Agenda item

Fay Winterburn, Strategy and Commissioning Service Manager delivered a presentation that highlighting the following points, positives changes and future opportunities.

Fay Winterburn introduced colleagues, Charlotte Smith and Cloe Milage and visitors, Bebe Woo from Thrive Education Partnership and Kelly Doherty from Employment Pathway in Warwickshire. Fay gave an overview of the team, known externally as Warwickshire Skills Hub and internally as Employment and Skills. The Warwickshire Skills Hub was launched in 2020 with up to 200 business supported and in 2024 this number had grown to over 900 business supported. Fay outlined how the service worked and the forms of funding accessed, and programmes delivered.

Highlighting two teams within the service, Fay Winterburn outlined the Warwickshire Careers Hub and Warwickshire Supported Employment Service.

Warwickshire Careers Hub supported 51 of 54 secondary schools and sixth form and was in discussions to work with the remaining three. The Hub ensures secondary schools, sixth form and colleges deliver careers advice and guidance that was reflective of current and future needs of the economy and businesses. It encouraged these schools to apply for £2000 per year from the Future Careers Fund. Businesses have the opportunity to engage with schools as part of the Industry Spotlight to discuss future needs. Teachers are encouraged to upskill themselves to bring careers into class lead learning. Over the last 18 months the hub has impacted 89,390 students, directly or indirectly, with the age range of those impacted between 13 and 16. It was thought this was due to career decisions while in education.

Guest speaker, Bebe Woo, Head of Careers and Partnerships, Thrive Education Partnership was invited to speak on her experiences with the Warwickshire Careers Hub. She explained the positive impact the Warwickshire Careers Hub had on her setting, working in partnership to increase the number of students who have additional needs into employment after education. Adding that it would be helpful if there could be research into toolkits, partnership collaboration and scope work on post-18 models for SEND learners to raise aspirations and reduce societal impacts.

Fay concluded the Warwickshire Careers Hub service by discussing the economic efficiency of the service adding that the investment is £7411 per school per year.

Fay Winterburn introduced the Warwickshire Supported Employment Service explaining that this service was brought under the umbrella of Employment and Skills two years prior. The service assists individuals over 18 with learning disabilities and/or Autism into employment. This is achieved by assessing each individual’s needs and discussing their career aspirations. Based on this information, suitable job opportunities are identified and matched to their skills and preference. 

The service also worked with businesses interested in offering inclusive job opportunities and assists them in making the necessary adjustments to support young individuals. The service also looked at alternative ways of getting young people into work such as industry tours which bypasses the traditional interview process. The service initially supported 22 individuals, two years later supported 577 individuals. 471 people have commenced their employment journey with continuous training to support them while employed. Customer satisfaction rate was 97% with employer satisfaction rate at 98.5%.

Fay invited guest speaker, Kelly Doherty, Project Manager for the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disabilities and Autism from the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT). Kelly outlined her role and the role of the Trust. The service had significantly contributed to recruitment campaigns by making minimal adjustments to support individuals with additional needs in securing employment. A dedicated team member provided ongoing support, fostering a safe and comfortable environment for individuals to ask questions. The Supported Employment team offered advice and guidance, enhanced job retention, and upskilled existing staff. They had successfully supported four trainers into employment and developed career progression routes. By addressing various aspects such as transportation and workplace norms, the service removes barriers to employment. They also provided communication support and signposting outside of Warwickshire. Kelly Doherty commended the team and suggested that similar programmes should be implemented in other counties. It would also be beneficial for tool kits to support employers making reasonable adjustments.

Fay concluded the update on the Warwickshire Supported Employment Service by highlighting its economic efficiency, noting that the cost per person for the required level of support needed was £600. It was noted that additional funding from Connect to Work was anticipated in the future and the aspirations of the service were not to just support those with learning difficulties and autism but to open the service to provide support for those with additional needs in the future.

Fay welcomed questions from members.

In response to Councillor Gilbert, Fay Winterburn advised that figures for those not in education or training were available and could be shared. In reply to Councillor Gilberts second question, Fay advised that the service works with schools to create work experiences however it is not compulsory for schools to participate. Some schools offer time for employers attend the school and bring work experience into the classroom. Warwickshire County Council had developed a work experience programme for those coming into the council for their work experience and planned to use the programme as best practice for businesses throughout Warwickshire.

In reply to Councillor Fradgley, Fay Winterburn advised that local universities in and around Warwickshire have strong post graduate schemes to support for those leaving as well as support from employers who had been involved in job marketplaces.

In reply to Councillor Chilvers, Bebe Woo stated that schools should be responsible for organising work experience and the Department of Education have a framework in place called Gatsby benchmarks which should help all schools have a clear framework for career provisions. However, it should be collaborative between schools, parents, and the Hub. Fay Winterburn added that an optimal scenario would be to have officers and employers dedicated to this. This would require commitments from businesses and schools and would require additional resources which were currently unavailable. In response to Councillor Chilvers supplementary question, Fay advised that the Supported Employment Service does have a bank of employers who work with schools, there was a need to have more employers join the programme and acknowledged a challenge with investments.

Responding to Councillor Pemberton’s questions, Fay Winterburn advised that there was data available, and this would be included in future reports. Mark Ryder, Executive Director for Communities added that as an employer, Warwickshire County Council had a huge role to play in this space and should lead by example. A new programme for work experience had been developed in the Communities Directorate to streamline the offer to more balanced and complete programme with opportunities offered across all services of the directorate. This programme will be reported back to the committee with figures on its success. It was noted that the programme could be expanded to encourage experienced individuals into harder to fill positions within the council.

Mark Ryder responded to Councillor Pemberton’s supplementary question, stating that there is data on apprenticeships and work was being undertaken on making work experience into permanent places. Fay Winterburn explained the Fair Chance Employer programme within Warwickshire County Council and Charlotte Smith, Warwickshire Supported Employment Service (Team Manager) added that 90 individuals had been placed in employment with 92% staying in the role.

In response to Councillor Feeney, Fay Winterburn reassured members that while the support did not fall under Supported Employment, there were funding streams and programmes in place to support care leavers and other priority groups.

The Chair thanked the team for the report and request report in 12 months’ time containing up to date data.