A regional event took place in Wisbech on 31 March 2011 with 15 business representatives and 19 young people in partnership with the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce.

A great event with 150 local young people and around 20 companies attending. The objective of the event was to encourage businesses of all sizes and sectors to help create a better understanding of what business can do to make young people's first experience of the world of work more inspiring, interesting and insightful.

Two events have taken place in partnership with Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce. Cambridge Big Conversation on 26^th November and Peterborough Big Conversation on 30^th November. Both events proved to be successful and as a result, a further regional event and construction sector event are being planned for spring in the East of England region.

A very successful event was held in Stoke-on-Trent on 23^rd November, convening local employers and young people to discuss their experiences and expectations of work experience. The young people had the opportunity for a one to one discussion with a CEO to talk about employability skills, aspirations and how to make the most of work opportunities.

Dwain McDonald, CEO of GeoPost UK described the company's innovative Work Inspiration programme ‘Opening Doors', which offers a bespoke, week-long inspiring experience. GeoPost started their programme from nothing in 2008 and now offer 140 placements per year.

At the workshop "Raising Aspirations through Work Inspiration" held on 15^th November, Practitioners from Business in the Community (BITC) member companies came together to share information about their challenges and approaches to turning work experience into "Work Inspiration".

Channel 4 Television and Allen & Overy LLP presented the programmes which achieved recognition in Business in the Community's pilot Work Inspiration award category in 2009 to representatives from 14 member companies:  Argent, BAE Systems, BBC, Beachcroft LLP, BSkyB, Cambridge University Press, Centrica, Chiswick Park Estate Management, Department of Health, Environment Agency, Marks & Spencer, Rothschild, SAS Software and Visa Europe.

Jo Taylor, Head of Learning & 4talent for Channel 4 outlined a talent management strategy which helps educate managers to look at talent in a different way and delivers great opportunities for 11 - 25 year olds in a range of programmes across the UK from one to two weeks unpaid work experience to 3-12 month internships and apprenticeships.  "We think hard about what talent means to C4" Jo Taylor explained, "and we're democratic about developing talent.  Our internship programme for example allows 2^nd ‘careerers' to experience the roles available in the media through our business, by gaining hands on training and development; 30% of the 14 interns this year have remained with us so the business benefit is clear.  As a policy, C4 pays any work experience over 2 weeks in the interests of social mobility. Part of the benefit is educating managers to look at talent in a different way".

For Channel 4, an on-line presence is critical and a multi platform strategy is the communication their target audience expects.  "A simple message about what talent stands for means we can sell the idea to others - to partners and young people".

Jo outlined a programme of work which is resourced by a team of three and takes them out nationally into community events communicating the Channel's hunger for talent and the routes offered. 

Allen & Overy, as a professional firm with over 2,500 people in their large City based office, focused on what they could do to make work experience more beneficial to young people - part of a long tradition of community investment in their local area.  "The Work Inspiration campaign is making us look differently at work experience" explained Emma Shaw, Pro Bono & Community Affairs Officer for the firm. "We realised we needed to improve the ownership internally - bringing together the interests of Graduate Recruitment, Diversity, Community Investment and the legal and support functions.  So we followed the campaign advice to hold an internal Big Conversation."

Allen & Overy outlined a significant investment in creating work experience programmes that are beneficial for the young people taking part in them, and for the firm.  Their Smart Start Experience, for Year 12 students, is lead from the top, and brings together more than 200 volunteers who help make the programme a success.  Smart Start gives students the chance to develop confidence and other key soft skills, whilst also finding out more about the types of jobs in the City, and how to apply for them.  Smart Start also benefits the firm for example, they invite clients to get involved with the programme; and it plays an important role in encouraging staff to get involved not just in Smart Start but in other volunteering activities.

During table discussions, delegates addressed first the question about what makes the difference internally, and secondly what makes the difference in terms of getting the right young people in to the opportunities available. 

It was clear that there were steps companies could take if they did not have any programme as well as some good practices for companies with developed approaches and programmes.

Building momentum - what makes the difference internally

Early steps recommendations:

• Develop an outline for how to deliver an effective placement (best led by HR). Provide an example of what a good work experience will include and provide a feedback form. Provide a job description for a work experience host and outline the skills developed by this experience.
• Prepare the materials to be used by young people and make these available to those involved in managing the work experience placement of who you're trying to recruit for this role. It breeds more confidence.
• Beware overstretching new recruits by making them responsible for work experience supervision.
• Find leadership internally.
• Use Ambassadors/Champions - they can communicate this volunteering opportunity, the issues it addresses about which they have a passionate interest be that diversity, social mobility, they can deliver and reinforce message if volunteering is integrated into appraisals.

Later steps recommendations:

• Work on a simple external communication of the opportunities available across the business - a careers portal. Bundle together all they ways young people can engage with you to experience work. This will allow you to promote the message internally as well as externally.

Building momentum in widening access and attracting those in greatest needs

Early steps recommendations:

• A road show of all the working opportunities and the full range of work your business conducts makes you visible to pupils as an employer and supports their self selection in to work experience
• Look for partners/brokers who target those in greatest need using indicators like high percentage of students qualify for free school meals, don't have English as a first language ( e.g. The Brokerage City Link) and "first in the family to university" (Sutton Trust)
• Work with other companies in your local area
• Get to know your community through your employees
• Make your offer visible on your website
• Make parents aware of your work experience opportunities

Speaking on behalf of Business in the Community, Sarah Gibb, Director of Skills & Workplace Learning (BITC), outlined the milestones in campaign success:

• 485 companies signed up and using the insights and resources
• 98,581 placements benefitting from this approach

Sarah Gibb also urged any companies not already signed up to do so and to mobilise their leaders using their Business in the Community relationship.

The Talent & Skills Team presented Work Inspiration at the CSR Europe 2010 Conference in Brussels yesterday.

Delegates has access to free promotional Work Inspiration packs which give an overview of the campaign objectives and resources available on this website and an opportunity to discuss the wider business and community benefits of the campaign.

For more information, or to request your pack, please contact Kate Rome at kate.rome@bitc.org.uk or call 020 7566 6634.

The Work Inspiration campaign has achieved major success in its first year.  Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of Business in the Community (BITC) and Chairman of M&S announced the results to business leaders and young people at an event held at BT Tower on 15th September 2010.

Results highlighted by the chairman include:

• 70 000 new Work Inspiration placements across the UK
• 400 new companies signed up to the campaign, including: ASDA, British  Gas, Eversheds, Cadburys, CBI, Microsoft and Lantra - touching the lives of almost 6 million employees
• Sector groups have taken up the Work Inspiration banner to address their own recruitment issues, these include media (ITV), professional firms (Capgemini), the agricultural industry (Rural and Agriculture Society) and sports and leisure
• Based on feedback from the campaign the Education and Employers Task Force have integrated it into recommendations made to government about a new definition of work experience, and the need to ensure it is part ongoing learning about the world of work

On September 14th, Suffolk County Council, Backing Young Suffolk, Business in the Community and four of Suffolk's key employers convened business leaders, students, practitioners and teachers to collaborate on an important shared agenda of work experience.

Nearly 200 guests took part in the Big Conversation with young people presenting from a stage.