Partnership Press

Issue No 5, October 2009

When you left education did you have the skills needed to enter into work with confidence?

This was the question I asked at a recent Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce event and it was clear from the knowing nods around the room that very few people had felt ready for work (more on this in the feature below). Building talent and skills of the future workforce through mutually beneficial partnerships between local employers and the education sector is the key focus of the EBP. In this newsletter we aim to illustrate how and why some local companies engage.

Our new Business Development Manager, Liz Palmer, has just joined the EBP team, her role is to broaden the range of employers we work with and to explore new possibilities with those companies who already support our work.

If you would like to learn more about what we do, and how we can help you and your organisation get more benefit from your involvement with us, please contact Liz on 01635 279907 or email lizp@ebpwb.co.uk.

Amanda Richards, CEO

Train and develop your team through the EBP

In these challenging times, training budgets are often the first to feel the squeeze. Despite this, organisations recognise that the continuing development of their employees is vital to maintain their competitive edge.

A number of local companies have successfully used EBP events to provide development opportunities for their staff. Gist, a business logistics company and Cognito, a local software company, have both found the approach to be mutually beneficial.

Gist have been working with EBP for five years. Georgie Reeves, HR Manager, has been involved from the beginning.

"What started as a one off opportunity for Gist to support the local community has become an integral part of our people strategy. Thinking of new and innovative ways to develop our people becomes more challenging every year. Having quickly established a strong working relationship with the EBP, we use their events to develop leadership, coaching and presentation skills for our management team. They have all returned enthused and invigorated by the challenges they have faced".

Michelle Bailey, HR Manager for Cognito, has also seen the business benefit from this approach.

"We are into our second year of working with the EBP during which time we have supported Champions of Enterprise and Think BIG events, offered work experience placements and contributed to plans for the new IT Diploma. As a business we have benefited in a number of ways from our relationship with the EBP not least of which is the fact that it has given us enormous satisfaction to be able to support local schools in developing our future workforce.

Volunteering at events has given us an invaluable opportunity to apply and develop an assortment of skills ranging from presentation and communication to organising groups and stimulating ideas."

If you would like to discuss staff development opportunities with the EBP, please contact us on 01635 279900 or info@ebpwb.co.uk.

West Berkshire students are inspired to Think BIG!

Earlier this year one thousand Year 10 students from six West Berkshire Secondary Schools were given the opportunity to present their ideas for a product or service for the year 2059 as part of the EBP's Think BIG event. Supported by volunteers from over 20 local businesses, teams competed to represent their school in the Grand Final which was held in July at the Elcot Park Hotel. The budding entrepreneurs displayed their business talent to a panel of judges consisting of Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce representative, David Danielli, Education Liaison Officer with the Berkshire Institute of Directors, Barry Lewis and General Manager of the Elcot Park Hotel, Peter Bartlett. The fourth judge was young entrepreneur Peter Thompson, who flew in from Monaco for the final.

The competition was won by 'Thinc Inc' of John O'Gaunt Community Technology College in Hungerford, whose idea was to create a pen that writes down people's thoughts.

For a full report of the Grand Final click here and for a student's perspective of the Think BIG experience click here to read a case study by Jamie Lillicrop from Trinity School.

We are looking for business volunteers for next year's competition so if you are interested in getting involved please contact us on 01635 279900 or info@ebpwb.co.uk.

When you left education did you have the skills needed to enter into work with confidence?

Amanda Richards, CEO of the EBP, began her recent presentation to the Chamber of Commerce with this question and it was clear from the knowing nods around the room that very few people had felt ready for work.

Today, the challenge this country has is to prepare our young people to be sufficiently skilled to compete successfully in the world, not just Berkshire.

'Shift Happens UK' is an amazing short sequence of positioning statements about skills and the world we live in that might inspire you to support this agenda locally.

Click here to watch the sequence on YouTube and to read our blog on the subject.

Employer Awards 2009

The outstanding contribution made by many companies in West Berkshire who give their time and energy to help young people understand the skills and practices within their businesses were celebrated recently at our annual Employer Awards. 54 companies were nominated by the schools and EBP and 14 of these were presented with an award. Full Story...

Institute for Business Excellence

A new professional body has been formed dedicated to promoting the highest possible standards in Education Business Partnership Organisations (EBPOs). The EBP West Berkshire is a member of this organisation and Amanda Richards, CEO, is now a Director of the IEBE.

The IEBE brings together brokers, educationalists and employers to focus on creating real opportunities for young learners to develop the skills they need for adult life. The institute will professionalise those working in the field of education business partnership and offer development opportunities that will help to share practice, innovate and lead change. It will give the profession a voice with government influencing policy and decision makers.

Organisations will benefit from recognition, quality assurance and profile. Individuals will benefit from professional status, career enhancement and practice support. For further information email members@iebe.org.uk or telephone 01635 279914.

INSPIRING OUR FUTURE WORKFORCE

The Education Business Partnership West Berkshire (EBP West Berks) is a local charity in Newbury which promotes and organises a wide range of innovative work related learning activities for young people in education within West Berkshire.
Through partnerships forged between local employers, teachers and students we create and deliver work-related and vocational learning opportunities to inform, motivate and inspire young people at all levels for their future working lives.

WELCOME ABOARD...

We would like to thank the following individuals and organisations who are supporting us for the first time at our Champions of Enterprise event. Click on their logos to find out more about them and if you would like to become a supporter of the EBP, please contact us on 01635 279900 or info@ebpwb.co.uk.

OLYMPIC ATHLETE INSPIRES SELF BELIEF

Toby Garbett, Olympic Athlete and twice world champion rower spent some time with students from the WoW (World of Work) programme and explained that you can achieve if you believe in yourself. This is the third year of our successful WoW programme which began with a team building activity day at Ufton Court. 42 students from 5 schools benefited from this motivational speech and other activities including archery, shelter building, orienteering and problem solving. The aim of the day was to understand the importance of working together and all the students took an active role. From our first cohort, 8 out of 9 students have gone on to apprenticeships, jobs or Further Education. For more information about WoW click here and if you are able to offer a placement to a student on the WoW programme please contact Lyn Heaver.

OVER 300 STUDENTS GET THE MESSAGE IN 3 DAYS

Click here to find out how...

STUDENTS AWARD WINNING MARKETING PLAN FOR NEWBURY FARMERS' MARKET

Pupils from Mary Hare School, runners-up in our 2009 Farming, Environment & Sustainability Challenge, achieved outstanding results with their project to create a marketing plan for Newbury Farmers' Market. The pupils worked with the Thames Valley Farmers' Market Co-operative Ltd to identify why the second market in Newbury is not as well supported as the first market.

Full Story...

A little bit of your time...can make a big change...to your life, your business and their future.

Education Business Partnership West Berkshire, 188 Main Street, New Greenham Park, Thatcham, Berkshire RG19 6HW

Registered in England No. 2829085. Registered charity no: 1030564

• Tel: 01635 279900
• Fax: 01635 279915
• Email: info@ebpwb.co.uk