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MANUFACTURING ROUTEWAY
This project is designed to assess the viability of utilising an existing programme - the Passport to Manufacturing Skills - developed originally by S4E for use on the MG Rover project - to develop a routeway into manufacturing jobs across the city and possibly beyond. The ultimate aim is to create a "pool of passport holders" which can be drawn on by any participating employer.
We are partnering with Birmingham City Council, National Skills Academy for Manufacturing, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, and The Engineering Employers Federation plus 16 employers on this exciting project which has just completed its pilot stage (September 2009)
TRANSFORM SANDWELL AGE DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT PROJECT
Transform Sandwell, a joint venture between BT and Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council provides a critical interface between Sandwell MBC and the residents of Sandwell.
The key theme of the project was to identify the current culture, practice and procedures, compare against Age Diversity Management best practice and make recommendation where appropriate.
Although these views were not universal e.g some expressed an opinion that age intolerance does exist in some aspects of the ‘day to day’ operation, we were impressed by the fact that in interaction with all age cohorts, age tolerance was repeatedly demonstrated.
One of the key challenges that Transform Sandwell CSO face moving forward is the ability to sustain this culture as they embark upon their expansion plans. The sessions have demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm and mutual support which will be key to their ongoing success and must be retained.
Some areas for improvement were identified with respect to independent counselling for employees and some aspects of the recruitment process.
CARE ROUTEWAY
The ultimate aim is to create a "pool" of job ready candidates which can be drawn on by any participating care employer in the area. This project is being led by Coalition member Anne Geddes. We are partnering with All Seasons Care, BCDA, Jobcentre Plus and other strategic partners in this initiative.
LIVING WELL IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
Sponsored by the West Midlands Regional Assembly using Lottery Funding. There is a full time project team based within the SHA. This project aims to promote healthy life style choices especially towards exercise and diet in relation to mental health, e.g. stress etc, and help people with mental health problems to stay in work via a managed occupational health programme.
The project entails education and enlistment of employers and the provision of a support mechanism for them. WMEC is assisting with the employer engagement strand of this project.
INDUSTRIAL OCCUPATIONAL KNOWLEDGE EVENTS (IOK)
Knowledge of the local labour market and the occupations within it are the key to the success of Jobcentre Plus advisors assisting people from welfare into work. This means that employers looking to recruit need to be aware of the potential customers in the labour market who are available to fill their vacancies and that advisors need to be aware of the types of jobs that are suitable for their customers.
In order to fill an employer's jobs most effectively, advisors need to understand the needs of individual employers and occupational sectors.
This will include:
- Types of jobs available and what the jobs are really like
- Entry level positions
- Knowledge and skills required
- Working conditions
- Hours of work and any flexibilities, Salary rates, Perks - meals, uniform, discounts, pension, holidays etc
- Opportunities to develop and progress
We run a programme of IOK events for JCP staff and those from other partners - if you would like to know more please contact Kay Stubbs on 0121 607 1819.
CITY OF BIRMINGHAM REGENERATION PROJECTS
Construction Employment Integrator: Key projects in Birmingham include Building Schools for the Future and the New Street Gateway project - Nichola Balmer and Nigel Heslop are working together on this.
WORK ABILITY ALLIANCE
The aim of the project is to embed the concept of Age Management at all stages in a career to enable employer and employee to obtain the most advantageous productivity results on a consistent basis. The aim is to prevent the loss of older workers to the economy in the light of changing demographics.
This comes from a Finnish model and is supported by The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) who have set up a European wide "think tank" to work on these issues. Owing to the ground breaking work of the Coming of Age Partnership of which WMEC was a founder member and is currently chair, the West Midlands has been chosen by TAEN as the potential UK test bed for the project. WMEC has recruited Cadbury, Royal Mail, Jaguar and Sainsbury as potential UK founder members. The aim is to create a pilot project to test the concepts of "workability".
COAP (COMING OF AGE PARTNERSHIP)
The aim of this project is to ensure older workers are not discriminated against in the workplace and conversely to help employers appreciate the benefits of employing and retaining older workers. See Workability Alliance above for background. Partners include Advantage West Midlands (RDA), LSC, Confederation of WM Chambers, TAEN, JCP, ACAS, REC, Birmingham University and Birmingham Professional Diversity among others.
DIVERSITY WEEK
Funded by AWM, the aim of this project is to raise the profile of the seven strands of diversity across the West Midlands via a range of events co branded AWM/WMEC but delivered by the appropriate organisations which may come from any of the three economic sectors. The event is planned to take place 16th-20th November 2009.
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