We can ...INNOVATE

The Young People In-Company Innovation Programme

2 What was it all about ?

YoungPerson

LocalCompany

+ +Mentoring

TeamAged 17-24 years old the young person might have been unemployed, a graduate or student and resident in Walsall.

Funded by Walsall Council/ Working Neighbourhoods Fund and in partnership with Walsall College, the Young People In-Company Innovation Programme looked to help young people access unique work placement opportunities whilst supporting local businesses to innovate and grow. Young people spent approximately 8-10 weeks working with a company to present a range of fresh ideas and real solutions with the aim of improving efficiency, increasing sales, developing new markets and ultimately growing profits.

Companies needed to be based in Walsall and be able to support a young person to develop their ideas.

Each project was fully supported by an innovation mentor who would help the young people develop their ideas whilst meeting the speci�c needs of the companies involved.

George

Example

J&JEngineering

CarolynChapman-LeesClarke-Smith

“I’m a 23 year old graduate and wanted an opportunity to prove that I have the skills and attitude to be a real asset

to a local company”

+ +

“We are an engineering company based in Walsall and we needed

someone to help us develop new markets and product ideas”

“I saw real potential in George; he had the right attitude from the start. My role was to support George with innovation training and facilitate the relationship

between him and J&J Engineering”.

3

=New Ideas

FreshApproaches

INNOVATION{Product DesignProcess & System DesignResearchWebsite Evaluation Corporate IdentityCRM & Database DevelopmentPromotional Strategy Review

=

As a result of this project J&J Engineering o�ered George full-time employment. Carol, George’s Mum said “George is really enjoying his new job, he’s always talking about it. It makes me so proud.”

... and that’s just to name a few!

George and his Mum, CarolGeorge and the J&J Engineering team with mentor Carolyn and Andrew Rumble from Walsall Council

4 We are...Creative,motivated,inspired

Jenny, Guru, Callum, Darren, Joshua, Julie, Michelle and Nasra helped Sally Hares develop her DIY Curry Kit range. “The young men and women that we’ve been working with have been extremely eager and hard working – it’s great to have their points of view and feedback” said Sally.

Lizzie, Hannah, Gagan, Iram, Mandeep, Laura

and Aaya from Queen Mary’s High School

helped Walsall Black Sisters to develop a

business strategy to enable them to adapt to

the current economic climate.

IT students Alan, Alex, Brandon and Max

conducted a website evaluation for

Tyretraders and are looking foward to

working on future projects with them.

Richard Stanley completed his innovation

project with Bernstein Ltd.

“We are very impressed; he has got the

right attitude to work and we’re delighted

to take him on and invest in his future”.

“ The Idea behind the project is fantastic!” – Midlands Mars

A number of young people have worked on

research projects for The Crossing @ St. Paul’s .

Mike Mannix and Michelle Mitchell said of the

project, “It’s enabled us to get external expertise

and helped us see where we can improve areas of

our business. It’s also shown the young people the

diversity of the business world.”

Sanya, Niluma, Hena, Fatima and Javairia from

Queen Mary’s High School conducted research for

Walsall Mind & Body Centre. Andrea Bradley,

Managing Director stated, “This programme has

been of tremendous value to our business and has

real potential to develop the business skills of

young people. It’s an empowering process with

great results, we are happy to support this

programme and hope it will continue.”

5IT students Alex, Dan, Gerald, Kerry

and Mike developed a Beta website and

business directory for Walsall Business

Parks.

Harriet McDevitt-Smith designed a new corporate logo for Stephen’s Roofing. Directors Joanne and Dave said,“The logo Harriett has designed for us is fantastic! It’sgood to work with students and give them the opportunity to use their skills in the real world. She put a lot of hard work into the project and the outcome was brilliant”.

Hayley Ashcroft worked with Highgate

Brewery developing a pump clip design

for their new beer, Walsall Gold. Hayley

said “This project gave me the opportunity

to work with a real company. It made me

push myself and now I’ve got more

confidence and am more postive”.

Amy Wells directed and produced a video for the project and is considering setting up her own business. Amy said “The project gives a real opportunity to actually do something significant, not just for our local businesses but for young people within Walsall.”

The two young people involved in our project have been, at all

6Young people and companies have had an extremely positive experience taking part in the Young People In-Company Innovation Programme. Here’s what some more of them had to say…

T

It has encouraged us to provide more specific and structured

Maureen Lewis - Walsall Black Sisters Collective

Davina Lytton-Age UK (Walsall)

Peter Mitchell - Breathing Space Walsall

Shiv Parekh - Queen Mary’s Grammar School

in the community

project have been, at all times, professional, flexible and prepared to accommodate our requests.

The two young people involved in our database development

information for our clients

This is a truly great project, something that a lot more people should get involved in. I hope you continue providing this great experience. Thank you

What people said...

Harriet McDevitt-Smith - Walsall College

The two young people involved in our project have been, at all I enoyed every minute of it. Thank you for giving me the chance totake part. All the experience and skills gained will stay with me fora very long time.

This project has made me realise my potential and capabilities and

Jan Davies - Brownhills Community Association

social media solutions, which keep our costs down and sustain our connection with the community. Their presentation to our Board was very well received and their recommendations are now being implemented.

“ .”The students have helped us to recognise the value of innovative

It’s an excellent project and it effectively engages young people“I .”

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The Think Walsall Business Support Team Telephone: 01922 653620 Email: econregen@walsall.gov.uk

Walsall College Business Development Team Telephone: 01922 688859/98 Email: businessdevelopment@walsallcollege.ac.uk

OR

7Want to see it continue?

- Are you highly motivated?- Are you creative and full of ideas?- Do you want to develop your employability and communication skills?- Do you want to work on real projects with real companies?

As a business is this suitable for you?

As a young person is this suitable for you?

Can you invest in a project like this?

- Are you looking for fresh ideas and new approaches to help improve your business?- Would you like to improve your business e�ciency, increase sales and ultimately grow pro�ts?- Are you able to support a young person to work in your business?

- Do you like what you have seen and heard from companies and young people?- Are you looking to invest in a project that o�ers real social and economic bene�ts?- Does your company want to engage in activities which can demonstrate genuine local impact?

If you would like more information about involvement in future projects like this please contact:

The funding for this project has now finished however there maybe similar projects available in the future

Success!Over the last 18 months this project has :

Thank you to...

The Innovation Team at Walsall College

The staff at Walsall College who have

supported young people and companies

on this project

The Think Walsall Team at Walsall Council

Black Country Chambers of Commerce & Industry

All of the companies and young people who have been involved in the project

The Best of Walsall

Winning Opportunites In WalsallWalsall Education Business Partnership

Trade Walsall

supported 70 local companies

and over 200 young people

saved significant amounts of money for many of the companies involved

developed vital employability skills such as creative thinking, postive attitude and confidence

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