It is the ambition of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) to give every young person at least one employer encounter, each year they are in secondary school. A young person who has four or more encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training, and can earn up to 18% more in their career.
The LEP’s Enterprise Adviser Network provides valuable links between education and employers allowing the region’s young people to develop enterprise and employability skills, gain a realistic idea of the career opportunities available and increase their understanding of career pathways.
As a business the LEP is committed to supporting this ambition and, through the Enterprise Adviser Network, is able to support a number of schools in the Calderdale area to strategically improve and develop their careers provisions and give the regions young people those vital employer encounters.
John Fox talking at a recent careers event in Calderdale
About the Enterprise Adviser Network
The Enterprise Adviser Network has been set up by the Careers & Enterprise Company, a national organisation that works with Local Authorities throughout the UK to link schools and colleges to employers, to help them deliver world-class careers support for all young people. Its mission is to prepare and inspire young people for the fast-changing world of work.
Lucy Zodion has been working within the Enterprise Adviser Network, through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, over the last four years. With deep roots in engineering, manufacturing illumination products for street lighting infrastructure, Lucy Zodion employs a large number of experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This is something our Enterprise Adviser, John Fox, is passionate about nurturing through his involvement in the Network.
What an Enterprise Adviser does
An Enterprise Adviser is a volunteer from business who works closely with the head teacher or Senior Leadership Team of a school or college, to provide strategic support. An Enterprise Adviser uses their business experience and professional networks to help develop and implement an effective careers strategy that puts opportunities with local employers at the heart of a young person’s education.
Over 2,500 individual senior business volunteers now support the new workforce of Careers Leaders in schools and colleges. A recent survey of Enterprise Advisers indicated that 82% of Enterprise Advisers intend to continue next year with their role, and 92% believe they have built a new skill through the work with schools and colleges.
Adding value
Research shows that performance against the Gatsby Benchmarks, a framework of eight guidelines that define the best careers provision, is stronger in schools and colleges that are in the Enterprise Adviser Network and working with an Enterprise Adviser, than those with no support.
An Enterprise Adviser adds value by:
- Providing an employer’s perspective on what businesses are likely to be willing to do and what opportunities businesses would value;
- Supporting the school or college’s senior leadership team to develop a school or college strategic plan to ensure every young person receives meaningful employer encounters and workplace experiences – you are not expected to be an expert in the Careers landscape to do this!
- Engaging with local businesses and employers in your network to encourage their involvement in activities at the school or college;
- Helping schools and colleges to focus efforts on programmes and activities that are most effective in motivating young people, supporting independent choice and enabling positive outcomes for young people.
Lucy Zodion and Park Lane Academy
Lucy Zodion has paired up with local secondary school, Park Lane Academy, to help support students with real-world employment experiences. The school is also part of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and through the Adviser Network, we strive to meet the mission of preparing and inspiring young people for the fast-changing world of work.
One of Park Lane’s main priorities is to realise potential. To do this, the school aims to give all its students to the best education it can provide. Furthermore, it also wants students to be able to develop in confidence, self-motivation, with a determination to succeed and be proud of themselves for all that they can and will achieve. This means nurturing students and their strongest capabilities.
Some of the strengths of students at the Academy are in STEM, something that Lucy Zodion fully endorses. The foundations of STEM are built through core subjects taught in school; by showing students that what they are learning is of great value to their future development, Lucy Zodion hopes to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders.
As part of our commitment to transparency across our business and supply chains, we are pleased to confirm Lucy Zodion’s adoption of the Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking policy set by the Lucy Group. Modern slavery takes many forms – such as servitude, forced labour and human trafficking, all of which deprive a person of their liberty or exploit them for commercial gain.
