I recently attended an event with Dorset Chamber at the Italian Villa in Poole. The event was sponsored by Dorset Careers Hub, Strategic Lead Rebecca Phillips gave an impassioned presentation to over 80 delegates about the work Dorset Careers Hub does.  She asked us to reflect on the career advice we as the audience had been given during our formative years - very few hands were raised to reflect on a positive experience!

Fast forward to 2022 and thankfully things are a little different with leaders like Rebecca and organisations like Dorset Careers Hub leading the way.  I asked Rebecca to write a short article to share with my clients via the newsletter. You'll find it below and I hope it helps to understand more about the support that Dorset Careers Hub needs from local employers to achieve the goals of the Government's careers strategy.

In other news, as I'm writing this, the breaking news is that Boris is finally going to resign. After a turbulent few days in Westminster, Number 10 will see a new occupant in the near future. Let's hope for some stability and regained focus on the important issues facing the county right now.

Dorset Careers Hub - Bringing employers, schools and colleges together to transform careers education

Collaboration with local businesses, innovators and industry experts is key to the work of Dorset Careers Hub and the success of our young people.  
 
We need constant support to work with us to achieve the goals of the  Government’s careers strategy, delivered by us in partnership with The Careers & Enterprise Company, and ‘help every young person find their best next step’.
 
We work hand in hand with our schools & colleges to ensure that they implement effective and proactive careers guidance in line with The Gatsby Benchmarks. A key part of this is giving all 11-19-year-olds the opportunity to learn from employers about work and the skills needed, via workplace encounters and work experience. 
 
Work experience gives young people a chance to develop skills and confidence, learn how organisations work, and find out which local industries and career paths they want to pursue. It also goes a long way towards raising aspirations.
 
In a normal year, 7,500 14 and 15-year-olds across Dorset would take part in up to one week of work experience. Evidence shows this to be vitally important in helping young people think about their futures and make good decisions about work and further study.

Challenges
 
The pandemic is just one reason that has meant that achieving these targets has not been possible. The return to hybrid working continues to be a significant barrier. In rural areas and the most disadvantaged parts of the county, transport issues and social mobility are contributing factors to low numbers gaining experience of the workplace. Amongst our SEND (Special Education Needs & Disability) & SEMH (Social Emotional Mental Health) communities, there is an even greater call for equality, yet most businesses simply aren’t able, physically or culturally, to offer placements.
 
Virtual work experience was introduced to overcome some of these challenges. It is deemed meaningful if conducted for groups of less than 30, for one day, and offers background information about the company and career paths in the organisation, a practical task and feedback,
 
The benefits to a company and our young people, tomorrow’s workforce, are proven and significant. Whilst helping young people to explore their options, learn about and succeed in the world of work, you are also raising awareness of your industry and company, attracting future talent to meet your long-term recruitment goals. Work experience can lead to heightened curiosity about apprenticeships, in both employers and students, which can solve long-term recruitment and retention problems and has proven successful as part of many businesses’ early careers strategy.
 
Our work experience toolkit for employers offers a simple insight and practical help to get you started.
 
We work on a range of initiatives and events throughout the year, and always need businesses to support us with anything from a mock interview or talk in school, to work experience or becoming a volunteer Enterprise Adviser and being matched with a school for a year (or more). These are just some of the many ways you can get involved, with varying degrees of time commitment. If you have any questions whatsoever, or would like to work with us, visit our Get involved page to offer your support. 

Contact [email protected]
Tel: 01202 969798

Here is some useful information for further reading:

• Download the Dorset Employers Work Experience Toolkit
• Download the Employer Evaluation Form
• Download the Employer H&S Declaration Form
• Download the Employer Placements Agreement Form

I hope you found this useful and I that at least one or two of my contacts are able to get involved, it will make such a difference to our young people who have had such difficulty in gaining this valuable work experience in the last couple of years.

As ever, I am here to support you and if you need any help or advice with your recruitment practices, please do drop me a line.