ICONI MD, Liam Jordan presenting Bob Marsh and Cheryl Cullen of Clarion with the ERSA Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award.

The winners of the inaugural ERSA Employability Awards, sponsored by Interserve Working Futures, were announced last week at a ceremony in central London, attended by Employment Minister Mark Hoban.

The awards aim to celebrate and champion the people and organisations working to tackle joblessness in the UK. The 169 entries were whittled down to seven outstanding winners by the judges, Sarah Neville from the Financial Times, Matthew Oakley from Policy Exchange, and Julia Sweeney from the Department for Work & Pensions.

Speaking of the awards, ERSA’s Chief Executive Kirsty McHugh, said:

“We started the ERSA Employability Awards to highlight the exceptional work that is taking place every day in the welfare to work industry. Front line advisers, working in partnership with employers and others help to transform the lives of the long term unemployed.”

There are huge numbers of fantastic success stories out there and I’m delighted that we’re able to highlight some of the best of them.”

Minister for Employment Mark Hoban said:

“I am delighted to celebrate the very real successes that have been achieved by all those who have helped deliver welfare to work services. I recognise that these have made a profound difference to many people’s lives in helping them to find and stay in work.”

The full list of winners is as follows:

The Innovation Award (sponsored by Alderwood)

Winner: Ingeus’ Sports and Social Inclusion Programme

Ingeus’ Sports and Social Inclusion Programme uses sport to raise people’s self-esteem and motivation, whilst also delivering tailored employability support.

Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award (sponsored by ICONI Software)

Winner: Clarion

Clarion supply specialist communication professionals with employment advisor skills to a number of Work Programme prime contractors to work with jobseekers who have difficulties with hearing.

Significant Achievement Award (sponsored by JCA)

Winner: David Coles

After losing his job in the recession, David Coles was unemployed for two years, during which time his marriage broke down and he lost his home. However his commitment to finding employment means he is now working as an operations controller for a car manufacturer.

Large Employer of the Year Award (sponsored by Mencap)

Winner: B & M Stores

B&M Stores recruited 1,131 staff members through Ingeus’ recruitment service, which matches Work Programme clients to suitable vacancies with local, regional and national employers.

Small or Medium Employer of the Year Award (sponsored by PublicCo)

Winner: The Whitehouse Hotel

The Whitehouse Hotel has been recognised for the extraordinary support it gives to people with disabilities, working with Scope to deliver the government’s Work Choice programme in Wales.

Advisor of the Year (sponsored by Workpays)

Winner: Lauren Bailey-Rhodes (nominated by Manchester Cathedral)

Lauren Bailey-Rhodes designed, launched and is successfully running a new volunteer programme out of Manchester Cathedral, where people volunteer for roles at the Cathedral and are then matched with employers.

The Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP) Professionalisation Award

Winner: Seetec

Seetec believes in continuously developing its staff to help them achieve the skills, knowledge and resources to achieve maximum potential and to excel as employability professionals.

The ERSA Employability Award Night also saw the presentation of the JCA Maps Bursary Award which is awarded to people who best demonstrate life-changing progress through the assistance they have received from their advisor using JCA employability tools. This year’s winner is Olma Edeki who turned her life around following post-natal depression and has now completed a charity sky dive and pursued a career as a personal trainer.

The awards, sponsored by Interserve Working Futures, attracted nearly 170 entries from across the UK. The entries were judged by Sarah Neville from the Financial Times, Matthew Oakley from Policy Exchange, and Julia Sweeney from the Department for Work & Pensions. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony in London on May 13, with a drinks reception sponsored by Specialist Recruitment Partners.

Kirsty McHugh, Chief Executive of ERSA, said:

“We are delighted that the awards have attracted so many entries in their inaugural year. The standard of the entries, in showcasing a diverse range of pioneering initiatives and individual contributions within the employment related services sector, was exceptionally high. The stories behind the entries provide further testament to the exceptional work going on across our sector in delivering sustainable employment and supporting economic recovery.”

The full list of finalists is as follows:

The Innovation Award (sponsored by Alderwood)

• EOS
• Ingeus
• Shaw Trust / CDG

Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award (sponsored by ICONI Software)

• Affinity Sutton
• Clarion
• NCDA Newhaven (nominated by G4S)
• St Loye’s Foundation

Significant Achievement Award (sponsored by JCA)

• Terence Burton (nominated by Serco)
• David Coles (nominated by Tomorrow’s People)
• Charlotte MacAllister (nominated by Mencap)

Large Employer of the Year Award (sponsored by Mencap)

• B&M Stores (nominated by Ingeus)
• The Co-operative Group (nominated by A4e and CDG / WISE Ability)
• TNT Post (nominated by Ingeus)

Small or Medium Employer of the Year Award (sponsored by PublicCo)

• Distinctive Chesterfields (nominated by Ingeus)
• Elixir Group (nominated by Tomorrow’s People)
• The Whitehouse Hotel - Llandudno (nominated by Working Links)

Advisor of the Year (sponsored by Workpays)

• Lauren Bailey-Rhodes (nominated by Manchester Cathedral)
• Bobbie Graham (nominated by GOALS)
• Naomi Illagoswa (nominated by G4S)
• Glyn Mason (nominated by Olympus Care Services)

The Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP) Professionalisation Award

• London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Seetec
• Working Links

The ERSA Employability Awards night will also see the presentation of the JCA MAPS Bursary Award which is awarded to people who best demonstrate life-changing progress through the assistance they have received from their advisor using JCA employability tools.

The finalists for the JCA MAPS Bursary are:

• Olma Edeki
• Lisa Bond
• Philippa Gough

Following the announcement of finalists, Liam Jordan, Managing Director of ICONI Software said:

“ICONI is delighted to be involved in ERSA’s inaugural Employability Awards showcasing the high-calibre organisations and individuals working in the Employment Related Services Sector. I would like to extend particular congratulations to Affinity Sutton, Clarion, NCDA Newhaven and the St. Loye’s Foundation who have been shortlisted as finalists for the Supply Chain Partner of the Year Award which ICONI is sponsoring.”

The meeting is one of a series of IEP networking events happening throughout the UK. Those attending will hear from IEP’s Director, Declan Swan on what is happening within the wider institute and from local IEP members actively working within the employment related services sector in Northern Ireland. A discussion will then be facilitated on the key issues facing sector practitioners in Northern Ireland and how to respond to them. They will also be able to find out more about IEP and the support it offers. Most importantly, it will provide an opportunity to network, share information, exchange views and opinions, and forge relationships with fellow professionals who share a similar commitment and passion for the industry.

For further information or to register for this event please contact Jaroslava or Jessica on 0207 960 6809 or email events@iemployability.org

Liam Jordan, Managing Director, ICONI Software

Companies seeking employees qualified in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects are reporting difficulty due to the low uptake of these courses by students in Northern Ireland at GCSE, A Level and at University. This potential shortfall in the workforce is a cause for concern and one that is being addressed by Government and leaders in the business community.

Yesterday, Liam Jordan, Managing Director of ICONI Software played his part in helping to promote the uptake of STEM subjects in a local school. He spoke to over 150 school children as part of a series of interactive STEM Carousel workshops facilitated by eye4education and supported by Business in the Community NI. The purpose of the series of workshops is to increase awareness among students of the reality of life in the business world with regard to having a STEM educational background by introducing them to a number of business professionals who have studied and worked in STEM areas.

The project is targeted towards 10 schools based within the North Belfast Area Learning Community; engaging with each of their respective year 10 students (13-14 year old boys and girls); in order for the students, prior to choosing their subjects for GCSE, to get an interactive and informative insight into current STEM related careers especially within Northern Ireland.

Speaking at the workshop, Liam Jordan said: “It is really important for the business community to support such initiatives and help get children interested in STEM subjects in order to avoid facing major skills shortages in the future. I have enjoyed sharing my background and experience of running a software development company. Hopefully, I have encouraged some of the children to think about pursuing a career in the technology industry.”

For further information on STEM Carousel workshops contact ted@eye4education.co.uk on 07834 884 454 or Darren@eye4education.co.uk on 07834 326 221.

London-based charity, Careers Development Group (CDG) will be working with almost 4,000 young Londoners aged between 18 and 24 through their innovative project, known as Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer.  This project is a joint pilot between the Mayor of London and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and is designed to improve the prospects of young people with little to no work history.

Liam Jordan, ICONI Software Managing Director said: “We are delighted to be supporting CDG with another exciting government project.  As with the DWP Work Programme, our employability tracking software will be critical in supporting the ‘outcomes-based’ project with the aim of reducing the number of young people claiming unemployment benefits and increasing opportunities for sustainable employment.”

The Trailblazer client management system, which went live at the end of last year, assists CDG in managing each young person’s journey between their first referral and the ultimate end goal of securing long-term employment.

CDG’s Business Development Director, Richard Clifton commented: “This project requires an extremely quick turnaround time as clients are required to be on placement within 48 hours of referral. We therefore needed a real-time, instantaneous solution that ensured transparency and increased our effectiveness in providing employment opportunities for our young clients.  This is the solution that ICONI has delivered for us.”

ICONI is pleased to announce the sponsorship of a group of local school children to study computer programming, as part of an initiative being run by Momentum and the University of Ulster’s centre for computing and engineering short courses (CEPEC-NI).  This initiative will enable a number of sixth form pupils from across Northern Ireland to study a university module introducing them to software programming.

Speaking about this initiative Liam Jordan, Managing Director of ICONI Software and member of DEL’s ICT Working Group said, “We are delighted to be able to support this initiative as part of the recent ICT Action Plan to encourage the take up of Computer Studies.  There will continue to be a high demand for ICT professionals in Northern Ireland and it is vital that we do all that we can to encourage entry into the profession and avoid future skills shortages.  Getting school children interested in programming is a great place to start.”

The feedback from schools who participated in the trialling of the programme has been extremely positive with students genuinely enthused by the material and being motivated to working towards a career in ICT.

CEPEC-NI’s Dr. Raymond Bond commented, “It is great to be working alongside Momentum on such a valuable programme.  We are very grateful for the support and the investment in our young people from ICONI and the other companies involved.”

Caselink V2, an enhanced version of the original Caselink Management Information System (MIS) used to support multiple employability projects across Edinburgh and Midlothian, was recently launched by ICONI.

The previous MIS was upgraded using ICONI’s latest employability framework to reflect the changes in the structure of how support services are delivered within the City of Edinburgh and Midlothian Councils.

Caselink V2, while retaining its ability to manage the existing Joined Up For Jobs (JUFJ) and ESF programmes, now integrates the new Hub contract, which supports the Strategic Skills Pipeline and focuses on performance related outcomes.

There are now over 60 organisations using Caselink to help manage and monitor performance across multiple support programmes.  The new version has been designed to meet the needs of the JUFJ partner strategy to be joined-up, demand-led and client-centred. It provides full visibility of all clients with the aim to ensure that the correct support is being delivered when and where needed.

At the ERSA Annual Conference on 3 December we will be running a prize draw at our stand to win the new Kindle Fire. We will also be sharing best practice and our experience of delivering high quality, cost-effective management information systems for the employment related services sector. We look forward to seeing you there!

ERSA’s Annual Conference in London will be the first major event for the employment services industry following the publication of Work Programme performance statistics in November. Delegates will come away with a thorough understanding of what this means for the industry and what 2013 has in store. Click here to view the conference programme.

Declan Swan, Elaine Armstrong and Liam Jordan launch IEP in Northern Ireland

The Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP) has launched into Northern Ireland with the help of ICONI Software. The IEP is the professional body for those working across the employment related services sector and there are an estimated 20,000 people working in this sector throughout the UK. During his visit to Northern Ireland IEP Director, Declan Swan delivered information sessions to a range of employability practitioners in Belfast and Coleraine including Steps to Work delivery partners and those who deliver European Social Fund (ESF) employability programmes.

Commenting on the launch, Declan Swan said, “I am delighted to be launching the IEP and its range of professional services to those working in the employability sector in Northern Ireland. The IEP will offer employability specialists the same evidence of professional ability and status, career progression and qualifications that other key occupations enjoy.” The IEP sets professional standards for employability practitioners in the UK, which in turn informs the development of relevant qualifications as part of wider Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

ICONI Software who actively works within this sector by providing specialist employability management software, hosted Declan’s IEP launch visit. Liam Jordan, affiliate member of the IEP and managing director of ICONI Software said, “I am really pleased to be involved with the launch of IEP in Northern Ireland as we have worked closely with and supported employability practitioners outside of Northern Ireland for over 6 years. It is great to be able to share our experience with the local organisations that support people back to employment.”

In addition to hosting the IEP visit, ICONI Software is also sponsoring 10 associate IEP memberships for a number of local employability professionals.

At the convention ICONI staff will be demonstrating our innovative ICONI Employability Manager product and related software framework – an ideal platform for organisations delivering employment support programmes.

Please come and visit us – we look forward to seeing you there!