ANNEX 2
EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
CASE STUDIES
1. Dewhirst, Kingston upon Hull
2. The Big W Store, Pool, Cornwall
3. Asda, national service level agreement
with the ES
4. "Tyres R Us," Ayr
5. Dixons Stores Group, Sheffield Call Centre
6. ES Sustainable Employment Pilot, Wales
7. Automotive Sector Strategic Alliance
8. Virgin Call Centre, Trowbridge
9. North East Microelectronics Institute
10. Finance Sector Initiative, Manchester
11. Bluewater Retail Park, Greenhithe, Kent
CASE STUDY
(1)—DEWHIRST, KINGSTON
UPON HULL
In Hull at the Sutton Fields Industrial Estate,
Dewhirst were making 130 people redundant in various occupations,
ranging from machinists to warehouse staff. These people had been
employed with the company for between six months and 30 years.
The redundancies took place on 22 August 2000 and 14 September
2000.
The local Jobcentre met with Dewhirst's and:
— presented redundancy talks to staff
to explain the help available from the Jobcentre and Benefits
Agency;
— arranged for the Programme Centre
to give talks on constructing a CV, letter writing and interview
skills;
— set up a mini Job Shop for two days
on the employers premises and negotiated time with the employer
for all employees to attend to use the Jobsearch facilities;
— contacted 35 companies to market
the clients facing redundancy. One company had no suitable vacancies
for the Dewhirst people but notified a catering vacancy to the
Jobcentre;
— arranged a meeting with Hazelwoods,
who were opening a new factory locally, and agreed to fund a training
package via the Economic Development Agency to enable Dewhirst
staff to transfer their skills; and
— conducted preliminary interviews
with 35 potential applicants on behalf of Hazelwoods, 20 clients
were placed into employment with Hazelwoods.
Of the remaining clients: 10 people were placed
into employment, some as a result of speculative approaches, others
on notified vacancies; one person is undertaking adult training;
14 people are known to be still unemployed.
As this exercise is fairly recent and outcomes
are still being notified and will continue to be updated.
CASE STUDY
(2)—THE BIG
W STORE, POOL,
CORNWALL
The Big W Store, part of the Kingfisher Group,
is opened in Pool, in Cornwall on 20 October.
The local Jobcentre approached the company to
offer assistance with recruitment, and met their management team.
The Big W had previously used a private sector recruitment agency,
but were persuaded to let ES handle all recruitment.
The Jobcentre has provided help and support
by:
— providing dedicated Jobcentre staff
to manage the recruitment process;
— hiring rooms for assessments and
interviews locally;
— printing fliers publicising the vacancies;
— holding an open day for the store;
— extending the opening hours of Camborne
Jobcentre to cope with 1500 telephone enquiries;
— organising interviews and providing
administrative support.
The exercise resulted in more than 200 vacancies
advertised with the Jobcentre, 95 per cent of these were for permanent
positions.
To date the Jobcentre has placed 181 people,
154 of which were unemployed.
The Big W's Operations Manager, Tony Lovell
said "the Jobcentre has been highly professional from day
one. We were able to draw on their local knowledge and use their
staff to support a very smooth and successful recruitment drive".
CASE STUDY
(3)—ASDA, NATIONAL SERVICE
LEVEL AGREEMENT
WITH THE
ES
The Large Organisation Unit's National Account
Manager for the retail sector approached Asda to offer a consistency
in approach to vacancy filling throughout Great Britain. A Service
Level Agreement was drawn up between ES and Asda. The East Midlands
and Eastern region piloted the SLA with Asda in its Sinfin and
Wisbech stores to handle all their recruitment. Following the
pilot, the company was happy to agree a national SLA for all new
store openings and continuing recruitment. The SLA is structured
around the ES Customer Service Commitments to enable local Jobcentres
to provide a consistent level of service to the company. ES is
now handling a further two large recruitments for Asda in Long
Eaton and Leicester.
In both pilot cases the Jobcentre has run a
tailored gateway for New Deal clients which has resulted in placings
from all New Deal groups.
Shiralee Brunson, Asda's store Personnel Manager
at Sinfin, Derby said "The Jobcentre has been superb and
I have been tremendously impressed with their flexibility and
speed of response. In an increasingly competitive market, getting
the right person for the job isn't easy, and having a tailored
service which responds to our needs has been invaluable".
The deal with Asda will bring a number of key
benefits for ES:
— exclusive rights to the 27,000 new
jobs the company are creating over the next five years. These
include bakers, checkout operators, restaurant assistants, shop
floor assistants, and customer service staff;
— a commitment from Asda to work in
partnership with ES to help place disadvantaged jobseekers into
jobs with the company;
— through ES as a recruitment partner,
Asda will be able to ensure their workforce reflects a diversity
of the local labour market;
— through the SLA, Asda have agreed
to help design and deliver bespoke job preparation courses to
enable those more at a disadvantage in the labour market to compete
effectively for jobs with the company.
Asda at Sinfin, Derby
The Jobcentre placed 67 people into jobs, of
whom 50 were unemployed, including five New Deal jobseekers. Two
of the New Deal jobseekers are still in employment.
To assist with the recruitment of the New Deal
applicants, a Job Preparation course was run, delivered by a local
programme centre, Progressions. The course provided help with
jobsearch techniques, an insight into Asda as an organisation
and their recruitment practices, and a guaranteed place in a group
assessment.
The two successful New Deal clients were both
lone parents and were employed in unsubsidised jobs.
Asda at Wisbech, Cambridge
The Jobcentre placed 153 people into jobs, of
whom 114 were unemployed, nine were New Deal jobseekers, and 11
were people with disabilities.
Of the New Deal jobseekers, four were recruited
without any additional help from a job preparation course. Because
of the high calibre of New Deal applicants, three were recruited
into unsubsidised jobs and only one into a subsidised job.
Following on from the successful job preparation
course in Derby, a second course was arranged for Wisbech, delivered
by a local programme centre, NACRO.
Asda showed clear commitment to employing people
with disabilities. Of the 11 people with disabilities who were
recruited, five received support from Remploy. Asda also provided
all of them with support in the form of work preparation placements
provided through the Papworth Trust and Westcombe Industries.
CASE STUDY
(4)—"TYRES R US
", AYR
An example of local Jobcentres working with
small companies was given by Ayr Jobcentre. Alex Park approached
Ayr Jobcentre because he was setting up a small company "Tyres
R US". He had been unemployed for some time himself and wanted
to know how he could place a vacancy for staff.
He was very excited about his new venture and
the Jobcentre staff spent time listening to what he hoped to achieve.
They took details of the type of person Alex wanted to employ.
The Jobcentre staff gave him information on
New Deal and Work Trials. Vacancy details were put onto the LMS
system. The options for referring clients to his vacancy were
discussed and he decided that he would use a Jobcentre application
form and take advantage of the facility of using a matching officer
from the Jobcentre to undertake and initial sift of the candidates.
As he had no premises at which to interview
he gladly accepted the Jobcentre offer of using their interview
rooms. Alex was very concerned as he had no experience of interviewing
and was extremely grateful when the Jobcentre offered the assistance
of an experienced member of staff to help him to conduct the interviews.
He identified two suitable candidates who were
eligible for New Deal and Work Trials. Unfortunately, his first
choice of candidate was found to be unsuitable after a period
on a Work Trial. His second choice was placed in employment after
a Work Trial.
The person who was selected has received steady
training. He said "Work Trials shed some light on what I
was doing before committing myself to the job. It also let me
get to know my employer and ensure that we were happy working
together". Alex said, "Work Trials ensured that the
right person got the job and allowed me the opportunity to judge
a candidate's time-keeping, skills and honesty over a three week
period. I am delighted with the New Deal initiative. By obtaining
the Government subsidy under New Deal I have been able to employ
more staff to grow the business. Without the help from Ayr Jobcentre
we would not have experienced such a successful first six months".
"Tyres R US" has expanded into two
outlets and now employs 12 people. The first person who was recruited
has since been promoted twice, first to supervisory level with
responsibility for new recruits, and most recently to branch manager,
following the opening of the company's second outlet.
CASE STUDY
(5)—DIXONS STORES
GROUP, SHEFFIELD
CALL CENTRE
The local Jobcentres in Sheffield are working
in partnership with Dixons Stores Group to fill both permanent
and temporary vacancies at the company's new Contact Centre. Potentially
there are 2000 vacancies to be filled over two years. The Jobcentres
have set up dedicated teams to work full-time on the project.
The support provided by the Jobcentres includes:
— enhanced recruitment support by undertaking
psychometric testing of New Deal candidates;
— interviewing candidates against Dixons
standard interview criteria;
— conducting guided tours around the
Contact Centre for interested parties.
To date the Recruitment Team have handled 2900
enquiries about vacancies. The team have successfully filled 426
vacancies, of which 279 were filled by people who were unemployed,
including 25 who were on the New Deal programme. All 25 New Deal
clients are still in unsubsidised employment with the company.
ES have been working with Dixons and Sheffield
TEC to design a pre-recruitment package aimed at giving unemployed
people the opportunity to develop their skills and meet the Dixons
standard.
The ES Recruitment Team takes an active role
in promoting the vacancies and have identified a number of Training
Providers who deliver comparable work-related courses. Links have
been developed with providers and members of the team go to the
training centres to deliver presentations and answer questions
about the vacancies.
CASE STUDY
(6)—ES SUSTAINED EMPLOYMENT
PILOT, WALES
Barry Jobcentre in Wales are tackling sustainability
from the front end by developing and leading the sustainability
pilot. The project was designed following visits by a member of
the Jobcentre's staff to Holland and the USA to look at Welfare
to Work in action. It aims to establish a solid relationship between
employers and jobseekers before they start work. The project looks
at recruitment and retention and aims to create the right climate
and culture with employers and to build up trust with support
networks offering help and guidance.
A "Service Needs Assessment" questionnaire
was designed with local companies to enable Jobcentre services
to be improved to meet the individual needs of employers and reduce
levels of turnover. The questionnaire focuses on: the current
workforce skills and required skills, including soft skills; current
training provision; current training provision and training needs;
recruitment methods; turnover and retention issues.
To give the long term unemployed and New Deal
clients extra help into work, the Jobcentre have designed a "Job
Buster" workshop. Clients are invited to complete a matching
questionnaire and to attend a two-hour workshop where the trainer
covers CV layout, transferable skills, advice on how to complete
application forms, how to use the telephone effectively and interview
techniques.
The Jobcentre have organised breakfast events
for employers to cover a range of issues raised by the "Service
Needs Assessment" questionnaire. These have included events
with ACAS and the Inland Revenue to discuss concerns over employee
relations and Working Families Tax Credit. Further events are
planned to include Health and Safety and an all day workshop covering
a wide range of employment issues.
The project started in April 1999, the results
so far are encouraging:
— April—November 1999—Out
of eight New Deal vacancies, of which four were from new employers,
seven placings were achieved, including four with the new employers;
— Dec 1999—March 2000—31
New Deal vacancies were notified of which 11 were from new employers,
20 agreements were signed. 21 placings were achieved with 13 employers.
Ten people were retained in unsubsidised employment.
— April—July 2000—27 vacancies
were taken, of which ten were from new employers. Of these vacancies,
14 were converted to New Deal. To date, 16 people have been placed,
of whom 15 are still in employment.
— August—September 2000—20
New Deal vacancies were taken, 12 people were placed and are still
in employment.
Examples of particular success stories are:
— Edmundsen Electrical is the largest
electrical supplier in the UK. The company have good prospects
of long term employment and opportunities for progression. The
company had not previously used the Jobcentre. A marketing visit
was made to the company and a Service Needs Assessment questionnaire
completed. New Deal and Work Trials were explored as routes to
matching. Four possible candidates were identified. Two candidates
started on Work Trials; the employer was so impressed that he
recruited both and they are now in permanent employment. The employer
intends using the Jobcentre again and was so impressed with the
service provided that he is spreading the word to other employers.
— The Jobcentre worked with ANC. The
company had recently acquired a new branch manager to look at
retention issues, which were causing problems. The Jobcentre helped
the company draw up a recruitment strategy and also arranged group
interview presentations followed by one-to-one interviews for
applicants who were interested in working for the company. The
company's recruitment is complete and retention rates have improved.
To date 15 people have been placed with the company by the Jobcentre.
— The Jobcentre continues to work with
ANC on retention. They are in the process of contacting ex-employees
to find out why they left the company. The responses will be anonymous
and hope to give an insight into areas for improvement to discuss
with the employer.
— The Jobcentre has arranged for a
local training provider to facilitate pre-test interviews for
data entry clerk vacancies at ANC. The test is designed to establish
the skills and capabilities of the clients and to determine what
training is needed.
The Personnel Manager at ANC Mike Dickinson
said "the Jobcentre have helped ANC with the practical problems
of organising recruitment and helped us to move towards implementing
a strategy. This will prevent the crisis recruitment situation
from being repeated. Suzette and Jo are wonderful and offer a
service that should be available to all employers throughout the
country. I feel that we have made really good progress".
CASE STUDY
(7)—AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
To assist Nissan in their recruitment of 800
Production Operatives for the manufacturing of the replacement
Almera model, the ES Northern Region worked in partnership with
ASSA (Automotive Sector and Strategic Alliance) to develop a New
Deal Full Time Education and Training (FTET) option for 18-24
New Deal trainees.
ASSA was formed in consultation with the ES
in April 1997 as a Training Intermediary with a specific objective
of assisting the whole of the automotive sector in the North-East
with their training and recruitment needs. ASSA consisted of four
operational functions: Trainee Programmes; Consultancy Service,
Training Delivery (including Modern Apprenticeship) and New Deal.
The automotive sector at that time consisted of 245 companies
in the north-east. ASSA secured the commitment of 45 of the key
suppliers (first and second tier) to the industry and were therefore
well placed in the labour market to develop training and employment
opportunities.
The Programme was designed by ASSA on behalf
of the automotive industry and was facilitated by the ES through
the New Deal FTET option. It began in March 1998 and consisted
of a 26 week programme linked to Production Line training, Personal
Skills and Team Building. Training was delivered from four sites
in the region Teesside, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland
and followed a short period of numeric and dexterity testing by
ASSA during the Gateway period.
More than 750 clients were referred to the programme
over a period of two and a half years, of whom 431 have completed
it to date. The Employment Services and ASSA placed 321 of those
who have completed into full time jobs within the automotive sector,
giving an impressive 74 per cent job entry rate (to August 2000).
Nissan assisted in securing the commitment of their key suppliers
within the region. Therefore, the people who completed the programme,
but did not match the Nissan specification were offered employment
with other companies, including R-Tek, Ikeda Hoover, Tallent and
Cummings.
ES relationships with ASSA have been good throughout,
and this has been pivotal to the success of the programme. As
with all relationships there have been some difficult times. For
example where a promise of jobs did not materialise for some time
in the early part of the ASSA programme due to a heavy reliance
on Nissan's training and manufacturing timetable. Obviously, a
situation beyond our control. It must be stressed, however, that
relationships, in the main, were and are maintained to good effect.
ASSA helped train all ES New Deal Advisers through
a serious of visits to key manufacturers, mainly Nissan. Advisers
were given an induction to the automotive industry, well prepared
hand-outs and an aide memoire to assist them in their referrals
to the Option. ASSA also attended many communications and network
meetings to trouble-shoot, resolve issues and publicise the New
Deal programme.
Their current New Deal programme continues,
although ASSA have diversified their business slightly into other
high volume manufacturing as part of this Option.
CASE STUDY
(8)—VIRGIN CALL
CENTRE, TROWBRIDGE
Virgin Mobile was investigating the setting
up of a local site for a new Call Centre. Trowbridge Jobcentre
was invited to discuss proposals along with the local District
Council who were looking at economic regeneration in the area.
Trowbridge was third on a list of potential sites, and the local
Jobcentre Manager had to work hard at convincing the consultants
of their ability to handle a large scale recruitment exercise.
Trowbridge was chosen for the Call Centre site.
The local Jobcentre worked with the Virgin consultant to produce
detailed plans and briefing for Jobcentre and Wiltshire District
Office staff involved in the recruitment. The telephone system
was rigorously tested to ensure it would cope with the anticipated
level of calls.
Following a major advertising campaign organised
by the consultants working with Virgin, Wiltshire Jobcentre handled
almost 5,000 enquiries over an eight week period, staffing telephone
lines until 9.00 pm on weekdays, and also on Saturday mornings.
The vacancies offered were full-time permanent
positions. To date the Jobcentre has achieved approximately 389
placings from this campaign. Of the people placed, 102 were unemployed
(83 were non-claimants, 12 who had been unemployed for less than
six months, five who had been unemployed for more than six months,
and two who had been unemployed for more than two years).
Since the initial recruitment exercise, Virgin
Mobile has expanded its workforce to over 700. The Jobcentre has
continued to recruit for Virgin, and has been tasked with filling
350 vacancies to prepare for the Christmas sales rush.
The local Jobcentre was asked to provide a similar
service when Virgin Net, an internet Customer Support Centre,
proposed to set up in Trowbridge. 150 positions were filled, but
unfortunately, Virgin Net withdraw at the last minute, leaving
many potential employees out of work. Trowbridge Jobcentre organised
three Job Fairs for those affected and, within two months, everyone
found alternative employment.
The ES and Virgin Mobile are currently working
together to address the rate of staff turnover at the Call Centre,
together with other issues, including the provision of childcare
and home-working.
CASE STUDY
(9)—NORTH EAST
MICROELECTRONICS INSTITUTE
The North East Microelectronics Institute (NEMI)
was set up about five years ago to look at ways of assisting and
promoting the microelectronics industry throughout the North East
of England.
In advance of the announcement that the vacant
Siemens building in North Tyneside was being taken over by ATMEL,
the local Jobcentre contacted NEMI to discuss working together
to upskill technicians. Experience has shown that, when new companies
come into an area skilled workers are head-hunted leaving gaps
in the labour market.
The NEMI Employment and Training Group has a
wide and varied membership bringing together a consortium of some
40 companies in the region, with partners including ES, Local
Authority, TEC and Local Colleges.
The Employment and Training Group is currently
involved in training technicians to fill vacancies which will
be created by people intended to move into ATMEL. Using its NEMI
membership, North Shields Jobcentre have been able to secure the
recruitment business for ATMEL which is expected to employ 1,200
people by August 2004.
The upskilling is being undertaken at North
Tyneside College using Work Based Learning for Adults (WBLA) funding
for unemployed jobseekers who meet the criteria, and Single Regeneration
Budget (SRB) and TEC funding for those who fall outside of the
WBLA entry regulations.
There are currently 12 unemployed clients on
the course which is funded approximately 50 per cent WBLA and
50 per cent other partnership funding. The course uses Psychometric
Testing as part of the entry conditions, which the ES has provided
using funding obtained from the Occupational Skills Pilot.
The course promotes the best conditions for
training and includes practical experiences where trainees spend
two weeks working in industry. The prospects of employment are
very good.
North Shields Jobcentre is negotiating to provide
administrative support to work with ATMEL. The Jobcentre will
be undertaking an initial sift of CVs starting almost immediately.
Hundreds of CVs have already been submitted to ATMEL and the Jobcentre.
CASE STUDY
(10)—FINANCE SECTOR
INITIATIVE, MANCHESTER
This was a joint initiative between the ES,
the Manchester Employer Coalition, Co-operative Insurance Society
(CIS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) run through an Intermediary—Standguide
Training.
A series of meetings were held, the programme
was drafted and agreement reached on ring fenced vacancies for
New Deal clients.
During the lead-in time, Standguide had access
to sample selection tests and interview questions from both CIS
and RBS from which they designed suitable provision—a two
week Gateway course leading to guaranteed work-tasters and interviews
for 15 New Deal clients.
The course was designed to enable New Deal jobseekers
to enter the industry at general clerical level. The first week
of the course included mock selection tests, guest speakers from
the industry, mock interviews and "Soft Skills". The
second week was spend on placement within the industry.
A 73 per cent success rate was achieved with
the 15 clients:
— four clients were employed by RBS
(although one was subsequently dismissed);
— five clients were employed by CIS
using the New Deal employment subsidy (one has since returned
to college);
— one client was employed within the
finance department of WH Smith;
— four clients failed to complete the
course.
Of the 11 clients who successfully completed
the course and were placed in work, five were from ethnic minority
backgrounds.
This initiative has stimulated further Project-Led
Recruitment initiatives with other companies to include not only
New Deal clients but also people with disabilities.
CASE STUDY
(11)—BLUEWATER RETAIL
PARK, GREENHITHE,
KENT
Bluewater is the largest retail park in Europe
with over 320 shops and restaurants plus leisure facilities. Around
7,000 people are employed in retail occupations.
Dartford Jobcentre approached developers Bovis/Lend
Lease at the early planning stage, in January 1996. Lend Lease
was very co-operative and keen to help local workers. The company
allowed an ES "Jobshop" on-site, supplying the premises
and services, while the Jobcentre provided the staff and a computer
database (Matches).
During the construction stage, until the opening
in April 1999, 2,300 jobs were filled by the Jobcentre which made
great efforts to raise the credibility of the ES with the major
contractors. This was a considerable breakthrough for the ES in
an industry which had previously excluded it from recruitment
drives.
The total of construction placings, included
374 long-term unemployed people, 58 people with disabilities and
185 people placed through Training for Work.
In addition the ES achieved most of the 7,000
retail placings.
Extra help in interview/application techniques
was given, by NW Kent College, to clients who failed three interviews.
Lend Lease continues its support by providing
a large area within the complex for a "Learning Shop"
where jobseekers can call in, apply for vacancies, receive tuition
on computers and job interview skills etc. ES staff run this facility
and work in partnership with North West Kent SRB Partnership,
with NW Kent College accountable for delivering training. A further
1,500 placings have been gained by the facility.
Lend Lease is so convinced that this partnership
is the right way forward it has entered into partnership with
the ES at other developments in Solihull and Dundee.
Andrew Smith MP, then Employment Minister, was
so impressed that he visited the award ceremonies for the 1,000th
and 2,000th clients placed in the construction stage. In addition,
Lend Lease recently gave achievement awards to Jobshop Team members.
After the completion of the site the vast majority
of construction workers, including many that were supplied by
ES, were able to continue in employment by either transferring
to a huge hospital site next to Bluewater or moving to Canary
Wharf. The ES Jobshop had a scheme for helping the few who did
not manage to get more building work. These were helped to apply
for the numerous jobs on offer by the Facilities Management department
of Bluewater.
Julia Miles, John Lewis Staff Manager, sent
a letter to Stephen Holt, ES Regional Director for London and
South East saying, "I am writing on behalf of the John Lewis
personnel team to tell you how delighted we have been with the
support of the Employment Service during the pre-opening recruitment
period for John Lewis Bluewater . . . John Lewis has been both
impressed and is extremely grateful for the support given; without
such help our task would have been far more difficult to accomplish."
Sharon Roberts, Personnel Manager, Boots the
Chemist said, "The support we gained from the Employment
Service was fantastic. We even had a desk in Dartford Jobcentre!
The partnership helped us recruit our 250 staff. The ES team helped
with the telephone screening and initial screening. We had a number
of meetings so that they fully understood our needs and worked
together to achieve them. I couldn't have asked for more support.
Anne and Gwynne were so helpful."
Kate Meyrick, Project Manager of Lend Lease
developers of the site said, "If we hadn't had Anne Johnson
and Viv French, I don't think the project would have worked. Their
personalities and their dedication were absolutely perfect. They
were completely stubborn and tenacious. They worked brilliantly
as a team. They understood our needs and the needs of the community.
. . . I can't praise the team enough—not just for what they
did for me and for Bluewater and for our local community, but
for what they did for the image of the Employment Service—it
was outstanding."
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