Talent Match Newsletter July 2016 · 2016. 7. 29. · TALENT MATCH NEWSLETTER JULY 2016 All young...

Progress Update

On the Frontline

Young People’s Participation Event

TM Talks

Positive Stories

Behind the Scenes

Save the Date

CONTENTS

Talent Match BC Newsletter July 2016

TALENT MATCH NEWSLETTER JULY 2016

Progress Update

Black Country Talent Match opened for referrals in Oct 2014, since October the project has received and processed on average 60

referrals per month. The response from partner referral agencies remains positive.

Since the project opened for referrals we have received 1168 referrals (data 24th June 16)

89% (1035) of young people met the TM criteria

618 young people have accepted the offer of Talent Match support

Of the referrals received;

65% are male, 35% female

70% White British, 7% multiple ethnicity groups, 11% Black African/Caribbean, 6% Asian

Of those young people that engage with a mentor;

27% confirm they have a disability of which 72% confirm their disability limits their activities

23.6% of participants have/care for children, majority of which are under 5 years of age

5.3% of current participants are not receiving benefits due to sanctions

52% Live with private landlord, housing association, Local Authority, hostel or other supported accommodation

Participants have experienced the following

o 20% local authority care

o 27% convicted of criminal offence

o 17.3% alcohol or drug dependency

o 30% mental ill health

o 22% homelessness

Moving Forward

It is pleasing to see that young people are continuing to make progress, taking up the offer of training, volunteering, work experience,

employment and self- employment.

Talent Match young people with their Mentor complete a self-evaluation questionnaire every 3 months. Analysis of these questionnaires

clearly shows the progression young people are continuing to make, the table below demonstrates the progress 252 young people have

made at the 12 month stage of their journey.


12 ‘Follow Up’ questionnaire data from 252 young people – 24th June 2016.

12 month ‘Follow Up’ 252 completed

Undertaken Work experience

38.6%

Undertaken Volunteering

32.4%

Undertaken additional training

45.6%

Applied for a job 61.6%

Had at least 1 interview 43.9%

Completed formal course

10.5%

Completed training 25.8%

Gained employment 22.6%

Set up own business 2.1%

Employment outcomes

160 young people have secured employment either on a temporary, part-time or full-time basis

110 young people are still in employment

56 young people to date have sustained employment for 6 months or more. A further 7 are due to reach 6 months sustainability in

the next few weeks.

As mentioned a lot of young people are taking up employment or training.

But who and what are they getting involved with?

There are lots of exciting opportunities available for Talent Match young people including jobs on the rail, work at the new Midland

Metropolitan Hospital with Carillion amongst many others including A F Blakemore, the NHS, Night Freight, McGinley and Royal Mail.

To support these young people through this transition to work Talent Match is also employing several new Job Coaches who will work

with mentees once they are work-ready, focusing on the important skills that employers are looking for as well as helping with CV

building, job applications and interviews. They will also be crucial in providing the on-going support once a young person is in

employment.


All young people now have a ‘My Worksearch’ account – an online job search tool which pulls in job vacancies from all different

websites and allows the user to search according to sector, area, location or number of hours. This will be really useful in helping young

people become self-reliant and building the skills they need to get into the labour market.

Finally, we are also looking to introduce an employer forum for businesses to feedback and give their experiences and expertise to help

guide the delivery of the project. This group will meet outside of the current steering group and will meet quarterly, reducing the

amount of time that businesses are having to take out from their companies.

The focus is to find out what is working well/not so well and to help us prepare our mentees for new opportunities that businesses may

have. There will also be the opportunity to network with other businesses.

If you are interested in being a part of this group or would like to find out more about any of the above, please contact Carla on 01902

328973.

Further Support

Whilst it is fantastic to see our young people moving closer to the job market or gaining employment, but not everyone is there yet.

The Preferred Supplier Network helps them to become more job ready and increase their confidence and skills. The Talent Match

Preferred Supplier Network is a vast Network of services to purchase and commission a variety of activities/workshops/courses to

support the young people on their journey.

We currently have 137 Support Offers young people can access ranging from Cooking Skills, Math & English tuition to Robotics. In the

recent months we uploaded all these offers onto the website for young people look at and choose from-

www.bctalentmatch.com/support-offers

Becoming a member of the Talent Match Preferred Supplier Network is a two stage application process; Affiliate Membership and then

onto the Network. More info can be found here- www.bctalentmatch.com/tender-opportunities

If you think you can support our young people and would like to become an Affiliate or Provider please contact us on

[email protected]

If you are a currently on the Network and wish to discuss your offer please email Alison on [email protected] or 01902

328973.

http://www.bctalentmatch.com/support-offers

http://www.bctalentmatch.com/tender-opportunities

mailto:[email protected]



On the Frontline Our young people, with the support from a fantastic team of dedicated solution focused mentors, are continuing to overcome their barriers, gain

stability, access volunteering/work experience/training, gain employment and even starting businesses. In the past few months we have been getting busy! From the day to day activities the Hubs run, to going out to and hosting exciting events!

Young people from the Wolverhampton Hub visited the

Manchester Talent Match Mixer Event.

Dudley Hub enjoyed food and games at their Picnic in the Park.


Young People’s Participation Event

Extract summary from our Young Person Engagement Advisor’s Report


“Talent Match Black Country made a commitment to hold an event that listens to what young people involved with the project have to say about

their hopes, expectations and experiences of being involved with Talent Match Black Country.

One of the outcomes expected from of this event was to aid the development and implementation of a Talent Match Black Country youth charter

which, it is hoped, will be ratified by the Talent Match Black Country Steering Group and adopted throughout the project.

The youth charter or Talent Match’s promise will set in stone the core values and principles that young people say are important to them in

relation to their movement closer to the labour market.

The event was delivered by the Gazebo Theatre in Education Company who are one of the key partners for Talent Match Black Country. The

event took a Victorian Fairground theme and ran between 11am and 4pm with more than one hundred and fifty people attending throughout the

day. This included representation from Talent Match Manchester, Talent Match Nottingham and Derby and Talent Match Shropshire.

The activities developed were based on eliciting information on the following areas: -

What Talent Match does?

How Talent Match delivers?

What value does Talent Match bring?

This was achieved by asking Young People to answer a question in order for them to access an activity. There were fifteen activities in with

twelve associated questions linked to each of the activities.

Answers to the questions asked were recorded and collected by the individuals facilitating the various activities and then passed onto the Talent

Match Black Country core team to contribute to and aid the development of the Talent Match Black Country youth charter.

Some activity examples

The Talent Match Fortune teller.

Tell me something coconut shy.

Hook a duck.

Splat your mentor.

Wheel of fortune.

The ghost walk.


Questions asked of young people

What will life be like after Talent Match?

What are the most important things about Talent Match?

What are the most useful things about Talent Match?

How has Talent Match helped you?

What have you got from Talent Match?

How would you describe Talent Match in one word?

What do you think about your Mentor?

What do you think about your hub?

What’s the best way we can help you to get a job?

What makes Talent Match special?

In addition to the activities on offer there was also a “forum theatre” production that gave the audience the opportunity to get involved in the

piece being presented.

Young people put forward a view that Talent Match changes young people’s lives through a type of mentoring that could be described as engaging

and transformational. The accessibility and availability of mentors was highly prized and there appears to be little doubt that young people value

and appreciate the relationship developed with their mentors and recognise the passion of the mentors they engage with.

Young people talked about recognising the importance of obtaining an English and maths qualification. The support they have received with their

housing needs, their budgeting skills and once again the development of their social networks.

Young people were clear about how Talent Match is helping them to put some structure into their lives. They also talked about how their

confidence had grown, that they felt better about themselves in terms of increased self-esteem and self-belief.

Young people were definitely optimistic about their futures. Their main aspirations were to have their own place to live and to have a paid job.

They talked about how their quality of life was improving and their lives becoming brighter. They talked about their aspirations of gaining new

skills, obtaining qualifications, going to college, having a job and being happy.

This piece of work has contributed to the overall voice of young people being heard and listened to and is part of Talent Match Black Country’s

ongoing commitment to listening to and hearing the voice of young people.”


“Happier”


TM Talks – Inspirational Speeches

A young man on Programme called Omari came up with the concept of TM Talks which is

an inspirational, public speaking project to help -

“Spread equality, diversity, tolerance and understanding across the

UK”

“…young people to gain public speaking skills, as this is one of the best

methods to increase ones motivation ”

The event took place in Bilston Town Hall where several young people spoke about a

variety of topics such as depression, finding passions, overcoming personal barriers/fears

and gaining self-belief.

The key aim of their speeches was to inspire and motivate others to move past anything

that holds them back and to achieve what they want.

For nearly all of them, this was their first time public speaking so it was fantastic to see

how confident and passionate they were about their speeches.

Previous to the event, all the young people took part in a weekly classes run by

Professionals at Gazebo Theatre in Education (Bilston Town Hall), where they learnt the

techniques and skills of effective public speaking.

Omari plans to continue TM Talks and work with his peers, with the aim of making TM

Talks bigger and better. It was amazing to see his idea and confidence grow with the

support of Talent Match. Overall it was a fantastic event showing off the knowledge,

experience and passion of Young People. We look forward to seeing Omari and TM Talks

progress!


Railway Work Success! “This young man joined Talent Match after serving two years in prison. He was signposted through his probation service so we could offer him support through his transition from custody back into employment. I first met him and his partner with my manager, we had both noticed how determined he seemed to turn his life around after his time in prison for drug dealing. He has two young children who he adores and it was plain to see they were the motivating factor in him wanting to secure a bright future for his family. During our first meeting he was very upbeat and already had an idea of the area he wanted to work. This area was working on the rail tracks

and he had been told there was the possibility of employment with a family friend if he could get his Personal Track Safety and Sentinel card.

We signed him up to the Auctus Training Solutions Programme and then awaited the drug and alcohol test results. True to his word, he passed with flying colours which enabled him to start the training the following week. His ambition and aptitude continued throughout the three-week training course and he completed the programme gaining Personal Track Safety

(PTS), AC/DCCR + 10 day track induction, Emergency First Aid, Fire Awareness, Manual Handling, Behaviour Based Safety, OLEC1, Small Tools,

Asbestos Awareness, Environmental awareness and GWEP induction in one fell swoop.

Rose, part of Auctus Management Team, said he had been a standout member of the training and that they would be happy to help him secure employment in any way they could. She also said if he did not find employment soon they would be glad to offer him an apprenticeship, despite him already being 25, because they had seen so much potential. I passed this positive feedback onto him which he appreciated greatly and then he told me his own good news, he had gained employment with McGinley's Recruitment Solutions. He is a great example of the difference Talent Match can make to individuals. He is now set on a career path that can enable him to look after his family for life and there are incredible opportunities for promotions, so his future looks very bright indeed.”

Positive Stories


Making a difference! “Sarah and Aaron both attended a presentation conducted by myself to promote volunteering at The Way Youth Zone. Both learners had previously given very negative comments regarding voluntary work but were interested in the activities and helping young people in the City. Interviews, training and DBS checks were carried out and I was very impressed with their attitude and commitment. Before the youth Zone officially opened, Aaron and Sarah helped with deliveries and setting up furniture and during the opening ceremony both volunteers gave 12 hours of their time in one day. The commitment shown by both learners is excellent. Since beginning their volunteering journey, both learners have given over 100 hours each to the Way Youth Zone within 3.5 months. The reward for both volunteers has been to provide them with qualifications as requested. Sarah has started a NVQ Level 2 in Youth Work and Aaron is carrying out a Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification. More importantly both volunteers have become part of the Youth Work team, growing in confidence with their roles becoming more important. Sarah now helps with outreach work and Aaron is always around to show guests and families around the Youth Zone for tours. I am very proud of both volunteers and the journey and changes I have witnessed in such a short space of time.”

Career Ambition! “After being introduced to Carla (Business Engagement Advisor) at Talent Match it became very apparent to me that Carla and her colleagues were very passionate about what they do and give young people who have had a not so great start in life an opportunity to start a career in a workplace. With this in mind we were introduced to a few candidates of which we gave an opportunity to a young gentleman called Omari, who after our first meeting was passionate about food, cooking and starting his own business in the future. We took Omari on and what a breath of fresh air he was. He was passionate, punctual, hardworking, and well-mannered and he became such a great team member we actually took him on full time. Chef was always nurturing Omari to enhance his skills of which Omari took on board, listened and gained a good foundation for his skill set. Omari used this as a stepping stone which again was fantastic to see him to go on to a better future. I would not hesitate to re employ Omari or work with Carla and Talent match again.


Cake Baking Business! A young Lady with a passion and talent for baking has recently set up her own business called The English Rose! She recently catered for our Young People’s Participation Event and came with an array of cakes and various other treats for all the guests at the event. Her stall was extremely popular and everyone was really impressed with her professional manner and baking skills. Take a look at some of her creations!


The Team has expanded!

We have new –

Mentors

Hub Leads

Outreach Workers

PSN Connector

Referral & Relationships Coordinator

ESF Coordinator

ESF Administrator

In Work & Job Coaches

It is great to see the Talent Match Project expand and we look forward to see how the Team evolves in the future!

Behind the Scenes

Whilst the Mentors have been working hard as always in the Hubs, the Project Development Team have a variety of updates to share with you.

Outreach Worker Development Our Outreach Workers have been in post for a number of months, with each Hub now having one dedicated to their area. It is fantastic to see how

they have been engaging with the hardest to reach 18-24 year olds through a variety of methods/activities/agencies and referring them onto the

project.

These posts were open for young people on programme to apply for and we are pleased to share that 4 out of the 5 Outreach Workers employed

are on programme. It is great to see them thrive within their post and transition from Talent Match Mentee to Employee. They have been a great

addition to the overarching Talent Match Team!

A lot of the young people they engage with come from a variety of backgrounds and are often completely off the radar, most not claiming

benefits. A lot of these young people are either dependent on their families or an alternative income. Whilst others have learning difficulties or

do not speak much English.

The Outreach Workers regularly meet with the Referral and Relationship Coordinator to provide updates and share ideas. They are undertaking a

qualification in Youth Work and have visited London Talent Match to share best practice.


Online Presence We have been working hard to improve our Social Media Platforms and their content over the past few months. We began with minimal content,

with the majority of it being imageless and not providing our audience with any insightful or exciting information. We wanted our online presence

to update our audience about the overall Project development, the Hubs, behind the scenes, successes, activities and the great opportunities

available for Young People.

We now have a Social Media Sub Group that meets every month to ensure the Platforms remain relevant, monitored and we are always

brainstorming new ideas! Our key aim is to engage our audience on Social Media and drive this traffic to our website - www.bctalentmatch.com

We officially kicked off this launch the beginning of June. We now get a minimum of 2 tweets out a day and we are finalising a Policy and

Procedure document which will be filtered down to all members of Talent Match BC staff.

We are also building up an Instagram account to see how we can utilise this platform and currently asking Young People to answer a short survey

about our Social Media to help us improve even more!

Since the start of really driving our Social Media Platforms, our biggest success is getting our Twitter followers from around 260 to 385 to date.

Check us out -

Twitter: @TalentMatchBC

Facebook: www.facebook.com/talentmatchbc

Instagram:@talentmatchbc

http://www.bctalentmatch.com/

https://twitter.com/TalentMatchBC

http://www.facebook.com/talentmatchbc


After a fantastic time at the one year on event, Talent Match BC will now be

hosting our second celebration and achievements Event.

We will come together again to celebrate how far the project has come,

showcase the achievements of the Talent Match Team and of course the

Young People!

Two Years on - Celebration Event

For any further information about Talent Match BC please contact us on –

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 01902 328973


Talent Match Newsletter July 2016 · 2016. 7. 29. · TALENT MATCH NEWSLETTER JULY 2016 All young...

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Transcript of Talent Match Newsletter July 2016 · 2016. 7. 29. · TALENT MATCH NEWSLETTER JULY 2016 All young...