Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group · Developing the Young Workforce ....

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Developing the Young Workforce

North Highland Regional Group

Lead Partner for the Bid on behalf of the North Highland Community

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Our Developing the Young Workforce Mission Statement

To develop a Jobs pipeline for Young People, which will have various entry points allowing access

based on the individuals needs and employment aspirations.

The pipeline will have various activity and support pathways, which will empower the Young person

and their parents/guardians to make informed choices which will lead to employment in the

community or outwith the North Highland area.

Our Aims

Improve employment awareness and readiness to work in our young people as they plan

transitions throughout and from the senior phase of education

Increase the numbers of young people achieving a positive journey from School or College

so that they are not ‘unemployed’ and / or ‘unemployable’

Increase the numbers of young people who are economically

active in the 16 – 24 age group

Enable business development and growth in local areas by giving employers the

confidence to invest in young people

Increase the number of jobs for young people

The planning for employability should be:

Young person centred

Future Focused

About business enablement and growth

Include parents/guardians

Our Developing Young People Workforce Pipeline

Diagram 1: Developing our Young People pipeline

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Table of Contents

Aspect Executive Summary 4 Partnership 8 Period of Grant: Finance & Sustainability 11 Experience & Expertise 14 Structures 19 National & Regional Priorities 25 Other funding sources/assistance 27 Objectives/Outcomes/Targets 29 Long Term Benefits 38 Project & Risk Management 41 Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting 42

Appendices Appendix 1 ~ DtYW Initiative Plan Outline 45 Appendix 2 ~ Risk Register 46 Appendix 3 ~ Board Membership 50 Appendix 4 ~ Board Sub-groups 52 Appendix 5 ~ Team Job Descriptions 54

Trudy Morris, Chief Executive

Caithness Chamber of Commerce

Naver Business Centre

Naver House

Naver Road

Thurso

KW14 7QA

T: 01847 890076

E: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Executive Summary

From the inception of the proposal regular Employer & Stakeholder consultation has been paramount in

arriving at the bids’ final structure and content.

Significant consultation took place around the structure of the employer board and its sub-groups, the

content and formulation of the Key Performance Indicators.

Adjustments were made to the bid given their feedback. Around 96 employers, both large and small were

consulted along with key stakeholders (Highland Council, SDS, JCP, Schools & the College) and a number

of rural Sutherland community groups.

Summary:

Core Values and Principles – The Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional

Group will work to the highest standards and actively seek challenge.

Confirmation of the brief – The focus will be on meeting national objectives with North

Highland regional relevance.

Establishment of the Group – This is planned to be achieved by the end of August 2015.

Remit – The core activities relate to challenging and seeking to address skills gaps, seeking

to retain young talent in rural areas to develop the local economy, careers, careers

education, enterprise education, job-search skills, work experience, and industry

placements for pupils, teachers and college staff.

Composition – All stakeholders identified in the “Education Working for All” report will be

engaged at either Board level or in the proposed project teams.

Structure – The outline structure proposed consists of a strategic Employer led Board and

focused Sub-Groups. Together these form a regional Developing the Young Workforce

Group.

Governance – This will focus on public standards, strategic direction, accountability and

sustainability.

Staffing – The proposals envisage up to 4 FTEs plus secondees from industry.

Budget – We are working to the advised available budget of a minimum of c. £ 200 k p.a.

for three years but are seeking additional match funding to enable us to do more.

Action Plan – The initial action plan focuses on formation, development and

implementation of year 1 and planning for year 2. Long term sustainability will be a key

focus throughout.

Outcomes – these need to show quality interventions not just quantifiable ones. The

ultimate outcomes are jobs for young people; growth in our economy and meeting our

future business skills / job needs. The Regional Board will help to define additional ones

such as employability measures; number of employers engaged with education; measures

of job readiness.

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The headline KPIs have been identified as currently directed within the existing government

framework as:

Target: To achieve 100% of secondary schools (2 in the Caithness and 4 in Sutherland)

working in partnership with employers and to achieve this by the end of 2016

Target: To achieve 50% more pupils experiencing the benefits from partnership with

employers by 2018

Target: to increase by 74 the number of employers offering work inspiration activities to

schools

Target: To increase by 12 the proportion of companies offering internships by 2018

Target: To increase the number of apprentices by 33 by 2018

Target: To increase by 15 the proportion of companies offering apprenticeships by 2019

Target: To increase by 36 the number of employers achieving IiYP accreditation by 2019

Additional regional KPIs have been identified as:

Address the regional skills gaps

Increase the number of Young People being employed direct from School/College in the

local area by 40% by 2018 as a minimum

Increase the engagement of Young People in remote areas in their up-take of inspirational

work experience by 100% by 2018 as a minimum

Increase the number of employers in remote /very remote areas offering work

inspirational activities by 100% by 2018 as a minimum

Engage 180 parents /guardians in events raising awareness of industry sectors &

opportunities; employer visits; employer ambassador programmes; and young people’s

pathway plans1

Engage S1 - S3 pupils to develop sector pathway plans and to widen the knowledge as to

what job opportunities are available now and in the future – this will be different to others

models because it will be driven by employers

1A Pathway plan will detail a young person’s route through Our Developing Young People Workforce Pipeline

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Innovation

Innovative solutions and models are required to meet the objectives and outcomes for our young

people if we are to drive real change. It has been estimated that 53,000 young people are not in

work or in education across Scotland. According to the latest unemployment statistics there are

80 young people aged 18 – 24 who are unemployed in Caithness and Sutherland. This will only

include those that are registered with Job Centre Plus. Even as the economy continues to recover,

youth unemployment will continue to be a challenge and a major social and economic issue. The

majority of employers in this area will not have a young person policy and do not see young

people filling their future recruitment or skills plans, in the main because they feel they do not

have the skills required, even basic employability skills.

Barriers must be broken and ideas challenged. Is the current work experience model fit for

purpose? Is the positive destination idea relevant in today’s marketplace? We need to ensure

that our young people have a positive journey to ensure they are not unemployed and/or

unemployable. A positive destination can mean an individual goes to university for 3 or 4 years,

but still ends up being unemployed with degrees which are irrelevant to employers’ needs.

The Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group proposes to challenge and

change this through activities such as:

It will create pathway plans which will map the journey a young person can make to gain

the skills required to get a job in a particular sector. What will this look like?

o The initiative will partner with a local employer in a particular sector

o The employer will commit to guaranteeing a job for a young person on the proviso

the young person follows an agreed pathway plan – this will be a journey through

Our Developing Young People Workforce Pipeline – see the diagram on page 2

o The initiative, along with education partners, will commit to providing a range of

activities/actions in the pathway plan which will provide a young person with the

necessary skills and qualifications for the job

o The young person and their parents/guardians will be engaged to understand the

journey and the destination

o The ideal scenario is the young person will be employed locally but it is

acknowledged that some young people will exit the pipeline at various stages

depending on their destination but links with the employer will be maintained.

Young people can exit in the agreed knowledge that if the pathway is followed it

will either lead to a job or another destination such as further education or an

apprenticeship. Whatever the exit point they will achieve employability skills and

experience which will make them ‘employable’ at their journey’s end

o The initiative will ensure the interventions through the pipeline are quality

interventions and not just quantifiable.

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It will seek innovative solutions to engage and be directed by young people – by having a

young person on the Regional Board, the initiative will be able to develop activities and

methods of engagement which reach young people in an interesting and engaging manner.

This engagement would start in S1 and be repeated each year as education theory

suggests something needs to be learned 3 times before it registers.

Engagement will include:

o Interactive videos made by their peers on topics such as their journey; interviews;

work experience

o The use of the latest social media platforms

o A series of stage plays by their peers which demonstrate in a fun way what to do

and what not to do in the working environment covering off themes such as

employability skills/interviews/ the vetting process which has become a familiar

method for differentiating job candidates (similar idea to the John Cleese Training

DVDs)

o Case studies on the learning journey by other young people

o Networking events for young people from college, university, school and business

to come together to interact and learn about each other’s learning journeys

o Coaching and Mentoring

It will seek to engage parents/guardians early on in the initiative as these are the greatest

influence on a young person and the choices they make for their future. It will do this

through:

o The recruitment of a number of employer ambassadors who are also

parents/guardians who will be on hand at events; to lead industry visits

o Presentations/workshops on sector pathway plans for young people and their

parents/guardians

o Networking events

o Industry visits/open days

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Partnerships

For the success of the initiative to be realised it is vitally important that partnership working and

the building of relationships starts from day one.

Caithness Chamber of Commerce has already established working partnerships with the following

private and public sector organisations: Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Job Centre Plus (JCP),

Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE), the Highland Council (HC), Trade Unions, Federation of Small

Businesses, North Highland College and the 6 High Schools within the region (Dornoch, Farr,

Golspie, Kinlochbervie, Thurso and Wick). See the section National & Regional Priorities for how

these partnerships feed into a strategic Highland and National level.

The Chamber’s track record in leading initiatives and partnership working is described in more

detail in the section Experience & Expertise but can be summarised as follows:

It is the largest business organisation in the North Highland area (180+ members) bringing

together PLC’s, SMEs, third sector and sole traders from a variety of sectors

It has just completed the delivery of a £1.7m skills transition project funded by ESF, the

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and SDS, training over

770 individuals, engaging 40+ employers in the programme

It leads employability partners in delivering an annual jobs fair

It facilitates a partnership of transport providers and stakeholders (the Caithness Transport

Forum) and has done since 2012

It sits on the delivery group of the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership

(a partnership of Highland & Islands Enterprise, Highland Council, SDS, Dounreay, Nuclear

Decommissioning Authority, Scottish Government) as the private sector partner

Geographic context

The counties of Caithness and Sutherland have a long history of partnership working due to the

geography of the two counties and the impact of rurality that the geography confers.

Sutherland is one of the northern most counties of mainland Scotland. It is bounded north and

west by the Atlantic, east by Caithness, south-east by the North Sea and south by the shire of Ross

and Cromarty. It stretches from Cape Wrath to Drum Hollistan along the north coast; south to

Lochinver and Ledmore on the west; as far as Ardgay in the southeast. Its land area is around

1,297,846 acres or 2,028 square miles and has a population of around about 14,000. Sutherland

has one-eighth the total land area of the country.

Caithness is the most northerly county in mainland Britain, it covers an area of about 700 square

miles stretching from Dunnet Head in the north to the Ord of Caithness in the south, it has a

population of around 27,500. The towns of Thurso and Wick are the 4th and 5th largest settlements

in the region and its only land boundary is with the county of Sutherland to the south and west,

both are part of the Highland Region.

http://www.caithness.org/atoz/dunnet/index.htm

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Diagram 2: The North Highland Area

As a result of the geographical impact much of the key provision from HIE, SDS JCP and Employers’

forums etc. are focussed across the two counties with organisational management responsibilities

for the public sector also clustered that way.

From an education viewpoint Caithness has 2 Secondary Schools (Thurso HS & Wick HS) whilst

Sutherland has 4 (Golspie HS, Dornoch Academy, Farr HS & Kinlochbervie HS). Their parent college

is therefore the North Highland College UHI which has its main campus based in Thurso but also

has a subsidiary campus in Dornoch, Sutherland.

The Employment profile across the counties is markedly different. The Caithness economy has for

many years been based on Energy, (Nuclear, Oil & Gas) Engineering, Retail and Tourism

(Hospitality, Food & Drink, Visitor attractions). Its future employment opportunities will also be

available in the areas of Renewables (Marine & Wind Power), Business Services and Creative Arts

as these have been identified as key sectors for support and development through HIE and the

Scottish Government.

The Sutherland economy reflects its geography and is based around Tourism (Hospitality, Food &

Drink, and Visitor attractions), Rural Estates, Fishing related activities and the Retail Sector.

Many of the trades companies in the Sutherland area are micro-businesses.

In order to deliver the Recommendation 14 of the “Education Working for All” report it is essential

that the North Highland Invest in Young People group identify national and regional priorities that

will be addressed through the range of structures, agreed activities and identified KPIs for the area

that will deliver:

an improvement in employers’ engagement with schools and the college serving the North

Highland area

and

encourage and support employers to recruit more young people.

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Given the area/population density of Sutherland it is likely that Sutherland will be split into

3 zonal areas:

North Sutherland: covering the areas from Durness to Melvich

West Sutherland: covering the area of Lochinver

East Sutherland: covering the areas from Dornoch (inc Lairg) to Helmsdale

Diagram 3 below shows how these partnerships come together.

Diagram 3: DtYW Delivery Partnerships

Commercial In Confidence

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Experience and expertise

The general definition of leadership is:

"the ability to influence a group towards the achievement of goals"

The Commission for Developing Scotland’s Future Workforce sets out a clear plan of work to

improve the opportunities for young people across Scotland. We welcome the strong recognition

of the important role which employers play in achieving a fairer more equal Scotland.

Recommendation 14 calls for the creation of regional industry led Invest in Youth Groups to

provide leadership and a single point of contact between employers and education. More

generally the recommendation calls for:

A regional group to provide leadership and a single point of contact and support to

facilitate engagement between employers and education.

An action focused group to effect change and challenge and support employers.

Effective action to increase the number of young people entering the workplace.

Improved delivery of careers service and work experience.

Capacity building within SMEs and Micro-businesses.

Embedding youth employment policy within the business strategy.

We believe that the success of these tasks will depend on 5 key aspects;

The ability to engage successfully and credibly with employers in a short timescale.

The existence of Strong partnerships with key stakeholders across the North Highland area

A track record of supporting the delivery of employer led initiatives.

Ability to engage with SMEs and Micro-Businesses. 96 % of our membership base is SMEs.

A clear project managed programme of work for the first 12 months and an annual

programme of work developed for Years 2 and 3 of the initiative.

Caithness Chamber of Commerce Experience

Caithness Chamber of Commerce (CCoC) as the single point of contact, is in a strong position to

mobilise a North Highland Regional Group and deliver the proposed activity, and, as a trusted and

respected organisation is viewed as the bridge between the public and private sector. CCoC is

largest business organisation (180 + members) solely representing the North Highland region with

a track record of delivery in Caithness and north Sutherland and already starting to roll out and

support other initiatives in the rest of Sutherland. Although CCoC does not have a physical base in

Sutherland it will work in conjunction with the Sutherland Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

We already work with the FSB on joint events for the area.

Over the last four years (finishing in December 2014), CCoC has delivered a skills programme for

the Caithness and north Sutherland area which has seen some 770 individuals upskilled to


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diversify away from reliance on the Dounreay nuclear site. Through this initiative, CCoC project

managed £1.72m of public funding (£809k from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, £300k

from Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, £40k from Skills Development Scotland and £672k from the

European Social Fund). Through two Scottish Government European Social Fund audits on this

project it was shown to have excellent project management and financial records and accounting.

In its final claim it had “Approved Project costs £1,721,513.92 against Project Spend

£1,721,326.99, which is only £186.93 of underspend” with “Excellent financial management”

recorded.

CCoC is seen as a key private sector delivery partner for the public sector in this area and has

accessed funding to manage other projects – in total it has accessed and managed in excess of

£2m in the last 6 years. It has a track record for delivery and developing and sustaining

partnerships. It currently receives funding from Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and the Highland

Council to facilitate the Caithness Transport Forum, which brings together transport providers and

stakeholders with the aim of promoting a strong inter-connected road, rail, sea and air transport

to, from and within the county of Caithness for the economic, social and environmental benefit of

the residents of Caithness. It engages with government, business and statutory agencies to inform

and influence the planning and delivery of transport infrastructure and services for Caithness. The

fact this continues to be funded after 3 years demonstrates its worth, which can only be achieved

through working in partnership. CCoC has also led employability partners in holding annual Jobs

Events and has been working with the local High Schools mentoring students on the Young

Enterprise programme, as well as being an active partner in the local employability groups.

CCoC is the private sector partner in the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership

which is a partnership of the main public sector bodies (Scottish Government, Nuclear

Decommissioning Authority, HIE, Highland Council, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd, Skills

Development Scotland) with a remit to address the socio-economic effects of decommissioning at

the Dounreay site and skills is a key priority of this partnership.

CCoC has obtained endorsement from the Partnership for a Developing the Young Workforce

North Highland Regional Group which has resulted in the initiative being added as a major

initiative to the region’s action plan, ensuring buy-in and support from these key partners.

Many of the key skills development and employer engagement agencies such as Skills

Development Scotland (SDS), Job Centre Plus (JCP), Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the

Highland Council (HC) have a North Highland zoned managerial theme with their key managers

operating and based within the North Highland area. CCoC has already engaged with these groups

as part of the wider consultative process associated with commencing the initiative and its

objectives.

At a workshop convened in February in Caithness attended by Employers, Key stakeholders, the

regional College and Schools and a subsequent follow-up one in March in Sutherland, it was

unanimously agreed that Caithness Chamber of Commerce will be the host organisation acting on

behalf of the North Highland Regional Group.


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The employment sectors that have been identified for the North Highland area are:

Caithness: Energy, (Nuclear, Oil & Gas) Engineering, Retail and Tourism (Hospitality, Food & Drink,

Visitor attractions), Renewables (Marine & Wind Power).

Sutherland: Tourism (Hospitality, Food & Drink, and Visitor attractions), Rural Estates, Fishing &

related activities and the Retail Sector.

The Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group will focus on the following as

a minimum:

Promote and facilitate the formation of long term partnerships between individual schools,

the local regional college and employers, providing supporting proforma documentation for

the creation of the partnerships;

Facilitate employers’ input to activity such as career advice, enterprise education and job

search skills in schools;

Enhance and improve the provision of careers information through knowledge sharing and

co-ordination of industry placements for teachers and career professionals;

Co-ordinate employer participation in the design and delivery of accredited good quality

work experience and work placement for young people;

Support SMEs to build capacity to recruit and train young people;

Promote local campaigns to encourage companies to have an Invest in Youth Policy and to

employ more young people;

Present the business case benefits of employing young people to employers in the region

and support plans to increase the recruitment of Modern Apprentices;

Encourage large businesses to work with their supply chain to promote employment of

more young people;

Promote the Investors in Youth accolade to recognise significant engagement by employers

in developing a youth strategy, engaging with schools and colleges and employing more

young people. Support the introduction of an equivalent award to be developed for schools

and colleges;

Appoint IIY Ambassadors - individuals from within the North Highland community that

currently are leading best practice and will provide peer support to employers and schools;

and

Raise awareness of equalities issues in the training and recruitment of young people.


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In order to achieve the minimum delivery output for the initiative each of the “Aspects” have been

MAPPED to a methodology and ALLOCATED to a LEAD sub-group of the Regional Board (RB). There

are five proposed Working Groups.

Working Group 1: Projects & Communications

Working Group 2: Career Skills Development

Working Group 3: College & Schools

Working Group 4: Employment & Work Experience

Working Group 5: Education Business Partnerships

These groups will be short-term. Once they have performed their function they will be collapsed.

Members of the Regional Board will chair the sub-groups to ensure there is no fragmentation of

the overall objectives and everything is fed back into the main board.

If the Regional Board deem that they wish to develop additional outputs then these will be added

to the list and allocated appropriately.

Membership of the working groups will be organic and dependant on the project being worked

on.

This initial mapping exercise is summarised in Table 4 below.


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Aspect Methodology Lead Sub-Group

Promote and facilitate the formation of long term partnerships between individual schools, the local regional college and employers, providing supporting proforma documentation for the creation of the partnerships;

The promotion will be achieved through the established partnerships. The Chamber will facilitate this through its membership network and that of the FSB through the North Highland Region.

1

Facilitate employers’ input to activity such as career advice, enterprise education and job search skills in schools;

A strategic review of current activities in these areas will be carried out. Best practice and gap analysis will advise the group of the development needs.

2

Enhance and improve the provision of careers information through knowledge sharing and co-ordination of industry placements for teachers and career professionals;

Develop an annual industry placement scheme for education staff & career professionals using the Chamber/FSB employer network.

5

Co-ordinate employer participation in the design and delivery of accredited good quality work experience and work placement for young people;

Direct links with key existing employers, schools & college to develop and implement universal systems, policy & procedures. Database developed.

4


Wide engagement with employers through multiple business associations is proposed.

4

Promote local campaigns to encourage companies to have an Invest in Youth Policy and to employ more young people;

This action will be one of the components of a Communications work stream to be developed by a dedicated Executive Team. Existing business networks will be fully utilised to achieve this.

5

Present the business case benefits of employing young people to employers in the region and support plans to increase the recruitment of Modern Apprentices;


1

Encourage large businesses to work with their supply chain to promote employment of more young people;


1

Promote the Investors in Youth accolade to recognise significant engagement by employers in developing a youth strategy, engaging with schools and colleges and employing more young people. Support the introduction of an equivalent award to be developed for schools and colleges;


1 & 5

Appoint IIY Ambassadors - individuals from within the North Highland community that currently are leading best practice and will provide peer support to employers and schools; and

Building on the STEM ambassador network a model will be developed that will extend the practice to other employability sectors.

3

Raise awareness of equalities issues in the training and recruitment of young people

The challenge here is equality of access to opportunities for training and recruitment. Ambitious models will be developed to assist that individuals are not denied access to opportunity based on geography alone.

All


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Structures

Regional Board

The “Education Working for All” report states that the Regional DtYW group should:

“draw its board members from the region’s employer and education communities and support

from national organisations including SDS, the enterprise agencies, DWP23, Trade Unions and

Trade Associations”.

In order meet this criteria and to maintain the essential balance between effective strategic

management, implementation and wide ownership, we propose a Board with a wider council of

interests drawn from all key stakeholders that reflects both the geography and employability

aspects across the North Highland landscape.

See Appendix 4 for confirmed representatives for the Regional Board.

Diagram 4: Regional Board Core Function, Composition and Structure

Regional Board meetings will alternate between Caithness and Sutherland and the use of video

conferencing will be utilised to ensure access to the meetings.

The role and remit of the Regional Board and sub-groups will be confirmed by the Board as an

early priority.


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Employer Delivery Board Sub-Groups

It is essential that the employer led delivery board sub-groups (Working Groups) structure reflect

the deliverables within the key priorities of the Regional Group. The initial structures (Diagram X)

below indicate our thinking. As the initiative progresses additional groups may be formed and

once a group has delivered its function then it will be collapsed. It is essential that the structures

continue to reflect the national and regional priorities over the lifetime of the initiative.

The Regional Board will nominate the working group chairs and each group will have a maximum

of 10 persons. Group membership will reflect the specialisms and contacts required to deliver

their scope.

Given the widespread geography of the North Highland area it is very likely that sub-groups will be

formed in both Caithness and Sutherland to reflect the different geographical dynamic and ensure

equality of access opportunity. All sub-groups will have a clear Scope and KPIs and report its

progress back through the chair to the Regional Board.

Diagram 5: Employer Led Sub-group Structures

The sub-groups will have to develop clearly defined Work Packages that will deliver the KPIs

developed and associated with the specific work package.

Given the vast geographic area required to be covered, and the difference in employer profiles

and employment opportunities it is envisaged that there will be a requirement to have some of

these groups operating in more than 1 zone.


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The proposed distribution is:

Sub-group Caithness & North Sutherland

East Sutherland West Sutherland

Projects & Communications

1 group covering all 3 Zones

Career Skills Development


Schools & College


Employment & Work Experience

Yes Yes Yes

Education Business Partnerships

Yes Yes Yes

Working groups will initially have responsibility for the following work packages but it is

anticipated as the initiative develops and the groups meet, that others will be developed alongside

delivery of the KPIs:

Working Group 1: Projects & Communications:

sending regular communications up-dates to Employers and Stakeholders and the wider

community in order to keep them engaged and to get regular feedback

auditing existing communication methods to ascertain those appropriate for

communication i.e. certain websites such as www.hi-hope.org

devising a suite of communication methods to engage young people and their

parents/guardians, in particular those in the remoter areas of the region

devising a suite of communication methods to engage employers, in particular those in the

remoter areas of the region & small/micro businesses

developing & presenting business case benefits for employers

developing a database of ambassadors and employer/work experience contacts/activities

across the region (in conjunction with Working Group 3)

development & delivery of annual Jobs Fairs across Caithness & Sutherland

general publicity and marketing of the initiative

developing regular awareness raising events, industry seminars, employer visits

Working Group 2: Career Skills Development:

utilising the recent guidance document frameworks (Career Education Standard (3-18) -

currently out for consultation) from Education Scotland as a basis for their deliberations,

they will initially carry out a strategic review of what the current level of activity is, areas of

existing good practice, determine if this is fit for purpose, determine a gap analysis and

then suggest and implement potential solutions. These will be aligned with the KPIs and

other working group outcomes

http://www.hi-hope.org/


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Working Group 3: College & Schools:

the development & implementation of Foundation apprenticeship models in conjunction

with employers

the development of additional school / college link vocational courses

ensuring school/college courses are aligned with employer requirements

ensuring the sector pathway plans are developed & mapped out between school / college/

employers

Working Group 4: Employment & Work Experience:

utilising the recent guidance document frameworks (Draft Standard for Work Placements -

currently out for consultation) from Education Scotland as a basis for their deliberations,

they will initially carry out a strategic review of what the current level of activity is, areas of

existing good practice, determine if this is fit for purpose, determine a gap analysis and

then suggest and implement potential solutions. These will be aligned with the KPIs

reviewing equality of access to work experience and employment opportunities for those

in remoter areas of the region and devising new models to overcome these barriers

Working Group 5: Education Business Partnerships:

carrying out a strategic review and audit of the current level and type of activity and

contacts and then seeking to formalise and create ambassadors. As part of this review

they will utilise the guidance document frameworks (Guidance on School Employer

Partnerships – due out for consultation in the autumn) from Education Scotland to assist in

their deliberations

creating an ambassador programme to co-ordinate and lead industry visits, coaching and

mentoring, participation in networking events and open days; and developing case studies

co-ordinating new activity and inspirational work, ensuring this initiative becomes the one-

stop shop in the region

working with and supporting new employers (either to the area or to the young people

agenda) to link into this initiative thereby co-ordinating any new and existing work streams

and activity

developing IiYP workshops and roll-out the IiYP standard across the region

developing a model for Teacher Placements (inc type, nature & duration)

From a Strategic, Operational and Financial perspective it is essential that the work packages and

the enabling activities are strongly managed using strong and robust “Project and Risk

Management” practices and protocols.


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Regional Board meetings will be scheduled initially monthly and thereafter quarterly. These will be

diarised along with the meeting location on an annual basis. In between these meetings the

employer-led sub-groups will hold their work stream / enabling activity meetings. The frequency

of these meetings will be decided by the sub-group members themselves.

Diagram 6 below shows the integration and communication mechanism between the Regional

Board and the delivery sub-groups.

Diagram 6: Regional Board / Sub-group Interactions

An expanded structure for each of the above groups is contained in Appendix 3 and contains their

Core Function and Scope.


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Chamber Executive Team

This team will be a multi-skilled team and will carry out day to day activity for the Regional Group.

The team may be further enhanced by the inclusion of key secondees from both the public and

private sectors. These members may include individuals drawn, as appropriate from organisations

who already have experience in bringing employers into the education and training system. We

already have one secondee confirmed from Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.

We are seeking funding to support 4 FTEs - see appendix 5 for draft job descriptions.

Diagram 7: DtYW Executive Team


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National & Regional Priorities

It is essential that we take stock of the range and scope of initiatives associated with Skills

Development, Employability and the modernisation of the Schools’ Curriculum that are currently

being implemented, and ensure that this will complement and strengthen the Developing the

Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group.

To this end we have reflected on the recent Scottish Government Economic Strategy and The

Highland Council’s Single Outcome Agreement which will direct and shape the delivery of the

Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group.

Scottish Government

The Economic Strategy provides a plan for all of Scotland and focuses on four main themes –

Investing in our people, Innovation, Inclusive Growth and Internationalisation.

Investing in our people, infrastructure and assets through

preparing young people for employment through widening access to higher education and

extending a wide range of high quality learning through the implementation of Developing

Scotland’s Young Workforce

Highland Council

The Highland Council are currently developing a strategic approach through their proposed Single

Outcome Agreement (SOA). Whilst very wide ranging, it focuses on the Scottish Government’s

priorities in tandem with their own regional priorities.

From an Invest in Young People perspective two aspects from their proposed SOA are

Skills & Employability and

Employment

Skills and Employability – the region has sector Skills Investment Plans (SIP’s) via SDS, that are

evidence based and aligned with the key growth sectors. The development of these plans will link

into emerging plans for the Employment strand of the SOA.

Employment

Employment Outcomes are to widen participation in the labour market across all client groups and

across all Highland geographies and to ensure that young people can enter the labour market with

aspiration, skills and experience.


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Taking cognisance of “other” aspects viz Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and the Regional Colleges

agreement (NHC & UHI), then the 5 components of the Regional Strategic change themes/work

streams can be summarised thus:

Broad

General

Education

Lead Partner

Highland

Council

College

Lead Partner

UHI

Apprentices

Lead Partner

SDS

Employers

Lead Partner

Invest in

Youth Group

Senior Phase

Curriculim

&

Colleges

Lead Partner

Highland

Council

Following consultation with Highland Council in Inverness, The Developing the Young Workforce

North Highland Regional Group will address the local delivery aspect from the Employers

perspective.

The key themes of the North Highland bid are

DtYW

InspirationalWork

Activities

Employment

IiYP Accolade

Careers

Advice


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Other Funding Sources & Assistance

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)

As mentioned earlier in the proposal, we are seeking match funding from the Nuclear

Decommissioning Authority. The NDA has a socio economic policy to help support the

development of healthy and diversified economies in the communities affected by the

adverse social and economic impacts of the decommissioning and clean-up of its sites. The

initiative fits with the NDA Socio Economic policy in the following way:

It meets the following objectives

enhancing the opportunity for local people to be involved in decommissioning workthrough education, retraining and skills development;

supporting the diversification of local economies into other sectors - reducing thereliance of communities on nuclear sites for employment by increasing the number,variety and vibrancy of local businesses, promoting entrepreneurshipand attracting new enterprises;

As such we are seeking an additional £60k p.a. to enable us to create innovative solutions, to

ensure young people have equality of access to opportunities, as well as ensuring employers

in these areas, are engaged through this programme. We have already had preliminary

favourable discussions with the NDA and as a result, have submitted an application. We

expect the result to be known in the next 6 weeks.

Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL)

DSRL is still a major employer in the area and the clean-up is not expected to finish until

2030. They have an intensive period of work on the horizon and currently have a shortage of

skilled personnel. There is therefore an opportunity to work with the site to increase their

engagement and opportunities for young people through this initiative. In light of this DSRL

have agreed a secondee to the Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional

Group to co-ordinate their activities. It will also ensure that contractors to the site feed into

this agenda. DSRL seek to embed socio economic clauses into their procurement and

tendering processes, requiring contractors to demonstrate how they will contribute to the

local economy. This might be the recruitment of local labour, the creation of apprenticeships

or work experience for young people. The DSRL secondee will be the conduit between these

contractors and the Regional Group thereby enhancing the opportunities for young people

and providing a co-ordinated approach. Currently this is disjointed. By co-ordinating and

controlling to some degree this activity, the opportunities these contractors offer can be

maximised. It also provides a unique opportunity to drive this agenda, providing new

contractors with models and activities they can get involved in. Promoting this as a best

practice model will help to secure involvement from other contractors not related to the site

who are working in the region.


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The scope of the secondment is proposed as follows:

Inspirational Activities DSRL will work with the Chamber of Commerce to support the Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group by supporting the Inspirational programme of activities.

Events The support provided by DSRL will relate to the following events in the Caithness area:

Speed Careers: To aid students in making informed decisions on subject choices forlater employment

Ready, Steady, Work: An event aimed at providing students with the opportunity tolearn skills including self-development, life, job aspirations, CV preparation and mockinterview practice, an insight into local industry and potential job opportunitieslocally.Engineering Industry Day: Advice on how young people should prepare for applying forapprenticeships and interviews.

Mentoring DSRL will support the Chamber to deliver similar events in Sutherland by providing mentoring an individual(s) identified to organise these activities in Sutherland.

Dounreay Activities DSRL will continue to support the development of young people through

Work experience activities. Subject to operational constraints, these may includeinternships and work experience opportunities.

Procurement opportunities. Subject to procurement legislation, develop andimplement relevant procurement strategies which encourage contractors, working atthe Dounreay site, to engage in the development of young people in the Dounreaytravel to work area.

DSRL will provide a single point of contact to provide information on the Dounreayactivities to the Chamber of Commerce.

Resource The estimated resource to be provided by DSRL to support the above

Inspirational Activities: 20 person days per annum. Dounreay Activities: 12 person days per annum

The estimated benefit in kind is £15,000 p.a.

As the initiative develops we will also be exploring other in-kind partnerships with other

agencies / organisations.


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Objectives/Outcomes/Targets

Baseline Data Basic baseline data has been collected and this has been used to formulate the initial KPIs set out in Table 5. This information has been gleaned from analysis of SDS returns for MA and school leaver destination statistics, Highland Council school projection data. It is noted that most of the schools in the North Highland area are indicating a drop in the secondary school populations over the next 5 years.

The collection of additional data is currently underway and the Regional Board may wish other data to be collected which will inform the additional KPIs that will be developed for each of the working groups e.g. number of young people going into FE/HE to pursue a vocational course. As cited earlier in this document the Sutherland area will be divided into three separate zones, each distinct in terms of their employability sectors and the employability opportunities. Therefore the baseline data collected from each of these zones if aggregated may skew a Sutherland regional picture and therefore consideration will be given as to how this baseline data is to be used to develop additional zonal based KPIs.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) KPIs represent a set of measures focusing on those aspects of performance that are the most critical for the current and future success of this particular initiative.

We have set initial PRIMARY KPIs consistent with national ambition and local priorities. We will continue to monitor the relevance of the KPIs to the North Highland area and agree any changes with the Scottish Government.

We have identified and drawn out a number of KPI’s that will hopefully address the issue of Equality of Access for our young people who live in Remote or Very Remote areas (particularly Sutherland.

It was also felt that as parents/guardians are huge influencers some are also employers then it would be helpful to engage these individuals in the processes.

The Developing the Young Workforce initiative is primarily aimed at the Senior Phase and again it was felt that if we could start to engage the young people as early as possible then it would be good practice to start to get them engaged in some form (mainly careers advice knowledge of present & future employment opportunities) from S1-S3. This means when they have entered the Senior phase they have an awareness and knowledge built up over 3 years.

These initial targets are being set by the Developing the Young Workforce North Highland Regional Group but success will be based on agreement and joint working with relevant partners including Skills Development Scotland, Highland Council, Investors in People and other stakeholders.

These targets can only be met if the partners agree them and provide funding and support where required.


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The overall aspirations are:

North Highland KPI Summary Targets KPI Baseline 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

No. of Young People being Employed direct from School / College

28 31 39 53

No. of Modern Apprenticeships (MA’s) aged 16 - 24

79 85 87 99

No. of Employers Recruiting MA’s aged 16 - 24

61 64 66 78

No. of Companies participating in the IiYP Accolade

2 7 10 15

No of Schools/College Formal Business Partnerships

0 6 6 6

KPIs with Local Priorities No. of Young People from Remote / Very Remote areas Participating in Inspirational Work Activities

12 40 58 94

No. of Employers in Remote / Very Remote areas offering Inspirational Work Activities

2 11 21 33

The Engagement of Parents/Guardians in a range of initiative events 0 28 51 78

No of S1 - S3 pupils engaged in the development of Sector Pathway Plans

0 83 98 118

Table 5: Baseline Data & PRIMARY KPI Summary

The tables below indicate how the North Highland area would deliver the primary KPI’s based on a tri-zonal approach across the area. Each zonal KPI takes into account the geography of the zone and the employment opportunity profiles that currently exist.


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Table 5a:

Table : Caithness & North Sutherland Zone Targets

KPI Baseline 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19


15 15 20 30


58 60 60 70

No. of Employers Recruiting MA’s 40 40 40 50


1 3 5 7


0 3 3 3

KPIs with Local Priorities (based on School Rolls) No. of Young People from Remote / Very Remote areas Participating in Inspirational Work Activities

12 24 30 60


2 8 12 18

The Engagement of Parents / Guardians in a range of initiative events

0 20 35 50

No of S1-S3 pupils engaged in the development of Sector Pathway Plans

0 50 60 70


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Table 5b:

Table : East Sutherland Zone Targets

KPI Baseline 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19


10 12 14 16


23 24 26 28



1 3 3 4


0 2 2 2


0 12 24 30


0 2 6 10

The Engagement of Parents / Guardians in a range of initiative events

0 6 12 20


0 25 30 40


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Table 5c:

Table : West Sutherland Zone Targets

KPI Baseline 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19


3 4 5 6


0 1 1 1



0 1 2 4


0 1 1 1


0 4 4 4


0 1 3 5

The Engagement of Parents/Guardians in a range of initiative events

0 2 4 8


0 8 8 8

The PRIMARY (P) KPIs are key to the successful delivery in terms of National outputs.

In order to deliver the primary KPIs it is essential that a set of SECONDARY KPIs are developed to support and enhance the activities in order that the primary KPIs are sustainable. Additional secondary KPIs, if required, can be developed as the initiative progresses.


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It is paramount that the Regional Group engages parents/guardians as well as young people as they have a huge influence over the type of activities the young person engages in and a number of parents/guardians in the area are also employers.


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The SECONDARY (S) KPIs are those KPIs which will assist and support the delivery of the primary KPIs. These are illustrated in the narrative below.

These secondary KPIs will be set in terms of outputs on a zonal basis, similar to the primary KPIs. The levels will be set in terms of aspiration.

Stand Alone PROJECT or ACTIVITY.

Promote and facilitate the formation of long term partnerships between individual schools, the local regional college and employers, providing supporting proforma documentation for the creation of the partnerships;

Develop & increase the number of formal Education-Business partnerships between the local school and the employers by 5 per annum ( 1 partnership per 100 pupils) Develop & increase the number of formal Education-Business partnerships between the local College and the employers by 3 per annum

Facilitate employers’ input to activity such as career advice, enterprise education and job search skills in schools;

Increase the number of Employers participating in providing CAREERS ADVICE by 25% per annum

Increase the number of Employers participating in providing ENTERPRISE ACTIVITY 15% per annum

Increase the number of Employers participating in providing JOB SEARCH ACTIVITY 20% per annum

Enhance and improve the provision of careers information through knowledge sharing and co-ordination of industry placements for teachers and career professionals;

Increase the number of Industry Placements available for education professionals by 15 per annum Increase the UPTAKE of available Industry Placements for education professionals by 6 per annum

Co-ordinate employer participation in the design and delivery of accredited good quality work experience and work placement for young people;

Engage a number of Employers in the design and delivery of high quality Work Experience/Placements and increase the numbers by 25% on an annual basis Develop an accredited Employer led Work Experience / Work placement programme


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Increase the number of SME’s supported by 10% p.a to enable them to train young people Increase the number of SME’s supported to by 10% p.a to enable them to recruit young people

Promote local campaigns to encourage companies to have an Invest in Youth Policy and to employ more young people;

Develop a generic IiYP policy that can be adopted by individual companies Increase annually the number of promotional events to assist companies to develop & create/adopt their IiYP policy Increase annually the number of Companies with a IiYP policy willing to employ additional young people

Present the business case benefits of employing young people to employers in the region and support plans to increase the recruitment of Modern Apprentices;

Develop a programme of activities by the end of Year 1 to engage & encourage businesses to increase the recruitment of modern apprenticeships Support & participate in the ANNUAL Apprentice week Events Support & participate in an annual JOBS FAIR

Encourage large businesses to work with their supply chain to promote employment of more young people;

Ensure that large business delivering projects have specific clauses in their tender / sub-contract documentation to promote the employment of young people either directly or through a modern apprenticeship


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Promote the Investors in Youth accolade to recognise significant engagement by employers in developing a youth strategy, engaging with schools and colleges and employing more young people. Support the introduction of an equivalent award to be developed for schools and colleges;

Run IiYP awareness raising workshops for employers in each of the regional zones on an ANNUAL basis Increase the number of Companies achieving IiYP accolade by 10% on an annual basis

Appoint IIY Ambassadors - individuals from within the North Highland community that currently are leading best practice and will provide peer support to employers and schools; and

Develop an IiYP ambassador Programme (non-STEM) by end of year 1 of the programme. Increase the range of non-STEM Ambassadors engaging with schools by 15% per annum

It is the belief that for the North Highland area the “Equalities” issues are one of “Equality of Access” to employment opportunities and activities that their

peers in non-remote areas can access. This will be one of the key focuses of the initiative.

Raise awareness of equalities issues in the training and recruitment of young people.

Increase the engagement of Employers in remote/very remote areas offering inspirational work activities by over the lifetime of the initiative Increase the engagement of Young people in remote areas in their up-take of inspirational work experience over the lifetime of the initiative


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Long Term Benefits

There are a number of significant long term benefits that can be delivered through this

initiative. Key stakeholders and general public have little knowledge of what potential lies

ahead in terms of jobs and socio-economic activities over the next decade. Activities and

initiatives are sometimes not well known and more than often not co-ordinated across key

partnerships and community based views are often based on the lack of information. In order

to be economically prosperous in the future, it is imperative that this is addressed so that we

will have the right people with the right skills at the right time with experience to service

these future industries. That future workforce must be based on the young people of today,

those making choices in the High Schools and going through Further/Higher education right

now. Through the inclusion and engagement of parents/guardians, this Developing the Young

Workforce Regional Group will deliver a real change in the way the local community thinks

about the long term future of the area and how they can play a part in shaping and directing

this.

It will also provide a clear step change in the way employers view education and the

perceived benefits of employing young people with the Regional Group providing a one stop

shop for employability and work experience activities and initiatives, which employers can

easily link and partner with.

It is a real opportunity to enable the co-ordination across multiple parties, to focus their

efforts and resources in an efficient and co-ordinated manner, which will deliver clear and

tangible development and employment opportunities to our young people over the next

decade for the socio-economic benefit of our North Highland community.

Building on Existing Activities Over the past few years there have been a number of activities designed and led by a few

engineering employers in the area. They have felt the need to develop these as key

recruitment tools for their sector. The general feedback from the industry is that the

applicants who participated in these activities were better prepared for the employment

process and indeed performed better than those individuals who had not participated in the

programmes.

The Developing the Young Workforce initiative will review these activities and expand and

extend this type of provision into other industry sectors across the North Highland area. It

will also take what works well in regards to work experience and look to create a model ‘fit

for purpose’ across the region. This has currently broken down in Caithness.

Examples of these initiatives are detailed below:

There are a number of current industry led activities being piloted with 2 Caithness Schools


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Activity Title Ready Steady Work

Description A 4 day Summer School hosted by the College but led, staffed & funded by a local employer

Funded Sponsored by Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd

Audience S4 – S6 Pupils

Content Pupils apply to attend the programme through an initial selection process. The focus is on the individual and covers: ME PLC ~ whole skills review and job-search skills, industry visits, CV preparation, mock Interviews with feedback ~ based on a set of standard industry questions. The college input is to give the provision of study options with regards to Vocational Programmes.

Current Impact Prepares individuals for job applications & interviews as per industry standards

Value Added Pupils get access to an experience that is not part of the mainstream school provision

DtYW Future Benefit

Working Group 2 (Career Skills Development) will carry out a strategic reviewof the current provision for careers skills development including industry ledinitiatives such as the Ready Steady Work, SDS’s careers advice, ‘My World ofWork’, Engineering Industry Day - ensuring there is linkage and notduplication

To develop and extend this industry model across the North Highland areatailoring the provision around the industry needs in each of the 3 Sutherlandzones (one of the KPIs under Inspirational Work Activities)

Activity Title Engineering Industry Day

Description A 1 day programme aimed at those individuals who are seeking to apply for an Engineering Apprenticeship

Funded Supported by those engineering employers who annually recruit apprentices for their 4 year Apprenticeship programme

Audience S4 Pupils

Content Pupils are given mock application forms which must be completed and returned prior to the event day along with their accompanying CV. These are reviewed by the various engineering employers, providing suggestions for improvement for their application forms & CV’s. A session on interview skills & what to expect on the day ~ e.g. skills tests. They also have an opportunity to discuss aspects of work with current apprentices. There is also a session by the College/SDS in terms of “options” if they are unsuccessful in applying for an apprenticeship.

Current Impact Prepares individuals better for job applications & interviews as per industry standards

Value Added Pupils get access to an experience that is not part of the mainstream school provision

DtYW Future Benefit

Working Group 2 (Career Skills Development) will carry out a strategic reviewof the current provision for careers skills development including industry ledinitiatives such as the Ready Steady Work, SDS’s careers advice, ‘My World ofWork’, Engineering Industry Day - ensuring there is linkage and notduplication

To develop and extend this industry model across the North Highland areatailoring the provision around the industry needs in each of the 3 Sutherlandzones (one of the KPIs under Inspirational Work Activities)

To develop ‘Industry Days’ for other key sectors who employ apprenticesacross the North Highland area tailoring the provision around the industryneeds in each of the zones (one of the KPIs under Inspirational WorkActivities)


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Activity Title Bridge to Employment (BTE)

Description This is a 3 year programme commencing at the end of S3

Funded Highland Council/HIE/UHI/Highlands & Islands Airports (HIAL)

Audience S4 pupils ~ programme is completed by the end of S6

Content Pupils apply for participation on the programme via an application process. Each year has a structured programme consisting of Programme Induction, Pre-employment training based around the companies who sponsor the activity, a dragons den experience, employment, residential experience etc. At the end of the 3 years the participants are put into teams and have to produce a poster encapsulating their experience and also have to make a formal presentation to a panel of judges who decide the winner.

Current Impact Positive long term youth development over a period of time, awareness of local opportunities

Value Added Experience opportunities and work placements not normally part of the mainstream provision. Also requires them to develop a range of personal/interpersonal skills

DtYW Future Benefit

Working Group 5 (Education Business Partnerships) will carry out a strategicreview of the current provision including the Bridge to Employment initiative -ensuring there are measurable outcomes

Currently the BTE only has Wick and Thurso High Schools partnered with oneemployer, HIAL - develop and extend these partnerships across the NorthHighland area tailoring the provision around the different industry needs and withother schools (one of the headline KPIs - pupils experiencing the benefits frompartnership with employers)

This activity is being trialled in the East Sutherland zone with one of the schools

Activity Title Work Experience / Employer Engagement in provision of Employability skills

Description Using the ASDAN QUALIFICATION as a potential route to the Certification of Employability Skills

Funded Through the Highland Council & the School

Audience S4 – S6 pupils who participate in the schools work experience programme

Content Pupils have an induction into the process, are provided with the appropriate books for recording their experiences/ skills as part of their preparation for their work experience. Employers engage in the process and assist the pupil in their development & record their skills. Post work experience the pupils are assessed and certificated as appropriate.

Current Impact Pupils and the employer take responsibility of finding and providing the employability skills required for that particular work placement. These are formally recorded and assessed.

Value Added Engages employers with regards to providing the requisite employability skills linked to a specific work experience placement. Pupils get recognition & a recognised qualification as SCQF 5

DtYW Future Benefit

Working Group 4 (Employment & Work Experience) will carry out a strategicreview of the current provision to assess suitability for both employer & pupil

The work experience model has all but collapsed in Caithness - develop ‘fit forpurpose’ industry led work experience models (one of the headline KPIs – schoolsworking in partnership with employers)

To develop and extend ‘a fit for purpose’ model across the North Highland areatailoring the provision around the industry needs in Caithness and the otherSutherland Schools – ensuring equality of access for those in the remoter areas ofthe region (one of the headline of the KPIs – schools working in partnership withemployers and one of the regional KPIs - increase the engagement of YoungPeople in remote areas in their up-take of inspirational work experience)


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Project and Risk Management

Risk Management: “If you fail to plan then you plan to fail”

Project management is the process and activity of planning, organising, motivating, and controlling resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals in scientific or daily problems. A project is a temporary endeavour designed to produce a unique product, service or result with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints. The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget. The secondary — and more ambitious — challenge is to optimise the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.

It is essential that the initiative is appropriately and carefully scoped out and planned before the delivery phase takes place. To this end we have consulted with partners and have started to put the Regional Board together. The next couple of months will see this develop further, with the delivery stage starting in October 2015 subject to successful funding applications to the Scottish Government and NDA.

Appendix 1 contains the initial Plan. This plan will be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any planned new activities but will be used as the tool to ensure that the scope of the Developing the Young Workforce Regional Group targets are adhered to for reporting purposes.

Risk Management

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritisation of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimise, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximise the realisation of opportunities. Risk management’s objective is to assure uncertainty does not deviate the endeavour from the business or project goals.

The chosen method of identifying risks may depend on culture, industry practice and compliance. The common risk identification method for this initiative will be based around an objectives based risk identification.

Appendix 2 contains a Risk and Issue log that has been developed to record the challenges that are currently visible along with the suggested risk mitigation strategies. This log will be updated on a monthly basis with other issues that will arise and will have to be addressed during the life of the initiative.

The Regional Board will review the risks and issues during their schedule of meetings and update the log accordingly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget


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Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting

Governance and Accountability It is essential that an initiative of this importance is held accountable and is progressed and enabling activities are regular monitored, evaluated and reported on. The proposed mechanism for this is outlined below:

Diagram 8 : Governance & Accountability Model

Accountability and Public standards

The normal standards in public life will apply as directed by Scottish Government and the national lead.


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Monitoring & Reporting

It is proposed that quarterly reports will be produced and forwarded to the Scottish Government lead. A six monthly report, which will demonstrate performance against KPIs and budget, will be also be produced along with a full annual report and an overall end of funding evaluation and report.

The team will also be open to sharing best practice and results with the National Board where appropriate.


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Appendices

Appendix 1: DtYW Initiative Plan Outline

Appendix 2: Risk Register & Issues

Appendix 3: Regional Board Delivery Sub-groups

Appendix 4: Regional Board Membership

Appendix 5: Draft Job Descriptions


Page 45 of 58

Appendix 1

DtYW Plan Outline

(Bid Preparation & Pre-Planning Phases)

See attached PDF's


Page 46 of 58

Appendix 2

Risk & Issue Register

(Application Phase only)


Page 47 of 58

A risk and issue log has been developed to record the challenges that are currently visible

along with the suggested risk mitigation strategies. This log will be updated on a monthly

basis with other issues that will arise and will have to be addressed during the life of the

initiative.

The DtYW Executive Team will review the risks and issues during their schedule of meetings

and update the log accordingly.

The following tables outline the rationale behind the colour coding attached to each

identified risk.

Probability Impact Diagram

Impact / Severity

VH 5 10 15 20 25

H 4 8 12 16 20

M 3 6 9 12 15

L 2 4 6 8 10

VL 1 2 3 4 5

VL L M H VH

Likelihood

Key Red Pink Gold Dark Green

Light Green

Risk Severity (RS) Very High

20 - 25

High

12 - 16

Medium

8 - 10

Low

4 - 6

Very Low

1 - 3

Once the Risk rating is reduced to Very Low it is removed from the register.

Developing the Young Workforce (DtYW) Initiative

Risk Register (July 2015)


Page 48 of 58

The following table highlights the risks identified to date with suggested mitigating actions in place or being considered to reduce the potential harm to the defined Work Stream or sub-element within the work stream.

Risk Ratings as of July 2015 with previous month’s position

Work Stream: Bid Application

Element Risk

NoDescription of Risk I P RS Mitigation Strategy

Current

Status

Previous

Status

Initiative

Endorsement 1

Initiative bid is not supported by key

potential partners & stakeholders who

would be the major players in the project

5 2 10

Hold a series of Consultation workshops across

the North Highland Area with the stakeholders

and major partners and get endorsement to

lead the bid application

1

Initiative

Submission

&

Approval

2

Bid submission does not meet the

national framework guidelines re

structure and content resulting in re-

submission and late approval for

proposed commencement of the

initiative in October 2015.

4 2 8

Ensure that the bid follows the headings given

in the national guidelines paper. Liaise with SG

prior to submission of bid to ensure the bid

meets their criteria. 4

Initiative

Costs 3

Bid Costs for the submission are deemed

too high by the National Approval Body

(NAB).

3 2 6

The North Highland regional cost will be slightly

higher than normal due to the vast area

/geography & rurality issues covered by the

project.

6

Application

Submission

Timing

4

The Application submission timing does

not meet the August submission date of

the NAB meeting.

4 1 4

Ensure that the bid brief is written, consulted

upon, and approved for submission by

employers & key stakeholders 1 week before

the submission date.

4


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Work Stream: North Highland Regional Board

Element Risk

No Description of Risk I P RS Mitigation Strategy

Current

Status

Previous

Status

Identification of

Regional Board

Chair

1

The Regional Board is unable to acquire

the services of a “Captain of Industry” as

Board Chair.

4 3 12 Identify a list of potential candidates 8

Identification

of Members 2

Unable to sign-up key members across

Caithness & Sutherland Counties &

business profiles

5 3 12

Utilise the pool of employers who had signed

up for the initial consultation workshops 6

Regional

Board

Membership

Balance

3

Board membership does not represent

key business sectors across both

Caithness & Sutherland and that it is

perceived as a Caithness driven project

5 2 10

Ensure that board membership draws on the key

business representatives across both counties

and from a range of the key business sectors as

defined within the initiative bid.

6

Regional

Board Scope 4

Not a clear defined Board Scope resulting

in initiative drift. 5 2 10 Provide clearly defined TOR's, Scope, Roles &

Responsibilities. 4


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Appendix 4

Regional Board Membership

Delivery Sub-Groups


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