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Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Ltd

Our vision is for a Wales where individuals are inspired to take control of their careers.

Our mission is to ensure clients achieve their potential.

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Contents

Section 1 Delivering the Vision – Changing Lives

1.1 Delivering the Welsh Agenda

1.2 Services that deliver outcomes

1.3 Investing and developing Digital Services

1.4 Cross cutting themes

1.5 Changing Lives – A three year vision

Section 2 Delivering to the people of Wales

2.1 A new offer for young people

2.2 Inspiring 16-18 year olds

2.3 Solutions for Partner Organisations

2.4 Engaging business

2.5 Supporting adults back into work

Section 3 Delivering continuous improvement

3.1 Developing our workforce

3.2 Improving and evaluating our services

3.3 Developing our capabilities

Section 4 Non-core projects

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Section 1.

Delivering the Vision Foreword

Changing Lives – A Vision for Careers Wales sets out an exciting future for the provision of

Careers Information Advice and Guidance (CIAG) in Wales and a clear focus for how we invest our

resources in order to deliver quality services and outcomes that will benefit the people of Wales and

which support the Welsh Government’s long term aspirations.

I am fortunate to work with individuals who are dedicated, experienced and committed to putting

clients at the centre of their considerations. Capitalising on this expertise, and making swift progress

with a digital approach to providing appropriate services, Careers Wales is well placed to become a

market leader in how careers services can be provided to meet clients’ ever-changing needs.

More and more young people in Wales are Wi-Fi enabled, with ‘internet in their pocket’ use of

technologies. These young people experience a world where everything is immediate and

convenient to access via the web. Digital technology provides both opportunities and challenges for

Careers Wales in supporting these young service users, to support them in being discerning in the

information they use, and to identify any bias in the advice that is available. Impartial careers

advice and guidance is, for these very reasons, more important than ever to these client groups.

The Vision also consolidates our commitment to working with schools, parents and employers in

helping people “manage” their careers throughout their lives and to understand the world of work

and the opportunities available to them. Close partnerships with these key influencers, along with

our varied stakeholders, are central to ensuring that we all remain committed to keeping the needs

of the people of Wales at the centre of everything we do.

This year will see a major transformation through structural change and redistribution of investment

to deliver Changing Lives. We anticipate that this necessary and important evolution for the

Company will continue for the next three years.

This Business Plan sets out a challenging agenda for the coming year as well as an ethos by which

it will be delivered, and a clear commitment to deliver on the Welsh Government’s investment.

Graham Bowd

Chief Executive.

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1.1 Delivering the Welsh Agenda Careers Wales contributes to the wider policy agenda of the Welsh Government.

“Taking Wales Forward 2016-2021”.

Careers Wales contributes to a range of policies by:

Supporting the ambitious proposals in Successful Futures through its curriculum team working

to help schools develop effective careers and work related education and employer

engagement; in particular, developing ambitious and capable learners and enterprising and

creative contributors.

Continuing to play a critical role in the delivery of the Youth Engagement and Progression

Framework

Playing a key role in helping raise awareness of young people of learning and training

opportunities, including Apprenticeships

Being ideally positioned with its experience and expertise supporting adults with career choices

and employability to contribute to the new government Employability Programme

Supporting the goals of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. (See table below and

Appendix 1)

Wellbeing of Future Generations Act

Services to clients

Goal How Careers Wales contributes

A prosperous Wales The use of resources to efficiently and effectively focus on the development of young people so they have the skills to manage their own careers, raising aspirations and delivering social and economic benefits for individuals, families, communities and the economy of Wales .

A resilient Wales Building the career management skills of individuals that will help them build the resilience and adaptability to deal with the challenges presented by 21st Century career paths.

A healthier Wales Increasing the chances of an individual being in Education, Employment and Training and active in society raises not only earning power but has knock-on impacts on people's physical and mental well-being.

A more equal Wales Providing a service to all young people will ensure that services are delivered to learners of all abilities and levels of awareness, and also seeking to raise aspirations and challenge stereotypes.

A Wales of cohesive communities Careers Guidance services have social and economic benefits that impact on communities and social cohesion. Promoting local opportunities will help develop the talent pipeline and reduce skills gaps, and help to make communities across Wales more attractive and viable.

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A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language A bilingual service which places Welsh language as a central principle of delivery, and offers services that respond to the needs of individuals and partners in the regions of Wales. Raising awareness of young people of the skills needs of employers including Welsh Language skills

A globally responsible Wales Increasing awareness of the global labour market and future challenges in Wales and around the world, on how economies and the environment are changing, and exposing young people to how these challenges may be met, and the opportunities in industries (e.g. “green tech”) which are addressing these.

By working on an agreed set of outcomes we will impact on:

Taking Wales Forward Examples of Careers Wales contribution

The prosperity of our clients and the national and regional economies

Providing current and Wales-focused LMI, Careers Advice and Guidance delivered by professionally qualified impartial careers advisers.

Their ambitions and opportunities for learning

Raising aspirations, Career Management Competencies (CMCs) to help individuals through their working lives.

The creation of a united and connected society

Working with Partners and those influencing young people’s choices, Digital services, Challenging stereotypes

“Our services will have a particular focus on the following outcomes for clients in

order to equip them to make effective career decisions at key transition points

throughout their lives”

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1.2 Services that deliver outcomes Careers Wales services are designed to achieve outcomes for individuals that will, in turn, lead to

outcomes for society. These are outlined below.

Outcomes for clients

Our services will be designed to deliver the following outcomes for clients in order to equip them to

make affective career decisions at key transition points.

Awareness: Greater understanding of labour market information and the learning, training

and employment opportunities available to them. Awareness of their own strengths, skills

and abilities, where they can improve and who can help them.

Aspiration: Increased ambition and motivation to participate in employment, education and

training

Ability: Improve the effective use of skills and competencies to make decisions and develop

the resilience to adapt to dealing with changing circumstances; and

Action: Improved confidence, skills and ability to use their contacts, to implement plans,

make successful applications for sustainable employment, learning and training.

These outcomes for individuals will in turn help to develop effective career managers, and this will

deliver population outcomes as follows:

Outcomes for the population

Improve efficiency of labour markets by reducing skills mismatches

Increase participation and attainment in education and training, reducing the number of

young people who are not in education, employment or training

Maximise the efficiency of post compulsory education by supporting well considered

decisions about learning options and pathways thereby reducing churn and minimising

incidence of failure to complete courses.

Promote greater parity of esteem between academic and vocational pathways particularly

ensuring young people and their parents are aware of apprenticeship pathways and

supported to access them as appropriate

Help other agencies to target their services more efficiently and effectively

In line with the ambition set out in the Curriculum for Wales, support schools to deliver

experiences and opportunities to young people that help prepare them for the world of work.

Enhance stronger more effective partnership working with key partners such as schools and

employers and develop effective education – business links across Wales.

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1.3 Investing and Developing Digital

Services

Digital Transformation

During the next three years Careers Wales will be embarking on a process of Digital

Transformation. During the year we will be looking at our business capabilities and processes and

enhancing them, where appropriate, through the use of technology and re-engineering them to meet

the needs of clients more effectively.

Whilst we will be looking at how we do things right across the organisation a key focus of the vision

is to deliver services in new ways, taking advantage of digital channels and technology. There are

many examples of this approach throughout the Business Plan. They include

For Clients

User research which will build on the surveys already undertaken during 2017-18 in order to

investigate further the most effective ways of using technology to engage young people.

Benchmarking and identifying collaborative projects to develop tools for young people.

Digitally enabled Careers Wales staff using a range of tools and channels to support and

keep in contact with clients. During the year careers advisers will be increasing their contacts

with learners through text and email to deliver information which supports “Career

Discovery”. All pupils in KS4 will complete Career Check to inform Careers Wales and their

school about their career interests and level of career management skills. Our career interest

guide – JobMatch will be promoted for pupils in KS 3 and 4. In addition, Careers Wales’ 360

virtual worlds will be used at our events, and an audience response system will be used in

both classroom settings as well as to engage learners to provide immediate feedback

The Career Discovery Model which will be developed and promoted so that clients access

Job Match quiz ,videos, information and LMI independently to develop their career

management skills and understanding of the world of work

The National Digital Solutions Team, Gyrfa Cymru Ddigidol – Digital Careers Wales will be

established to develop and pilot the national digital service offer with a particular focus in

year 1 on providing a Digital Service to young people in Post 16 learning .This team will work

in an agile way trialling a range of approaches including webinars, campaigns, Q and A web-

chats. It will be experimental, embracing an agile approach and the concept of continuous

improvement. It will include individuals acting as trail blazers, providing support for regional

digital delivery as well as the national digital offer.

For Partners

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The Education Business Exchange is a very significant development supporting our digital

transformation agenda. It is a database which will provide schools and employers with a way

of connecting to enable more effective education business links

Both teachers and Careers Wales will be able to access the database and identify which

employers may be able to support particular initiatives in school linked to the delivering

Careers and Work-related Education .This may include supporting events, the delivery of

particular subjects e.g. STEM, work experience or other work related activities as well as

supporting the Careers Wales “Career Discovery Model”.

The database also supports the aspirations of the new curriculum “Successful Futures“ and

the delivery of “The Pupil Offer”.

Resources for teachers - Our new portal for teachers and other professionals supporting

individuals with careers support on CareersWales.com will be launched. This portal will host

resources and tools for teachers to support Careers and World of Work activities in the

classroom. Alongside this we will investigate the potential of collaborating with HWB in

Wales.

Developments with the Careerswales.com platform

Careers Wales sees careerswales.com as central to the delivery of the vision. It will be a repository

for the content that is delivered to clients and partners via the Digital Experience platform.

The decision by the board to invest in the appropriate technology following the work undertaken by

Gartner means that there can now be a step change in the approach and pace of development with

the implementation recommended by Gartner taking place over the next two years. Gartner who,

having consulted closely with teams in Careers Wales and Welsh Government, have formulated a

digital vision and Road Map which will enable the Strategic Vision to be delivered.

The key recommendations in their report are

1. To update the technology that supports the website with appropriate solution components in

four phases to extend and tailor customer experience across all services. Given the level of

change required, and the small size of the IT team, Gartner recommends that Careers

Wales uses a Systems Integrator (specialist organisation that brings together system

components) to ensure the individual system components function together as a whole. As

the CW Operating Model matures, IT should cultivate a small in house development

capability to enable CW to become more agile when responding to customer demand, and to

improve customer engagement.

2. To implement the proposed changes in line with the recommended delivery model, Careers

Wales will need to enhance their supplier management competency by augmenting the roles

of IT leadership, Business enhancement ,Sourcing and service management. Ideally CW

would also develop their architectural capability, but given the size of the organisation there

may not be sufficient ongoing requirement for this and it may be more practical to procure

architectural services from an external provider.

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3. Careers Wales needs to establish a governance structure that will enable IT to deliver high-

value projects in an agile manner. This will need closer relationships between

Careerswales.com, the Careers Wales business and Welsh Government, to better

understand and prioritise the services required. Change will always be needed from a digital

perspective in order to remain sticky, and Careers Wales will also need to respond to

changes requested from Welsh Government. Having internal development capability, along

with the ability to bring in additional resource when needed, will enable Careers Wales to

respond to enact these changes more effectively.

In order to deliver the recommendations Careers Wales will during 2017-18:

Invest to re-platform the website in four phases to improve, extend and tailor customer experience

across all services with the integration of business and digital capabilities. The first phase will be

delivered in the next business year based on the user journeys and blend of business and digital

capabilities. Digital Components have been identified that will deliver the new platform with a target

date for a BETA site during the next Business Year.

o Work with Gartner on a second phase project to develop a Request for proposal (RFP)

which will enable us to go to market in the autumn 2018 to procure the services of a

systems integrator. This phase will also provide support to develop a Target Operating

Model and the minimum viable product ( MVP) required,

o Use the Alpha site which we have already developed (and integrates the Welsh

Government’s GEL standards and responsive design for mobiles and tablets) to inform the

development of the new platform

o Begin the procurement exercise to identify a supplier to implement a new Content

Management System with content developed based on user feedback and built to maximise

flexibility to develop content and accessibility and user engagement

o Engage a data architect and enterprise architect to support the development of the MVP

and consider how to achieve the most effective transition.

Begin a phased enhancement of our in house development and supplier management capability to

enable agile response to customer needs.

o This will be started as part of the re-structuring process which is being undertaken during

this business year.

Implement new governance arrangements to arrive at the MVP incorporating both internal and

external stakeholders

o Implement an enhanced governance structure with close relationships and partnership

with Welsh Government to develop services meeting client needs within policy

framework

o Establish new governance structure internally to deliver an agile approach to developing

services and processes

o Put in place Statement of Arrangements agreed with Welsh Government to facilitate

developments

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1.4 Cross cutting themes During 2017-18 consideration will be given to whether technology can support the delivery of the

cross-cutting themes. Where it is possible to implement changes in year, this will be done. However

the key focus of digital transformation in 2017-18 will be on services to clients and reviewing and

rationalising existing internal processes.

Environmental Impact

Careers Wales is committed to reducing the impact on the environment through CO2 emissions.

The introduction of the Future Well Being Generation Act has helped to strengthen the focus in this

area.

During 2017-2018 we commit to:

Undertake an environment impact review of every office to create a plan to reduce CO2

emissions.

Achieve level 3 of the green dragon award compared to level 2 in 2016/2017.

Increase staff awareness of our environmental impact by issuing quarterly reports in Linc of the

CO2 emissions for each office.

Delivering our services in a way that minimises co2 emissions through a reduction in staff travel.

Undertake quarterly assessments of each office to ensure staff are meeting the standards

required at level 3.

Increase the level of waste recycling by improving monitoring

Commit a budget for property improvements to reduce the carbon footprint and increase bio

diversity where appropriate.

Equality and Diversity

The current Careers Wales Equality and Diversity action plan 2014-2017 will be reviewed and a

new action plan developed by September 2017 outlining Careers Wales’ position for 2017-2020.

As in previous years, we will focus on particular protected characteristics whilst continuing to

monitor our progress with all others. Careers Wales’ defined protected characteristics include

Welsh Language to ensure an efficient approach to assessing the impact of our services on

different client characteristics.

During 2017-18 we commit to:

Provide appropriate information to partner organisations (e.g. destination data) to

support their assessment of client engagement against protected characteristics.

Continue to work with Trans*form Cymru to ensure our commitment in the Client Charter

is achieved.

Assess the impact of any changes in our service offer on those protected characteristics

listed in our E&D action plan (including our own teams)

Continue to assess the content and imagery of our products to reflect the population of

Wales

Continue to review our service offer in meeting the needs of our clients

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Focus on a selected protected characteristic to ensure, by engaging with appropriate

representative groups, that we are able to assess if our services consistently meet their

expectations.

Continue to engage with organisations representing the voice of service users.

Continue to provide appropriate learning and development to our employees.

Continue to monitor our employee profile

In meeting the language needs of clients whose first language is neither Welsh nor English, we

retain language line services. This provides us with access to translation for clients who access us

for services by phone or in person.

Welsh Language

CCDG’s Welsh Language Scheme has been in place since 2014. The Welsh Language Standards

(No. 6) Regulations 2017 authorise the Welsh Language Commissioner to issue a compliance

notice to CCDG outlining the standards with which we are required to comply. Until the standards

have been imposed, the commitments outlined in our Welsh Language Scheme 2014 - 2017

continue to be in force.

During 2017 – 2018 we commit to:

Continuing to work towards fulfilling our commitments to treating both languages equally in the

way we provide services to the public and opportunities for staff to use the Welsh language in

the work place.

Taking appropriate action to ensure compliance with the standards when the compliance notice

is received detailing the specific standards with which CCDG will be required to comply, the

timescale and reporting requirements.

Enhancing services for Welsh speaking members of the public through further development of

the digital offer including the facility to use video links to interact with clients alongside more

traditional methods of delivery.

Carrying out benchmarking activities with partner organisations in relation to the standards in

order to share good practice.

Reviewing and addressing the relevant findings contained in ‘The Welsh Language

Commissioner’s Assurance Report 2015 - 2016 Time to set the Standards’, relating to the

public’s experience of Welsh language services.

Maximising our contribution to the national well-being objectives by seeking opportunities to

collaborate with partner organisations such as Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to plan and carry

out activities that raise awareness of Welsh language skills in the labour market.

Strengthening the resources we have available to raise staff awareness of the Welsh language

and culture, utilising appropriately the learning and development opportunities available through

the National Centre for Learning Welsh - the ‘Cymraeg Gwaith/Work Welsh’ courses.

Continuing to monitor the language skills of employees and locations by carrying out a Welsh

language skills audit at an appropriate time during the year.

Identifying opportunities for Careers Wales to contribute, through the new digital offer and its

employer activities, to the actions outlined in the strategic framework ‘Mwy na Geiriau / More

than Just Words 2016 – 2019’ for providing Welsh language services in Health, Social Services

and Social Care.

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Section 2

Delivering to the people of Wales Careers Wales helps clients to develop the skills needed to manage their careers and make

decisions in a complex and changing world. Our vision is for all young people to move smoothly

into employment and for adults to be inspired to take control of their careers.

We will achieve our vision through:

A stronger focus on young people

Enhanced services to support other organisations to help young people develop their

careers

Even greater use of digital technology

By improving clients’ career management competencies we will make progress towards achieving

population outcomes.

Careers Wales will produce a methodology including a range of appropriate and differentiated

benchmarks against which each of these outcomes can be reliably and robustly measured. We will

use our experience of evaluating our existing key performance indicators to inform the development

of these measures and publish the resultant findings in our annual report.

Our services will have a particular focus on outcomes which equip individuals to make effective

career decisions and our key delivery teams, supported by a strong digital service will work together

to achieve these outcomes.

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2.1 A new offer for young people “We will support every young person who needs our help by concentrating more resources

in this area and developing exciting new services. We will continue to provide specialist

support for young people with additional learning needs” (Changing Lives – A vision for

Careers Wales 2017-2020 pg. 10)

In this first year of implementing the vision set out in Changing Lives we will focus our main service

offer on clients in education with a particular emphasis on individuals in Key Stage 4 and transition

though an offer of digital and face to face services.

To achieve the identified outcomes we acknowledge that the role of teachers, schools and parents

are key components in the client journey and their support and involvement are essential.

What’s new for 2017-18?

The roll out of a blended service offer where careers advisers diagnose the needs of clients

and use a range of digital and face to face approaches to deliver services

Raising awareness of all Key Stage 3 learners of Careers Wales services by Careers Advisers

or teachers.

Introduction of KS3 learners and their teachers of the first phase of the Career Discovery

model including the Digital Job Match Quiz.

A phased approach to the introduction of Careers Advisers undertaking the account executive

function for their school co-ordinating careers input from Careers Wales, bringing in specialist

support from our Curriculum Team and facilitating the appropriate employer engagement to

support career management skills and career choice.

Introducing schools to the new employer engagement database and training school staff in its

use including the respective role and responsibilities of each partner1.

Facilitating appropriate inputs by employers to the school curriculum as well as organising

innovative and engaging activities.2

A focus on careers advisers managing their Key Stage 4 caseload to their first point of

destination, supporting them to make an effective transition and identifying potential Tier 4

clients in order to support them to a sustainable post 16 destination.

Working with schools to improve our targeting of parents and teachers to support learners and

learning from current best practice, identifying the most appropriate ways to target parents,

including presentations at parent events and inviting parents to larger careers events.

Developing additional resources to help parents support their children3

The National Digital Solutions Team: Gyrfa Cymru Ddigidol – Digital Careers Wales will be

established to develop and pilot a national digital service offer. This team will work in an agile

way trialling a range of approaches embracing the concept of continuous improvement. The

team will include “trail blazers” supporting regional digital delivery.

To support school careers advisers and the Cyswllt Gyrfa Cymru - Careers Wales Connect

telephone service from July 2017 our new national digital solutions team will:

1 Costed under Engaging Employers

2 As above

3 Costed under Supporting Partners

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Support webchat interactions and social media careers enquiries

Trial the use video and phone call back to provide advice and guidance

Organise and facilitate a range of webinars available to clients across Wales.

Arrange a programme of national campaigns across different channels including webchat Q

and A sessions, webinars and social media E.g.

o The Future of Work Your career journey

o Promoting STEM

o Equality and Access

o Focus from employers in growth sectors or employment areas where there is

identified skill shortage

o Inputs about options at 16+ and 18+

o Support at GCSE/A level results time

o Support and advice for job seekers

o Increased awareness of apprenticeships opportunities in Wales

o Providing support to the Welsh Government ‘Have a go’ project (funded)

During 2017-2018 Careers Wales will continue to:

Review the frequency and extent of reported access issues in school and propose solutions

by the start of the academic year

Offer all learners, by the end of Key Stage 4, access to support from Careers Wales, making

full use of all available channels to offer and maintain this support at a time that is

appropriate to their needs and where access arrangements can be put in place.

Undertake an early needs analysis with learners in Key Stage 4 to prioritise and plan an offer

with appropriate inputs by employers and the learning provider

Continue to provide appropriate intensive support to identified learners with Additional

Learning Needs across all Key Stages undertaking our statutory obligations under section

140 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and the SEN Code of Practice for Wales. This will

include the production of Learning and Skills Plans for young people in their final year of

school who have statements of SEN and the completion of funding applications for learners

who seek specialist FE education

Support routine parent evenings and meetings arranged by schools to engage with parents

as appropriate.

Roll out a range of employer led activities and web based events in schools including open

access events and targeted events incorporating best practice developed as part of the

Opportunity Awareness Programme

Continuous Improvement in 2017-18

Careers Wales will evaluate the performance of its new and existing services by:

Evaluating progress made in the new careers adviser ‘account executive’ function via

surveys conducted with the identified school representatives and Careers Wales staff

working in education.

Rolling out performance measures for careers advisers working in schools which will identify:

o The assessed guidance needs of year 11 clients

o The number and proportion of year 11 clients whose guidance needs were met

o The range of blended service delivery methods deployed to meet the client’s needs

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o The number and proportion of clients in post 16 education and training identified as

at risk of leaving prematurely who receive support and the blended methods used to

deliver services.

Using findings from our user research with parents and learning from best practice in other

home countries, develop appropriate resources and engage with parents making best use of

all appropriate channels.

Conducting research on the benefit and impact of Careers Wales’ role in transitional

planning review for clients with Additional Learning Needs. The findings will be shared with

colleagues in Welsh Government

Achievement Metrics4

4 We refer to Year 11 in relation to metrics although work will be focused on young people in KS4 as appropriate

Achievement Metrics – We will aspire to achieve the following

All learners in year 9 will be introduced by teachers or Careers Wales Advisers to ways of

accessing support and information from Careers Wales

All Year 9 /11 parent events will be supported by Careers Wales.

All KS4 learners will complete Career Check

All Year 11 learners will be on the Careers Adviser caseload until they are settled in their post

16 destination.

70% pupils receiving services in KS4 will receive at least 2 personalised Digital interactions

%increase in personalised digital interactions

% increase in skype and telephone guidance by careers advisers

All Careers Advisers will achieve Foundation Level in our new Digital Competency

Framework

A minimum of 6 Campaigns and 20 Webinars

90% transition plans for Year 9 and year 11

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2.2 Inspiring 16-18 year olds “Our Careers Advisers and Employability Coaches will work with partners to support

young adults to make good career management decisions and connect with local

opportunities. … (Changing Lives – A vision for Careers Wales 2017-2020 pg. 12)

What’s new for 2017-2018?

Using a variety of approaches both in person and digital we will support individuals’ to

progress into a sustained outcome.

Introducing a digital service offer for learners in post 16 learning making full use of our

webinar provision and producing ‘A Survival Guide’ for those continuing with their learning.

Inviting young people who are in Tier 3 and Tier 4 to join national and local webinars to help

improve their employability skills and to learn more about opportunities.

Improving links with partner organisation who offer support to the client group with a view to

identifying appropriate support activities for individuals’ to develop their career management

abilities.

Support will be also be provided by our current Careers Wales Connect telephone service and our

new National Digital Solutions team offering webchat, dealing with social media enquiries, referring

to our delivery teams where appropriate.

During 2017-2018 we will continue to:

Support young people in Tier 3 (up to the age of 18) where their primary requirement is

careers related support until they are in an outcome or no longer require our support.5

Undertake a diagnostic assessment of need to all those who either self-present or are

referred to Careers Wales and provide them with appropriate support to take action including

referral to other specific local provision if needed.

Support learners in Key Stage 5 who self-present or are referred for support due to the risk

of dropping out of learning or not intending to continue with education at the end of the year.6

Work with clients in Tier 4 who are at risk of NEET or have dropped out to ensure they

progress

Support individuals who self-present to Careers Wales seeking referral to work based

learning provision to confirm the appropriateness of this action.

Refer clients in need of additional support to overcome barriers to EET to appropriate

services (Tier 2)

Work with Welsh Government and the Youth Justice Board to consider the appropriate

approaches to providing support for young people who are in contact with the youth justice

system.

5 Career Credits and Get Hired events will not be progressed in 2017-18 as resources have been prioritised for work in education

6 Clients who are undertaking Traineeships will not be offered a specific service unless they contact Careers Wales indicating that

they are seeking careers advice and support.

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Continuous Improvement

Undertake further research to follow up our evaluation project (2016-17) looking at outcomes of

clients from Tier 2 where significant numbers re-entered Tier 3. We will

Undertake desk research using Careers Wales’ client database to conduct a census of the

number and proportion of young people entering and leaving Tier 2 during a set period.

Identify the number and proportion of clients who leave Tier 2 entering positive and not positive

outcomes i.e. progression into Tiers 4 and 5 or re-entry to Tiers 3, 1 or 0.

Examine the extent to which the movement of Tier 2 clients varies across localities and regions

in Wales.

Undertake a field research with a representative of Tier 2 providers, Careers Wales staff and

other relevant partners to determine whether there are any common factors which may lead to

successful/unsuccessful outcomes for Tier 2 clients.

Achievement Metrics- We will aspire to achieve the following

70 % clients in Tier 3 progress to Tiers 4/5

20% clients in Tier 3 to progress to Tier 2

80 % clients in Tier 3 progress within 90 days

100% Identified in Tier 4 receive blended service with a focus on

increasing efficiency by increasing the proportion of digital interactions.

A national digital service offer established for those in post 16 learning

% increase in personalised digital interactions by careers advisers and employability coaches

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2.3 Solutions for Partner Organisations “We will help partners to develop and improve their services, driving up standards

and ensuring that provision helps to reduce the mismatch that exists between the

career aspirations of young people and opportunities in the labour market.” (Changing Lives – A vision for Careers Wales 2017-2020 pg. 14)

1. Curriculum for Wales and Supporting Best Practices

What’s new for 2017-2018?

Provide all schools and local authorities with tailored information about their pupils’ aspirations

from Career Check

Develop resources for teachers to support learners in Key Stage 3 with career planning to be

hosted on our new professional portal on careerswales.com

Train teachers in the use of the new employer engagement database

Pilot the introduction of a new accredited “Careers Leader Award” in Wales for those leading

Careers and work related learning in schools

Scope the options for developing an Excellence in Careers Education Award for schools and

colleges that has synergy with the Business Award for employers

Work with partners including Welsh Government and School Improvement Consortia to scope

the support that Careers Wales can give to help identify how Careers and Work related

education will feature in the new curriculum

During 2017-2018 we will continue to: Provide teachers and schools with appropriate consultancy on the implementation of the

Careers and World of work programme with particular focus on the new curriculum, labour

market information, Careerswales,com and apprenticeships.

Work with the re-accreditation and identification of new schools for the Careers Wales Mark

Collaborate with pioneer schools and school consortia to support the new Curriculum for

Wales

Develop resources to support teachers with delivering the outcomes of the Careers and World

of Work framework.

Work with Welsh Government colleagues to agree an appropriate approach for the future

development of CAP. In doing this, we will advise on how best to provide young people with

access to information on the range of learning pathways and options available to them as they

approach post-16 options.

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2. Data hubs Vocational aspiration and career management competencies data

Careers Wales holds information about young people’s career ideas, transition plans, occupational

interests and potential barriers to their future progression. This information will be used

To prioritise work with those who most need support with their career management.

To share with Regional Learning Partnerships to identify any potential mismatches between

pupil aspiration and labour market trends.

As labour market intelligence to support functionality on Careerswales.com, including the

career search feature and the job matching quiz.

Create digital content on Careerswales.com including our job trends features, Spotlight on...

and Careers in…

To plan a programme of bespoke activity with schools, national webinar campaigns,

marketing approaches as well as career information on our website.

YEPF – 5 tier data

Careers Wales’ role hosting and maintaining the 5 tier data used to manage the Youth Engagement

and Participation framework also provides the organisation with a unique insight to the engagement

trends of young people between 16 and 18, between the 5 tiers as well as their occupational

aspirations.

During 2016-17 we piloted a small scale project with Engagement and Progression Co-ordinators in

4 local authorities, providing bespoke reports via a data cube to help support the improved

management of Tier 2 clients.

What’s new for 2017-2018?

We intend to roll out the pilot out to all Local Authorities in tranches throughout the year to

give “read only” access to Tiers 1 and 2 data.

We will also give all local authorities access to an additional suite of reports accessed via an

external portal to help inform their understanding of trends in relation to movement between

tiers.

We will work with partners as appropriate and within the context of our remit to address

issues identified through the provision of data.

We will produce reports on destinations and career aspirations per school, and local

authority.

Destinations

It has been agreed with Welsh Government that the destinations survey of pupils on school roll as

of January of their statutory school leaving year will continue in its current format for this business

year. Schools and Local Authorities will receive draft copies of their destinations as of the 31st

October by the middle of December and they will have approximately 6 weeks to query/check their

data. At the 31st of January the destination figures will be finalised and sent to Welsh Government

for final checks.

We will also produce, for Welsh Government only, alongside the current format, destinations which

follow the 5 Tier format. Due to differences in how destinations and 5 Tier are reported Welsh

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Government and Careers Wales will determine if a change in format for destinations to the 5 Tier

format is possible in the future.

During 2017-2018 we will continue to:

Provide tracking data for the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework (YEPF);

Provide the Welsh Government and Regional Learning Partnerships (RLPs) with information

which identifies youth employment trends and skills gaps and take remedial action where

appropriate, including planning provision that meets the needs of young people and

employers in their area

Support efforts to reduce the mismatch that may exist between the career aspirations of

young people and opportunities in the labour market.

Continuous Improvement

Careers Wales will add to the research on young people and their understanding of LMI

undertaken in 2013. We are seeking to inform the way we help young people access and

interpret LMI in order to understand the future world of work and the opportunities available

and become effective career and progression planners and decision makers. We will seek to

understand young people’s

o Understanding of the nature and purpose of LMI

o Preferred sources of LMI including resources available via social media and digital

means

o Level of research skills and their capacity to conduct their own LMI research

o Use of LMI in making career and progression plans and decisions.

Careers Wales will build on our evaluation work undertaken in 2016-17. We designed and

implemented a research methodology to produce a range of evaluative findings about the

value of the Careers Wales Mark, and the support provided to schools by the Careers and

World of Work Co-ordinators. This will inform the development of future awards. i.e. be

applicable to any potential Awards developed.

Taking best practice from our current Careers Wales Mark, we will use this year to consult

with schools, partners and stakeholder about the development of our Excellence in Careers

Education Award. This will enable us to begin the process of introducing the Award from

September 2018. The Award will be aligned with the development of a similar Award for

business engagement in education.

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Solutions for Partner Organisations

Achievement Metrics - We will aspire to achieve the following

20% schools will receive training on how to use the employer engagement database:

Education Business Exchange

30% schools to take part in the early adopters trial of the Account Executive

24 new institutions accredited with Careers Wales Mark and 47 to achieve re-

accreditation

Menu of bespoke activities offered to 100% of schools and colleges

100% schools to have access to resources for KS3

150 training sessions for teachers on careerswales.com

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2.4 Engaging Business “We will use our proven experience and expertise, underpinned by our well-

established links with local and national employers, to raise the profile and delivery

of employer partnerships across Wales. This will ensure that learners in Wales will

benefit from participation in relevant and appropriate ‘world of work’ activities to

enrich their learning and support successful transitions.” (Changing Lives – A vision for Careers Wales 2017-2020 pg. 15)

Careers Wales has well established links with local and national employers to support its approach

to employer engagement. The engagement of employers is essential to ensure:

That learners have access to employer experiences which help them plan their career journey,

helping to ensure that they are ready to play a full part in life and work

That career teams are well informed about local, regional and national trends in the labour

market.

That employers provide opportunities to help pupils’ aspirations about their future career goals

What’s new in 2017-18?

1. The facilitation and support of a range of world of work activities developed by building on

the good practice7 developed and evaluation outcomes identified from the Opportunity

Awareness Project undertaken in 2016-7. These will help young people understand the

employment opportunities that exist across Wales, will support delivery across the

curriculum and help develop the career management skills of learners. We will be organising

events both for schools, clusters of schools and webinars targeting growth sectors

2. The introduction of the Business Champion training for employers from September 2017.

3. The launch of our new employer engagement database entitled Business Education

Exchange by the end of 2017 A scoping exercise on the development of a Business Award

to acknowledge the value of employer input into the school curriculum.

During 2017-2018 Careers Wales will continue to:

Target employers across Wales to ensure that growth areas and sectors are well

represented in our activities with schools and on our employer engagement database and

that local opportunities and experiences are more accessible to young people and their

teachers.

Develop a close collaboration with regional skills partnerships with labour skill supply and

demand

Support schools and businesses to develop sustainable partnerships including maintaining

the current established Business Class clusters

Provide a portal for users of the AMS and JGW opportunity search facility via the website

In year, we will have phased out the other employer vacancies currently hosted on

careerswales.com and will refer employers to Business Wales and JCP and will pilot the use of

social media to promote employment and training opportunities.

7 Evaluation report from the Opportunity Awareness Project cites the benefit of high impact events involving multiple

employers and schools, webinars and apprenticeship roadshows.

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Continuous Improvement

As we roll out our Business Champion training, we will evaluate and review and adapt our

delivery based on their feedback.

We will continue to test the impact of our world of work menu during 2017-18 in meeting

expected

outcomes

Achievement Metrics - We will aspire to achieve the following

10.000 employers logged in the employer database by March 2018

214 World of Work events – a minimum 1 per secondary school

Develop an additional 2 virtual reality videos featuring employment growth sectors

10 sector based webinars

40 schools involved in piloting the employer engagement database

20% schools trained to use the Employer Engagement database

81 Business class clusters supported

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2.5 Supporting adults back into work “We will build on the proven success of our current services to provide integrated

support for adults, combining skills assessment, careers guidance and coaching.

Our priority within this service will be to provide services to unemployed adults and

those facing redundancy through the Individual Skills Gateway and ReAct services.”

(Changing Lives – A vision for Careers Wales 2017-2020 pg. 13)

The principal services delivered to adults in 2017-8 will be through ReAct and ISG which are not

funded through the core. Further detail on the funding allocated for these projects is included in

Section 4 Non- core projects.

What’s new 2017-18?

Dependent on decision from Welsh Government about the EAS project we will begin to prepare

during this financial year

During 2017-2018 Careers Wales will continue to

Provide online and phone support to those adults who self-refer asking for careers information,

advice and guidance. This will be provided in the main by our Careers Wales Connect service

and our central digital service delivery team.

Support a small minority of adults (in addition to those included above) who present at centres

requesting careers adviser support, where resources permit.

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Section 3

Delivering continuous improvement

3.1 Developing our workforce a) Learning and Development – the implications of Changing Lives

The Learning and Development Plan for 2017-18 is linked to the development of a number of key

strategic aims of the organisation.

The successful implementation of Changing Lives – A Vison for Careers Wales 2017-20

The development of an effective digital offer as part of a blended service to clients.

The embedding of a continuous improvement culture in management practices within the

broader organisational culture.

The ongoing development of more online and virtual learning for internal colleagues.

The successful implementation of Changing Lives – A Vison for Careers Wales 2017-

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The development of staff with excellent digital skills is a priority. This will be done on two levels

incorporating generic skills and a focus on the development of the skills required by Careers

Advisers to successfully deliver the Career Discovery Model which provides a framework for a

blended service approach combining digital and face-to-face.

Careers Advisers will be at the forefront of our delivery in Education. As well as delivering services

such as webinars and workshops on Labour Market Intelligence, group and drop-in sessions and

guidance interviews, Careers Advisers will act as account executives for individual schools,

coordinating the full range of services we deliver.

The development of an effective digital offer as part of a blended service to clients.

The digital and ICT skills of our staff are central to the successful delivery of this vision. Careers

Wales is producing a Digital Skills Framework, with skills at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced

Level. The aim for this business year is for all staff to achieve Foundation level Digital Skills, and for

some staff to progress to Intermediate Digital skills.

A training needs analysis undertaken against our digital competency framework will inform the

training and development of Digital skills required to deliver the vison. Directorates will be liaising to

develop the concept of digitally enabled/supported frontline delivery staff.

Staff Development will also focus on the new way of delivering services building on good practice.

Analysis of the caseload, use of different channels, and delivery of webinars will all be part of the

role of the careers adviser.

The embedding of a continuous improvement culture in management practices

within the broader organisational culture.

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Careers Wales managers have a critical role in developing the organisations culture which includes

a focus on continuous improvement. Strengthening the skills and techniques associated with

continuous improvement amongst managers and Careers Wales employees will be a priority. This

in turn will support the effectiveness of implementing the changes required to implement Changing

Lives. We have also commissioned an external organisation to facilitate a step change in how we

address these issues. This will lead to a number of pilots and proof of concept studies where

processes are identified that can be improved to enhance the customer experience.

The ongoing development of more online and virtual learning for internal colleagues.

One of the objectives in the coming year is the development of more online and virtual learning. The

aim is to increase the ease with which colleagues can access Continuous Professional

Development activities and over time, as more resources are developed, the bank of learning will

expand. The growth of resources should also mean that the varied needs of colleagues are able to

be met in a more varied and appropriate manner.

Whilst the primary objective will be on the quality and efficacy of the learning, there is likely to be a

commensurate reduction in costs associated with travel, time and premises that tend to be incurred

with more traditional classroom-based training.

Other Priority Areas:

The Learning and Development Plan for 2017-18 will also take into account:

Halogen Development Plans from appraisals.

Training that managers have identified in relation to projects.

Training requirements arising from any new legislation, developments in related sectors and

compliance issues.

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Skills Audit

We will be using skills audits to identify any skills gaps so that a targeted training needs analysis

and plan can be developed. For each category of employees covered, the following questions

should be considered:

Which capabilities will be required to carry out the role, in the form of knowledge, skills and

attitude?

Which capabilities do existing employees possess?

What are the gaps between existing capabilities and the new requirements?

In implementing Changing Lives it is recognized that future skill sets of employees will need to

change in order to deliver in a variety of new ways to clients. To identify the new skill sets any gaps

in knowledge, skills or attitudes need to be identified and mapped against a set of future

requirements. In this way a training plan can be created to equip our workforce to meet future

developments and challenges. The Company is working on the following plan to address the future

needs.

The stages of the skills audit:

Determine future skills needs. This is done by a detailed analysis of the roles needed to support

the Vision, revisiting job specifications and the skills requirements to see whether they match

and redrafting where necessary.

Audit the current skills held.

o At organisational level this is a desk based exercise drawing on;

The Halogen appraisal system.

The Gartner Digital Vision and Road Map

Capability process records to identify common skills gaps.

Areas of recruitment difficulty i.e. skills shortage areas.

o At an individual level likely to be carried out via an employee survey of employee’s own

individual skills perceptions.

Compile the results of the desk survey and individual surveys. Analyze the results for gaps and

devise a plan to address, clearly communicating future role requirements to all employees. The

analysis can be used to identify;

The skills gaps in specific roles

Skill gaps in organisational groups

Possible successors for particular roles

The numbers of people who have critical skills

Future skills requirements.

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Outline of the different teams

Teams that deliver

Careers Wales employees are the key resource which are central to the effective delivery of this

vision.

Economies of scale as a national organisation benefit the development of resources, provide

support and learning, ensure best practices are shared, and forge effective production of

information and partnership work.

Supported by a critical corporate and strategic planning team the majority of our investment is in the

employees who directly deliver our services and those which support that delivery.

These include:

Careers Advisers: trained to QCF level 6 (or equivalent) in careers guidance and development, our

advisers are on the Career Development Institute’s Register of Career development professionals.

They provide impartial and professional support to clients.

Employability coaches: skilled at addressing career-related barriers and helping clients to develop

skills and to take action to enter education, employment or training.

Business Engagement Advisers: a national team experienced in working with employers and expert

in their knowledge of national and regional labour market trends.

Curriculum Team: expert and experienced in career development, supporting teachers with work

related inputs to the curriculum and supporting teachers and career leaders to raise standards of

careers education in schools.

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3.2 Improving and evaluating our

services Evaluation and the quality cycle - plans for 2017 – 18

This section outlines the main areas of research and evaluation activity that Careers Wales intends

to engage in during the 2017 – 18 business year. We may also undertake additional activities to

gain knowledge and information about the performance of Careers Wales during the year, as need

and opportunities to do so arise. This may include pursuing lines of inquiry by interrogating data

held on the company’s client and partner database and ad hoc surveys targeted at eliciting

feedback on specific strands of company service.

Similarly, Careers Wales is currently in the process of joining the Welsh Institute of Social Economic

and Data Methods (WISERD) programme for the sharing of anonymised data from public bodies for

research purposes. It is possible that during 2017 – 18 this development will result in Careers Wales

receiving applications from external organisations and individuals to use its data for research

purposes, with Careers Wales having the option to accept or reject each application on its merits.

Local Self Evaluation and Review (SER)

Careers Wales will build on its successful trials of the self-evaluation and review of its services at

local level undertaken during 2016 – 17 and will roll out this process to the whole to the Company,

commencing in April 2017. The notable features of this activity will include:

A Company SER process that is co-terminus with the 22 local authorities in Wales;

Complete local SER coverage across Careers Wales over a three year period;

The production of local SER reports based on Estyn’s Common Inspection Framework

format;

The use of ‘Service Expectation’ standards for clients, partners and internal customers as a

benchmark against which local Careers Wales provision can be measured;

A process that allows the Careers Wales national SER to be constantly updated via local

evaluative activities.

Economic Benefits of Careers Wales

During the latter part of the 2016 – 17 business year Careers Wales submitted a joint application

with Cardiff University to obtain funding support from the UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)

Programme. Our aim is to conduct research into the Economic Benefits of the services provided to

clients and partners by Careers Wales. If the application is successful, Careers Wales, Cardiff

University and the Welsh Government will each commit approximately £20,000 per annum to

support the research, which is also supplemented by KTP funding. It is likely that this project will

take 2 or 3 years, focus specifically on the economic benefits of the provision of careers guidance to

clients and will involve:

The appointment of a doctoral or post-doctoral researcher to be based in Careers Wales

with academic support from Cardiff University;

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A desk review of prior UK and international research focusing on the economic benefits

careers service functions;

The development of a methodology and supporting instruments to define a reliable, robust

and re-usable process to measure the economic benefits of careers service work that can be

specifically applied to Wales;

Ensuring the methodology design will account for the provision and receipt by clients of

Careers Wales’ traditional and digital services;

Field testing and implementing the research methods and tools to produce an initial set of

findings.

This project has the potential to produce ground breaking research in the sector and provide the

Wales Government with a bespoke tool to identify new KPIs for its Careers Service. Moreover, the

instruments developed will inevitably need to take account of the Return on Expectation (RoE) and /

or Return on Investment (RoI) provided by Careers Wales digital and traditional delivery services,

providing an opportunity to compare and contrast the relative cost benefit impact of each approach

Targeted client research

Clients in Tier 2 (Inspiring 16-18 year olds)

During 2016 – 17 Careers Wales conducted research into its work with clients in Tier 3 of the Youth

Engagement and Progression Framework (YEPF) ‘Five Tier Model’. This work raised concerns

about the outcomes for unemployed young people who are assessed as needing additional support

in order to gain and retain employment, education or training (EET) i.e. clients in Tier 2. There are

some indications that the progression of clients from Tier 2 does not meet expectations and are

variable across Wales. Our research in 2017 – 18 will seek to build a picture of referral processes

between Careers Wales and support agencies, identify the nature and impact of Careers Wales

interventions with the client group, review clients’ length of stay in Tier 2 and track the future

progression of young people from this tier, and specifically the sustainability of entry to EET (Tiers 4

and 5). We will produce and compare / contrast findings against these criteria at pan Wales,

regional and local levels. This work is likely to require a mixture of evaluation methods, including

desk research using the client database and quantitative / qualitative survey work with clients and

partner agencies.

We anticipate that the outcomes of this research will help Careers Wales to determine how we can

continue to meet our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relating to reducing NEETs and improving

young people’s sustainability of EET.

Labour Market Information (LMI)

In 2013 Careers Wales, with specific project funding support from the Welsh Government,

appointed an external and impartial ‘expert’ research organisation to undertake a survey of the Year

11 pupils and their understanding and use of LMI. In 2017 – 18, Careers Wales will repeat and

extend this research in order to identify pupils:

Understanding of the nature and purpose of LMI;

Preferred sources of LMI, including resources available via social media and digital means;

Level of research skills and their capacity to conduct their own LMI research;

Use of LMI in making career and progression plans and decisions

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In undertaking this research, Careers Wales will be assessing the needs of the Company’s priority

client group (as identified in the Company’s ‘Changing Lives’ vision) in respect of the ‘Opportunity

Awareness’ Career Management Competency (CMC). Findings will inform our digital strategy in

terms of how best to support the client group in accessing, interpreting and applying LMI to their

career and progression planning and decision making.

Careers Wales Contribution to Transitional Planning reviews

The Welsh Government is currently in the process of legislating on services to young people with

additional learning needs (ALN) and as yet there is no clarity about the role of Careers Wales within

the new transitional planning process. The Company will conduct research with Additional Learning

Needs Co-ordinators (ALNCos) in mainstream and special schools, pupils with ALN and their

parents to determine views on the benefits and impact of Careers Wales’ role in transitional

planning reviews. We will share the outcomes of this research with colleagues in Welsh

Government.

User engagement User engagement is critical in the development of services and the channels by which individuals

access the offer. We will make best use of the available data to target our provision and

personalise our services on this basis. Use of analytics, website user interactions and our

development of user personas will enable us to provide our client group with the appropriate inputs.

As part of our participation strategy we are committed to engaging with our users to support the

development of our services to clients.

During 2017-18 our focus for user engagement will be to develop our digital services, in particular

the development of our website and methods used by clients to engage with Careers Wales to

receive information and advice. In particular we will focus on those users at key transition points of

their career to ensure that our career discovery model meets expectation and needs.

Measuring progress and performance There will be three approaches to measuring progress and performance in 2017-8. These will

include agreed KPIs and piloting the measurement of the outcomes outlined in the vision.

In addition we have set up some aspirational achievement metrics which will be used to inform

discussion on performance and will provide some baselines for future performance

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Measuring performance and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

During 2016 – 17, the Company developed a system of performance measures intended to trial the

harmonisation of indicators of success at Company level and for a specified job role. The system

developed focuses on careers advisers working with clients in education and covers three aspects

of performance measurement that also exist on a pan Company basis. We suggest that these

contribute to the Company’s KPIs for 2017 – 18.

A school, regional and Company level analysis of achievements in reducing the proportion of clients

Not In Education, Employment and Training (NEETs) and improving the sustainability of clients in

Employment Education and Training (EET). This would in effect retain the existing Careers Wales

KPIs 1 and 2:

- KPI 1: “The sustained progression of young people through education and into

employment or further training/education.”

- KPI 2: “Reductions in the number of young people who are outside the Education,

Employment and Training system.”

We suggest that a new KPI 3 is based on meeting specified service expectations for clients in

schools e.g. the case loading of all clients in schools against set benchmarks for the provision of

blended services (using an appropriate mix of digital and traditional delivery methods) and

providing identified priority clients with ‘in person’ careers guidance interviews. This would

particularly capture Careers Wales’ achievements in delivering the requirements of the

Changing Lives strategy and evidence our prioritisation of services to client s in schools and the

Digital Transformation agenda.

KPI 4: The application of reliable and robust evaluation techniques to determine the positive

impact that Careers Wales services has on Year 11 pupils’ perceived competencies that help to

develop and implement appropriate career and progression plans. It may be possible to

compares and contrast feedback from clients with the blend of traditional and digital services

provided, thereby seeking to identify the ‘mix’ of services that yield more beneficial outcomes.

KPI 5: Careers Wales allocation of resources is commensurate with achieving the ‘Changing

Lives’ vision. We will benchmark the allocation of staff to delivering services to clients in schools

in 2017 – 18, against baseline position for the previous business year, thereby providing a

measure through which Careers Wales commitment to Changing Lives can be gauged.

During 2017 – 18 we will implement these performance measures with careers advisers working in

education and use an evaluation of the outcomes to further develop performance measures for

other job roles e.g. careers advisers working with clients in the labour market, business engagement

advisers, careers and world of work co-ordinators.

Delivering the vision’s outcomes

Careers Wales will identify its achievements against each of the Company’s outcomes as

follows:

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Outcome Measure Result Improve efficiency of labour markets by reducing skills mismatches

We produce data in 2017 – 18 which compares the career plan aspirations of young people with available opportunities in employment and training. The company will produce its labour market supply data, obtained via Career Check questionnaires completed by Year 10 pupils, categorised appropriately to enable comparisons with the categorisation of employment and training vacancies from 16-24 year olds available from Welsh Government and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) sources.

The results produced in the 2017 – 18 business year will provide an initial analysis of gaps between supply side occupational preferences, with demand side occupational opportunities. This will provide a benchmark against which in future years, success can be measured via the extent to which mismatch supply and demand gaps have reduced.

Increase participation and attainment in education and training

This outcome can be measured via the application of the existing methodology for calculating the achievement of the Company’s current Key Performance Indicator KPI2 - “Reductions in the number of young people who are outside the Education Employment and Training system” The process of measuring the extent to which NEETs have reduced also requires an indication of whether participation rates in EET have risen. Benchmarking data for a number of years is available for Year 11 pupils (vial the school leaver destination census) and for several years via the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework (YEPF – 5 Tier Model) data.

A snapshot of destination data and YEPF data is taken at the end of October/beginning of November each year. This data is used to measure the percentage point increase or decrease in the proportion of clients in the following categories for the current year compared to previous years: Clients who are NEET Clients engaged in EET Clients in ‘other’ categories (e.g. moved away, unavailable for work) An increase in the proportion of clients engaged in EET indicated by one or both of the data sets is a measure of success for this outcome.

Reduce drop outs and churn within post 16 education and training

Measurement of the achievement of this outcome is aligned with the Company’s existing KPI 1 – “The sustained progression of young people through education and into employment or further training/education.” Benchmarking data for a number of years is available for Year 11 pupils (via the annual school leaver destination census) and for several years via the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework (YEPF – 5 tier model) data. Four separate criteria are used to determine whether Careers Wales has met the requirements of KPI1.

Destination census and YEPF data are used in calculating outcomes against each criterion thus providing the following findings:: Criterion:

The proportion of clients with a positive EET destination as ad the 31

st October/November 1

st in

the current year compared to the previous year (s).

Changes in the proportion of clients in positive EET destinations on said dates in a given year through to March 31

st

in the following year.

The proportion of clients who are NEET as and at the said dates in each year.

Changes in the proportion of clients who are NEET between the said dates of a given year to March 31

st in the following year.

Increase take up of Apprenticeships

Although superficially the ‘mechanics’ of measuring improvement in respect of this outcome would appear to be straightforward (e.g. through the use of the Careers Wales schools destination census and / or Welsh Government work based learning statistics) we will need to consider carefully to whom we want to target increases (e.g. 16 – 18 year olds, young women, ethnic minorities, young people in deprived areas) and

Depending on the nature of the measures we would either: 1. Compare the number and proportion

of apprenticeships entrants in 2017-2018 with one or more subsequent years (on the basis that prior data is available)

2. Use 2017-18 as a base year, comparing the number and

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Outcome Measure Result when they expect the increases to occur (i.e. over what timeframe, by how much etc.). We will take advice from the Welsh Government and other stakeholders on progressing this matter.

proportions of apprenticeship entrants in subsequent years (if not suitable comparative data is available)

Help other agencies to target their services more efficiently and effectively

Research conducted by Careers Wales in 2016-17 which analysed services to client in Tier 3 of the YEPF framework (young people who are NEET) questions the level of success resulting from the referral of young people to partners for additional support prior to entering the labour market (clients in Tier 2). During 2017-18 our planned research into the movement of young people into Tier 2 and their subsequent progression from Tier 2 will enable us to share with partners, information about the relative success of these services across local authority areas in Wales.

Findings from our research with clients in Tier 2 will indicate for a defined time period: The number of clients in Tier 2 in Wales and the proportion of the 5 Tier cohort in Tier 2 A comparative analysis of Tier 2 occupancy by local authority area The number and proportion of clients in Tier 2 leaving Tier 2 entering EET and becoming NEET across Wales A comparative analysis of the destinations of Tier 2 leavers by local authority area.

Ensure the new Curriculum for Wales prepares young people for the world of work

Careers Wales will use its provision of services to schools to support employer engagement in the curriculum and our provision of Careers and World of Work consultancy and training to schools as a measure of the extent to which the new Curriculum for Wales prepares young people for the world of work

Success will be measured by: Identifying the number of employers offering education business activities and the number of requests delivered/undertaken in 2017-18. Identifying the number and proportion of schools engaging employers in the Curriculum in 2017-18. Comparing the number and proportion of schools in receipt of Careers and World of Work services in 2017-18 compared to previous years, including engagement with the Careers Wales Mark and training sessions.

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Achievement Metrics

Careers Wales has identified a series of aspirational achievement metrics for the next

business year.

Section in Vision Achievement metrics – We will aspire to achieve the following A new offer to young people

All learners in year 9 will be introduced by teachers or Careers Wales Advisers to ways of accessing support and information from Careers Wales

All Year 9 /11 parent events will be supported by Careers Wales.

All KS4 learners will complete Career Check

All Year 11 learners will be on the Careers Adviser caseload until they are settled in their post 16 destination.

70% pupils receiving services in KS4 will receive at least 2 personalised Digital interactions

% increase in personalised digital interactions

%increase in skype and telephone guidance by careers advisers

All Careers Advisers will achieve Foundation Level in our new Digital Competency Framework

A minimum of 6 Campaigns and 20 Webinars

90% transition plans for Year 9 and year 11

16-18 70 % clients in Tier 3 progress to Tiers 4/5

20% clients in Tier 3 to progress to Tier 2

80 % clients in Tier 3 progress within 90 days

100% Identified in Tier 4 receive blended service with a focus on increasing efficiency by increasing the proportion of digital interactions

% increase in personalised digital interactions by careers advisers and employability coaches

A national digital service offer established for those in post 16 learning

Solutions for partner organisations

20% schools will receive training on how to use the Employer Engagement Database

30 % schools to take part in the early adopters trial of the Account Executive

24 new institutions accredited with Careers Wales mark and 47 to achieve re-accreditation

Menu of bespoke activities offered to 100% schools and colleges

100% schools to have access to resources for KS3

150 training sessions for teachers on careerswales.com

Engaging employers 10.000 employers logged in the employer database by March 2018

214 World of Work events – a minimum I per secondary school

Develop an additional 2 virtual reality videos featuring employment growth sectors

10 sector based webinars

40 schools involved in piloting the employer engagement database

20% schools trained to use the Employer Engagement database

81 Business class clusters supported

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Impact Careers Wales measures the impact of its services in two main ways

Return on Investment (RoI):

Where there is a direct measurable economic benefit that can be associated with the work of

Careers Wales. The Company’s KPI’s 1 and 2 are examples of this impact measure (i.e. reducing

NEETs and helping young people sustain EET both result in savings to the Welsh Exchequer that

can be offset again the cost of Careers Wales). In public finance RoI related to population measures

such as unemployment are very difficult to attribute to individual organisations. The aim of our

research proposal with Cardiff University is to develop a RoI measure that offers the ‘best fit’ for

Careers Wales.

Return on Expectation:

Based on determining outcomes that can be reasonably and directly applied to the functions of an

organisation. These types of measures are generally considered to be more reliable and robust in

determining the added value provided by public sector organisations. In Careers Wales terms these

expectations relate to improvements in clients ability to make realistic and achievable career and

progression plans and decisions. Careers Wales uses Career Management Competencies as the

main measure of return on investment with young people. These have the dual benefit of having

been proven via UK and international research to be the major skills that enable people to gain and

sustain employment, education and training. As such, helping clients to improve their competencies

is not just a RoE impact measure, but is also likely to have a direct future economic benefit, thereby

providing a link to Careers Wales generating a RoI impact.

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3.3 Developing our capabilities Corporate capabilities

a) Finance and Facilities The ongoing restructuring of the company and the related costs to staff leaving on VER are a key

consideration for this financial year. With reducing income levels, it will also be critical for Finance to

work effectively with budget holders to ensure that expenditure is monitored even more closely on a

monthly basis. To facilitate this, the new finance system, Open accounts, has now been developed

so that it can produce automated standard budget reports straight from the system. Close

monitoring of the company cash flow through the year will also be crucial activity for the finance

team.

With regards to facilities, the key focus will be the continued implementation of the long term estates

strategy. The ongoing reduction of the portfolio of company premises will continue with the closure

of the administration and delivery office in Mold, the administration office in Charnwood and the

formal ending of the lease at the Cardigan office that has been closed for some time.

b) ICT

To deliver the digital agenda successfully puts the ICT infrastructure of the company at the heart of

success. This includes:

1 Ensuring that all staff have the appropriate equipment to enable them to work in a digitally

enhanced way during 2017/18.

2 Identifying areas of challenges for advisers (e.g. connectivity in education establishment,

remote access in rural parts of Wales) and providing appropriate technical and practical

advice to our teams on the front line.

3 Supporting in the learning and development and upskilling staff to use the appropriate

technology confidently and to apply these skills when working in a digital context.

The ICT Team will continue to develop its own skills and keep abreast of new relevant technology

which could support the business to achieve its vision. In addition, in-house expertise will be able to

provide advice and practical solutions to the development of appropriate technologies to encourage

user engagement. This includes the further investigation of Office 365 to see if its implementation

could further support the agile and mobile way we will all be expected to work going forward and

supporting the digital solutions team into be able to provide a true blended offer for Careers Wales

service users.

Careers Wales recently achieved the Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation which ensures the ICT

systems and data are setup and managed in a secure way. The IT Team will ensure the company

continues to work to these standards.

c) Human Resource

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Resourcing is the main priority for HR in this business plan year. Reductions in staffing levels to less

than half of the original cohort, a third of the remaining employees working reduced flexible working

patterns and a recruitment freeze have made it an imperative that performance and attendance are

at a maximum level.

The requirements of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act have underpinned the need to work

on the health and wellbeing of employees.

HR will support restructures and any further downsizing that is required, in addition to the wellbeing

project as well as continuing to monitor employee metrics for the impact of these activities.

d) Assessing risks

Risk Register

As set out in its terms of reference, the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee has overall responsibility

for ensuring there are effective processes for the identification, assessment and management of risk

using the Risk Register. The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee works with the senior

management team in preparing and monitoring the Risk Register.

Risks are assessed on the basis of their Probability (P) and their potential Impact (I). The rating of

Probability is multiplied by the rating of Impact to give a Total (T). Resulting scores are then

expressed as H (High) for scores of 20 and over, M (Medium) for scores over 12 or L (Low) risk for

scores of 10 or less.

Risk leads are allocated to relevant Senior Managers.

There are 7 themes or areas that risks are grouped under: (1) Operational / Strategic; (2) Corporate;

(3) Press, Publicity and Relationship Management; (4) People-related; (5) Financial; (6) Information,

and (7) External.

The register is updated regularly and is reviewed by the FAR Committee at every meeting. The

Board also considers the coverage and appropriateness of the risks identified.

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Service impact assessment

Service area Decision Mitigation Support for employers outside the apprenticeship framework to promote opportunities on the careerswales.com website.

Removal of other vacancy section on .com and subsequent support provided by administration team. Referral of all interested employers to Business Wales and Universal jobmatch for the promotion of opportunities outside of AMS and JGW.

All apprenticeships in Wales can be logged on the AMS site. Careerswales.com wills signpost its users to other job seeking sites. Universal jobmatch and other vacancy websites are available to host the vacancies maintained on the current website.

Face to face careers advice and guidance offer to students in FE and in 6th forms in school.

Withdrawal of dedicated face to face service to post compulsory education in FE and in 6th forms.

Individuals identified during KS 4 as likely to need support to effect and maintain their transition. Mentoring contact provided during transition. Campaigns to inform services users in post compulsory education about the online and phone services available to support them. Programme of offer to include webinars, webchat and video/phone calls to support at a distance. Ongoing monitoring of clients identified as Tier 4 by school career advisers to ensure clients have made the appropriate transition and to provide support as appropriate.

Face to face careers advice and guidance offer to KS3 learners

Limited offer to ensure awareness of sources of support available.

All learners in KS3 made aware of the services available online and by phone. Improved targeting of parents to ensure they can support learners appropriately. Targeted resources for KS 3 teachers to support learners with decision making. Content on website more easily accessible for users and their parents/guardians.

Adult support outside of ISG and React.

Limited support available only where resource allows.

CWC team will offer information, and advice and National digital service delivery team can offer phone/video guidance.

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Section 4 Non-core projects/Finance Non-Core Projects

Careers Wales also receives additional funding from Welsh Government (including ESF funding)

which is identified as “non-core” – these include:

Jobs Growth Wales and the Apprenticeship Matching System

Careers Wales provides the portal for JGW and AMS via the CareersWales.com website. Support

provided by Welsh Government is for the routine maintenance of the systems as well as some

administrative support. A separate operating agreement exists which outlines the expectations

Individual Skills Gateway and ReAct (ESF)

Both these services to adults are outlined in a separate operating agreement which includes

business expectations, outputs and outcomes. ISG provides guidance support and advice to adults

who are unemployed. ReAct provides advice and guidance services to adults at risk of being made

redundant and is an ESF project.

Projects with respective local authorities under ‘Activate’ (ESF)

There are separate business agreements with representative local authorities for the delivery of

services by Careers Wales which support local projects. The partnerships exist with Trac (North

Wales) Cynnydd (South West and Mid Wales) and I2A (South East Wales)

Offender Learning Project

There is a separate operating agreement with the Welsh Government’s Offender Learning Team for

the delivery of information, advice and guidance to prisoners in South Wales prisons.

In addition Careers Wales supports partner organisations through secondments

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Wellbeing of Future Generations Act Service Delivery Objectives

Well-being Goal Description Careers Wales’ Objectives A prosperous Wales An innovative, productive and

low carbon society which recognises the limits of the global environment and therefore uses resources efficiently and proportionately (including acting on climate change) and which develops a skilled and well educated population in an economy which generates wealth and provides employment opportunities, allowing people to take advantage of the wealth generated through securing decent work.

Careers Wales is committed to the development of a prosperous Wales. We will:

use resources to efficiently and effectively focus on the development of individuals so that they have the skills to manage their own careers, raising aspirations and delivering social and economic benefits for individuals, families, communities and the economy of Wales

reduce our carbon footprint by reviewing all premises with a view to implementing strategies which will improve their environmental impact.

A resilient Wales A nation which maintains and enhances a biodiverse natural environment with healthy functioning ecosystems that support social, economic and ecological resilience and the capacity to adapt to change (for example climate change).

Careers Wales recognises its contribution to developing a resilient Wales. We will:

provide services that inspire and motivate people to understand a changing labour market and to develop the skills they need to compete for jobs

foster resilience in the workplace by building a positive workplace culture and using learning and development opportunities to help individuals to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge that underpin resilient behaviours and change management

assess the viability of increasing the biodiversity of all external areas that we have effective control over

set aside a proportion of our annual maintenance budget to ensure that we can achieve these objectives

review business strategy to minimise staff travel.

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A healthier Wales A society in which people’s physical and mental well-being is maximised and in which choices and behaviours that benefit future health are understood.

Careers Wales’ Health and Wellbeing Strategy and commitment to the All-Wales initiative relating to the Corporate health standard will impact on the health of its employees and their families, contributing to their active engagement in society. It is known that after six months absence, the likelihood of an employee returning to work is vastly reduced and the likelihood of their entry into long term ill health is increased, adding to the social care impact on Wales. We will:

implement our comprehensive and proactive absence management policies which aim to get employees back into work in the shortest possible time using adjustments and occupational health advice, thus avoiding their entry into the social care system. Work is beneficial to health and long term wellbeing of employees and their families.

A more equal Wales A society that enables people to fulfil their potential no matter what their background or circumstances (including their socio economic background and circumstances).

Careers Wales will, in its role as an employer and in provision of services to clients, comply with relevant legislation relating to Equality and Diversity (including the Equality Act 2010 and General and Specific Duties contained within the Act) ensuring the best interests of clients and staff are met. We will:

work to the principles of the Equality Duty in regard to the advancement of equality and good relations which cover the nine protected characteristics

ensure that no member of staff or client receives less favourable treatment on grounds of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and social or economic background or is disadvantaged by any practices or procedures that cannot be justified

keep abreast of Wales and UK best practice in respect of equality and diversity and will use this information to inform the continuous improvement of the organisation’s policies and procedures in this regard

periodically provide learning and development activities in line with developing practises related to equality and Diversity

promote equality and diversity and challenge stereotypes, within the context of our business, at every opportunity through our website www.careerswales.com and other marketing material.

CCDG requires that its contractors and sub-contractors providing services to clients, comply with Careers Wales policies relating to Equality and Diversity.

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A Wales of cohesive communities

Attractive, viable, safe and well-connected communities.

Careers Wales understands that Wales has a diverse and multi-cultural society and, both in its role as an employer and in provision of services to clients, will comply with relevant legislation relating to Equality and Diversity (including the Equality Act 2010 and General and Specific Duties contained within the Act) ensuring the best interests of clients and staff are met. We will:

work to the principles of the Equality Duty in regard to the advancement of equality and good relations which cover the nine protected characteristics

ensure that no member of staff or client receives less favourable treatment on grounds of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and social or economic background or is disadvantaged by any practices or procedures that cannot be justified

carry out our responsibilities to safeguard children, young people and adults from harm as embodied in the relevant legislation

carry out our responsibility in relation to our duty within the Prevent Strategy

promote local opportunities for local people to help reduce skills gaps which will contribute to making communities across Wales attractive and viable.

A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language

A society that promotes and protects culture, heritage and the Welsh language, and which encourages people to participate in the arts, and sports and recreation.

Careers Wales’ Welsh Language Scheme, in line with the requirements of the Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011, sets out how it will provide a bilingual service which places the Welsh language as a central principle of delivery. We will:

offer services which respond to the needs of individuals and partners in the regions of Wales

enable users to access Careers Wales services in either Welsh or English as often as reasonably possible

give equal parity to the Welsh and English languages in relation to bilingual external public facing communications

encourage and facilitate opportunities for staff to use the language of their choice in their day to day work as far as reasonably possible

promote the use of both Welsh and English in the workplace and give guidance on how to do this in practice

provide and share information about the value of Welsh language skills in the labour market and information about opportunities for individuals to continue to develop their Welsh language skills as part of the career and learning pathway.

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A globally responsible Wales

A nation which, when doing anything to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural well-being of Wales, takes account of whether doing such a thing may make a positive contribution to global well-being.

Careers Wales acknowledges the contribution it can make to global well-being. We will:

maximise opportunities to share information with individuals about the global labour market, future challenges in Wales, changing economies and environment

help individuals to understand how these challenges may be met and the opportunities in industries which are addressing these.

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Appendix 2

Three year Vision for Changing Lives

1.5 Changing Lives – A three year vision This table demonstrates how the vision could be implemented over the coming 3 years. dependent on funding and the availability of appropriate resources to

support each part of the development

Vision Year 1 - 2017-2018 Year 2 - 2018-2019 Year 3 - 2019-2020 A new offer for young people

Career Discovery

Model

Online Psychometric

and Interest Tests

Phase 1 Career discovery –

developed interest guides and associated resources, new interest test launched, advisers

trained and training for teachers. Development of the career aspiration tool as an integrated online product.

Phase 2 Career discovery – enhanced online psychometric tests for clients in Education.

Development of tool for clients in labour market and adults. Full use of the career aspiration tool online at KS 4.

Phase 3 Career discovery –

full suite of tools available to enable all those using website to successfully identify an appropriate career journey.

Campaigns and events

National digital solutions team developing campaigns and events including targeted

webinars at key points in young people’s career transition, advice and guidance chats, central video and phone advice and guidance, LMI Q & A sessions. Supports the development of regional digital delivery, in a technical and business capacity.

National digital solutions team continues to support the development of regional digital delivery including nationally developed resources, products, career campaigns and events.

Most advisers in schools and working with clients in the labour market using appropriate channels to deliver services.

All advisers making use of different technology platforms to deliver a blended service offer. Full programme offer available and adapted according to need.

Experiencing the world of Work

Reference Engaging Business – employer engagement database

Client profile builder User research takes place with partners, stakeholders and clients to develop a client profile builder.

CW introduces client profile builder to targeted groups to establish fitness for purpose and refine.

Client profile builder is fully integrated with other products on .com.

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Inspiring 16-18 year olds

YEPF

Career Credits

CW continues to support the YEPF in line with requirements.

CW assesses the appropriateness of alternative channels in working with the client group.

CW (using employers recruited for the database) works with employers to assess the feasibility and associated costs of rolling out career credits

programme to support young people to develop appropriate skills. Depending on findings in year 1, CW introduces appropriate assessment tools and alternative channels to work efficiently with clients in the labour market.

Embedding of digital offer considered appropriate for use by clients in the labour market.

Raising Awareness and Employment

CW online vacancy service withdrawn in the short term. CW assesses how to present opportunities to clients online alongside AMS and JGW (removed in year). CW tests use of social media to publicise vacancies to regional users. Clients and stakeholders engaged in the development and pilot evaluated to identify most appropriate platforms. Support WG with their Have a Go activity* subject to additional funding

CW introduces its online approach to promoting opportunities including an online Get Hired activity to support

individuals in education into employment. CW introduces its new approach to ensuring users are made aware of employment and training opportunities available in Wales (in addition to Welsh Government programmes)

Supporting adults back to work

Digital services

Skills, assessment,

referral and guidance.

Employment routes

Redundancy support

Continue to support the funded ISG and ReAct projects providing Skills Assessment, Referral and Guidance and Redundancy Support.

Planning commences for the introduction of the new adult services programme (pending remit). Continue to support Welsh Government with its development of Employment Routes online.

Introduction of the first phase of the new adult services programme to include assessment tools online to provide digital services.

Full implementation of the new adult services programme in line with business requirements.

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Solutions for Partner

organisations

Curriculum for Wales

Supporting best practice.

Curriculum team works to support pioneer schools to assess impact of Curriculum for Wales on CWW and develop best practice.

Investigation of use of Hwb alongside the professionals’ portal. Investigate a new employer backed excellence in careers education award for schools.

Implement best practice from September 2018 for new curriculum. Further develop resources on professionals’ portal. Consider the introduction of an employer backed excellence in careers education award.

Continue to develop best practice in CWW into the new curriculum. Continue to review resources and develop as appropriate to meet changes in curriculum. Pilot Careers Education Excellence Award.

Data hubs Investigate alternative funding sources to maximise the use of CW data hub information. Continue to provide RLPs with information they currently receive.

Further develop the CW data hub information incorporating 5 tier data, destinations, client aspirations and career management competency. Produce reports for pilot partner organisations.

Depending on resources and findings from year 2 – agree with Welsh Government which data will be shared with partner organisations.

Engaging Business

World of Work Menu

Business Ambassador

Training

Business Ambassador Mark

Continue to offer World of Work

activities based on best practice from Opportunity Awareness project. Assess best impact of activity to continue raising awareness of opportunities in

Wales. Work with pioneer schools to identify best practice for supporting curriculum. Develop employer online offer of webinars and integration to campaigns alongside events. Introduce Business Champion

training for employers to support effective delivery in school curriculum.

Introduce an appropriate suite of services which supports new curriculum. Continue to develop online employer offer. Develop a Business Champion mark which reflects the Careers

Education Excellence Award for schools.

Employer engagement database

Employer Engagement database introduced and pilot

schools trained. Careers Wales supports schools in identifying appropriate employers to support improved learning about world of work. (working alongside the Business Champion training)

Full roll out of database to all schools, with some schools using database mediated by Careers Wales. CW continues to support activities with employers.

A proportion of schools able to use the database unmediated. CW continues to recruit employers to support activities with employers and supports some activities

Teams that deliver Introduce digital competence framework in line with Halogen performance appraisals. Phased introduction account executive function, including evaluation of impact.

Monitor progress of staff in developing digital competencies. Depending on evaluation further roll out of the account executive function and increase in blended offer to clients.

All staff confident in using digital applications and continuing to develop skills.