Walsall EBP - Achieving Success Together
Partnership News - Spring 2005 - Issue 14
The Ninth Annual Employer Conference
"Bigger, Better, More Relevant!"
These were some of the comments from delegates at the recent Employer Conference which proved to be one of the most successful employer events ever staged by Walsall Education Business Partnership. It was very much a day for employers to meet and hear young people and teachers, actually involved in education business link activities, describing the benefits for all of the partners from collaborative working.
This edition of Partnership News brings you more information about the "Investing in Tomorrow's Workforce - Today!" event that was held at Bescot Stadium, including the awards that were presented to students, schools and employers. Given the changes currently taking place in the education of 14-19 year olds the content of this year's Employer Conference, with its emphasis on preparing our young people for the world of work, was extremely relevant to the employers present.
Investing in Tomorrow's Workforce Today!
Following the formal session, the delegates were able to visit four Activity Showcases and have the opportunity to meet many young people who have benefited from involvement in education business link activities. The Showcases were:
The ninth Employer Conference was made possible by the generous sponsorship received from IST Ltd as main sponsors and by West Midlands Co-operative, InComm Training Services and the ESF Brokerage project. All of these sponsors have the vision to see how vital it is to bridge the gap between education and business, and that we have to, above all, prepare our young people for the 'world of work'.
Annual Awards
Valued Partner Certificates
Awarded to organisations and individuals who have given particular support to Walsall EBP activities:Walsall EBP Employer Awards
The Employer Awards were introduced several years ago to recognise those companies who it is considered have given outstanding support over a sustained period. This year the following organisations were recognised:Walsall EBP School Awards
The School Award was introduced in 2002 to recognise those schools who it is considered have given outstanding support over a sustained period. The School Awards went to:National Construction Week
As part of the National Construction Week celebrations, Walsall Education Business Partnership and CITB Construction Skills, co-ordinated a whole programme of activities for Walsall students. The Increased Flexibility Programme (IFP) is a DfES initiative designed to enable school students to 'sample' vocational programmes while they are still at school before deciding upon - and sticking to - their ultimate choice. Walsall EBP, in partnership with Walsall's New Deal for Communities and Shaylor Construction, co-ordinated a site visit for IFP students from Walsall College of Arts and Technology to the Blakenall Village Centre to make a photographic record of its progress before the official opening in July 2005. In order to add value to this, the students were also able to compare and contrast this experience with a further site visit, this time in partnership with Moss Construction, to the new accommodation block at the Wolverhampton University Walsall Campus.
Youngest Builders Learn the Oldest Techniques
In partnership with Walsall's New Deal for Communities, the Walsall MBC Family Learning & Study Support Team and the charity 'Bees & Trees', Walsall EBP offered pupils in two schools the chance to build a one-third scale Tudor House, including wattle and daub, during and after school with parents, teachers and school governors. Again in partnership with Walsall 's New Deal for Communities, Walsall EBP provided an Architecture Workshops Association-led activity using only elastic bands and wooden dowelling for groups of children to build their own theatre and experience what it would have been like to attend a Tudor theatre.
Constructing Community Safety
To link to National Construction Week, Walsall EBP worked with Walsall's New Deal, Shaylor Construction Ltd, and CITB Construction Skills in launching a Community Safety Week. Local residents had the opportunity to be consulted on issues relating to the regeneration projects within the New Deal area as well as take part in Community Safety workshops and tours around the new Blakenall Village Centre which is currently under construction.
Flying High With Airport Challenge
Teams of sixth form students from a number of Walsall schools, supported by Construction Ambassadors from Taylor Woodrow, recently took part in the Airport Challenge, a construction enterprise competition, where they are asked to design enhanced facilities for people with disabilities using plans from terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport. The winners on the day were the team from the Pool Hayes / Sneyd Post 16 Partnership.
Walsall Students Building A Bright Future
More than 100 Walsall Year 10 students applied to join a construction course organised by the Walsall Housing Group and Walsall Education Business Partnership.
The 'Building Futures' project, which is funded by the Black Country Learning and Skills Council, gives 30 students a one-day a week training programme in either bricklaying, carpentry, electrical installation or plumbing, at WHG's Skills Centre in Walsall.
The aim of the programme is to address some of the skills shortage areas in the construction industry. It is hoped the majority of students on the course will progress onto the WHG apprenticeship programme when they leave school. Walsall EBP recruited the students from local secondary schools and arranged practice interviews for all of the course participants.
"The response to the course has surprised even us. It has been very
popular with students because it offers experience and qualifications
not available to them in school."
Lorenzo Cosco, Walsall EBP
Can Girls Fix It?... Yes! They Can!
'Girl Power' was the order of the day when students from Sheffield Sports Community College donned hard hats and got to grips with brick laying, roofing and block paving
The group were taking part in a construction taster day for girls organised by Walsall EBP at the Construction Industry Training Board's (CITB) national college in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The 14 year old girls followed a varied programme for the day including erecting a mobile tower, fixing tile laths and tiles to a roof, and had a go at block paving and brick laying.
Mike Wainwright, from CITB Construction Skills Said:
"It is all about building a better range of opportunities for women in the construction industry. We hope that now the girls have had a 'hands-on' taste of different jobs in the industry, they might consider further training."
Visits To Jaguar Cars, Castle Bromwich
Sixth form students and their teachers from three Walsall schools recently visited the super modern Jaguar plant at Castle Bromwich where the S Types are made. With funding support from the 14-19 Action Plan two separate visits were organised by Walsall Education Business Partnership; one for Joseph Leckie Community Technology College students who are studying 'A' level product design, and a joint visit for students from Alumwell Business and Enterprise College and Blue Coat C of E Comprehensive a Performing Arts Specialist College
On their visit the students:
Occupational Taster Programme Success
A student from Willenhall school was referred to Walsall EBP's Occupational Taster Programme after becoming disaffected with school for a number of reasons.
Pool Hays School suggested Aaron Dudley could benefit from a work placement with a local company. Following an interview at the school with Lorenzo Cosco, from Walsall EBP, a short-term placement was set-up with a local engineering company, as Aaron's wish was to become a toolmaker. He did so well on the placement that the company were happy to increase his placement from one day per week to three days per week
At the end of the school year, Aaron decided to continue his engineering education by enrolling on an Apprentice Programme with Performance Through People. At the PTP training centre in Walsall, he is learning how to use a variety of machinery and will shortly have a placement arranged to use his new skills in the workplace. At the same time, he is studying towards an Engineering National Vocational Qualification at Level Two.
Work Experience Administrators' Training
As a direct result of the Teachers' Workforce Reforms many schools are employing administrative grade staff to carry out many of the organisational aspects of work experience.
Walsall EBP identified a collective training need in that thirteen of twenty Walsall secondary schools now employ such staff and so two highly successful training events were organised covering:
MFL Key To Export Success
As part of the Black Country Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Pathfinder project Walsall Education Business Partnership is working to identify and recruit companies across the Black Country who use MFL in their everyday business dealings.
The intention is then to link company personnel with schools so they can offer support for the development of MFL in a variety of ways. It is hoped that this will help to address the decline in the number of students studying MFL at a time when more and more companies are recognising the importance of foreign language skills to their export prospects.
One example is seen in the above photograph where MFL students from Barr Beacon Language College spent time at the Campanile Hotel in Birmingham looking at the use of MFL in the workplace.
"It's of great benefit if business can see what MFL talents the next generation hold, or if students can be given a window to the business world outside to see some more relevance to their studies. Walsall EBP enables all of those things. When I was first contacted by Walsall EBP, I thought I was taking time out to do a school a favour - I didn't realise that I'd be doing myself one too!" Steve Swinden, Export Sales Manager, Linvic Engineering commenting on his recent involvement with MFL support to schools.
Enviroman Lives
The Barr Beacon Enterprise day was a chance to increase students' understanding and awareness of environmental issues. Barr Beacon's Year 10 were split into two groups over two days. Walsall EBP recruited 18 business volunteers on each day to support teams of students.
The main task was to design an environmental super-hero and devise a presentation on how the super-hero would save the environment. Each team went on stage at the end of the day to make their presentations with the aim of sharing their knowledge with the other students.
Young Chef Of The Year
For a number of years Walsall Education Business Partnership has supported Walsall Rotary Club with its Annual Young Chef of the Year Competition. A record number of students from Walsall Secondary Schools took part in this year's event and the finals were held recently in the Catering Department at Walsall College of Arts & Technology.
The finalists and judges are pictured above
at this event.
For the first time the winner of the Walsall
competition went forward to a Black
Country final and it was particularly
pleasing to see the Walsall winner crowned
as the Black Country Champion.
The judges commented on the high
standards achieved by all of the students
who took part in this year's competition.
SuccessMaker® Support
SuccessMaker® is a computer based Maths, Reading & Spelling programme that provides an individual learning profile for every young person aged 5-14.
Walsall Education Business Partnership has co-ordinated SuccessMakerŽ through the SRB 2, SRB 4 & SRB 5 programmes, and has introduced the scheme to nineteen Walsall Secondary Schools and over thirty Primary, Junior, Infant and Nursery schools throughout Walsall.
© Walsall EBP 2005