Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
4
2-3. Introduction from the
Chief Executive
4-5. Urban Futures Supports
the 53rd Annual Springfield
Presentation evening
6-7. Interview with Derek
Wheeler - Head of External
Relationships
7. Goodbye to Charlene
Greenaway - Former Director
of Operations
8. G4S CWP Good News
Stories
9. Manchester Airport Group
Apprentices
10. Interview with Victor
Stephenson-Henshaw - Data
Quality and Compliance
Manager
11 The Compliance Team
12. Testimonials - Hamilton
Fraser
13. Stansted Jobs Fair
14. Airport Jobs Available
15. New for 2015
16. Find us Online
2
It’s hello again from me and
welcome to our Spring /
Summer edition of the
Newsletter produced for both
customers and staff alike. It is
always a pleasant time of the
year as we progress into what
is hopefully better weather and
so far we can’t really complain.
The Easter period has been
warm and sunny most of the time and it always helps to
make our staff and customers feel in a more positive
frame of mind.
So what’s in this addition of the Newsletter? We kick off
with a brilliant event that Urban Futures was able to
4
support, namely the Springfield Presentation
Evening. Some of our CWP customers were
recognised for their contribution to the Centre
and this is testament to their dedication and
delivery as well as showcasing a community
facility which is a beacon of excellence in the
community. Well done to all of our customers
who have contributed and were recognised for
their contributions.
We move onto continuing with our sections on
introducing key staff to the wider Urban Futures
workforce. In this edition we have 2 senior
members of staff interviewed on their roles and
responsibilities so feel free to get in contact if
there is anything they can help you with in the
execution of your own role and responsibilities.
They are here to help, both of them, but in
crucially different roles. Derek is the gateway to
smoother and more efficient communications
between the frontline teams and our funders
and strategic partners, particularly Job Centre
Plus. He can help to ensure that key strategic
partners are aware of localised intelligence
issues and potential emerging logjams in
systems management whilst Victor Stephenson-
Henshaw is the final cog in the wheel in terms
of ensuring that our claims processes to funders
and associated paperwork is up to the standard
that allows us to be paid.
Our Stansted Employment & Skills Academy has
also had a busy few months and we have now
relocated much of the management of our
Employer Accounts to this site. We feature
news on the recent Jobs Fair and highlight work
we have been doing in supplying
apprenticeships to the Manchester Airport
Group (MAG) at Stansted.
Of course we never stand still and people come
and work with us for a period before they move
onto pastures new. This is true across the
board at Urban Futures and recently we saw
the departure of Charlene Greenaway our
former Director of Operations. She moves onto
an exciting role with Remploy (who themselves
have been taken under the wing of the major
welfare to work provider Maximus) and we
wish her success for the future. We continue to
focus on our delivery structures to ensure that
staff are in the right teams, doing the right
jobs, and for the right reasons. To this end, I
myself have taken a more ‘hands on’ role and
now directly line manage the senior teams
responsible for our overall delivery.
So it’s all hands on deck as we move onwards
from the election in May 2015. Whatever the
government chosen; regardless of the political
flavour of the day; mindful of our continuing
Aims & Objectives; Urban Futures will continue
to strive to deliver services of excellence and
worth and meeting the needs and aspirations
of our customers.
I look forward to working with staff and
continuing to interact with customers over the
coming months.
Steve Delaney, Chief Executive.
3
4
Urban Futures were proud to support the 53rd
Annual Springfield presentation evening. The
event took place on 25th February, 2015 at the
Springfield Youth Club in Hackney. The club
encourages young people aged 10-18 into
sports and arts and provides a place for them
to socialise. Seven of Urban Futures
Community Work Placement participates were
given awards on the night.
Hundreds of excited young people and proud
parents packed into Hackney’s Springfield
Youth Club Annual Awards, cheering as the
celebrity guests including former Spice Girl
Geri Halliwell and Olympic long jump champion
Greg Rutherford were introduced to answer
questions from the audience and present at
the event.
The night kicked off with dance performances
from Sam Saunders Performing Arts
School and the Nemesis dance group. More
than 100 young people and volunteers were
awarded for a range of triumphs, with some
awards named in honour of sports champions
like Olympian Tessa Sanderson, and Formula
One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who
have both visited the club previously.
At the event, the Urban Futures Community
Work Placement participants were given a neck
medal for their volunteer work at the club. The
participants present at the event included:
Leroy Scarlett,
Allan Cherrington,
Jenere Meade
Michael Weeks
Keitha Puckerin
Panagiotis Bozikis,
Majorie Henderson
Majorie Henderson won ‘The Anthony Marsh
4
4
5
Award’ which goes to an adult who has made a
big contribution to the club. Marjorie
Henderson joined Springfield in September
2012 as the club administrator. Since 2014,
Marjorie has shown her abilities and has really
become an important part of the day to day
operations at Springfield. Marjorie currently
project manages a group of unemployed
volunteers from Urban Futures. This involves
Marjorie giving a 30 hour week managing,
supporting and advising the eight volunteers to
complete a range of tasks including
refurbishment of the building and the
development of IT systems.
Marjorie often produces documents and takes
minutes at staff and management committee
meetings. She also volunteers on a Thursday
evening in the youth club serving food behind
the canteen. The award is thoroughly deserved
for Majorie.
Urban Futures Chief Executive
Steve Delaney says:
“Urban Futures is delighted to be
associated with the Springfield
Youth Club in the delivery of an
important government focused
employability programme supporting long term un-
employed people back into meaningful community
based activities and ultimately employment. The
Springfield Youth Club are an excellent example of
an organisation supporting their local community in
the delivery of services and doing so by engaging
with unemployed people as well. We are proud of
the role our customers have played in contributing
to the delivery of services but are equally im-
pressed with the development of our customers by
the dedicated staff and volunteers at The Spring-
field Youth Club, and shown through the awards
presented to them. We wish The Springfield Youth
Club and our customers alike the very best for the
future and are very grateful for their continuing
support of our programme”
Majorie Henderson with the ‘Anthony
Marsh Award’ at the ceremony
Geri Halliwell with Hackney youngster
Norbert Tutak
Celebrity guests including Spice Girl Geri Halliwell &
Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford
4 6
Q1. What is your job title and role within the
company?
I’m head of External Relationships. My main
role is to work with Job Centre Plus Offices
who are referring their clients to Urban futures
Q2. How long have you worked at Urban
Futures and for HEBP?
I’ve worked at Urban Futures for three and a
half years, when Haringey Education Business
Partnership became part of Urban Futures.
Prior to that, I’d been Executive Manager of
HEBP for eight years
Q3. How has your job role changed in the
company over the years you’ve worked here?
When I was first at UF I was still manager of
HEBP. In the summer of 2012, Steve asked me
to head up a New Youth Services project. This
was primarily managing several contracts
supporting young people who were not in
Education, Employment and Training. This was
a very challenging group of clients, but we did
have some success.
A really worthwhile project was “WorkSmart”
which UF delivered in Partnership with
Leonard Cheshire Disability. This was a group
of clients who were under 25. They had
multiple disabilities including learning
difficulties, autism, and visual impairment
We placed eighteen into one year paid
placements. The impact on the clients was
dramatic. Confidence increased immeasurably.
These were also the most committed and
pleasant young people we have worked
with. Four have gone into permanent
employment with several others applying for
jobs
Q4. What are your main duties and day-to-day
tasks?
I have to build strong relationships across the
twenty five JCPs we work with on the
Community Work Programme. They stretch
from Romford in the East to Uxbridge in the
West.
Communication is a major problem, and I have
to ensure that I’m in regular dialogue with all
JCP management and advisors.
CWP clients are long termed unemployed who
have to complete a twenty six week voluntary
assignment. As the primary point of contact it’s
my job to ensure that the JCPs receive
information which is efficient, concise and
accurate.
I visit the offices on a monthly basis. I conduct
1:2:1 meetings or undertake presentations to
JCP teams. I’m also arranging Observation
4 7
meetings where JCP staff visit one of our
offices for half a day. These are really useful
as JCP personnel can put faces to names.
They all want to meet Maruf! CWP clients
also see that Urban Futures and JCP staff
work collaboratively and we are aware of any
intentional misbehaviour.
Q5. What projects/programmes are you
currently involved in and how are they
doing?
I’m currently working for most of the time on
CWP, but on my visits to JCPs I also market
our CSCS and Preparation for Work courses.
Q6. What goals within the company are you
hoping to achieve in 2015?
As our experience of CWP grows we will be
able to continually show JCP and G4S just
how well Urban Futures performs. If we can
create a good relationship with G4S we will
be able to look for further contracts.
Charlene
Greenaway,
Director of
Operations for
Urban Futures
decided to leave
the company in
December 2014.
Charlene left an
impact on Urban Futures and particularly on
our front facing and customer orientated
services. Urban Futures wish Charlene all
the best on her future endeavours.
Charlene Greenaway:
“The last 18 months some can only be
described as a rollercoaster. We have implemented new contracts, opened new offices, won contracts under Novation, turned around performance – the list goes on, in an ever changing market.
What has not changed is the dedication of the people who work at Urban Futures. Through the challenging times, there remains a determination to achieve and deliver the best service possible to the customers.
I want to thank you all for your support and dedication over the last 18 months, and as I leave to pastures new, I am sure you will all continue with the same determination and success to be Number 1 provider of choice People are at the heart of what we do, and as you continue to remember this, you will continue to impact the lives of the
customers.”
4
8
Urban Futures are currently in the 10th month
of delivering under contract to G4S the Depart-
ment of Work & Pensions (DWP) Community
Work Placement (CWP) programme over a sig-
nificant part of London and encompassing the
boroughs of Haringey; Enfield, Waltham Forest;
Redbridge, Havering; Hackney; Harrow; Barnet;
Brent; Tower Hamlets; & Hillingdon.
Alan Nevin
Alan was referred to Urban Futures by the Job
Centre Plus following his completion of the
Work Programme. Alan didn’t initially have a CV
but was successfully helped by Urban Futures
staff to create one. Staff also helped improve
his job search skills through an introduction to
various job based websites.
Alan was very appreciative for the help and
assistance extended to him at his work
placement at the Citizens Advice Bureau. He
was given the opportunity to develop his admin
and marketing skills by receiving tasks which
Alan performed exceedingly well. He was also
trained by a senior member of the IT
technician team which helped to develop
Alan’s skills gradually and
become confident with helping
other members of staff.
In summary, Alan’s confidence
was boosted and his job search
skills were vastly improved. Alan decided to
offer his time to CAB by working on a voluntary
basis. This will help maintain and further
develop his skills-set and enhance his chances
of getting paid employment soon.
Nathan Dorsett
Nathan was referred to Urban Futures by the
Job Centre Plus following his two years with
the Work Programme. He had a work
placement at ReStore Community projects
based in Tottenham Hale. He performed
various tasks to the satisfaction of his
supervisor. He interacted with his team and
contributed significantly to team working,
problem solving and also anticipating
operational difficulties and developing a
response to provide excellent customer
service.
The work placement instilled in him discipline,
i.e. a good record of attendance and
punctuality. Nathan ascribes all his
employability skills and work ethnics due to
continued assistance, support and guidance
that he received at Urban Futures.
Nathan speaks very highly of Urban Futures, its
client’s supportive culture and its staff
willingness and capacity to offer him all the
support that he needed. Nathan is appreciative
of the support extended to him by Urban
Futures staff member; Fiona West who helped
Nathan create a CV, get the interview and
prepare for the role. Special mention also goes
to Natasha, Sherene, Harley, Jamie and Abigail
for their continued support.
4
Urban Futures are working in partnership with
Manchester Airport Group at Stansted Airport,
delivering Customer Service Apprenticeships.
This 30 month programme will see 17 apprentic-
es working within the Customer Service/Security
area. Year 1 will be intermediate apprenticeship
and year 2 will be an advanced apprenticeship.
6 apprentices started with MAG at the begin-
ning of March, with a further 11 starting in July.
Lily Gee, Talent & Resourcing Co-ordinator for
Manchester Airport Group -
“Apprentices are invaluable to our business and
form an important part of our talent strategy at
Stansted Airport. Urban Futures have played a
key role in working with us to secure some fan-
tastic candidates and we look forward to contin-
uing to work with them through the Apprentice-
ship programme.”
The Manchester Airport Group apprentices and assessor Anni
Ridsdill Smith (far right)
4
Q1. What is your job title and role within the
company?
My job title is Data Quality & Compliance
Manager, the main focus of the role is to
ensure that all the paperwork and systems
are up to date and meet the requirements of
the contractors, before filing the relevant
claims. I also manage the company’s
Management Information Systems to track
performance across our contracts, support
forecasting and undertake trend analysis.
Q2. How long have you worked at Urban
Futures?
I have been with Urban Futures now for 3
years.
Q3. How has your job role developed since
being at Urban Futures?
I initially started with Urban Futures as an
Apprentice Administrator, over the three
years I have been here I have had the
privilege of working across a variety of
contracts in varying roles, from CSCS Co-
Ordinator, to Office Manager to my current
role of Data Quality & Compliance Manager.
Q4. What are your main duties and day –to-
day tasks?
My main duties and day to day tasks include;
ensuring all delivery is in line with
Contractual Requirements, maintaining the
Management Information Systems,
supporting with forecasting and trend
analysis, completing and filing claims to
contractors/funders as well as supporting
and managing the team. In addition to this
there are reconciliations that are completed
periodically and ad-hoc analysis to support
with the bidding process.
Q5. What specific goals for you and your
team are you hoping to achieve in 2015?
My main goal is to see my team continue to
grow and develop, I have the privilege of
working with a great team and hope that I
can continue to support my team. Our main
goal as a team is to be able to support the
front line delivery teams even further so the
company can continue to grow and support
people.
Q6. Who is on the compliance team and
what do they do?
10
4
The team is made up of Priscilla and John who
look after our Work Programme contracts,
this includes validating our Job Starts and
supporting these customers while they are in
work. We have Jason and Rishana who make
sure that our training and ESF contracts are all
up to date and running smoothly, this includes
making sure our customers get their
certificates and CSCS Cards. Finally we have
Harley, Jazreen and Donatas who are
responsible for our newest contract CWP, this
requires a lot of physical file checks and
uploading to the CRM system.
11
The Compliance Team
From Left to Right
Donatas Dlugoborskis, Jazreen Hunter, Harley Hall - CWP Contracts
Rishana Morris, Jason Otoo - ESF Contracts
Victor Stephenson-Henshaw - Data Quality and Compilance Manager
John Booth, Priscilla Jean-Noel - Work Programme Contracts
4 12
Urban Futures is currently working with Hamilton
Fraser. So far, Urban Futures has successfully
helped Hamilton Fraser recruit three Business
Administration Apprentices for their offices in New
Barnet.
Kristina Yianni (Human Resources Advisor for
Hamilton Fraser) - “This is the first time we have
used the services of Urban Futures instead of using
a standard recruitment agency but we have found
they listened to our needs, and provided us with
good quality candidates who fit the culture of our
organization and we believe will grow with us over
time.
Urban Futures responded rapidly to our
requirements, vetting, screening, briefing and
providing good quality 16 to 18 year old students
who were interested in becoming a Level 2
Business administration Apprentice. They took into
consideration the students location and the
commute to New Barnet. They organized the
interviews, making sure the students knew where
and when to arrive which worked smoothly and we
were impressed with the overall standard of the
candidates offered.
We look forward to working in partnership with
Urban Futures in the future.”
4
The annual Stansted free jobs fair took place at
the Tottenham Hostpur Football Stadium at
White Hart Lane on April 14th, 2015
An impressive number of North London
residents expressed interest in working at the
airport with nearly 200 people through the
doors in the first hour. In total, over 500 people
enquired about vacancies from 25 different on-
airport employers. Stansted hope to welcome
these people into employment at the airport in
the near future.
Among the 25 different on-airport employers
attending were Holiday Inn, Costa Coffee, WH
Smith, McDonalds, Swarovski, World Duty Free
and JD Wetherspoon.
The fair was organised by the Stansted Airport
Employment and Skills Academy which acts as a
‘one-stop-shop’ employment agency at the
heart of the airport’s operation. Thousands of
jobseekers have benefited from the academy
since it opened in 2008 with help in finding a job
or to sign-up to a wide range of training
programmes.
The jobs fair demonstrated a strong partnership
working between all organisations and
everyone’s support made the day an
overwhelming success.
Anita Garrard, Training and Quality Manager,
said: “The Job Fair at Tottenham FC was a great
success, Stansted Academy organized the event
in partnership with MAG and 25 employers
attended the job fair. Over 500 people attended
and met with the employers, who were very
impressed with both the venue and the number
of people they spoke to – they are now in the
process of arranging interviews with candidates
and are confident that they will take on new
staff over the next few weeks.
Stansted Academy spoke with many people
about the Preparation for Working at Stansted
Airport course that we deliver, and over 100
people completed a contact form to enroll onto
the course.”
4
4
15
Contact:
Alternatively, you can contact by telephone on 020 8352 5900 or via the website and other electronic connections
Here at Urban Futures we welcome input and ideas from all staff and customers. If you have any ideas for articles of interest then please forward these to the marketing department.
What to expect from our next edition
Newsletter Q3.
CWP Updates
New Interviews
New Information about Events
4
www.urbanfutures.org.uk
www.urbanfuturesjobs.org.uk
www.facebook.com/urbanfutures
www.twitter.com/urbanfuturesuk
Email: [email protected]
Urban Futures, Unit A012, The Chocolate Factory,
Clarendon Road, Wood Green, London, N22 6XJ
Urban Futures is a company registered in England & Wales.
Company registration number: 04131420.
