Latest News | 8 September 2020
DCG leads the way with work experience
Bondholder Derby College Group (DCG) has led the way nationally in bridging the gap between education and the world of work and gained widespread recognition for its innovative approach to enable employers to co-design and co-deliver its curriculum.
Hundreds of businesses large and small are active members of its Employment and Skills Boards and Employer Academies – developing and delivering innovative opportunities to give young people a sightline to work.
In the September issue of the Bondholder Blog series, 'DCG Adapts Work Experience Programme With Employer Support', April Hayhurst, DCG Deputy Principal, explains more.
Students from across all curriculum areas at DCG have benefited from a wide range of activities over recent years including CV and interview workshops, careers talks, special projects, industry visits and work experience and placements.
Quality Engagement
Lockdown has certainly presented us all with challenges but the response from our partner employers has been amazing.
Businesses and organisations across the region but particularly in Derby and amongst the Bondholder community have found some very innovative ways of engaging with the college and providing work experience opportunities for our students.
Virtual work experience and mentoring projects have enabled more students than would previously have been practical to get involved and benefit from employer interaction which is a huge positive moving forwards.
We even launched a new Employer Academy during lockdown with Howarth’s Timber and Building Supplies – enabling our Construction students and apprentices to access the latest industry-recognised training and accreditation created by their own suppliers which has been invaluable in the absence of practical workshop training.
This high level of engagement during unprecedented times when face to face contact is not possible confirms the value that employers place on investing in their future workforce by better preparing young people for the world of work.
Everyone involved in our Employment and Skills Boards have been meeting virtually to plan future engagement and activities – albeit virtually for the foreseeable future.
The response from employers has been that meeting on Microsoft Teams has been far more productive and time-efficient than meeting in person and this platform will therefore continue for the most part.
As a Microsoft partner, we have been able to share our expertise in utilising the flexibility and scope of the platform with both businesses and students. This coaching role has helped employers and young alike to become more proficient and professional in meetings and presentations which are vital skills both now and increasingly in the future.
And our Roundhouse Thinking service continues to further support businesses with professional development and statutory training requirements.
We have also been able to have far more strategic conversations with employers about the wider issues that they feel we need to cover in our curriculum such as a greater understanding of current affairs and the impact of key issues on the workplace such as Black Lives Matter.
T-Levels Launch
These ongoing partnerships with employers will be even more important in the new academic year as DCG is part of the first wave of the new T-Level study programmes in the all-important sectors of Professional Construction, Digital Production and Education and Childcare.
We have spent lockdown creating new facilities onsite including:
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A virtual reality laboratory at Broomfield Hall for Education and Childcare T Level students to replicate workplace environments such as learning health and safety procedures in pre-school nurseries
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New digital laboratories and workspace at the Joseph Wright Centre and Roundhouse
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Enhanced facilities for Professional Construction students at the Roundhouse and nearby Hudson Building.
Work-based activities will be a crucial part of the T-Level programmes and employers involved in our Task Groups have also been looking at how this can be achieved in accordance with DfE guidance and the requirements of the new qualifications.
A first step has been to match T-Level students with mentors from partner employers and we are also holding virtual induction events for our Digital and Professional Construction students, including those on the T-Level and transitions programmes, with talks and live group chats with experts in the sectors.
Such activities will ensure that students starting their study programmes fully appreciate the broad scope of career opportunities available to them and better prepare them when they progress onto university, degree apprenticeships and jobs.
Apprenticeship Commitment
Work experience is also, obviously, an integral part of apprenticeship programmes and we have worked closely with employers to support our apprentices during these difficult and uncertain times with coaching, virtual workshops and remote classroom sessions. Assessments have been carried out using video, for example, to ensure progression.
Examples of innovative work includes IT apprentices at RDS Global who have been integral in the development of the company’s innovative hand sanitiser station using The Black Box Edge™ technology as well as track and trace systems.
Elsewhere, Healthcare apprentices who went straight onto hospital wards with our support. Hair and beauty apprentices spent lockdown focusing on their functional skills so that they could concentrate on skills training when allowed back into salons and thankfully the vast majority of apprentices who were working in sectors such as Motor Vehicle and Engineering have now returned from furlough.
We have continued to hold our sector-specific hub meetings virtually to enable us to plan all aspects open to apprentices and employers and work with specific employers to match opportunities with suitable candidates.
Unquestionably apprentices will play an essential role in securing the UK’s economic recovery post Covid-19 by filling skills gaps while boosting an organisation’s efficiency and competitiveness and are a cost effective way to attract new talent, invest in future managers and increase growth.
Therefore it is crucial that apprentices are fully supported and there are some new Government-funded incentives for employers to ensure apprenticeship opportunities continue to be a valuable route to a career.
Employers who provide traineeships – designed to prepare young people for an apprenticeship – and make new work placement opportunities available can receive a payment of £1,000 per learner.
And employers who take on a new apprentice between now and January 31 can apply for £2,000 per apprentice aged 16 to 24 and £1,500 for those aged 25 and over.
We provide apprenticeships to more than 3,000 employers across a range of sectors in more than subject areas and we can honestly say employers’ appetites for apprenticeships is thriving.
Our vacancy numbers are at normal levels (based on year by year statistics) and we have received a large number of interest in advance from our future apprentices and employers.
Positive Future
Our overall mission as a education provider is to prepare young people for the next stage of their lives and we have proved that, by working creatively with employers, we can continue to work together to ensure that this is achieved.
Lockdown has not been a particularly positive experience for many but for us, it has been an opportunity to re-think how our students and apprentices can progress by providing increased high quality engagement through virtual platforms.
Employers should therefore be applauded for their continued commitment to ensuring that young people have the skills, attitudes and behaviours that they need to contribute to business success in these continued challenging times and beyond.
For more information on these and all services to employers, please visit www.derby-college.ac.uk.
