YPS

Young PEOPLE STRATEGY 2019 Edition

Improving LIVES

INTRODUCTION & CONTENTS Somerset County Council employs approximately 3,500 non-school based staff, and 5.2% of the workforce is under the age of 25, compared to 3.5% in 2016 when the Young People Strategy was first released. Conversely, around 27% (28% in 2016) of SCC employees are 55 or older, and the average age of SCC’s workforce is 46. The People Strategy set the goal of the authority better re- flecting Somerset’s population. To do so, more young people need to be employed by the council. This Young People Strategy sets out a plan for how this may be achieved. Rebalancing SCC’s workforce profile is necessary in order to prevent skills being lost to the organisation as employees near retirement. Skills which have been built up through years of experience cannot be replicated without the ‘insider knowledge’ that long-serving employees provide. The purpose of the Young People Strategy is not only to attract tomorrow’s workforce, but retain talented individuals, too. The Young People Strategy provides a range of initiatives the council can undertake to encourage young people to consider the council for a rewarding career – from school pupils to graduates.

1 Work Experience 2 Pathway to Employment 3 Traineeships & Bespoke Programmes 4 Apprenticeships & Higher Apprenticeships 5 Internships & Education Partnerships 6 Graduates 7 Attraction & Retention 8 Closing Statement



1 Work Experience

1 Work experience is often the first part of a young person’s experience of the workplace. Somerset County Council can use Work work experience to promote itself as a good career choice and Experience a great place to work. Before 2016, very few requests were supported by services, so we’ve introduced set weeks for work experience throughout the year. This change has meant more placements being supported and a reduction in the additional workload for service areas supporting work experience students. What we’ve done Year 10 work experience often requires a lot of time from student and team alike, with little noticeable reward for either. Much of the time, at 14 or 15 the student doesn’t know what they want to do, and the host team is unable to provide an experience which provides an interesting account of what that career is like. Working initially with Bishop Fox’s School, SCC has supported a cohort of students 3 years in a row. A wide variety of activities ranging from Public Health to designing an office make for a popular work experience – Now so over-subscribed that we’ve been interviewing for successful candidates.

What’s next Health & Social Care work experience aimed at college students aspiring to social work or other health & social care professions is the next step on the work experience agenda. Starting in October 2019 and working with Richard Huish College, it will be structured similarly to the Year 10 work experience to provide a breadth of Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and Public Health opportunities. This work experience programme will expose future professionals to more careers than they will see on university placements. Case Study Sarah Gray, Adult Social Care Staff Development Officer – “For Adults, providing work experience opportunities enables us to promote the work of Adult Social Care to a wider audience ... to show the good work undertaken with service users and carers. Secondly, it is an opportunity to promote working within Somerset County Council and the ben- efits this brings. Thirdly, it is a potential route for recruitment.”



2 Pathway to Employment

2 The Pathway to Employment programme offers work placement and training opportunities to people with Pathway To disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Employment Working with Children’s Services, P2E aids Somerset’s care leavers to get their first step on the employment ladder

What we’ve done P2E is a valuable addition to the council’s armoury in supporting Somerset’s vulnerable young people to independence. Since 2016, we’ve moved from supporting a handful of paid positions ring-fenced for care leavers and young people with SEND to a more labour intensive but cost-effective way of working. In August 2018 a P2E Officer was recruited to pilot developing and delivering group-based training and residentials. P2E links to business partners including Skanska and Viridor where successful completion of a work experience programme can result in a guaranteed interview for a paid role. This has allowed us to support more young people towards employment. What’s next Guaranteeing sustainability and building interest are the keys to a successful Pathway to Employment pro- gramme. Difficulty sustaining the engagement of NEET young people is not just a problem for P2E; including young people in the development of sessions and residentials P2E develop would give young people a greater stake in attending, and including personal advisors in development would extend the reach of our programmes. Case Study Claire Haskins, P2E Officer – “Over 3 weeks in spring we worked with Young Somerset to provide an introduction activity for young people who were anxious and reluctant to take part in education because of their emotional instability. Overall, 5 young people took part in the sessions, which looked at enabling participation on the National Citizen Service (NCS) programme and engagement with Wellbeing Practitioners for Children and Young People through some taught sessions about emotional self-management and experiential activities of challenges. At the beginning one young man said he was “surprised that I got here“ as he had been struggling to leave the house and described himself as ‘paranoid’. However, he was able to learn about himself and meet challenges with the group, he was able to demonstrate team work skills and showed great personality and caring and consideration for others. Most of all he had fun.”



3 Traineeships & Bespoke Programmes

3 Traineeships are the ‘step before’ an apprenticeship. Traineeships can find promising future talent where young people may not have Traineeships & thrived at school or college. Bespoke Bespoke Programmes are open to young people Programmes who are not yet ready to be a trainee and are designed for individuals supported by Pathway to Employment. What we’ve done Traineeships are shorter than apprenticeships, lasting between 6 weeks and 6 months for a young person to boost their employability and become more work- or apprenticeship-ready. ATrCaianreeeesrhip Traineeships are targeted at those with D-G (3-1) GCSE grades. 36% ATprapinreenestihcipeship of Somerset school leavers did not achieve both Maths TTrrainneeeesshhipip and English GCSEs at Grade 9-4 in 2017.

What’s next Starting in Autumn 2019, Traineeship placements will be provided concurrently in a pilot with industry placements pending the 2020 introduction of T Levels. Combining entry level Traineeships with college level T Levels in this way will open longer-term work experience in more areas of the council for young people with varied academic attainment. Case Study Laquiesha Watts, former Trainee – “It has been a win-win for us all and I personally have gained almost as much pleasure in seeing Laquiesha grow in confidence as she has in being provided with a life changing opportunity. Invest, invest, invest… and they will return your investment hundredfold.”



4 Apprenticeships & Higher Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are critical to retaining school leavers in Somerset. 4 Apprentices learn the skills for their future vocation while drawing on the wealth of experience from colleagues already at SCC. Our Ap p re n t i c e s h i p s Council is already positive as an apprentice employer, offering at & Higher least the minimum wage for age rather than the national Apprenticeships apprentice wage. In 2016, only 0.7% of employees were apprentices. Three years on, 4% of staff are either apprentices or have completed an apprenticeship in the past 2 years*. What we’ve done Apprenticeships have grown from something managers aren’t aware of or ruled out as it wasn’t for their team, to a programme of learning spanning more than 25 qualifications from Level 2 to MSc, supporting more than 300 colleagues to further their careers and bring new skills to the authority. Most staff are eligible to start an apprenticeship, not just new starters or under-25s. • Intermediate Apprenticeships are equivalent to 5 9-4 GCSEs (Level 2) • Advanced Apprenticeships are equivalent to 2 A Levels (Level 3) • Higher Apprenticeships award Level 4 & 5 qualifications e.g. HNC, Foundation Degree • Degree Apprenticeships award Bachelor (Level 6) and Masters (Level 7)

What’s next Degree Apprenticeships have enabled SCC to fund expensive qualifications and to succession plan where we could not have previously afforded. What’s started small with Civil Engineering and Law degrees will grow rapidly with students starting Social Work Degree Apprenticeships in Autumn 2019. Teaching, CIPFA, Specialist Community Public Health Nursing and Higher & Degree Apprenticeships in ICT will provide onwards routes after entry into the workforce. Case Study Jordon O’Grady, Higher Apprentice in ICT – “The past two years at SCC have taught me how to work effectively in a professional environment, I’m constantly learning in my field (Network Security) and always looking to build relations with colleagues and customers. Although things can get busy, I’m confident that my team are always available to help, anything from a simple question to a technical query. The workload is balanced well in our team, but if ever I am swamped with work, I can escalate to the Subject Matter Expert, then my manager if necessary.” *since May 2017 introduction of Apprenticeship Levy



5TALENT Internships & Education Partnerships

5 SCC should be proactive in finding the best professionals, future managers and leaders for Internships & Education the council – working with local universities and colleges is the best way to do this. Education Partnerships Partnerships are about building links with young people before they leave education, not just once they start looking for work. What we’ve done Economic Development lead on the council’s education partnerships. The local authority and Hinkley Point C-backed Somerset Education Business Partnership (EBP) raises awareness of key professions and supports the development of a pipeline of young people who are interested in them post 16. The EBP liaises with public and private sector employers to provide support to young people through schools and colleges in Somerset.

What’s next Internships are an opportunity to discover the most promising students, primarily on a University placement or post A-Level, and attract them back to Somerset after completion. Interns are employed for a maximum of 12 months. A new internship policy is being written that will support managers to take on interns. T Levels are being introduced from 2020, these college-level technical qualifications will require a 45-day or 315 hour industry placement for every student. HR&OD are working with local colleges to support students with opportunities across the organisation. Due to the length of placement, students will only be supported where their placement is spent doing real work for the authority. Case Study Kate Goldsworthy, Head of Apprenticeships and Adult Skills, Richard Huish College – “Strong employer engagement is a key priority for us in ensuring that we continue to offer and deliver quality and fit for purpose training provision that meets workforce needs and supports the growth of the local economy.”



6 Graduates

6 Graduates have the talent to be assets to SCC, but not necessarily all the workplace skills. Using internships and graduate training, Graduates our authority can have a knowledgeable and flexible workforce for the future. Graduates can also be a smart way to increase applicant numbers for hard to fill roles. What we’ve done In 2018, a Graduate Scheme was re-introduced for the first time in almost a decade. Advertising a dozen roles and attracting around 300 applications, it was a promotional success. With less than half of the two year placement completed, it’s early to assess retention or whether substan- tive professional roles will be filled by graduates after their placement. With staff who joined the previous graduate programme still at Somerset County Council today in senior roles, we’re optimistic. What’s next In one respect the Young People Strategy has been a victim of its own success; as Higher Apprenticeships have become more widely used the need to recruit graduates has fallen.

In 2019 this has been evident as fewer managers came forward; in mid-2018 Highways recruited graduates, by the end of 2018 Highways had two staff studying apprenticeship-funded Civil Engineering degrees. Feedback and experience suggests a successful graduate scheme needs quality (but not necessarily accredited) training and the advertisement of several generic graduate roles to attract significant numbers. HR&OD will look to balance this with a key manager requirement; flexibility of recruitment timescales. Somerset County Council are also working with the county’s 4 district councils to recruit graduates on a rotational programme, expected to start in late 2019. Graduates will rotate around the different organisations, blazing a trail for closer working in years to come. Case Study Aimee-Kate Ansell, Flood & Risk Graduate - “Aimee has done very well since joining the team. She has demonstrated an aptitude and keen interest in the work and has made a very positive contribution to supporting our service, including statutory duties. In particular, she has learnt about our role as a statutory consultee in the planning process and has progressed from supporting the important administrative tasks to also now preparing responses on the flood risk and drainage aspects of smaller applications. Aimee has fitted in well and brought an enthusiasm to the work that has added to the very positive atmosphere within the team.”



7 Attraction & Retention

7 Developing young people is not enough on its own. SCC should aim to attract young people with the highest Attraction & potential and retain most of the talent it develops. This Retention section provides some aims and techniques to increase attraction and strengthen retention rates of young people. What we’ve done When an apprentice completes their training, managers have the option to slot them into the position that they have been training towards without advertising. In some Service Areas, such as ICT, apprentices are encouraged to move onto apprenticeship training at a higher level after completing their initial course to keep develop- ing their career.

What’s next In the 2018 Staff Engagement Survey, only 33.2% of staff said that they have opportunities to progress their career at SCC. To retain our brightest and best, we must do better. Succession planning is essential for maintaining healthy workforce demographics and replacing skills lost when a member of staff leaves or retires. The new succession planning techniques support managers to highlight critical posts, so colleagues can be prepared to step in when the opportunity arises.



CLOSING STATEMENT Our Young People Strategy remains a really exciting area of work for us. We’ve made great progress since 2016 and I expect this to continue, as we support more innovation such as our social worker degree apprenticeships and the social worker degree programme that is starting at Yeovil College. The enthusiasm that this work has generated across the Council has been incredible and I want to thank every colleague who has been involved in this work, It is vitally important that Somerset County Council promotes itself to young people as a top employer, where they can start their careers, learn valuable skills and aspire to set and achieve ambition for themselves and the residents of Somerset. Chris Squire – HR&OD Director

Somerset County Council County Hall Taunton Somerset TA1 4DY www.somerset.gov.uk 0300 123 2224