All WalesLearning & Careers Advice

Helpline Report2010 – 2011

Compiled by Pamela GilsonCW Cardiff and Vale

August 2011

The report covers the past, present and future developments, whilst largely focusing on the period April 2010 to March 2011.

Contents

Learning & Careers Advice (LCA) Page

Executive Summary i

Development of the Service to One ld Centre 1The Service (Citizen Centred) 1Delivery 2Guidance Referrals in Wales 3Referrals Table 4Marketing 4Visitor/Events 4Quality Monitoring 4Evaluation 5

- Client Postal Evaluation (Short term) 5 - LCA Impact of Service (Long term) 5- Telephone Follow Up Survey 5

Training/Awaydays 6Call Plan with Skills Funding Agency (SFA) 6Statistics 6 - Call volume 6- Evening Calls 7- Information recorded from clients 7- Calls handled through medium of Welsh 7 - Hoax / Nuisance Calls 7- Referrals from England 7 - Partnerships- Use of the Helpline 8

National Campaign Involvement and Generic Marketing 8Future Involvement in Campaigns/Partnerships 15Evaluation – Local Service 15Future Developments 15Reporting Mechanisms 17

Appendix AppendixSample Memorandum of Understanding 1Campaign Statistics by Area 2 Local Campaign Advert 3Provider leaflet 4

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Executive Summary

Partners continue to recognise the value of the helpline, with 2 new initiatives this year using the helpline to support their work. This is a good example of partners working together, drawing on an existing service, delivering value for money and providing a citizen centred service.

0800 100 900 is the number of choice for campaigns in Wales by the Welsh Assembly Government, BBC & NIACE Dysgu Cymru

31636 interventions were handled (calls & emails)

250 Streetliners were used across Wales – a cost effective way of advertising throughout Wales.

Wider exposure was achieved through Internet advertising

6 out of 13 LCA advisers are Welsh speakers

112 Calls handled in the medium of Welsh – 32% increase on last year

1840 referrals to the CW adult guidance services

Evidence shows that the opening hours still reflect client need

Provided support for CW’s outreach advisers

Information provided to clients on behalf of CW staff (i.e.poor IT reception)

Documentation to support CW company wide working

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Learning & Careers Advice Helpline in Wales

Development of the Service to One ld Centre In April 2001, the learndirect service was transferred from the Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) where it had been managed since its inception in May 1998 to Careers Wales. The helpline was operated from four centres. [Cardiff, Llandarcy, Rhyl, Llandrindod Wells] From Nov 2006, the All Wales learndirect service changed to one centre based at CW Cardiff and Vale Cardiff office.

The Service (Citizen Centred)On 1 October 2008 the English Careers Advice helpline service transferred from UfI Limited to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), and subsequently joined the Skills Funding Agency on 1 April 2010. The rebranded service ‘Careers Advice’ encompassed the helpline and website, separating it from the learndirect learning centres.

Using the English rebranding as the catalyst, all the Careers companies participated in discussions to rename the Welsh helpline in order to better describe the work in the welsh context and agreed on: ‘Learning and Careers Advice’ (LCA)

Following a management restructuring at Careers Wales Cardiff and Vale, in May 2009, the LCA department is managed by the Post Education Youth & Adult Services Business Manager.

The helpline service offers free impartial learning and career information to individuals and businesses. Prior to 1 April 2001, the helpline service was available exclusively to the adult sector, but since 1 April 2002 it has been extended to an all age service. The helpline and course information database (Courses in Wales as of 18 Mar 2011 (CiW) formerly known as Learning Choices) plays an important role in supporting the development of Lifelong Learning. Partners such as WAG (which include DCELLS and Heritage Communications departments) BBC and NIACE use the helpline to support their various campaigns to encourage learning and upskilling.

The telephone call plan is operated by bss. This means that any landline caller in Wales is routed to the Cardiff office, although landline calls in a few areas go to Manchester (because of border telephone code issues). All out-of-hours calls [9pm - 9am] are directed through to voice mail facility, enabling the centre to offer a 24-hour service.

Mobile phone callers using the 0800 number are automatically routed through to the Manchester or Leicester Careers Advice centres. Callers are either ‘hot-keyed’ through to the All Wales centre, as a seamless process or their details are taken and sent via email and processed accordingly.

Enhanced technology to support a welsh national centre along with enhancements to the MIS system and telephony system (additional lines and increased voicemail capacity) has continued to be crucial to ensure that clients have access to the best possible source of information and help. The call recording system is now an accepted part of daily business and crucial to driving forward continuous personal development. It is acknowledged that open dialogue with all companies is vital for the success and

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continuous improvement of the LCA service.

The Co-ordinator’s role has continued to develop and ensure continuity of service. Third party involvement has continued to play an important part in expanding the service across Wales, along with diversifying with new campaigns from new partners and further developing the longer term partnership activity. These require detailed Memorandum of Understanding’s to be drawn up between each partner organisation and compliance monitored. The Co-ordinator informs the six Careers Wales companies of campaign documents, advertising schedules. In addition, informing the English helplines and other relevant parties. (i.e. CW Adult Guidance managers, Wales Assembly Government, formerly Learning Skills Council now Skills Funding Agency (SFA)).

See [Appendix 1 – Memorandum of Understanding]Apprenticeship Matching Service (AMS) Pilot August 2010 – July 2011

DeliveryThe LCA helpline service is staffed Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm and Saturday mornings 9am – 12 noon. There is a mix of full-time and part-time staff with six Welsh speakers. The service is continually reviewing the staffing allocation model. Sometimes partner and campaign activity requires the helpline to extend opening hours to address TV adverts. In addition, temporary staff are recruited to increase capacity to cover peak activity periods to coincide for example with the Individual Learning Account Wales activity.

The helpline’s Christmas and New Year service was 29 th, 30th & 31st December 2010 10am – 4pm and resulted in 38 calls & 1 email. (2009/10 – 78 calls; 2008/9 – 122 calls, voicemails, & emails; 2007/8 – 48 calls; 2006/7 – 51 calls; 2005/6 - 46 calls).

Callers are able to select a preferred language of call and a further option of type of service. These options are changed to reflect campaign requirements throughout the year (i.e. First Click, Adapt). The option choices are displayed on the LCD panels of the adviser’s phone and therefore advisers are aware of which type of call they are receiving. With the ability to streamline calls, we are able to focus training to one initiative and therefore be more cost effective

Callers who leave messages are called back up to a maximum of three times alternating between daytime and evening to ensure maximum probability of contact. It must be noted that the English helpline do not do call-backs, they have a message to request callers to ring the service back.

Clients are also encouraged to email requests and all literature, editorials and marketing materials reflect this. lca@careerswales.com (this has changed to a generic email during this year following feedback from CW colleagues) [Appendix 2]

The helpline advisers have access to a variety of resources, both electronic and paper-based. The packages available are Learning Choices Database (LCD), Exodus, Odyssey, Funderfinder, NVQ, Worldwide Volunteering, Key clips Keynotes and Business Opportunities (BOPs). For contingency purposes, helpline staff have a standalone

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laptop to act as a backup in case of electronic failure. [Regularly setup for training purposes and also to maintain staff awareness)

LCA Advisers are experts in using the LCD, which is their primary information tool and is used daily. Advisers discuss with the LCD staff the content and if the system is not performing as it should, they quickly inform them and if appropriate, Careers Wales Association (CWA) is contacted immediately. LCA advisers have been used in the past to pilot any proposed changes and valuable feedback has been obtained and used. This working relationship with LCD adds value to the helpline and adds to the quality measures already undertaken.

LCA Advisers encourage callers to access the Careers Wales website and frequently talk through how to register and how to navigate the site and its contents .during their call, aiding the preparation prior to any AG contact, adding value to face-to-face guidance.

Guidance Referrals within Wales Each call includes a diagnostic interview, which may highlight the requirement for guidance, and this is offered through a variety of media supporting the Careers Wales differentiated service model – telephone guidance, e-guidance via email, or face to face interviews at our careers centres across Wales

A ‘duty guidance adviser’ is available for two days a week (2 half days & 1 full day) , for clients to be ‘transferred’ over the phone to a designated Adult Guidance adviser using the hot-key functionality or via email functionality. To complete the week, calls requiring adult guidance are transferred to the caller’s local careers area for an appointment to be made or email – client choice.

The duty guidance adviser responds to an All Wales remit. Following a successful pilot for ‘email referral’ this is now incorporated into daily practice and telephone or email is used. The helpline adviser inputs the clients detail into Insight (CW C&V MIS) which is converted/formatted into an email and sent to the relevant CW duty AG adviser. This way of interaction has proved very effective. The Insight record can be sent direct to a generic email inbox dedicated for this purpose and not necessary to retype client details into a separate email. Benefits include transfer of accurate client details and helpline advisers not tying up telephone lines and also having outcomes returned .

As a result of either telephone or email enquiries, 1840 referrals were made from LCA to CW companies and Adult Guidance Telephone Duty for a guidance intervention. This is a 7.23% increase on 2009/10 referral statistics. This year’s referrals resulted in a 16% referral rate (10% referral is the agreed target) to CW companies from appropriate calls to the helpline. Email has continued to be the preferred method of data exchange between the helpline and the duty guidance adviser.

The total number of referrals for adult guidance in 2010/11 = 1840 (2009/10 = 1716; 2008/9 = 2123; 2007/8 = 2020; 2006/7 = 904)

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Referrals TableC&V Gwent Mid

GlamWest Mid Wales North

EastNorth West

SE Wales Helpline West Helpline

Mid Wales Helpline

North Helpline

2004/5 332 200 214 260 365 131 1612005/6 207 121 166 375 558 83 1032006/74 centre operation

38 nia 42 35

2006/71 centre operation

From 1/4/06

318

From 1/4/06

192

From 1/4/06

187

From 16/11/06

89

From 1/06/ 06

26

From 1/09/ 06

45

From1/09/ 06

472007/8 786 251 358 329 49 81 1082008/9 846 303 281 331 35 163 1642009/10 587 307 204 282 18 179 1392010/11 732 235 231 334 38 158 112

Marketing The LCA telephone number is now used on all appropriate nationally produced publications. The LCA service continues to benefit from the limited national (not including Scotland) advertising campaigns and promotion activities instigated by SFA (England) In addition partnership arrangements in Wales make good use of the helpline. Campaign’s are run by BBC, NIACE Dysgu Cymru, several WAG/DCELLS departments (i.e. Bi-lingual Unit; Early Years and Business Team; ILA Wales Team; ReAct, Adapt) proving that third parties interaction impacts positively on the work of the centre.

We have begun to target our marketing specifically at increasing email activity with focused campaigns; however, the full potential should be reflected in 2011/12

Visitors / EventsA study group visited CW Cardiff and Vale from Hungary early June 2010 and were given an overview of the helpline with a demonstration of the helpline resources which included the Learning Choices database.

LCA staff manned an exhibition stand at the National Federation of Training Wales & Welfare to Work conferences. A leaflet was produced to encourage providers and other partners to use the helpline to frontline potential campaigns/events. Appendix 4

Quality Monitoring100% of all calls are recorded. A new recording system called Aveya was introduced in July 2010, very easy to use and has proved very reliable. Rigorous QA consists of 2 calls per month until 3 consecutive Good/Excellent which then drops to 1 per month for staff on probation or undertaking NVQ.L3 in Advice & Guidance or for more experienced advisers 1 per month – i.e. 12 a year – LCA staff are monitored more than any other group of staff in CW. This will support the advisers professional development and highlight any training needs. Staff also do Peer & Self Assessment calls and these are recorded on the CW C&V Performance Management System. In addition, good practice calls have been identified and used as a training resource.

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Benchmarking continues to take took place between assessors internally (LCA Co-ordinator & Supervisor & Quality Manager) and with several external assessors. This proved a very useful exercise to ensure standardisation of grading.

Calls can be monitored within minutes of closure – possibly a compliment on how a call was handled or a complaint on how call handled, caller being rude etc. There is the facility to identify particular calls and ‘mark’ for future reference. In addition, if any calls are required to be listened to by WAG for quality purposes, this can be done very easily.

We have continued to deliver the following service guarantees – All calls answered within 6 rings All emails answered within 5 working days Free calls for impartial information and advice Referral to Adult Guidance following diagnostic if relevant Training providers information input into the Learning Choices/Course in Wales

database within one month of receipt

EvaluationClient Postal Evaluation (Short Term)Evaluation is carried out using postal questionnaires between April & June. Results continue to show overwhelming client satisfaction with the services provided through the helpline.

46% increased their knowledge and /or understanding of careers options and acted upon it; (52% 2009/10;42% 2008/9)

28% arranged an interview with a careers advisor (21% 2009/10;19% 2008/9) 96% received their information within 5 days

LCA Impact of Service Evaluation (Long term)Evaluation was carried out during October to December 2010 to measure impact of information during 2009/10 service.

23% commenced training/education7% arranged an interview with a Careers Adviser2% prepared for a job interview5% had received ReAct funding

Telephone Follow Up Survey (Long Term)Due to no Bostock Marketing Group (BMG) evaluation being undertaken (formerly commissioned by LSC in England) and subsequent demise of the BMG annual evaluation, it was felt important to use the clients who had agreed to participate in evaluation. Therefore, an ADDITIONAL evaluation of the service was conducted using clients who had used the service 6 months previously. The three evaluators used were LCA Advisers who HAD NOT conducted the original interaction

Positive comments were received throughout the survey, several clients as a result of receiving funding obtained employment. The survey also identified that the LCA advisers going the extra mile – course information highlighted on printout. Additional

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information was given at the time of the evaluation call to 29% of the clients.

Training/ AwaydaysAll helpline advisers have attained or are working towards the NVQ Level 3 in Advice and Guidance. In addition, new staff have attended and successfully completed an Introduction to Guidance course.

All helpline advisers have attended a workshop on Referral to Careers Guidance to support the All Wales Guidance Standards. The aim of the training to ensure LCA advisers understand the guidance model and to enhance the referral process to the career guidance services.

In addition, training sessions have taken place regularly to implement Insight Client database developments and attendance at the annual departmental awayday.

Call Plan with SFA1 planned call switch was arranged with SFA in December 2010 to allow staff to attend a departmental Awayday, However, due to inclement weather it necessitated for this to be cancelled.. There is a good working relationship with SFA staff which is underpinned by having a Service Level Agreement with England

StatisticsCall Volume (No of Interventions Calls & emails) From 01 April 2009 to 31 March 2010, the number of interactions (calls & emails) were 31636. 13% down on the previous year – somewhat of an unusual year.

* The processing of email enquires has been monitored and has identified that they require more time to respond to than a telephone enquiry.

All Wales TotalsHelpline SE Wales West Wales

Up to 15 Nov 06North WalesUp to 31 Aug 06

Mid WalesUp to 31 May 06

TOTAL

2006/7 23269 6007 1603 657 31536

2007/8Calls 32462 % v

2006/7Emails 1365Total no of Interventions 33827 + 7.3

2008/9Calls 39602 % v

2007/8Emails 2352Total no of Interventions 41954 +24

2009/10 Calls 35041 % v 2008/9Emails 1407

Total no of Interventions 36448 -13%2010/11 Calls 31028 % v

2009/10Emails 598Total no of Interventions 31636 -13%

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*Investment by LSC/SFA in advertising has fallen during this year, with no TV advertising commissioned and very little other advertising, this has had a considerable impact to the call volumes. This trend has also been replicated to the Careers Advice Helpline in England – but to a greater extent

Evening Calls10.3% of calls received between 5pm – 9pm (2009/10=10.5%;2008/9= 9.02%; 2007/8= 9.98 %)1 % of calls received between 9pm – 9am (2009/10=1.8%;2008/9=1.13%;2007/8 =2.05%)

Information recorded from clientsA computerised caller logging system is used (CW C&V Management Information system-Cognisoft Insight), to directly input caller details during a call - (a backup procedure is in place in case of computer failure). Insight has been enhanced to enable previous clients to be identified with an enhanced search and therefore saving clients having to repeat their personal data each time and also build up a history of client contact with the company. A variety of Management Information can be obtained:- Gender, Age group, Employment status, what information is requested, current qualification held, what type of resource was used in providing the information, whether the call was conducted in Welsh, if a referral was required and to which organisation and date and time of call and where they heard about the service. If a campaign/third party requires additional information to be recorded or reported on where ever possible this is accommodated.(i.e. redundant in last 6mths, under notice of redundancy)

Calls handled through medium of WelshRecording of calls requested through the medium of Welsh as well as recording the actual number of calls handled through the medium of Welsh has continued this year.

113 calls were requested through the medium of Welsh of which 112 calls were handled through the medium of Welsh (76 for 2009/10; 130 for 2008/9; 230 for 2007/8; 166 for 2006/7) throughout the year.

Hoax / Nuisance CallsDuring this year, there was a significant decrease on hoax and nuisance calls received. This is due to a change to the call flow messaging system.

All Wales from 01/04/07SE up to 31/03/07

West North Mid

2010/11 92009/10 662008/9 462007/8 732006/7 166 (0.71%) Up to 15/11/06

16 (0.26%) Up to 31/08/06

1(0.06%)Up to 31/05/06

nia

Referrals from England A referral process is in place between the English Call Centres - mainly for mobile calls to be referred to Wales for ‘local’ handling. During this year, the majority of the referrals

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were done by the English helpline via telephone transfer. .2010/11- 1151 calls were ‘hot keyed’ and 598 caller details were sent via email resulting in a total of 1749 (18.6% increase on the previous year. 2009/10 – 156 calls were ‘hot keyed’ and 1319 caller details were sent via email resulting in a total of 1475. (38 % decrease). 2008/9 -156 calls were ‘hot keyed’ and 1319 caller details were sent via email with a total of 2379; 2007/8 - 237 calls were ‘hot keyed’ and 1225 caller details were sent via email with a total of 1462 (2006/7 – 825). Breakdown on previous years is 2006/7 169 hotkey and 656 email; 2005/6 – 229 hotkey & 877 email; 2004/5 – 580 hotkey & 719 email; 2003/4 – 117 email & 1325 hotkey. We continue to work hard with England to ensure the referral protocols are adhered to. LCA contact clients via the medium as requested by the English helpline’s emails.

2010/11 2009/10 2008/9 2007/8 2006/7

Referrals to Wales from England 1749 1475 2379 1462 1481

Referral SE Wales from Manchester & Leicester

825

Referral SE Wales to North Wales 79

Referral SE Wales to South East Wales 481

Referral SE Wales to West Wales 93

Referral SE Wales to Mid Wales 3

Other – Referred back to Manchester 0

Outside the Welsh opening hours, Leicester and Manchester advisers will forward callers details via email or give the caller the choice of calling their local centre direct during opening hours.

Partnerships – use of the HelplineDuring this year, partnerships have continued to be forged and broadened which are fundamental to the development of the service along with the demise of a long standing partnership with the ILA Wales programme. Partners continue to recognise the value of the helpline – a resource available to them to support their campaigns – effective MTC collaboration. New partnerships (i.e. BBC – First Click and WAG – Adapt). have been encouraged as well as developing existing ones. Campaigns often require specific research to be undertaken to support involvement. Several partners produce supporting literature /DVD’s to support their campaigns and LCA are able to include these in their information packs.

0800 100 900 continues to be the number of choice for campaigns in Wales by the Welsh Assembly, NIACE Dysgu Cymru & BBC

National Campaign Involvement and Generic Marketing

BBC LearningA completely new partnership working with their new campaign called First Click.

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DCELLS – Department for Children, Education & Lifelong Learning (WAG)The partnership between LCA and DCELLS continues to grow from strength to strength. This is borne out of the increase of different departments within WAG wishing to work closely with the helpline to support the Lifelong Learning agenda. These are listed in the Campaign Involvement and Generic Marketing Section. National Leadership & Innovation Agency for Healthcare [NLIAH]Regularly attend the Skills for Health Strategic meetings.

NIACE Dysgu Cymru Having worked with NIACE Dysgu Cymru virtually from the inception of the helpline’s operation, the working relationship continues to develop, particularly in relation to the Sign Up Season suite of activities (Adult Learners Week, Sign Up Now and Taking Control).

UfI/UfI Cymru(contract with Learning Skills Council(LSC)Skills Funding Agency (SFA) changed 1/4/2010)Continued links via national helpline marketing

UfI learndirect Learning Centres and Access Points‘Local’ links continue to be strengthened and LCA helpline referral to the learndirect e-learning centres.

See Appendix 3– Campaign Statistics

Adapt [Jan 11 – ongoing]

Began 19.1.11Adapt Employee

Adapt Employer

AdaptGeneral

2010/11 41 42 2

A program been setup to assist public sector redundancies through a single point of contact for employers and employees through collaboration with WAG, Jobcentre Plus and Careers Wales. . Employers who may be/are facing redundancy situations and persons who are facing early retirement, facing redundancy or severance or who have recently been made redundant to receive advice and guidance on the support available.

The campaign was officially launched by Lesley Griffiths Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills and Jane Hutt, Minister for Business and Budget on 8 th February.

Adult Learners Week [Apr - May 2010]

SE/All Wales West North Mid Total2004/5 394 114 217 73 7982005/6 276 136 72 46 5302006/7 127 153 14 46 3332007/8 5322008/9 5692009/10 429

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2010/11 92

A campaign run in partnership with NIACE Dysgu Cymru, DCELLS and educational /careers organisations. Aimed at adults, encouraging them to participate in learning and broadening their learning opportunities.Apprenticeship Matching Service [July 10 – Ongoing]

No of Calls2010/11 44

A pilot campaign to help employers find suitable Apprentices, and help aspiring Apprentices to find employers

Business in Wales [2010/11]Feature within the publication - Develop your workforce for top results No specific statistics identified.

Change 4 Life (Wales) [Feb 2009- ongoing]

Individuals calls

Supporters calls

2009/10 70 312010/11 78 122

A phased campaign run in partnership with the Department of Health & WAG. Specific phases aimed at families to promote healthy eating and physical activity pursuits in order to tackle obesity.

Early Years Workforce Recruitment [On going]

No of Calls2007/8 7182008/9 3202009/2010 782010/11 28

A campaign run by WAG to support the Foundation Phase to raise awareness of the employment opportunities within the childcare and early year’s sector. No specific advertising has taken place this year

First Click [Oct 10 – On going]

No of Calls2010/11 1564

BBC First Click is a BBC Learning campaign which is part of the larger media literacy campaign within Wales. It has been set up to encourage people over 55+ who currently don’t use the

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internet, to understand and enjoy its benefits. The BBC, in addition with working with Careers Wales is also working with a range of partners including Libraries, UK Online and Age UK.The campaign is part of the BBC’s remit to help to deliver the benefit of emerging communic- ations technologies and to promote media literacy. First Click builds on previous initiatives such as BBC WebWise. Callers are encouraged to call 08000 150 950 (English helpline) and then are transferred through to the Welsh helpline is they are a Welsh resident.Get On [On-going]

SE/All Wales West North Mid Total2004/5 94 18 82 20 2142005/6 44 0 0 8 522006/7 10 0 0 0 102007/8 192008/9 332009/10 622010/11 75

Advertising was commissioned by partnership through LSC/SFA to encourage people who have basic skill needs to seek help. Often used as an infill by TV networks with dates and times unknown to the helpline.

ILA Wales [closed in Sept 2010]

Following WAG’s Investing in Skills consultation, the ILA Wales initiative was granted an extension during early 2010, however it was closed in September 2010

SE West North Mid Total2004/5 Applications sent out 3818 2057 1656 734 8265

Funding guides sent out 433 188 697 517 18352005/6 Applications sent out 4609 2375 1708 1067 9759

Funding guides sent out 137 172 143 604 10562006/7 Applications sent out 4746 1972 1470 723 8911

Funding guides sent out 162 77 31 40 3102007/8 Applications sent out 4264 2820 1928 779 9791

Funding guides sent out 1288 12882008/9 Applications sent out 12289 12289

Funding guides sent out 1852 18522009/10 Applications sent out 12804 12804

Funding guides sent out 1170 1170 2010/11 Applications sent out

Closed Sept 20107270 7237

Funding guides sent outStill sending out to clients

893 * 893

* an electronic version is also available and callers are encouraged to view

ILA Wales general requests resulted in 1546 calls until September 2010, many of these calls were related to the closure of the scheme.

5025 (69.2%) of returned applications were approved. (2009/10 – 7595 (95.3%); 2008/9 – 7323 (94.7%); 2007/8 - 5841 (69.5%); 2006/7- 136.7%* ;2005/6 94.4%; 2004/5 90%).

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Since the closure of the ILA W initiative, calls regarding funding have been supported with the Funding Guide (if appropriate) which is available electronically or in booklet format.

learndirect Online courses [On going]

No of Calls2008/09 262009/10 962010/11 65

Clients phoning for information on e-learning

Modern Apprenticeships [On going]

No of Calls2008/09 1422009/10 982010/11 120

National Campaigns LSC/SFA [On going]

SE – All Wales2004/5 12112005/6 5942006/7 7972007/8 5622008/9 9642009/10 1082010/11 64

No TV Campaigns have been commissioned by LSC/SFA to promote the Careers Advice helpline across England, Wales and Northern Ireland

ReAct [On going]

No of Calls2008/9 9252009/10 9742010/11 807

The Redundancy Action Scheme (ReAct) is a program of funding for training provided by the Welsh Assembly Government for people living in Wales who are facing redundancy within the Private sector . The scheme can also help Employers who are downsizing their business or are recruiting staff.

Specific Statistics collected for ReAct have broadened during the year and the following 12

are captured: Under notice of Redundancy, Redundant in the last 6 months, as well as u/e < 6 months; u/e 6 – 11 months; u/e 12 – 23 months; u/e 24 – 35 months; u/e 36 + months

LCA have worked closely with the Adult Guidance Mangers during the year on developing a more integrated approach with clients. Positive outcomes were the production of generic posters using the LCA helpline number & emails address along with a generic All Wales ReAct presentation.

Sign Up Now [August – September 2010]

SE West North Mid Total2004/5 125 43 29 37 2342005/6 0 0 0 0 02006/7 1 centre 358 3582007/8 6 62008/9 337 3372009/10 429 4292010/11 0* 0

*No major advertising undertaken.

A campaign partnership between Careers Wales, NIACE and DCELLS to support the drive for enrolments in September and extend the reach and impact of a range of activities. Callers often cannot be specific as to where they found out about the service as it has been a drip feed effect and they have seen the ‘0800’ number on several occasions and via several mechanisms (poster, word of mouth etc).

Skills Health Check [Jan 10 – Ongoing]

No of Calls2009/10 02010/11 14

LCA supporting a pilot between CW & JC+

Where Now 2010 [August 2010 – January 2011]

All Wales destination tracking initiative with DCELLS for Year 11,12 & 13 studentsLCA Helpline received 7 calls to support this. (2009/10 – 65; 2008/9 – 23; 2007/8 - 8)

Taking Control - Sign Up Now [January 2011]

SE/All Wales West North Mid Total2004/5 148 0 15 25 1882005/6 70 61 0 8 1392006/7 164 1642007/8 89 89

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2008/9 190 1902009/10 1~ 12010/11 0 0

This campaign was run in joint conjunction with Your Future, Your Choice Your Action

Run in conjunction with NIACE Dysgu Cymru and DCELLS to encourage take up of learning via Adult Education and Evening Classes.

Welsh for Adults [On going]

No of Calls

2006/7 1502007/8 7212008/9 3642009/10 1312010/11 12

Working with the Bi-lingual Unit within DCELLS, to encourage the take up of the Welsh Language or improve existing skills. During this year new booklets were produced displaying local office telephone contacts

Your Future, Your choice, Your Action [On going]

2008/9 372009/10 1822010/11 133

This campaign acts as an umbrella to span a variety of activities to inform individuals about learning and training opportunities.

Careers Wales [Apr 10 – Mar 11] - Generic marketing

SE West North Mid Total2004/5 131 0 0 0 1312005/6 134 0 0 0 1342006/7 151 0 0 0 1512007/8 114* 1142008/9 138 1382009/10 265 2652010/11 385 385

* The recording mechanism for recording these statistics can only collate a joint figure

The telephone number appears on all literature and publications produced by/for CW Cardiff and Vale and other Careers Wales literature where appropriate. . In addition, it is

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also displayed on the mobile bus. LCA and the Marketing team at CW C&V work closely together throughout the year to ensure maximum exposure. The Careers Advice helpline logo was phased out during natural replacement of materials in line with the changes within England

To support the Adult Learners Week (ALW) in May an advert was placed on a video screen in Queen Street, as well as inclusion in the ALW editorial supplement in the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Celtic Titles, Glamorgan Gem, South Wales Advertiser and Golwg. To support Sign Up Now in early September an advert and editorial was placed in the Western Mail

A 4 week campaign ran during September/October. The artwork was designed in house and was used on buses - 250 street liners across Wales. The aim of the campaign was to generate more calls to the national advice line” in Wales as well as reinforce the link between Careers Wales and the helpline in the minds of the public. Posters were placed at a number of railway stations across Wales during September.

A 4 week campaign ran during February /March to promote the helpline, however the stronger message was wider exposure through the internet and to encourage email contact. This was achieved via the Media Wales website which hosted banner advertising along with an intermittent ad on the home page of their website

Regular Press Advertising Activity in SW Echo, Western Mail, Adult Learners Week supplement, Glamorgan Gazette, Wales On Sunday supplement,; Capital Times;, Welsh Business.com, Primary Times, Business in Focus, Forward Wales, Cardiff & Barry Post; The Glamorgan Gem, Penarth Times, Barry and District News, Vale of Glamorgan Adult Education Brochure, Prevue Cinema Magazine, Vale News.

Careers Wales (Joint production)The number is often used on literature produced to advertise the Careers Online web-site and within the site itself.

Future Involvement in Campaigns / PartnershipsContinued networking and partnerships working further strengthens activity with a longer term strategy with LCA helpline. This can only reinforce the joint venture approach and show how successful and beneficial this form of working can be for all parties.

EvaluationLocal ServiceLocal evaluation via a client questionnaire is conducted every year. A questionnaire is included when information is sent out to callers with a post paid return envelope. See Evaluation on Page 5.

Future Developments It is recognised that 2011-12 will be a challenging year, however the helpline will continue to remain flexible throughout the year, adapting to change, offer solutions and support.

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Our commitment to social inclusion and the recommendations of the recently released Future Ambitions report (Recommendation 23 & 27), Webb and Welsh Government (Skills That Work for Wales) is reflected in our approach to providing a flexible, quality, free client centred impartial accessible service.

We are looking to:-

- develop ways to tailor our support to meet individual need and diversify access to our services i.e to be recognised as the main telephone service for all CW services

- reviewing guidance delivery/referrals, strengthening an integrated service approach as described in the Watts review of Careers Wales services – providing separate company monthly reports including breakdown of activity

- marketing of the service- increase email enquiries - actively encourage/support the use of Careers Wales Online - continuing to maintain standards and procedures and parity of service- assessment of Welsh calls- develop ways of tailoring our support to CW companies needs – i.e undertaking

impartial evaluation projects- continuing to review the hours of operation in the light of the partners’ campaigns.

The centres opening hours will reflect the demand from callers.- Investigating how to develop the voicemail facility to the client management

system by recording phone numbers and digitising the message- monitoring the management system ensuring all client activity can be tracked- monitoring TAPI - monitoring the pop up facility (CTI) activated by return callers - continuing to monitor the automated call queuing system- monitor referral of clients details by electronic methods acknowledging that

system compatibility is paramount - reviewing local evaluation procedure - utilising feedback information from users and informing partners and providers of

training information gaps and barriers- continue to work closely with CW West and other partners to ensure the content

of Course in Wales (CiW) is comprehensive and meets the needs of the people in Wales

We also aim to take a fresh look at our marketing, and investigate the use of different media to market services of LCA and Careers Wales, such as twitter and other social networking sites, together with live web chats. We are also planning to continue on directing this years’ marketing towards organisations to encourage new partners to use LCA to front any of their campaigns.

In response to the cessation of the ILA Wales campaign, we are working to re-focus the marketing and service delivery of LCA. Specifically, we will be implementing new ways of promoting Careers Wales and its services via the helpline, and aim to become the main contact number for all Careers Wales services. This is currently being developed through four separate projects;

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Promotion of LCA as the initial telephone contact number for redundancies across Wales using posters that are displayed at employer premises where employees are facing redundancies. i.e currently being undertaken in Bosch, in partnership with CWMGP

Promotion of LCA as the initial telephone contact for the Apprenticeship Matching Service –

Promotion of LCA as contact main for all CW Cardiff and Vale services.

Promotion of LCA with specific pilot projects with CW NE & CW NW. Ability to divert calls to cover office closures, offices busy (lunchtimes, after 5pm, team meetings etc). Specific marketing materials using LCA freephone number. Increase AG daily referral coverage. Potential to use AG at outreach who experience DNA’s with LCA/AG referrals. Advisers working at venues with limited access to IT for information to be sent to clients on their behalf. Support schools results days.

Reporting mechanismsLCA Co-ordinator ensures all careers companies are aware of the Learning & Careers Advice service, informing on progress, marketing requirements and disseminating campaign activity and attending appropriate meetings. The Co-ordinator continues to provide campaign information and referral MIS to the adult guidance managers

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Appendix

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Appendix 1

Memorandum of Understanding Betweenthe Learning & Careers Advice Helpline (LCA) and

Apprenticeship Matching Service (AMS) Pilot - August 2010 - July 2011

ContactsPamela Gilson, CW Cardiff & Vale, LCA Co-ordinator, Learning & Careers Advice Line, Cardiff (02920 906802) Pamela.Gilson@cardiffandvale.org.uk

Jayne Arthur, CW Cardiff & Vale, LCA Supervisor, Learning & Careers Advice Line, Cardiff (02920 906805) Jayne.Arthur@cardiffandvale.org.uk

Joanna Wood CWA, Caerphilly, AMS Project Manager (02920 854880) Joanna.Wood@careerswalesassociation.co.uk

Simon Phelps WAG, DCELLS - Skills Development Manager (01792 224517) Simon.Phelps@Wales.gsi.gov.uk

Pilot Area ContactsCW WestTyrone Emmett, Vacancy Bureau Officer (01792 352018) tyrone.emmett@cwwest.co.uk

*Sarah Thomas, Vacancy Bureau Officer,(01267 244115) sarah.m.thomas@cwwest.co.uk [* to be contacted if Tyrone is not available]

Vicki O’Leary, Team Manager, CW West (01269 846009) vicki.o'leary@cwwest.co.uk [responsibility for CW West involvement]

NB Enquiries taken outside of 9 – 5 to be emailed

CW North WestEmail contact only and send to both contacts[for administration purposes only - 01248 672800]

Kaeli Peters, Senior Careers AdvisorKaeliP@careers-gyrfa.org.uk

Chris Brown, Youth Gateway ManagerChrisB@careers-gyrfa.org.uk

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Joyce Williams, Senior Manager, CW North West (01248 67800) JoyceW@careers-gyrfa.org.uk [responsibility for CW North West involvement]

Pilot AreasAreas participating in the pilot are Swansea, Neath & Port Talbot, Anglesey & Gwynedd

Careers Wales (CW)CW pilot contacts to inform LCA of all relevant information (availability /change of contacts).

CW pilot contacts will assist the vacancy process as required and ensure inclusion on the AMS system

Careers Wales Association (CWA)CWA to provide a demonstration of the website and provide a Q & A session for the LCA advisers [ www.careerswales.com/adults/server.php?show=nav.6142 ]

CWA to inform the LCA Co-ordinator /Supervisor of any planned or unplanned maintenance which might affect access for the LCA advisers

CWA to inform immediately if site is not operational

CWA to inform LCA Co-ordinator of any changes to the pilot that has an effect to the LCA helpline and their participation of the pilot

CWA to inform LCA Co-ordinator of any advertising of the pilot and provide copies of leaflets when appropriate

CWA to respond to any technical queries forwarded by LCA advisers

CWA requires all time spent on the pilot to be recorded and data to be forwarded as agreed.

Learning & Careers Advice Helpline (LCA)LCA Co-ordinator/Supervisor to ensure the AMS pilot details are programmed into the CW Management Information System (Insight) and the details are placed on the Department Intranet pages and the Department Campaign Board

LCA Advisers to familialise themselves with the pilot details and process

LCA advisers to diagnose calls from employers, training providers or individuals and refer appropriately by agreed method

For employers interested in placing a vacancy, the LCA Advisers will take the appropriate details and process as agreed (organisation name, type of business, address & telephone number)

LCA Advisers to contact Joanna Wood with technical issues experienced by employers, training providers or individuals whilst on the AMs site

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LCA advisers to accurately input all client details into Insight (CW C&V MIS). LCA Co-ordinator/Supervisor to monitor statistics weekly for the first 6 weeks of the pilot to ensure correct data is being captured by the LCA advisers.

LCA to inform CWA pilot companies & CWA immediately of any problem with receiving / responding to calls

LCA to ensure that the Careers Advice helpline (England) are aware of the pilot and ensure that callers are referred to Wales once residency of caller is identified

LCA will undertake an evaluation of the referral process and circulate outcome to relevant parties

MIS / Statistics LCA will generate statistics monthly covering:-

total number of calls to the helpline for specific month breakdown of Employer Statistics

total for month type of business location of business source of contact referral to call medium

breakdown of Training Provider Statistics total for month based in pilot area working with employer in pilot area referral to

breakdown of Individual Statistics total for month gender employment status area of residence source of referral referral to call medium

For the duration of the pilot, LCA Co-ordinator / Supervisor will forward monthly – total helpline headline figures and agreed pilot call volume statistics to Joanna Wood cc Simon Phelps by the 10th working day of the month to commence in August for activity in July and monthly thereafter until the end of the pilot period

Recording of Time SpentLCA Co-ordinator to ensure all time spent on the pilot is recorded appropriately and data sent to Joanna Wood as agreed.

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ComplaintsLCAAny complaints received will be handled in line with CW Cardiff and Vale complaints procedure.

If a complaint is a non-LCA complaint, the details will be passed to Joanna Wood to investigate.

WAG & CWAIf a complaint is received regarding the LCA helpline, WAG or CWA to forward all details to Pam Gilson who will investigate as per company complaint procedures.

ReviewCWA & LCA to review LCA participation of the pilot and adjust any processes accordingly

Signed ……faxed signed copy…… Date ……27/8/10………………(Joanna Wood - CWA)

Signed …… Date ……26/8/10…………(Pamela Gilson – CW LCA Helpline)

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[Appendix 2]

…

5

Campaign Statistics 2010/11 [Appendix 3]

April 2010- Mar 2011 April May June JulyAugust Sept Oct Nov Dec January

February March Total

ILA Wales App & another app 691 747 1176 1398 1460 1796 2 0 0 0 0 0 7270ILA Wales F/Guides 63 70 79 71 98 148 79 61 41 76 60 47 893ILA Wales Other 82 69 167 268 304 389 3 10 6 4 6 2 1310Welsh for Adults 3 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 12Early Years - Play Learn Grow 3 5 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 1 4 1 28Sign Up Season(ALW/Taking Control/SUN) 2 90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 92Where Now 0 0 0 1 5 1 0           7Mod Apps 1 3 4 14 20 6 8 6 4 8 22 24 120Careers Wales Local Campaigns 19 33 32 15 55 43 51 17 10 19 37 54 385Get on 2 62 5 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 75Your Future Your Choice Your Action 3 4 4 7 15 45 10 9 0 21 12 3 133Change4life Wales Individuals 17 5 4 21 1 4 3 3 1 10 2 7 78Change4life Wales Supporters 16 11 12 14 8 10 12 10 5 9 6 9 122Young Recruits 3 4 1 1 4 3 1 2 0 0 1 3 23OU/Uni Glam 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0   0 0 4Jobserve 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0   0 0 12Ld Online Courses 1 32 11 3 2 4 4 2 0 2 0 4 65SFA England Helpline 19 4 20 5 4 3 2 2 0 3 0 2 64Apprenticeship Matching Service 0 0 0 10 12 11 2 0 2 1 1 5 44Bosch & React 75 52 53 60 57 65 51 63 41 83 82 125 807First Click 0 0 0     1 658 268 81 348 130 78 1564Skills Health Check 2 3 0 4 3 2             14Adapt - Public Sector Worker                     21 20 41Adapt - Public Sector Employer                     37 5 42Adapt Genral Enquiry                     0 2 2Campaign Totals 1003 1196 1574 1897 2053 2536 887 466 194 587 421 393 13207Non-campaign calls 1303 1055 1289 1180 1176 2283 1163 1239 507 1036 2984 2606 16518

Total Calls 2010-11 2306 2251 2863 3077 3229 4819 2050 1705 701 1623 3405 2999 31028

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[Appendix 4]

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