ADD2637 Funding for Careers Hubs Teacher Encounters Projects

1.1. The London Careers Hubs are funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) and match funded by the Mayor of London’s European Social Fund (ESF) Co-Financing Programme. The London Careers Hubs are part of a national programme led by the CEC and funded by the
Department for Education. Careers Hubs have been in operation in London since October 2021. The funding for Careers Hubs 2021-2024 is detailed in Mayoral Decision (MD)2796: Career Hubs, signed
on 10 March 2021.

1.2. The GLA grant-funds a Careers Hub in each of the four sub-regions of London, responding to subregional and London wide skills and employment needs. Each Hub:

i. employs Enterprise Coordinators with caseloads of 15-20 schools or colleges – working directly
with the Careers Leader to build and implement a quality, employer-led careers programme

ii. matches a business volunteer (Enterprise Adviser) to each school and college to bring the
business perspective and support engagement with senior leaders

iii. builds strategic relationships with local businesses, providers and networks, so that the Hub
works with the existing local infrastructure.

1.3. Prior to Careers Hubs, the CEC (working alongside the GLA) co-funded the London Enterprise
Adviser Network (LEAN) (see MD2262). To fall in line with the rest of the country, the LEAN is
being phased out and replaced by Careers Hubs, which have similar aims.

1.4. The GLA sign an annual grant agreement with the CEC to receive the Careers Hub funding. This means that the GLA are the Grantee for all CEC funding to the London Careers Hubs. The GLA will also receive funding from the CEC to deliver the Effective Transitions Project in London.

1.5. The CEC offered all Hubs nationally the opportunity to bid for additional funding to deliver pilot
Teacher Encounters Projects. Both East and Central London Careers Hubs submitted a bid to the CEC. GLA officers were aware of these bids and agreed to support the delivery. The bids were assessed by the CEC in line with their requirements and both the East London and Central London were successful and allocated funds.

1.6. This decision approves the receipt of funding from the CEC, and the subsequent award of that
funding to the successful bidders.

2.1. The CEC launched a Teacher Encounters Fund in October 2022 in recognition of the need to
increase teachers’ understanding and experience of the workplace. Careers Hubs across the country
were encouraged to bid for a maximum grant of £20,000 to deliver Teacher Encounters Projects. The funding will enable delivery of a number of opportunities for teachers to engage directly with employers, to see and learn about the different career pathways relevant to their subjects, and to observe how their subject is applied practically in business.

2.2. Both the Central and East Careers Hubs submitted funding bids and both were successful. The Central Hub has been awarded £8,500 and the East Hub has been awarded £20,000. The funding will pay for resources to source and train employers and cover the costs of supply teachers for the schools. See expected outcomes below.

2.3. The Teacher Encounters are expected to deliver the following short and long term outcomes:

2.3.1. Short term – teachers:

i. raise the profile of the Careers Hub with the schools’ senior leadership team (SLT) by
supporting schools to deliver on their requirement to provide Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) to teachers

ii. increase teacher awareness of the opportunities in key sectors and their relevant
pathways

iii. develop resources for teachers to use in careers education that will be shared widely
across the London Network

iv. build relationships between employees and teachers
v. although the work is focused on placements for teachers, the development of virtual CPD for other teachers within the engaged establishments will also have greater benefits.

2.3.2. Short term – employers:

i. increase employees’ confidence and understanding so that they can engage with
teachers to influence the development of the curriculum

ii. increase employers’ understanding of the challenges faced by schools. This will support
in the development of the working relationships between employers and schools, as one of the priorities for the Cornerstone Employer Group is to look at the processes of schools engaging with employers

ii. enterprise Advisers and Cornerstone Employers will be able to develop meaningful
teacher encounters that enhance the curriculum.

2.3.3. Longer term – teachers:

i. enable teachers to develop their subject teaching to ensure it is relevant to future career
paths and most importantly increase their awareness of the education pathways, thereby
raising standards of teaching and learning

ii. understand the recruitment practices of employers

iii. working to inspire the most deprived students through their studies
iv. develop our Careers Community to share the careers messages more widely
v. the participating schools’ GB4 Results/Compass Results will be monitored to consider
whether these have been enhanced

vi. destination Data will be reviewed over the two-to-three-year period to consider impact
of model

vii. enhance our materials on the Careers Hub website
viii. positive social media coverage on engaging teachers within industry

ix.  raising awareness amongst key stakeholders of the benefits of the Careers Hubs in
supporting collaboration between employers and education.

2.3.4. Longer term – employers:

i. understanding the barriers faced by young people will enable employers to review how
they recruit and engage young people with additional needs

ii. employers will be better able to ensure their recruitment practices engage young people

iii. increase the number of young people applying for apprenticeships and positions in their sector

iv. teachers and employers to build long term sustainable relationships which engage with
the company in collaborative activities within the schools.

3.1. Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the Mayor of London must have ‘due regard’ of the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as
to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who have a protected
characteristic and those who do not.

3.2. The funding is open to all schools and the Hubs will use their knowledge and data of each school to target those that are most in need of these outcomes.

3.3. The Hubs will work with the school SLT to target appropriate teachers, particularly of key subjects, to attend the encounter and ensure that they are able to easily access the opportunity.

3.4. The project aims to increase the experience of the participating teachers so that this knowledge can be shared with students, so that all young Londoners are aware of the future career pathways that are available to them whatever their background or situation.

4.1. Officers have consulted with TfL Legal and the GLA will issue separate grants to the two Careers Hubs in question following the competitive process run by the CEC. Officers have reviewed other queries raised by legal, including around any potential GLA liabilities and CEC payment terms and believe they do not present any barriers to the GLA receiving and granting this funding onwards.

4.2. The GLA will pay the projects based on the costs incurred as described in their bids. The CEC will provide the GLA with funding up front. Claims will be submitted in line with the existing quarterly
claims for the Career Hubs. A template is supplied by the CEC for submission and the delivery
partner is asked to submit details of expenditure and retain evidence for audit purposes, following the CEC guidance.
Key risks and issues

4.3. The key risks and issues are set out in the table below:

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.4 The funding outlined in this Assistant Director Decision (ADD) form will be used to support the mission-based approach that the Mayor has adopted for London’s economic and social recovery.

4.5 Careers Education, and the GLA Careers programmes including London’s Careers Hubs form part of the Good Work for All (GWfA) mission. The priority is on supporting Londoners into good jobs with a focus on sectors key to London’s recovery.

4.6 The delivery of the Careers Hubs supports three of the four GWfA key themes by:

i. supporting Londoners hardest hit by the pandemic – Careers Hubs target interventions at disadvantaged groups

ii. coordinating skills, careers and employment support – Careers Hubs align work with local skills priorities and the National Careers Service; and link up with Department for Work and Pensions programmes, including through the Mayor’s No Wrong Door initiative

iii. through the Hubs, schools and colleges link with the sector specific Mayor’s Academies Programme hubs to ensure that young Londoners are aware of the future job opportunities available to them and the pathways to get there.

Consultations and impact assessment

4.7 Consultations and Equalities Impact assessments were undertaken for the above-mentioned relevant strategies and the Skills Roadmap for London. As this funding will help deliver the objectives of these strategies, the original impact assessments are still relevant to the programme.

4.8 No GLA officer involved in the drafting or clearance of this ADD is aware of any conflicts of interest with the proposals set out in this form.

5.1 This decision seeks approval for the following.

i. receipt of a total of £28,500 from the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to fund programmes of work as tendered by the CEC and delivered by the East and Central Careers Hubs; Local London and Reed in Partnership respectively

ii. expenditure of this funding through the issue separate grant agreements to the following delivery partners for the amounts indicated below, and delivery as per their proposals selected for funding by the CEC:

ii.i. Reed In partnership £8,500

ii.ii. Local London £20,000.

5.2 The £28,500 funding from the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) is to be received this March 2023 and the CEC have granted permission for this funding to be carried forward to next financial year 2023-24 to be spent in line with the timeline as outlined in paragraph 6.1.

6.1 The projects were due to start at the start of the new term (5 January 2023). The first claim is due on 14 April 2023 for costs incurred during the first quarter of delivery. The project activities should be completed, and all funding spent by 31 July 2023. The final claim from the delivery partner must be submitted by 14 September 2023.