DATE:  12 June 2008

PARTNERS

Blackfriars School, Business Broker Project

BACKGROUND

Jackie Onions, Director of Specialisms/School Business Manager, at Blackfriars School was leading a cluster of 16 special schools in Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire in Enterprise Education and occasionally organising educational events for them. One such event was a visit to Timken Vocational Training Centre (TVTC) in Wolverhampton to which representatives from businesses, the specials schools and the business brokers were invited along.

OBJECTIVE

• For representatives from local businesses and special schools to network, share ideas and extend their experience of enterprise in different situations
• Inspire special schools by showing them an innovative centre such as TVTC, who were helping young people aged 14-19 years old with special needs to undergo training with a view to employment
• Encourage partnership working between businesses, special schools and authorities
• Create job opportunities for young people with special needs through practical vocational training with the help of construction companies looking to taking them on
• Create job opportunities for women within construction. They would be trained in textiles to start off with and then go on to construction work using the same skills

THE ACTIVITY

A party of approximately 12 representatives from local Staffordshire businesses and special schools and the Business Broker Project were met by Jackie Onions, Spoke Leader of Enterprise Education at TVTC in Wolverhampton.

The delegates were greeted by Andrew Morris, who explained the background of how TVTC came into being, ie West Croft Special School and Sports Centre securing funding to subsequently be utilizing surplus space at the Timken engineering company (previously Sunbeam manufacturing motorbikes, bicycles, cars).

A guided tour of the TVTC followed, and delegates were shown the different construction, painting and decorating, plastering and textile departments with learning booths. Following this there was lunch with networking opportunities between the delegates from different schools as well as a feedback session.

IMPACT
• A great example of partnership working to help young people with special needs into employment
• Giving businesses the chance to see ways of having future employees trained up through an innovative project
• Inspiration for businesses to get involved with organising the training of their future employees
• Helping the local economy by getting more young people into employment, who would otherwise find it hard to get a job and would be living off benefits
• Giving hope to young people with special needs of getting a job, thus avoiding the cost of medication and need for hospitalisation due to mental health problems such as depression

QUOTES
"I found the tour most useful,  seeing the achievements of the students at work"
Paul Page – Cup Shop Manager, Steelite International

"The most powerful aspect of the day for me was to share the experience of a Vocational Centre with colleagues from Schools, from Industry and from Business Brokers.  To see the Timken Centre during a working day and hear first hand from Andy Morris was better than any booklet or powerpoint.  We saw firsthand  the advantages of Business engaging on a very real level with young people who have special needs and learning difficulties. Places like the Timken Centre can be part of a system that enables all our young people to take their rightful place in society."
Mrs J.A. Onions, Director of Specialisms/School Business Manager, Blackfriars School