programmes use innovative methods tohelp those needing support with confidence building, selfesteem, motivation and personal aspirations, before theymove into further education, employment and training.

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Collaborative approach sets local teenagerson right career path

Welsh teenagers who may otherwise have been left behindin the conventional education system are now being helpedinto their ideal jobs as a result of a new collaborativeapproach to learning.

Teenagers from across Wales are being made aware of theopportunities that are available to them in the workplacewith the help of Careers Wales staff, specialist learningcoaches and local employers. The scheme ensures that youngpeople have a regular point of contact and personal tutorsto help their transition into employment run smoothly.

Wesley Roberts, 17, from Trevor, near Llangollen, and Alice Davies, 16, from Chirk, Wrexham, are both former pupils of Ysgol Dinas Bra^n in Llangollen and have taken their firststeps into their chosen careers with the help ofthe Careers Wales North East team.

Wesley has begun training as a plasterer withWrexham-based construction company,Paveaways, which along with Wrexham Council,has ensured there is sufficient funding for him tocomplete his qualifications.

Alice is now a trainee at Mini World Day Nurseryin Ruabon where she will begin working towardsan NVQ level 2 qualification on a day releasebasis in September.

Pupils in Carmarthen plan their futures

This year’s annual West Wales Higher EducationConvention, one of three conventions of its kindacross North, South and West Wales, welcomedits highest attendance to date of sixth form andcollege students interested in finding out moreabout going to university.

The hugely successful event, held at Carmarthen Showground, was organisedin conjunction with Careers Wales West, and attracted representatives fromhundreds of universities from across the UK. The representatives were onhand all day to provide advice to the students on applying for a place atuniversity and information on suitable courses, admission procedures, studentlife, funding and future job opportunities following a degree.

Students looking for an alternative to higher education, were able to chatinformally to Careers Advisers about a range of options and representativesfrom the armed forces were on hand to answer any questions students hadrelating to life in the military.

Wesley Roberts (left) with Careers Wales Personal Adviser, Maggie Stokes; Learning Coach, Sharron Smith and Paveaways Mentor, Jo Ventre

Students get info on going ‘Higher’at the West Wales Higher Education

Convention. L-R Danielle Phillipsand Rhiannon Roberts, both from Y

Strade, Llanelli

Young People,Schools & Colleges

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Careerswales.com

Two years on from its launch in 2004, careerswales.comcontinues to offer all users an excellent and comprehensiveservice, celebrated recently with its award of the ‘Crystal Mark’for clarity and conciseness in public information services.

There have also been some important developments and changesin the site over the past year. Future Skills Wales Job Outlooks,providing labour market information on over 100 different typesof job in Wales are now available through careerswales.com, aswell as a business course database. The vacancies section of thesite has also undergone major improvements, with a new andenhanced search facility now available.

Careerswales.com has also successfully piloted a Year 9 options resource, which will be rolled out across Wales at the end of 2007, as part of its continuing commitment to the 14-19 curriculum.

A national work experience database is currently underconstruction. Schools, businesses and Careers Wales companieswill be able to access opportunities online in 2008.

Our award of £600,000 from the European Social Fund is alsobeing finalised this year, focusing on how we can developresources for our clients with learning difficulties and disabilities.

More innovations and developments for careerswales.com are also in the pipeline in thecoming months, with a new, specialist siterelating to the 14-19 curriculum ready to launchin the New Year, as well as improvements to theProfessional and Employers sections of the site, so it really is a busy and exciting time.

Paul Messer and the careerswales.com team

In 2006/07 213,349 people registered to use careerswales.com,an increase of 86,986 on the previousbusiness year. In the same period thesite received over 16,560,930 hits.


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learndirectThe learndirect helpline service is a one-stop-shop for up-to-date information on courses, training and associated fundingin Wales. Managed by Careers Wales, the service helps peopleof all ages with any learning and career-based enquiries.

More than 30,000 people across Wales have made use of theservice in the last year - from mothers returning to work after acareer break, looking to update their skills or return tolearning, to jobseekers looking for funding for work-relatedtraining courses.

learndirect advisers are on hand to talk to anyone who wantsfree and impartial advice and information on their next steps.

learndirect staff also manage the Learning Choices database - agoldmine of information on over 40,000 full and part-timecourses and training opportunities throughout Wales, as well aswork-based learning opportunities. Sponsored by the WelshAssembly Government, the database can be accessed via careerswales.com.

Partnership working is integral to the development of thelearndirect advice line. Careers Wales has worked closely withDECWL (now Department for Children, Education, LifelongLearning and Skills (DCELLS) to include work-based learningopportunities on the Learning Choices database.

31,536 callswere made toLearndirect in2006 / 2007

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“I checked on the minimum wagewhen a friend started a job.”

“I looked at the housing options andfound out what financial help wasavailable to me”

“It helped me with revision”

These are just some of the comments from a range ofusers of CLIC - the National Information and AdviceService for young people aged 11-25 in Wales. The onlineinformation portal offers free, up to the minute, localdetails on a range of advice and services available toyoung people across Wales.

Aged 11-25? Need Information?Think Clic!

Run by Careers Wales, with funding fromthe Welsh Assembly Government, the CLICwebsite contains information on everythingfrom housing, law and rights, to health,education, employment and money. Theinformation is relevant to the whole agerange - from savings tips for young people’spocket money, to getting on to theproperty ladder in your early twenties.Young people without Internet access athome can access CLIC information from1,816 outlets,including libraries, schools andcolleges, careers centres, youth centres andinternet cafes.

It is essential that information on cliconlineis completely up to date and relevant to theissues facing young people today, so CLICco-ordinators host regular consultationswith groups of young people, to gatheropinions and ideas as to how to presentand share the site’s information. SinceJanuary 2006 216 youth workers and othersworking with young people have receivedtraining via the CLIC service in informationprovision for young people.

CLIC also prides itself on offering localisedinformation to all of its users. National Co-ordinator, Lynda Dix, heads a team ofregional co-ordinators across Wales, whohave responsibility for developing andpromoting the service at local level.

cliconline.co.uk

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Wrexham pupils triumph in NationalSchool Quiz

A group of Wrexham school children were hailed lawand order whiz kids, after coming top in a nationalcompetition on the rights and laws affecting youngpeople in Wales.

The annual competition supported by CLIC, aims toraise awareness of the issues associated with law,rights and citizenship and how these affect youngpeoples’ daily lives.

As part of the Schools Liaison Police Core Programme,police officers visited schools across Wales to deliverkey parts of the PSE curriculum directly to students. Inan extremely close contest, fought out over sixrounds, and featuring questions on a whole range ofsubjects including Health and Safety, Drugs andAlcohol and At What Age Can I…?, Wrexham’s YsgolBryn Alyn beat Swansea’s Cwmtawe Comprehensiveby an all important one point to walk away with thetrophy for the 2007 champions.

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Lynda Dix with pupils from Ysgol Bryn Alyn - winners ofthe Schools Liaison Police competition

Since January 2005 the CLIC websitehas received over 3,770,330 hits.

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Alan Tillotson, Chair Chair, Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan & Powys

John Llewellyn, Vice ChairChief Executive, Careers Wales North West

Alan BoxfordChair, Careers Wales Cardiff & Vale

Philip WestwoodChair, Careers Wales Gwent

Gwyn ThomasVice Chair, Careers Wales North West

John Troth OBEChair, Careers Wales North East

Hywel JonesChair, Careers Wales West

Trina NeilsonChief Executive, Careers Wales Gwent

Ray CollierChief Executive, Careers Wales West

Joyce M’Caw Chief Executive, Careers Wales North East

Wayne FeldonChief Executive, Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan & Powys

Mark FreemanChief Executive, Careers Wales Cardiff & Vale

Directors 20C

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Contact us:Careers Wales Association

Suite 6, Block D, Van Court

Caerphilly Business Park

Van Road, Caerphilly

CF83 3ED

Tel: 02920 854880

Fax: 02920 854889

If you have any questions or comments about this report,please contact Lesley Rees.

[email protected]

careerswales.com

West Wales students find out about life in the Military

Directors of Careers Wales Association


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