If you’re looking to diversify your workforce and attract under-represented people into your business, it’s worth engaging with potential employees while they are still in education or training.
You can’t be what you can’t see!
Established in collaboration with The Careers and Enterprise Company they help transform careers education for ALL young people across Devon, Somerset, Plymouth and Torbay, regardless of their background.
They work with every state-funded secondary school, special educational needs school, alternative provision & post 16 college, helping them to link with local employers to deliver high quality careers experiences for students.
There are different ways you might be able to work with the Careers Hub that will help your business reach new young people across the region. Get in contact with your local Careers Hub if you’d like to find out more.
If your business is related to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths), then engaging with STEM Learning through its STEM Ambassador programme could be a great way to reach young people across the South West.
More information about the STEM Ambassador programme can be found by clicking here.
Across our region the STEM Ambassador network is run by Graphic Science
There are lots of careers-focused events held across our region each year which aim to connect young people with potential employers. Look out for any you might be able to join – they range from: events aimed at attracting young people from across the region and nationally to individual events in schools or colleges.
If you want to attend careers days, give career talks, or work with other businesses to help reach more young people, it’s worth asking yourself how you make this happen through the way your businesses works.
Asking people to do things ‘on top of the day job’ without allowing enough time or resources to do it is often viewed as going against fair and inclusive practices.
Consider adding these kinds of activities to a job descriptions, enabling those who want to take part in the activities to do so as part of their standard roles.
Or think about a team volunteering day, where employees can choose to spend their time on something that benefits their local community either together or as a group.
The Apprenticeship Ambassador Network is a voluntary network made up of employers and current or former apprentices.
Apprentice ambassadors support a variety of events and activities that share their experience as an apprentice to inspire and inform future apprentices in making informed career choices.
Apprentice ambassadors are aged 18 and over and are members of the national network as well as their regional network.
For more information about the Apprentice ambassador network click here.
Supported employment helps people with disabilities or disadvantages to gain paid employment. Detailed information is available online from our local authorities.
We recognised that an ad-hoc approach to work experience can introduce inequalities, biasing opportunities towards those with relatives or acquaintances within the organisation, and leading staff to host students with limited interest in the organisation and to students being accommodated in departments unsuited to their passion.
Following consultation with other employers, the Careers Hub, education leaders, and alternative work experience programme providers, the team trialled and then established a new work expereince programme.
They are now working for us as a trainee accountant.
The comprehensive online programme has also enabled us to reduce the length of in-person placements to 2-3 days, enabling us to host more students and making placements more accessible to those experiencing financial barriers to travel and subsistence, and students with additional commitments (e.g. young carers).
As of September 2024, over 800 young people had completed the online work experience. Of these, 51% were female, 43% were from ethnic minorities and at least 12% were on Free School Meals .
Did any of your workforce go to school locally? Could they offer to go back in to talk to students about their job role?