07:17 Newsletter - THE B2W GROUP

CompanyNewsletterJuly 2017

Company Update Luke Muscat Managing Director M: 07825 077 206 [email protected]

Hello All,Welcome to our July 2017 business update newsletter. I want to use this opportunityto bring everyone in the business up to speed with what is happening across theB2W Group. As always, there will be some people reading this for the first time asnew members of the company and I would like to wish you a warm welcome. Forthose of you that will be leaving us for pastures new over the coming weeks, I wishyou all the best and would thank you for your support throughout your tenure withB2W.So what’s going on……Well, first of all, we are growing, again! As a business, our full-time equivalentheadcount is now past the 100 mark which represents around 100% growth fromlast year. This is no small achievement and goes a long way to explaining whyat times we can feel stretched as a business. As a Senior Team, this is somethingwe are very conscious of and we are constantly working to ensure that we havethe correct staff and resources in place to capitalise on new opportunities. I alsostrongly believe there is no better place to be for career development than a smallbusiness with strong growth plans in place.We are now well underway with Apprenticeship Reforms and internally we havestarted the process of switching frameworks for standards, we are learning as wego with new processes and procedures evolving all the time as we get our headsfully wrapped around new funding rules and delivery systems. We are also in theprocess of establishing provision to target levy paying apprenticeship businessand just in the last few days we have engaged our first major levy client with anannual contract spend of £200k. Still in Work Based Learning our SSW Contractsin Lancashire are off to a flying start, we have engaged a major employer in theregion in Daisy Communications and we are on track for around 60 starts fromSME’s in the Health and Social Care sector.

In the world of Unemployment Training, we are currently engaging thehighest volume of learners we ever have done. We are currently running 25courses per month supporting 300 learners every 4 weeks in their journeyinto employment. This is no mean feat, we have courses running across theUK even as far away as Southampton and we have had to rapidly developour network of Employment Partnerships across the country to meet thisdemand. On this note, we now have some excellent employers on boardincluding Dunelm Mill, Amazon, Tesco, Convergys, Boohoo, JD Sports andmany more.Within the Unemployed division,we also operate our City CentreTraineeship programme for 16-24-year-olds. This programme is currentlyexperiencing a lull in terms of learner numbers largely due to summerholidays (the same happens every year) but this has proved perfect timingas the programme is currently undergoing a full revamp to start offeringnew pathways in both Creative Media and Makeup and Beauty from Augustonwards.In Advanced Learner Loans, we are really starting to make some headway.At the turn of the year, this area of the business employed 1 member ofstaff and had 6, yes 6 learners on programme. As we approach the endof July we are looking at a provision with 400 students studying acrossvarious Beauty and Construction pathways supported by 8 employees.

As part of the above growth we are currently recruiting for new positions inboth Learner Recruitment and Quality and we hope to be welcoming somenew talent to the business over the course of this month in these positions.Please make your new colleagues feel welcome and go out of your way tooffer support.So that is my quick roundup, loads of stuff going on and plenty for us allto be proud of. It’s not to say that we don’t have some challenges to dealwith but at the same time is important to take stock of just how quickly weare growing and developing as an organisation. I think this is even moreprevalent in the current training and education industry where week afterweek we are seeing both large and small established providers going to thewall. On that note,I thank you all for your contributions and ongoing support.I can’t promise that it will always be smooth sailing but by supporting eachother we will continue to drive forward through some challenging times forthe sector.Enjoy the rest of the British summer!Luke Muscat

Employee of The MonthNOMINATIONSIf you would like to nominate a team member fortheir efforts in the workplace for next month’saward, please email Luke or Neil with yournominee’s name and why you feel they deserve tobe employee of the month.

NICHOLA MCGINNIS – PARTNERSHIP MANAGERNichola’s role with the business is to ensure that our pre-employment departmentachieves its contractual targets for progression to employment for people that come onour courses. Over the last couple of months the volume of learners processing throughthis division of the business has increased significantly and we have been asking a lotof Nichola to maintain enough partnerships with employers. Nichola has come throughwith flying colours and we have some great employment partnerships in place acrossthe country for our learners to progress to upon completion of training. HANNAH ROSE SPENCE – ADMINISTRATOR SSFW Hannah is the newest addition to our Admin team to oversee the SSFW contract in Lancashire and what an addition she has been. Hannah has taken to the project like a duck to water and is very quickly getting everyone into shape with admin and compliance. Well done Hannah and keep it up! Please contact Luke to let him know where you’d like to spend your £50 voucher. Find your choices from highstreetvouchers.com.

Sales Team Update From the outset, I would like to thank the team for a positive May in terms of figures, team progression and individual team members developing in their roles. Figures indicate that we achieved 37 starts during this period of change and thanks must also be extended to other departments who supported both the Employer and Learner Responsive teams in their endeavours. Highlights include being successful in our application for the provision of Digital Marketing apprenticeships for the NHS Shared Business Services, a 42% increase on starts compared to April and achieving 105% Revenue to Target.

As we enter a new chapter in both Work Based Learning andB2W Group’s history, I also feel it is a worthwhile exercise totake stock of previous performance and achievements. In thisvein, the Business Development provision has achieved circa160 apprenticeship starts since January and circa 300 sinceSeptember 2016.Moving into June has seen the advent of apprenticeshipstandards. As such we are no longer engaging learners withthe Level 3 Diploma in Social Media and are promoting theLevel 3 Digital Marketer qualification. The team are currentlygetting to grips with taking this new standard to market andalthough the initial response seems positive, with an extendedsales cycle take up has slowed. I am sure, however, with hardwork, determination, and the continued support of otherdepartments we will begin to experience sustained growthmoving further into 2017.Thanks again for your work to date, here’s to a successful 3rdfinancial quarter.

The Social Media LabUpdate Some of you will know by now that Lisa is now off on maternity leave.Lisa and husband Chris welcomed baby Betsie on 01.06.17 at 3.05am!! She was 8lb 8oz and all are doing fine. We all send our best wishes. We have also said goodbye to two of my original staff and welcomed three new faces to the Digital Skills team. Firstly Dale left us at the start of the month for a new position in Liverpool and Cindy moves on with her husband back to be with family in Glasgow. We wish them both the very best for their future endeavors. Joining us are Maria, Henry & Simon: I’m from Sheffield, S Yorkshire. I was introduced to marketing and specifically digital marketing through my love for night club promoting. We never had a budget for traditional marketing materials so we experimented with Myspace and MSN. The experiment worked. I Love digital marketing and social media. It gives the underdogs a real chance to succeed in business. I enjoy teaching learners but I learn more about myself every time I teach a class. My 3 desert island items are family, a piano and a lemon tree.Educational professional with a passion for teaching, Social Media and IT. The psat 16 years Ihave worked in Education as a Teacher/ Trainer / Assessor/ IQA. Also qualified Maths teacherwith experience of Functional Skills, Employability and Family learning.Interests include Social Media, Digital technologies, pilates, cooking and holidays abroad Simon has recently joined us as a trainer/assessor he has been involved in the online world since 1995 and has run digital agencies as well as consulted to some of the biggest brands. He remembers the days of dial up modems and waiting for 10 seconds for a web site to load! Nowadays he spends his time helping businesses get value for money for their digital offerings and demystifying the digital world.

We may need to start calling my department The mapping below gives you an overviewsomething different from now on! of the learner journey whilst. It is a fantasticThe new qualification to replace the old qualification and achieved with a combinationframework, Social Media for Business, is now of work based projects, knowledge basedvery close to its maiden Induction session on testing, a simulated project in a “controlledthe 28th June. We are re-branding ourselves test environment” and a final interviewas the Digital Skills Lab as our future process to help give an overall grading. Thisqualifications will not just be on the subject grading process is one of the big headlinesof social media. The new website at www. for me, the chance for a learner within andigitalskillslab.co.uk will be ready to unveil apprenticeship pathway to stand out from avery soon, and here’s a preview of our new straightforward PASS and achieve a MERITlogo! or DISTINCTION. I believe that right from the outset we should be aiming all our learners towards the highest grade possible from their starting position.The new Digital Marketer qualification goes The summative assessment process haslive this month with our very first cohort of completely changed to being totallylearners.It is an exciting change to our existing externally based. Each knowledge module isqualification and represents a better focus on achieved by way of multiple choice tests andskills relative to knowledge. So rather than functional skills remain the same.being heavily reliant on knowledge based The EPA process is also conducted by ancriteria, the DM requires the learners to external independent assessor, from thefocus on and demonstrate work-based tasks, British Computer Society (BCS), in our case.activities and projects that directly reflect He/she will assess the chosen projects fromtheir business and job role. the Summative Portfolio and the SynopticThe Standards require a new mindset. They Project alongside the employer referenceare different to Frameworks but do carry many and achieved certificates AND use his/hersimilarities.There is still a continuous process interview conclusions, whilst ensuring thatof formative assessment, progress reviews all the expected behaviors have been metstill take place and maths & Functional Skills as set out in the Standard - to determine theare still around. However, lots of changes learner’s overall grade!!have taken place in terms of final assessment All these changes on top of a completepractices, how we deliver the course and overhaul to the funding rules. Never a dullexpected outcomes. moment in the land of Apprenticeships.

Traineeship Update Ok, so previously like other providers, we have stuck to the basic generic package. Although this suited a great many roles that learners aspired to venture into. We have identified that the majority of learners are seeking beauty and social media. Working with the learners on a 1:1 basis, and getting their feedback, we have decided that it would benefit them to have alternative options to work with. So, with this in mind, we have now put together 2 packages.Including the customer service,so they are not tied to one sector, they will also have the option to study the certificate in make-up and manicure or the certificate in social media. We will also, using social media, monitor the demand for different sectors, so we will have ‘Themed Months’ to suit the current needs of learners and employers. To enhance the learner journey we have also put together a learner pack that not only ticks the box for compliance but also ensures that each individual has a clear understanding of the pathway they have chosen.

With the current issues relating to E&D,Safeguarding,Extremismetc, we have also introduced an additional ‘Free Learning’element to the programme where the learner is encouragedto visit the ICT suite to undertake various courses to improveknowledge of various issues that may present themselves inthe future, and how these should be dealt with.We then discussany questions they may have about what they have learnt inclassroom sessions. The ICT suite is also used for building awork base portfolio, that will eventually include them holdinga Gmail account, and also; using our CV builder which is thenuploaded ready for future applications.Learners spend time with Steve to ensure that they obtain thebest placement for them. However, as part of preparing themfor work, we very much encourage them to use job searches, tolook at the required skills for the role they seek and see howthey match up. If it looks like they may not hold the requiredskills set, this is then a 1:1 discussion point with either Steve orHaley, where they will look at an entry to employment, and howthey can build up their skills, and progress up the career ladder.

SafeguardingRecognising the signs of abuseAbuse can happen to anyone at any time There are many kinds of abuse butin their life. It is not a sign of weakness but generally, these can be categorised underan exploitation of someone’s vulnerability. 7 headings:The Department of Health, defines abuse * Physical abuseas: * Sexual abuse“Abuse is a violation of an individual’s * Emotional or psychological abusehuman and civil rights by any other person including bullyingor persons.” (‘No Secrets’ – DH Guidance) * Financial abuseFor more information, go to: www.gov. * Neglectuk/government/publications/no-secrets- * Discriminatory abuseguidance-on-protecting-vulnerable- * Institutional abuseadults-in-care Each of the above forms of abuse have theirWhen learners are on courses with us, own characteristic signs and indicators.we have a care of duty to do all we can These are too complex and in depth toto protect them from harm. This includes explore in a single article so, over thebeing alert to the signs of abuse that may next few months, we will focus on them inbe inflicted on them outside of the training stages. To start with, we will pay specificroom, as well as within it. This could be attention to the traits associated withoccurring in any setting – such as at home, physical abuse.in a peer group or even at a social event, Statistics on physical abuse (April 2014) –such as at an evening class or club. according to the NPSCCIt is important, whilst learners are in our • One in nine young adults (11.5%) hadcharge, that we are vigilant around theidentification and reporting of potential experienced severe physical violence atabuse therefore, it is important to identify the hands of an adult.what we should be looking for. • In the UK, 6,633 children were the subject of a child protection plan or on the child protection register under a category that includes physical abuse in 2013.

Although we don’t deal with children, this Other indicatorsabuse often carries forward in to adulthood. • Avoidance of a particular person or staffPhysical abuse is the non-accidental use offorce that may, or may not, result in bodily memberinjury, pain or impairment. • Fearfulness or fear of a particular personSigns • Sleep disturbance• Direct or indirect disclosure or allegation • Obvious changes in behavior• Any injury not fully explained by the • Changes in appetite • Changes in daily routine history given • Unusual mood swings• Injuries inconsistent with the lifestyle • Withdrawal • Unusual passivity of the vulnerable adult • Out of character aggression• Bruises and/or welts on face,lips,mouth, • Self-harm • Drowsiness torso, arms, back, buttocks, thighs • Inappropriate or changing explanation• Clusters of injuries forming regular of how an injury occurred patterns or reflecting shape of article • Excessive compliance• Burns,especially on soles,palms or back, Although it is vital that we look for these signs and indicators,it must be remembered immersion in hot water, friction burns, that our responsibilities do not stretch to rope or electrical appliance burns moving or removing a person’s clothes to• Multiple fractures examine them – even if we are confident• Lacerations or abrasions to mouth, lips, that we would discover an injury. This gums, eyes, external genitalia may only be done by a medically qualified• Marks on body, including slap marks, person and unless sanctioned by a court, finger marks can only be done with the individual’s• Multiple injuries at different stages of permission. healing• Repeated injuries/incidents e.g. falls where there is a significant risk of harm• Excessiverequestsforrepeatmedication or under use of medication• Over sedation

Health & Safety Staying safe and healthy in the sun. Ahhh, British weather, so unpredictable. Remember that week in the middle of June when the skies were blue, the sun was out and it was BOILING?! And as a true brits, we all complained that it was too hot and we couldn’t cope with it.Yeah, that was a good week. We may never be blessed with such a luxury of temperatures above 22°, but just in-case we are, here are some tips of staying safe and healthy whilst participating in some classic summer activities.

• Stay Hydrated - This is very important! Where possible, always have a bottle of water with you, whether this is at your desk, on your commute or if you’re going out to enjoy the sunshine. A drink of water will not only refresh you but it will keep you hydrated to avoid any sun-related illnesses.Try to avoid drinks that contain too much sugar, and when drinking alcohol in the sunshine drink water as and when possible - this will also avoid that dreaded hangover the next day meaning you can enjoy the sunshine for longer!• Protect your skin - Don’t forget sunscreen! Those who saw Jenn when she got back from Tenerife had a good laugh at her bright red nose. That was from 3 days in the sunshine with factor 50 applications throughout the day. Clearly the numpty needed to apply more than 3 times a day! Sunburn isn’t pretty and can lead to various complications with skin which we all want to avoid. Splash out on some decent suncream at a factor suited to your skin type and apply as much as possible.• Find the shade - Sitting out in the sun with your friends is all fun and games until someone starts to feel sick/dizzy. Make sure you are in an area where there’s shade accessible, whether it be under a tree or indoors. Your water and sunscreen will also come in handy at this point. Don’t spend too much time in the sun without having the essentials to protect you from it.• Dress down - Wear clothes that are comfortable and appropriate for the weather, you might look good suited and booted but do you feel good? A sweaty business man won’t leave a lasting positive impression! Wear light weight and light coloured clothing that you will be comfortable in.• Eat right-Ahealthy diet is always important,but make sure you’re choosing the right food and cooking them right at this time of the year. It’s BBQ season so make sure that whatever you cook on there is thoroughly cooked, avoid cross contamination and reheating already cooked foods. When you’re bringing your lunch into work make sure you’re putting it in the fridge ASAP to keep it cool and fresh.

Cyber Security Avoiding Scam on Social Media I’m sure we’ve all fell victim to falling for a fake news article in the past year or so. With 2 huge elections in the US and in the UK, there has been a large amount of ‘fake news’ that is going around social media about recent events. There are two types of fake news that are created, the first being something that is completely false that has been created in order to make something/someone come across in a negative way on social media. The second type of fake news is something that is slightly inaccurate, caused by the journalist/author not doing enough sufficient research about the topic, and reported on something that has been exaggerated from a truth. We’ve probably joked about it, or seen some jokes flying around about it. The classic tweet by a certain president ending in ‘FAKE NEWS.’ has been shared far and wide by people across the globe. But just how can we identify fake news, and make sure that it isn’t being shared across our social media platforms?

• Has the story been reported anywhere else? - Have you seen this on other platforms, have you seen/heard this certain story on the radio, TV or in the newspapers?• Have you heard of the organisation that published the story? - Is this a reliable source that you would usually go to for news articles,knowing that they have a good reputation of providing relevant information?• Does the website where you found the story look genuine? - Is the URL something that you’re familiar with, does it have .co.uk, or .com, or is it something completely different? Does the homepage look legit, is it fully responsive with official logos that you have seen before? A lot of fake news websites like to imitate another official website, copying the layout of their website and using a play on words as their title, such as ‘The Daily Fail’ Have a look through the website at other news stories and see if they are reputable stories that seem legit.• Does the photo or video look normal? - Does the media throughout the page look like it’s from a reliable source, are they high quality and don’t look like they’ve been photoshopped? Is the media used actually relevant to the article, or have you seen it before being used to support another article? Most of the time, a fake news article will use unreliable media, or no media at all as they won’t be officially sourcing them with the correct copyright legislations.• Does the story sound believable? - This is the most important one to follow. Do you think this story is actually real? Do you think your Facebook friends will laugh at you for being gullible if you share this story? Read the article and have a think to yourself ‘Is this real, are they being serious about this’ whilst you’re reading it. Yep, we live in a world where there are some terrible things happening at the moment, and what you read may be ridiculous and you don’t want to believe that some of the terrible things are happening, but always check that the story is reliable before sharing them seriously with your friends across social media platforms.

Aaron Kelsall Aiden Gunner Andrew Morris MARKETING BDM SALES [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Awaiting Photo... Catherine Hodgetts Chelsea Ivill-Cousen Cheryl Pawluk SOCIALMEDIA ASSESSOR LEARNER ENGAGEMENT SOCIALMEDIA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Awaiting Photo... Emma Whitworth Garry Tindall Gavin Treacy HEAD OF PET TRAINER ASSESSOR P.E.T. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Angela Jones-Gerring Ben Jackson Cath Muscat TRAINEESHIPS TUTOR APPRENTICESHIPMANAGER [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Chris Lees Daniel Edwards-Jones Dave Holt TSML MANAGER BDM SOCIALMEDIA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 07515397309 Awaiting Photo... Haley O’Malley Hannah Rose Spence Harry Arrowsmith ADMIN/HR ADMIN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Henry Channer Jan Clayton Jenn Quinn SOCIALMEDIA ASSESSOR TRAINER ASSESSOR DIGITAL [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Awaiting Photo... John Stock Jonathon Turner Katherine Grantham P.E.T. TRAINER&IQA RECRUITMENT [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Awaiting Photo... Linh Le Lisa Hoyle Lisa Marsland BDM SOCIALMEDIA ASSESSOR [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 07973950564 07540957430

Jo Wade John Beard John DaleyHEAD OF COMPLIANCE AND MIS SALES TRAINERASSESSOR [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]... Katie Charnley Kirsty Jordan Lauren Burgess RECRUITMENT ADMIN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] 07707660530 Awaiting Photo... Luke Muscat Mahpara Ali Maria Tomkinson MANAGING DIRECTOR ADMIN SOCIAL MEDIA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Mike Seddon Natalie Lockett Neil Organ BDM ADMIN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Awaiting Photo... Sam Freakes Sarah Myerscough Saul Muscat RECRUITMENT ADMIN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Awaiting Photo... Steve Rankine Tamima Miah Teri Radivan BDM ADMIN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

AwaitingPhoto... Nichola McGinnis Pete Freakes Pete Thomas BDM RECRUITMENT FUNCTIONAL SKILLS [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Scott Ellis Simon Roberts Steve Oldroyd A.L.L DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL MEIDATUTOR TRAINER [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Tony Muscat If any contact information is incorrect please contact Jenn so this can be amended. ADMIN If you are currently ‘awaiting photo’ pop [email protected] to the office on the 4th floor when you are next in so we can add your lovely face to the newsletter!

NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTIONSAll contributions to the newsletter are welcomed and encouraged. The deadline forcontent for August newsletter is 28/07/2016.Please send anything to Jenn at [email protected] us f/socialmedialabuk t/TSML_UK l/thesocialmedialabuk i/socialmedialabukf /theB2Wgroup p/tsml_ukt /theB2Wgroupl /back2workcompletetrainingi /the.b2w.group