Enterprise Advisers making an impact in Surrey & Hampshire

Enterprise Advisers are local business volunteers who are motivated to help young people understand the world of work. We pair them with Careers Leaders at schools/ colleges to work on a strategic basis.

Having placed 30 new Advisers since September, I've been working to embed these new volunteers into our community of existing EA's. Each half term I invite them to join video calls and learn from other people carrying out the same role.

Today I hosted another two 'coffee break' networking sessions with a selection of our volunteers - a mixture of experienced Advisers, and people brand new to the network. They shared best practice and explored areas of collaboration; I have summarised some of that below:

Hampshire Advisers

This morning I had 5 Advisers with Hampshire based schools join a Zoom call to share best practice. A summary of their current initiatives can be found below:

• Our Adviser for Horndean Technology college is pushing forward with plans to meet the senior leadership team (SLT) of the school. This will give our new Adviser a strategic insight into the schools careers plan. The Adviser is also exploring options to use his contacts in the Navy to run careers sessions for other schools in our region.
• Frogmore Community College have recently benefitted from the introduction of an Adviser with a strong HR background. They're working together to navigate the challenge of delivering a fulfilled careers programme with limited resources. To begin with, their Adviser is also working on meeting the schools SLT.
• Wavell school in Rushmoor have been able to streamline the careers pages of their website with the help of their Enterprise Adviser. Next on their agenda is to start introducing some employers to assist with careers activities, and provide some video content where possible.
• Fernhill School are also in Rushmoor, and have been working with their Adviser for four years. They have built up a lot of trust over that time, using Gatsby Benchmark reports to ground their strategic work on a regular basis. The Adviser has been engaging colleagues to deliver careers talks, and is keen to offer that in other schools too.
• SEND schools face different challenges to mainstream institutions, however routes to success can be very similar. Our Adviser for Hollywater School has helped to conduct a website review, assisted the Careers Leader to produce a Gatsby Benchmark report, and contacted local employers to record videos for the school. This will all help to build meaningful employer encounters for young people with severe learning difficulties/ disabilities.

Surrey Advisers

This afternoon, twelve of our Advisers with Surrey schools had their chance to share experiences on a call. I have summarised some of their projects below:

• Our Adviser for Thamesmead School in Spelthorne recently helped deliver an interview skills session on Microsoft Teams to a group of their students. They ensured that feedback was captured immediately, a system which the school hope to replicate with other activities.
• Gordon’s School career insight talks have been a huge hit with schools across Surrey and Hampshire. These have been developed in conjunction with their Enterprise Adviser, for instance with Gordan Murray CBE; who they introduced to the school. She also supports another local school in an unofficial capacity, sharing best practice where possible.
• The Enterprise Adviser paired with Collingwood College is assisting their teachers to integrate careers into the curriculum. He also helped to produce four career journey videos to maintain career insights whilst the students worked from home.
• Brooklands College are one of our newest institutions in the network. They requested assistance on a high level strategic basis. Their Adviser has joined and immediately started to assess their Gatsby Benchmark scores, devising plans to bridge the gaps that they have.
• Fullbrook School took on a new Careers Leader this year, which they're still adjusting to. Their Enterprise Adviser has urged them to use this chance to delegate tasks across a wider team, helping to bring forward a whole school approach to careers.
• Pond Meadow School in Guildford educate students with autism/ severe learning difficulties. Their Adviser works for a charity who assist people with similar difficulties, she is going to help the school explore a holistic approach to careers education.
• Our Adviser for Broadwater School has been in place for a number of years now, and has built a great relationship with their deputy headteacher. Through Linkedin, he sources volunteers for careers talks and mock interviews. This has continued virtually, remaining an integral part of the school curriculum.
• Guildford County School are in the early stages of planning a careers fair with the help of their Enterprise Adviser. Another key project for them is introducing more STEM based career options by promoting apprenticeships to students.
• The Adviser paired with Ash Manor School is new to the programme. Her aim is to contribute to the schools' digital career hub; a Sharepoint page full of documents/ videos for the students to access. It's a novel idea within our network of schools/ colleges, and we can't wait to see it grow.
• Godalming college are benefitting from a better relationship between their Careers Leader and Link Governor, after their Adviser made a concerted effort to bridge that relationship. He is also helping them to approach their careers plan from an alternative mindset, pointing out different ways to run activities without having to tear up their whole careers programme.

There was a lot more covered in the sessions today, the above examples simply scratch the surface of what's being achieved with our schools and colleges. It was fantastic to hear how our new Advisers are quickly following the lead of their fellow volunteers.

I'd like to take this chance to thank all 76 current Advisers for all that they do, and welcome anyone interested in getting involved to visit our website to find out more: