A4e Regrow

Focus on: The ReGROW project

A growing market With skills shortages opening up across the country, there’s never been a better time to invest in older employees

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etting on to a training course is relatively easy if you’re a youngster – after all, provision for those who have recently left school or college is pretty substantial, and for most people, help and advice is just a phone call away. But what if you’ve been in the same job for years – and you’re nearing the age where you think it’s too late to change track or improve your skills? And if you’re en employer, it’s easy to focus on the company’s younger blood, overlooking workers who’ve been loyal to the company over many years. The recently completed ReGROW project, jointly run by A4e and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), was aimed specifically at the over-50s in the south-east of England to provide careers advice and short courses and training for older employees in the workplace. The larger goal was to help to improve their changes of being retained and ensure that they were better deployed in the workplace. The project came about after it was recognised that older workers were being underemployed, along with growing skills and labour shortages in the region. Research showed that older people were less likely to get formal careers advice and help to manage job changes than their younger peers. The ethos behind ReGROW was that making a small investment in preventing unemployment of older workers would pay huge social and economic dividends, not just to the state, but to the employer and individual, too. The project was also designed to gain valuable experience and knowledge for future services such as Train to Gain and the Adult Advancement and Careers Service.

Giving advice During the project, A4e worked with four Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) providers and three training providers (two further education

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I could see that my career was heading for a crossroads. I needed to work out what my next step would be Ronald meese

Ronald Meese, now a fullyqualified certified bookkeeper.

colleges and one Chamber of Commerce). In the first instance, employers were approached by Employer Engagement Officers, who then nominated employees to receive careers advice from one of the partner agencies. Through these sessions, the employees’ various training needs were established, and A4e and its partners brokered appropriate training. ReGROW client Ronald Meese recently undertook training as part of the project, once he discovered that he was likely to be made redundant from his IT job. ‘I could see that my career was heading for a crossroads, and that today’s IT was not what I had originally been trained for,’ he says. ‘I needed

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case study: ‘It’s helped me become much more adventurous’ Reverend Béatrice Pearson is a vicar in Reading, Berkshire. She recently undertook IT training as part of ReGROW to improve her skills ‘Before becoming a vicar, I worked for Macmillan Publishing writing educational books, so I was already computer literate. But I needed to learn how to do things properly and be more efficient in things such as PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets and designing service sheets. ‘Because of my daily commitments, I couldn’t train with a full group, so a oneto-one session was organised for me, which was brilliant. It’s helped me become much more adventurous – I used PowerPoint with video clips in a school assembly recently, and it was much more fun for the kids!’

FAST FACTS

to work out what my next step would be.’ After approaching his local Jobcentre Plus, Meese was put in touch with ReGROW, and chose to undertake a SAGE bookkeeping course. ‘I knew it was popular among small businesses,’ he explains. ‘To take me through to retirement and beyond, it was a positive move for me, especially as I was made redundant from my original job much earlier than expected. I’ve now become a fully-qualified certified bookkeeper, and I’m really enjoying it.’

Huge benefits As a result of the 19-month project, more than 80 per cent of employers said that they’d seen benefits as a result of the advice and training, including

l The project engaged with 353 employers, 92 per cent of which were SMEs l 1,138 employees, aged between 50-85yrs, took part l 94 per cent of employees went on to successfully complete a training programme l The most frequently undertaken training taken up by employees was information technology l Two thirds of employees said that they were able to do their jobs better as a result of their training l Half planned to do further training, with potential for progression via Train to Gain

improved motivation, increased productivity, greater flexibility and stronger commitment to the company. It also strengthened the bond between the employer and employee. The employers were particularly keen on training that could be applied quickly on the job. Workers, too, were very positive about the fact that they were able to receive careers advice, and both employers and employees valued training that was occupationally-specific, short and focussed. Tailored careers advice and training made people more productive and improved their work/life balance, suggesting possible future health benefits. ‘We’ve had a huge demand for ReGROW services, both nationally and within the South East,’ says Mark Shields, A4e Contract Manager for London and the south east. ‘We’re currently trying to influence policy makers to show them the benefits of the programme. It’s actually cheaper to keep people in work and retain their skills in the labour market than get them back to work. ‘We also want to break down the myths surrounding the older workforce. These workers are proud, motivated and keen to train, and this can be enhanced by short courses and guidance that’s career-relevant.’ Lessons from ReGROW are now being reflected in A4E’s Recruiting Older Workers (ROW) programme for unemployed older workers, which is being funded by the European Social Fund and the Learning and Skills Council. It focuses on getting unemployed people aged 50-plus back to work in the Thames Valley region and Surrey, and runs until 2010. According to Shields, the programme has been very successful so far. ‘Over 200 people have engaged in the programme,’ he says. ‘It demonstrates that there’s a huge demand for advice from older workers. ‘There’s a direct correlation between those taking short courses and those finding work. The skills that users are gaining are really helping them to feel that they can manage a change in their lives.’

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