Bournville College Vision

Apprenticeships... page 5

Bespoke training Q&A... page 11

Newsletter for employers

Issue 3 - August 2012

apprenticeships Do you offer apprenticeships?

Did you know you could receive £1,500 towards your business...

The Government grant can help you: • Create apprenticeships for young people • Cover apprenticeship wages • Receive a one-off payment if you take on a young person

Your business may be eligible if: • Your organisation employs no more than 250 employees • You can commit to employing an apprentice for at least 12 months (or the time it takes to complete the apprenticeship) • You have not recruited an apprentice in the last 3 years • You would employ a young person aged 16-24 The grant of £1,500 is payable in two instalments. Grants are available on a first come first served basis and end in March 2013. Apprentices must be paid the minimum wage of £2.60 and be in employment for a minimum of 30 hours per week. Employers are offered a maximum of three grants for three apprentices.

Apprenticeships can be a cost-effective way of growing your workforce and ensuring your staff have the skills that you want, right from the outset.

For more information please contact Michael Chambers on the details below Who. Michael Chambers | Talk. 0121 477 1419 | Write. michael.chambers@bournville.ac.uk See. bournville.ac.uk | Visit. 2 Devon Way, Longbridge, Birmingham B31 2TS

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Welcome to the latest issue of Vision...

This newsletter has been designed to keep our stakeholders and customers posted on the developments at Bournville College.

Contents...

Driving staff development with wmsnt.......................... p4 Lord Digby Jones on the value of Apprenticeships ...... p5 Heading up charity training ......................................... p7 Business Growth Fund - grants of up to £100,000...... p9 Training motoring on with local car manufacture ......... p10 Q&A on training your workforce................................... p11

Publisher Vision is published by Bournville College.

To contact Bournville College: Talk. 0121 477 1400 Write. bdt@bournville.ac.uk See. bournville.ac.uk Visit. 2 Devon Way, Longbridge, Birmingham B31 2TS Editor. Stephanie Jones Talk. 0121 477 1384 Write. stephanie.jones@bournville.ac.uk

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n these difficult economic times, collaboration and partnerships are the buzz words of the market place.

More and more businesses are recognising the value of working together and growing each other’s business through effective partnerships. At Bournville College, we have seen a 16% increase in the amount of employers that we work with - a confirmation that businesses are keen to continue working together despite slashes in public funding and budget cuts.

This issue of Vision brings you employer stories from a range of sectors and outlines the ways in which Bournville College supported them. Many of you have been asking us for advice about training for organisations and how it can be delivered on a costeffective basis. To answer some of your queries, we have interviewed two of our Business Development Managers – turn to page 11 to find out more.

This magazine has been designed with employers in mind so if you have any feedback or would like to recommend a future topic, please let us know by emailing stephanie.jones@bournville.ac.uk.

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college news Bournville College helps local volunteers obtain NVQ qualifications...

Bournville College has recently worked in partnership with West Midlands Special Needs Transport (wmsnt) to offer valuable qualifications to their staff.

Wmsnt provides important links for many in the community and assists those with limited mobility to help get around independently.

Bournville College worked with wmsnt previously providing the NVQ in Road Passenger Vehicle Driving Level 2, offered to over 40 employees. With the success from the previous cohort, wmsnt decided to offer the training again to the workforce, with 300 employees now qualified.

Two of the learners, retired Police Officers Lynn & Steve Butler from Halesowen, who have been married for 28 years are both currently employed at wmsnt and operate two of their school runs in both the mornings and afternoons taking disabled children to and from school.

Lynn (52) believes the NVQ she gained is very worthwhile and has helped with her current role. ‘I was originally put forward for the NVQ by my manager and it was something

Without the support of Bournville College we simply could not have achieved this level of success

that I wanted to do. As I had previously worked in the police force for 30 years I had come from a career that encouraged self-improvement and I enjoyed the opportunity. The NVQ training with Bournville College covered all aspects of the job, but personally I found the Health & Safety element the most relevant. I have been employed by wmsnt since April 2011 and enjoy the school runs in the morning and afternoon. The training helped to give me more confidence in my job role’.

Steve (54) considers the training programme to benefit both the staff and employers too.‘The training benefits me in the long run as well as the company as it shows that wmsnt has a qualified workforce and invests in its staff development. The NVQs are very practical qualifications that make you stop and think about other areas of your job. For example in my case it made me a lot more aware of Health & Safety on the road or when

passengers are using one of our vehicles’.

Senior Training Officer, John Gidlow, said, ‘wmsnt is committed to delivering a high standard of passenger safety and comfort. To this end we whole heartedly promote the NVQs we have been delivering in partnership with Bournville College.

Not only does it give a morale boost to the employees but it also confirms to those agencies that fund us that we are actually delivering the quality service we say we will. Without the support of Bournville College we simply could not have achieved this level of success.’

Bournville College has a range of fully funded level 2 and 3 NVQs and Certificates available to your business.

If you would like information please call the Business Development Team on 0121 477 1400 or email bdt@bournville.ac.uk

Community links: Steve & Lynn Butler

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college news

Lord Jones partners with Bournville College...

Bournville College has recently worked in partnership with Lord Digby Jones to create an apprenticeship opportunity in the business NeutrinoBI. Designed in 2007, NeutrinoBI offers a more user-centric solution to the breakthrough Business Intelligence search. Their innovative approach involved developing the first ever freeform ‘internet search’ style engine and delivers next generation BI software designed to enhance decision-making across all levels of an organistion; allowing them to become more agile and efficient, to gain faster and exponential ROI. Lord Digby Jones, chairman of NeutrinoBI reiterates how vital apprenticeships are for the future of Britain and to our young workforce.

‘If Britain is going to win in Asia’s century, our businesses need constant access to qualified skilled young people. This will not be achieved and the nation will not trade its way out of economic problems unless Colleges such as Bournville College continue to produce apprentices. We need young people willing to learn, happy to go back into communities and telling their friends that learning is cool. The more small businesses that work with Bournville College and “grow their own” with sustainable jobs at the end of it, the quicker the nation will get back on its feet and the safer and more satisfied our society will be’.

Sonia Younas, 19 from Kings Heath was fortunate to become the first apprentice with NeutinoBI. Having previously completed the Level 2 Business Administration Apprenticeship with Bournville College, Sonia knew that she wanted to continue further. ‘I had previously completed the Level 2 with Bournville College and knew that I wanted to complete my Level 3. The apprenticeship enabled me to gain a lot of experience and learn to work in a work environment with different age groups and cultures.’ reflected Sonia.

NeutrinoBI: Sonia Younas & Lord Digby Jones

The more small businesses that work with Bournville College and “grow their own” with sustainable jobs at the end of it, the quicker the nation will get back on its feet and the safer and more satisfied our society will be ‘An apprenticeship is great; everything that I am taught at Bournville College I am able to put into practice at NeutrinoBI. The portfolio that I create and the course content relate to my job, reiterating what I do. I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship to others and I am very glad of the role as it is a lot more hands on and practical. In addition, I am not only able to increase my skills in the administration aspect but also have the opportunity to gain experience in different areas including IT’ added Sonia.

If you would like to find out more information on the range of apprenticeships offered by Bournville College and the added benefits please call Jennifer Johnson on 0121 477 1400 or email apprentice@bournville.ac.uk

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college news Headway training heading in right direction...

Headway West Midlands is a charity supporting people affected by brain injury. They are working in conjunction with Bournville College to offer apprenticeship vacancies in business administration and health and social care in the charity’s branch in Rubery.

Helen Bourke, ABI Deputy Manager, reveals that the scheme had been initiated by the Chief Executive of Headway, Sue Tyler, showing just how highly the apprenticeship scheme is thought of. She commented: ‘Our Chief Executive felt that apprenticeships were something that our organisation could benefit from and at the same we could show that even a small charity can be at the forefront of investing in people with potential. We have found that setting up the apprenticeship scheme in our charity was a straightforward process, thanks to having Bournville College on our side. In addition, we have been very happy with the calibre of people we have chosen for the roles and they both fitted in really well with our existing staff’.

Alison Caines, 20 from Northfield currently works as Personnel Assistant on the Level 3 Apprenticeship in Business Administration. After deciding that University wasn’t for her, Alison decided to gain experience and a qualification at the same time. ‘I knew that the University route wasn’t for me and that I wanted the chance to gain experience and to learn all at the same time. The apprenticeship with Headway has definitely been a worthwhile step in the right direction and I would recommend apprenticeships to others.’ reflected Alison.

Aaron Collins 22, also from Northfield, finished his previous career in the

Army in 2008 and decided that he would like to progress his long term dream of working as a nurse.

Now enrolled onto the Level 2 Apprenticeship in Health & Social Care, Aaron is really enjoying his role

we could show that even a small charity can be at the forefront of investing in people with potential and looking forward to progressing further. He said: ‘I really liked the idea of an apprenticeship as it offered me the chance to work and study at the same time. With my career aim of becoming a nurse eventually, I wanted to work my way up from the bottom and gain as much experience as possible. I would definitely be

interested in progressing onto the Level 3 apprenticeship.’

Thanks to the positive feedback from both apprentices and Headway’s own staff, Headway is eager to develop the scheme further. ‘Because of the success of our first two apprentices and great support from Bournville College, we would, without a doubt certainly look into offering more apprenticeships at Headway. The apprentices are very highly thought of and it’s pleasing to see the progress they’re making on a daily basis.’ summed up Helen.

If your organisation needs support with setting up an apprenticeship scheme, contact the Apprenticeship Team at Bournville College on 0121 477 1400 or apprentice@bournville.ac.uk. A wage grant of £1500 may be available per learner (eligibility criteria applies).

Unlocking potential: Helen Bourke, Aaron Collins & Alison Caines

Develop, grow and expand...

Bournville College can help businesses develop a comprehensive and robust company strategy, their very own sales and marketing strategies and a route-map to build real value to the company.

Business Growth Workshop Series The one day courses include communication & engaging with clients with maximum effectiveness and adapting working practices to get the most from your business.

Business Growth Workshops have been specifically designed to complement the Business Growth Academy programme and provide business owners with the chance to further develop the growth of your business. The workshops offered by Bournville College in partnership with Incisive Edge provide employers with the chance to gain expert knowledge – focusing specifically on the areas stated below. Our one day workshops

are ideal for those responsible at the most senior levels for Marketing & Sales, Revenue and social media. By the end, the participants will be equipped with the means to improve and drive your business forward.

Designed to be totally flexible, it’s up to you, you can engage with the courses individually according to the topic of your choice, or you can enjoy a saving by booking more than one workshop.

The exclusive series of workshops delivered in partnership with Incisive Edge. Bournville College’s development options are currently open to you and your senior colleagues, directors or board members.

Upcoming Events Marketing for sales & growth

Social Media

Revenue growth

Thursday 30th August 2012

Thursday 27th September 2012

Thursday 25th October 2012

Aligning your marketing strategy with your business objectives – marketing for increasing sales using the following tools and techniques:

Increasing digital and commercial performance of your business – delight your customers & clients through social media using the following tools and techniques:

Adapting your working practices to get the most from your business – powerful tools, techniques and methods that will achieve real results by increasing your profitability and your turnover.

On this course you will:

• Stand apart from potential competitors, really get noticed • Use your brand to engage with customers • Communicate effectively with core markets – right literature, right messages • Share ideas and network with other like-minded business leaders.

• Examine changes because of the emergence of social media • Establish the true value of digital marketing to you and your organisation • Understand social media and how it might suit your company • Compare where you are in comparison with others at your stage in growth • One to one consultation with the trainer who will help identify areas of improvement • Share ideas and network with other likeminded owners / managers.

• Review, and really drive your sales and revenue generation pipeline • Stand out, convert conversations into sales, build repeatable income streams • Avoid one off custom; build on existing client relationships & new customers • Implement these tools and techniques in a way that suits you and your business • Enable growth despite the economic climate, demonstrate organisational growth.

ONLY £295 per person. Save 33% on additional bookings For more information Elaine Kingston 0121 477 1393 or email elaine.kingston@bournville.ac.uk

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college news Bournville College and Birmingham Post announce Business Growth Fund...

Funding in the form of grants of £10,000 to £100,000 is now available for enterprises, entrepreneurs, SMEs and start-ups in the Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry areas that are able to provide up to 50 per cent match funding.

Each grant recipient will have access to support as well as skills assessment and training.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: ‘I am encouraged to see that projects, such as the Birmingham Post Business Growth Fund, are now receiving the funds needed to get underway. This project will make a real difference for small and medium sized enterprises in Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry by providing them with the finance they need to start and grow.

‘The additional £1 billion in the fund will help us maintain momentum around supporting even more businesses and encouraging the creation of new jobs. I would urge business in the West Midlands to bid for the new funding being made available and am looking forward to seeing even more high quality applications from across the region.’

Norman Cave, Principal at Bournville College commented: ‘Bournville College is delighted to be managing this important and exciting initiative. Through this grants scheme we want to provide a much needed lifeline to innovative small and medium sized businesses and enterprises to enable them to grow and prosper in difficult times and provide a structure for creating real jobs and training to meet their specific needs.’

This project is being supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. During the first round, Bournville College received over 150 expressions of interest from organisations in the Birmingham, Solihull & Coventry areas.

The second round to submit an expression of interest will re-open in the Autumn/Winter. To enquire about the fund, please contact Elaine Kingston on 0121 477 1393 or email elaine.kingston@bournville.ac.uk.

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college news Motoring on with employee training...

Bournville College recently assisted a number of employees at MG Motor with updating their Microsoft Office skills through a bespoke training programme of workshops.

MG Motor and Bournville College worked in partnership to offer four workshops in total to improve IT skills in the company, all delivered at the MG Motor head office in Longbridge.

The workshops included Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and basic and intermediate Excel.

As I look after the internal newsletter, I found the training very useful as the classes dealt with a range of abilities.

If I had the chance I would like it to become an on-going course. We were given great support and felt that we could ask questions’, commented Doug.

MG Motor UK, set up in 2005 after the collapse of MG Rover and taken over by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC Group) employs 90 people at their head offices in Longbridge. In 2011, the first new MG for 16 years – the MG6, was launched in the UK.

Louise Lane, Human Resources Manager who organised the training with Bournville College said: ‘We originally ran a skills analysis to see where people thought they needed the most training, of which IT came out on top. We approached Bournville College to run a bespoke course for MG Motor around Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The feedback that we have had from the training has been great and we would like to keep on going and growing our relationship with Bournville College in the future’.

Lena Ali, HR Advisor, took part in all of the workshops provided by Bournville College and believes that the Excel workshop will benefit her in her day to day job. ‘My role at MG Motor is looking after recruitment, employee enquiries and payroll. I took part in all four sessions and found Excel to be the most useful to me and my role. I learnt a lot in the advanced course, which was very practical and hands on.’ believes Lena.

Rose Rees, Business Development Manager ‘After meeting with MG

Motor, Bournville College created a bespoke training programme designed to meet the needs and requirements of the company.

We then went on to hand-pick an engineering tutor to deliver the training on site in Longbridge. We are specialists in providing a wide range of professional and nationally recognised qualifications, workshops and bespoke courses across all business sectors and service industry’.

Investing in the skills of your people can benefit your business to make more money, save money or save time. To find out more on the range of workshops and short courses available with Bournville College, please visit www.bournville.ac.uk or contact Rose Rees on rose. rees@bournville.ac.uk or call 07703044843 or Alistair Baker on alistair.baker@bournville.ac.uk or call 07730143562.

‘The support we received from Bournville College was very good.

There were different levels of learners involved in the training and this was dealt with well’, added Lena.

Doug Wallace, PR Manager with MG Motor found the training invaluable.

‘I have been with MG Motor for around 18 months and although I was proficient with computer use, I hadn’t used PowerPoint much previously.

Office skills: Louise Lane, Doug Wallace & Lena Ali

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Q&A Even in difficult times like these, training is a vital way of improving the skills of staff and generating a committed and valuable workforce.When times are tough, competition for contracts is even tougher. That’s when a well-trained, committed employee could make a real difference to your chances of success. Our Business Development Managers; Rose Rees and Alistair Baker answer some key questions below.

Vision: What are the benefits of employee training?

Rose: Training programmes for staff can help ready businesses for when the economy comes out of recession. By offering a bespoke resource that can help business grow, better prepared employees can also give your business a competitive advantage to exploit new business growth opportunities. There are five major benefits of employee training, which include: • The impact on bottom line; Successful employee training delivers improvements in employee performance which, in turn, creates a better performing business and an improved bottom line.

• Staff retention; Training increases staff retention which will save money. Instead of paying recruitment fees, re-investing in training, loss of management time why not treat your employees as your number one asset?

• Improved quality and productivity; Training that meets both staff and employer needs can increase the quality and flexibility of a business’s services by fostering; accuracy and efficiency, good work safety practises and great customer service.

• The flow-on effect; Benefits of training in one area can flow through to all levels of an organisation. Over time, training will boost the bottom line and reduce costs by decreasing; wasted time and materials, maintenance costs of machinery and equipment, workplace accidents, leading to lower insurance premiums, recruitment costs through the internal promotion of skilled staff and absenteeism.

• Remaining competitive; Businesses must continually change their work practises and infrastructure to stay competitive in a global market.

Vision: Do Bournville College offer bespoke training?

Alistair: Training programmes can be tailored to meet your business objectives, personal development plans can be written for individual members of staff with follow up activities and assessment programmes designed. Training is increasingly being seen as a valuable benefit that not only helps to recruit and retain staff, but one which helps businesses to be better able to compete with the emerging economies.

Bespoke training: Rose Rees & Alistair Baker Training at work not only incorporates practical on-the-job coaching to help staff perform in their current role, it can also involve offering employees the opportunity to learn or develop skills that stretch them beyond the boundaries of their job, and allow them to explore different skills to help with their career progression.

Vision: What can Bournville College offer?

Rose: We are specialists in providing a wide range of professional and nationally recognised qualifications, workshops and bespoke courses across all business sectors and service industries. The courses are delivered by a dedicated and expert team of training professionals, equipped to deliver programmes to the highest standards.

Our diverse portfolio of clients, UK and worldwide can attest to our high standards and success rates, validated by case studies and testimonials from clients, learners and awarding bodies.

We strive to be at the cutting edge of innovation in training constantly evolving to suit today’s challenging marketplace.

Alistair: Bournville College offers a free Organisation Needs Analysis (ONA) - working with your organisation to assess what skills your business needs, identifying employees’ existing skills and experience, their capabilities and aspirations and providing training to improve their core competencies.

For more information please contact Rose Rees on rose.rees@bournville.ac.uk or call 07703 044 843 or contact Alistair Baker on alistair.baker@bournville.ac.uk or 07730 143 562.

Bournville College is pleased to announce a series of breakfast seminars for local organisations.

Established to enable delegates to keep up-to-date with current trends and changes in the market place, share best practice, meet like-minded individuals and network, they are an ideal platform for developing ideas for business growth. We are delighted to invite you to:

Online Insights – how to analyse your business performance and improve your position online Wednesday 26th September 2012 (8am – 10am) Guest speaker: Anthony Tattum, Managing Director, Big Cat This breakfast seminar will see the guest speaker, Anthony Tattum discuss the benefits of investing in Search Engine Optimisation. In particular, the delegates will have the opportunity to: • Learn how your business could benefit from implementing successful SEO

• Hear how investing time in SEO and Google Analytics can assist in business growth

• Find out how Online Insights have helped other organisations

• Receive guidance on best practice in the use SEO and Google Analytics

The breakfast seminar I attended was really useful. There was ample opportunity to get what I wanted from the event and network with other delegates on the day Leon Fairbank, General Manager, Empire Cinema, Rubery

r e p 0 £1 te a g e l de

Breakfast will be provided. Please let us know of any dietary requirements when booking.

For information or to book a place, please contact Stephanie Jones on the details below Talk. 0121 477 1384 | Write. stephanie.jones@bournville.ac.uk | See. bournville.ac.uk Venue. Conference Centre, Bournville College, 1 Longbridge Lane, Longbridge, Birmingham B31 2AJ | Sat nav ref. B31 2TW