Charter for Success

Seven more Warwickshire firms have been awarded the prestigious Warwickshire County Council Employability Charter, for their commitment to supporting young people to succeed in the workplace.

At a ceremony which took place recently at Shire Hall, Warwick, Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council and Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, presented the Charter to: Arlington Automotive, Coventry; Hilton Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon; Infinite Pixel, Digital technology specialist from Southam; REPL Digital, Henley in Arden; Seco Tools Ltd, Alcester; Sunshine Recruitment Group Ltd, Southam; and Chapter 1, furniture re-users from Nuneaton.

The companies join the 58 businesses which have so far been awarded the Charter since it was introduced in 2015. The Employability Charter is awarded to local businesses for activities which encourage and facilitate employability skills among young people. It’s a key part of the County Council’s £2.4 million Skills for Employment programme to improve the employability skills and attributes of young people so businesses can recruit more readily to address skills gaps.

  • Hilton Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon has worked with Southam College as a result of a £3,000 grant awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. The project involved ‘mock’ interviewing pupils who’d created CVs and letters of application for specific jobs. Vicky Martin, HR Manager said: “It’s very important we work with local schools and colleges to help us recruit the people we need in a range of roles. We’re aiming to increase this activity in the next year.”
  • REPL Digital, Henley in Arden has worked with Alcester Academy this year as a result of the Build a Business network grant of £3,000 awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. The business has pledged to work with the academy on a range of activity and provide insight into what jobs are available at the company. Dan Haywood, Group Resources Manager said: “Helping the development of young people is a personal passion, so I’m delighted to be involved in improving the employability skills of tomorrow’s workforce.”
  • Infinite Pixel, Southam, has worked with Southam College this year as a result of the Build a Business network grant of £3,000 awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. The project involved work experience placemets. Alex Foster, Operations Manager said: “We’re delighted to provide work experience opportunities for pupils from Southam College and hope to recruit one later this year.”
  • Sunshine Recruitment Group Ltd, Southam has worked with Southam College this year as a result of the grant of £3,000 awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. The project involved ‘mock’ interviewing pupils. Claire Bartley, MD, said: “We are delighted to be actively involved with the Warwickshire Employability Charter designed to nurture and develop the talent of our young people. By working in collaboration with other businesses, suppliers and partners, we are proactively supporting the future growth and prosperity of our local community.”
  • Chapter 1, a Nuneaton based furniture re-use company  has worked with Exhall Grange School and The George Eliot school this year as a result of the Build a Business network grant of £3,000 awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. The project involved providing work experience placements. Nat Kidd, Service Manager, for Chapter 1, said: “Chapter 1’s 2ndChance project is proud to be able to work with Warwickshire County Council towards our shared aims of addressing youth unemployment. We believe that by engaging with younger people and providing them with the opportunity to learn, gain confidence and skills, a tangible change in their outcomes can be achieved. Via the volunteering and training opportunities that we provide both for individuals and groups, we have seen a shift in attitudes which has genuinely helped to change lives one by one.”
  • Arlington Automotive, Coventry has worked with Hereward College as a result of the Build a Business network grant of £3,000 awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. Hereward College  educates Warwickshire youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities.  The project involved providing work experience placements. Will King, HR Partner said: “Working with local schools to provide work experience opportunities for young people has been fantastic for us. It has helped to add energy to our teams and many of the young people have brought new ideas and different ways of looking at things and a positive approach that has spread right through our existing workforce.”
  • Seco Tools (UK) Ltd, Alcester has worked with Stratford Girls’ Grammar, Alcester Academy, St Benedicts, Studley High and Alcester Grammar schools this year as a result of the Build a Business network grant of £3,000 awarded by the County Council’s Skills for Employment Programme. The project involved  work experience opportunities. Paul Hipkin, Project Manager, said: “Our aim is to encourage young people to develop and grow during their placement at Seco Tools both in employability skills and in understanding the different careers paths that engineering can offer. This initiative has resulted in several students completing work experience at Seco Tools UK and a couple of these have become our latest apprentices”.

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

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

 

Image: 
Back Row L to R: Adam McKeown and Will King, Arlington Automotive
3rd Row L to R: Dan Heywood, REPL, and Alex Foster, Infinite Pixel
2nd Row L to R: Paul Hipkin, Seco, Vicky Martin, Hilton, John Dixon , Hilton
Front Row L to R: Nat Kidd Chapter 1, Claire Bartley, Sunshine Recruitment Group.