European Social Fund in England

Uni-skills for business university of Essex Southend

Funded by: Alternative Bidding, Policy Field 2.3, Target Group: SME's and their employees.

Region: Government Office East

Project Start Date: 01/03/2003

Project End Date: 28/02/2006

Details of the project

The final 9 months of the Uni-Skills project which we refer to as Phase II, emerged following the agreement for a project extension to February 2006 and, as a direct result of the identified training needs of the leisure, culture, tourism and retail sectors. The final strand of the three year project was recognised as essential to significantly raise the customer interfacing skills base of the Objective 2 workforce and ultimately contribute to (i) the overall sustainability of the visitor population of Southend (ii) ensure that current 'customer interfacing' companies remain in Southend and (iii) aid the attraction of new investment to the area in the knowledge that there are appropriately and well motivated people in the area.

The University worked in partnership with:

• The Tourism & Promotions Manager of Southend Borough Council's Leisure, Culture and Amenity Services Department in an effort to attract as many SMEs within these service industries as possible. The Council and University staff worked in tandem on the promotion of the fully accredited Welcome Host 1 day training programme as a clear demonstration of their joint desire to assist with upskilling the workforce in this sector.
• Southend JobCentre Plus Vacancy Services Department where University staff engaged directly with economically inactive clients seeking work within these sectors, offering customer focused training, assistance with job search techniques and an appreciation of employer aspirations.
• A handpicked number of South East Essex College students benefited from a range of short, highly focused 1-day workshops covering: Customer Service Excellence, Telesales and Face-to-Face Customer Service Skills.

Many of the training sessions offered at the University of Essex Southend utilised the i-Lab (innovation laboratory) as a specialist facility created to transport users out of their everyday environment into an extraordinary space designed to encourage and inspire creative thought.

The University ensured that all programme delivery was offered flexibly, with full support on offer in terms of childcare, travel costs, subsistence and training hours - we offered a 'One Stop Shop' and, at the same time broke down some perceptions held by SMEs and individuals on the role of the University in the centre of Southend.

Key achievements

Our recruitment target for the total three year project was to engage with 1100 beneficiaries and 250 SMEs from the Objective 2 area. This is quite a small pond to catch so many fish but we are delighted to announce that we have managed to achieve and slightly exceed our project profile.

Similarly our Phase II target with the specific emphasis on customer facing training was challenging to say the least, but working alongside our partners and offering 'fit for purpose' training and advice meant that we have been successful in this final phase also.

Phase II achievements include:

• Working with 473 individuals to assess their needs and plan a course of action.
• 143 beneficiaries attended the Welcome Host Training and received the accredited certificate of achievement.
• 117 economically inactive beneficiaries received training and advice and guidance to assist with their job search.
• 240 individuals undertook one or more strands of customer service excellence training
• 14 people undertook a 5-day 'Start your own business' course

All this in the final 9 months of the project. The University is justifiably proud of their achievements and firmly recognises that none of this would have been possible without the support of ESF and the staff at Government Office for the East of England.

For more information contact

Julie Jones

Tel: 01702 238637