Helping to close the skills gap – Bristol WORKS

As part of our mission to do our bit to help close the skills gap and to share how to build diverse teams, we’d like to share the fantastic work the guys at Bristol WORKS do as well as why and how we made a pledge to support them on their mission.

Who they are and what they do

WORKS is part of the Bristol Learning City Partnership, set to build a unique collaboration between employers, learning providers and local communities to develop a skilled local workforce. Their aim is to offer a bespoke experience of work programmes. They are taking a very consultative approach, how they work with each school is unique, creating a bespoke programme with schools, based on the needs of young people.

Why it matters

The Bristol WORKS initiative is set to increase the choices young people in Bristol have by offering meaningful experiences of work. Through the work they do, they equip future generations with the passion and skills to make positive life choices regardless of their background.

How we got involved
Part of our own mission ‘beyond recruitment’ is to help businesses create truly diverse teams and also to help close the skills gap. So we had a chat with the team at WORKS to formulate what we could be contributing that is meaningful and of real value as part of the options that they take to schools to select from and consider.

Together with them, we have crafted an ADLIB Career Workshop to provide students with information about potential career paths within the Technology, Data, Marketing and Creative sectors – emphasizing the soft skills and areas of interest that they may identify with. We are hoping that they are useful. A success, even if just one student feels enabled and inspired to see and realize all the options ahead – embarking on a career journey that they may have never considered or seen out of reach beforehand.

How you can get involved as a business or potential employer
Everyone can do their bit too. Employers are asked to pledge support to the project via a framework of activities. The WORKS team then work with mainstream schools, alternative provisions and special schools across Bristol to match employment opportunities with the needs of the young people.

You can pledge via the WORKS webpage. Pledging your support doesn’t commit you to any specific activity. Also here, the team takes a consultative approach to ensure that all activities are tailored to the exact needs of each school. If you would like to meet the WORKS project manager to ask questions about the programme or would like more information before pledging, you can reach the team via email.

Hayley Galpin, WORKS Project Manager:

“Due to the bespoke nature of the programme, a wide variety of activities have been delivered and implemented with schools in the last two years to support the need of the young people and the provisions we work with. From September, we are expanding the work we are doing to more provisions which means we are working hard to continue to recruit and increase the menu of opportunities to ensure those young people who most need it are being able to access the quality experience of work opportunities. We really rely on the support of individuals and organisations such as yourselves to ensure young people are being afforded the opportunity to grow, develop and obtain employability skills in a multitude of ways. If you would like to hear more about the work we do then please get in touch and I will be happy to discuss further with you.”

We are looking forward to working with the team!