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SWOOP Partnership and Project - End of Year Report Card
A+ for effort
A+ for commitment
A+ for achievements
A+ for effective partnership working
Congratulations to everyone who has worked on the SWOOP project. We have seen excellent work by delivery partners, who between them have worked with over 441 older people, with many going on to jobs, voluntary work, self-employment or education and training. This includes the outreach programme using ePortfolio which has generated a great deal of interest among the ‘e’ community. Of course, there are individuals who continue to remain without a change in circumstances despite their involvement in SWOOP. We can only hope that there will be chances and opportunities for them in the future.
The employer strand has reached over 550 employer contacts, raised age awareness amongst 35 Brokers, and sponsored in-house developments with a number of employers. In all strands of the project products have been developed, including reports, videos, training programmes and materials. The SWOOP website will continue for a further year, when we hope it will be taken over by the EQUAL database ‘Equal Works’, to continue until 2010.
Our mainstreaming and dissemination work has been extensive and well received. We have achieved a high profile and are well respected by those who come into contact with us. Even now we are approached to present at events, to talk to a range of agencies and organisations, and to comment on new initiatives and inquiries. SWOOP is part of a group supporting the creation of a European Age Management Network, and it has supported Age Concern England in its efforts to establish a Regional Forum on Age for the SW. We are forging even closer links to the RSP through the efforts of several strategic members of the partnership. These activities will continue beyond Dec 2007, through partners and a new post in Marchmont/SLIM created with help from the RDA and TAEN. See the article from Ben Neild
The SWOOP partnership and project is moving on to the next phase of work. For some of us in the partnership and the central team it might mean a move to another employer, or place, working in another area, or focusing on a different issue. However, there will continue to be a focus on skills and the labour market and older people, based at Marchmont/SLIM.
The SWOOP partnership and the central team have shown great commitment and enthusiasm. Between us we have achieved more than was planned or predicted. In every way SWOOP has been a success and congratulations to everyone involved in making this possible.
Best wishes
Lindsey St. John
Evaluation
We have uncovered, and are busy disseminating really important practical lessons arising from the work of the SWOOP project. In doing so, we have:
- Written and consulted on an evaluation strategy;
- Written and implemented evaluation plans for the individual ‘action projects’;
- Set up a customer feedback survey that generated 173 responses from clients who participated in the skills and learning action projects;
- Held focus groups with people participating in SEESAM, WorkWise, Exeter CVS, Experience Matters, Broker-Age and the Action Learning Sets projects;
- Held debrief sessions after each of the ten ePortfolio sessions;
- Conducted a series of face-to-face interviews with partners delivering the skills and learning action projects and piloting the ePortfolio on our behalf;
- Analysed monitoring data and other project-generated information such as surveys and learning logs.
All of this information has been analysed and condensed into three main reports, one each for the three strands of work. Summary reports are available for download from our website and will be joined by the full reports at a later date.
If you do have any specific requests for information, or would like to explore further avenues for future activity, I can be contacted on 01392 264854 or at hilary.j.stevens@exeter.ac.uk.
Message from the Chair
At a meeting on 6 th November the South West Regional Skills Partnership (RSP) supported the argument that a regional group focused on demographic ageing would be needed long after SWOOP’s period of Equal funding ended.
It agreed that this group should be recognised as a formal RSP ‘Standing Group’ and that it should focus on:
a) working with partners to develop a better understanding of the implications of demographic ageing on the labour market and
b) promoting an effective regional response.
Partners expressed a particular interest in new work on Age Management in the region, i.e. work with employers on developing age positive attitudes and practices.
To maintain momentum the RDA, TAEN and the University of Exeter have jointly agreed a one-year funding package sufficient to cover the equivalent of a single post. The work programme for the post covers both analytical and strategic work, as well as the development of new employer focused projects with partners.
We were therefore really pleased that Alan Denbigh and Hilary Stevens applied together for a job share as together they have the talents and experience that are ideally suited to carrying out both of these functions. Alan and Hilary will start work in this new capacity from January 1 st. It will be based within the Marchmont Observatory.
Ben Neild
Chair, SWOOP
Assistant Director, Marchmont Observatory
www.marchmont.ac.uk
SWOOP Employers Events
Making the Most of Your People (Responding to the Changing Labour Market)
Two free breakfast meetings for employers were held in Exeter and Bristol on 22 nd and 29 th November. Speakers included Alan Denbigh, SWOOP; Nikki Duncan, Bond Pearce; Lindsey Anderson-Tusk, Jobcentre plus and Mick Green, East Devon College and Chris Vandeleur, NHS Education South West. Copies of presentations from these meetings are now available in the Employers Section of the SWOOP website.
ePortfolios for Employability
An article written by Anne Jennings-Bramly, Project Manager (ePortfolio) titled ePortfolios for Employability was featured in the November 2007 edition of T Mag. T Mag is the learning and skills sector magazine for England and Wales with a readership of 1600 organisations primarily aimed at decision makers in middle and senior level management.
A PDF version of the full article is available in the ePortfolio section of this website.
End of SWOOP Delivery Projects
Our full programme of delivery projects came to a close on 30 June 2007. A few activities continue, primarily within the employer projects, involving our partners Learning South West, ACAS and Business Link. All of these will be completed by September 2007.
The end of project delivery brings with it the closure of our skills and learning activities for individual older people. This includes, Workwise – Age Concern Training; Action for Blind People; SEESAM & It’s About You - Careerfinder/PRIME; Exeter CVS. > learn more
> Learn more about our past project work
SWOOP EVENT - 11th OCTOBER 2007
The SWOOP event was held on 11 th October 2007 at the Best Western in Tiverton. This is the key dissemination and mainstreaming event was a great success, with more than 65 delegates participating in workshops and an afternoon debate.
The day long event showcased the research of SWOOP and raised key issues associated with demographic change in the South West. Other activities included an exhibition showcasing the good practice of the SWOOP project as well as other Equal Age projects and an interesting session with Tarte Noire of Playback Theatre South West. Keynote speakers included Chris Ball, Chief Executive of TAEN and Stephen McNair, Director of CROW.
Several project evaluation bulletins were produced for the event and can be accessed below. Both keynote speeches and the debate session were filmed during the event and the edited film will be available here.
If you would like hard copies of these resources, please contact Lianne Perry on 01392 264757 or email l.e.perry@exeter.ac.uk
- Employers Project - Sept 2007 [PDF 75K]
- Skills and Learning Summary Report - Oct 2007 [PDF 162K]
- E-Portfolio - Sept 2007 [PDF 115K]
- Skills and Learning Projects - Sept 2007 [PDF 81K]
Congratulations!
Anne Jennings-Bramly, Project Manager for ePortfolio and Hilary Stevens, Project Researcher have both had submissions accepted for the ePortfolio International Conference in Maastricht, Netherlands (16-19 October).
Anne’s submission with contributions from Jo Pye, Chris King, Simon Mauger, Hilary Stevens and titled ePortfolio for an Older Worker: What’s Age Got to Do With It? demonstrates the outcomes of work through the SWOOP Project in addressing key demographic issues, examining the needs of older workers in updating skills to remain in employment and the use of ePortfolios to increase the confidence of older workers through self-reflection.
Hilary’s submission titled The Impact of ePortfolio Development on the Employability of Adults Aged 45 and Over reflects on the use of ePortfolio as a training tool for older people to support their job searches and employability.
RSP Board Presentation
Ben Neild, Chair of SWOOP successfully presented the key issues on age and demography to the RSP Board on 3 July 2007.
The paper that led to this will be posted on the CoIP together with Ben’s presentation slides. We will be offering a further session to the RSP Alliance in November.
Regions and Age Policy Seminar
Also held on the 3rd July was the Regions and Age Policy Seminar - part of the EU Employment Strategy Mutual Learning Programme (MLP) Regional Plan to improve the employability of older workers.
Hosted by NIACE/SLIM/SWOOP and held at the University of Exeter, the seminar included presentations from panel members followed by discussion and a question/answer session involving the attendees (Hungarian/Italian partners, members of the SWOOP central team, members of the MLP steering group and the RSP Alliance).
South West Regional Skills Network Annual Conference
Nick Heard, SWOOP Project Manager (Skills & Learning) and Doreen Devlin, Workwise gave a joint presentation at the SWRSN Conference held at The Exchange in Bridgwater on 12th July.
Nick used research-based evidence to show how the engagement of older people in learning is dependent upon showing them the benefits for their future, while Doreen gave a demonstration of the Learn Direct online system which makes the process of testing existing knowledge easier.
SWRDA Debate on Age
The first scoping day on the RDA’s debate on ‘A Growing, ageing and more diverse population’ took place on 25 July. Two members of the central team attended, with a number of other partners also there representing their own organisations. The scoping is to assist with the focus of the full debate later this year.
The purpose of the SW Debates is to research the main issues around five themes – population, leadership, environment, energy, globalisation. The outcomes will help shape the development of the next Regional Economic Strategy. For more information on the debates, visit the website at: www.swdebates.info
EIfEL Key Competencies Skills for Life Conference at City University , London - Partnered by NIACE (National Institute for Adult Continuing Education) and ARTES (Applied research into Training and Educational Systems)
The conference was a forum for presentation and discussion about the way that technology can be used to support the development and accreditation of key competencies in formal, non formal and informal learning situations. The discussions reflected the concern about the changing demographics of Europe and the emerging economies of the developing world. In this climate it is important to ensure a ‘Knowledge Warrior’ society as one keynote speaker put it, to ensure economic survival.
Speakers included a leading member of the OECD concerned with establishing standards and systems to acknowledge key competencies , the Head of Policy & Public Affairs, from BBC Learning and representatives from the private and public sector, employers, employees and education. A series of presentations and workshops showcased the development of policy, technology and educational strategies supporting key skills.
The development of a technological solution was very much supported by the conference attendees and a lot of discussion was directed at the tools that are available. However it was acknowledged that though technology would inevitably be the vehicle, there is a need for educators to have the necessary skills to support this change.
The presenters’ profiles and selected abstracts can be found on the EIfEL website:
http://events.eife-l.org/events-summary
Anne Jennings-Bramly, SWOOP Project Manager (ePortfolio)
Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) - Free Professional Training
Recruitment is currently underway in the South West for the September Training Pathway programme of the Early Years Professional Status.
EYPS is a new role that recognises effective leadership of practice across a range of early years provision. To be an Early Years Professional you will initially need either a foundation or full degree in early years or similar and ideally be working with 0-5 year olds. You will also need to have achieved GCSE "C" or above in Maths & English or an equivalent qualification.
There are four different pathways you can follow depending on knowledge, skills and experience. The training is free and in some cases bursaries are available for pathways requiring a large time commitment.
These programmes are open to people of any working age, but partners may know of SWOOP beneficiaries for whom this programme may be beneficial. For more information, please call 01823 349341 or email: eyps@somerset.gov.uk
SWIfT is a partnership between the Local Education Authorities of Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth, Somerset, Torbay, North Somerset, Dorset, Bournemouth, Poole, The College of St Mark & St John in Plymouth, University of Plymouth and Bridgwater College. We have a contract from the Children's Work force Development Council to deliver EYPS across the South West.
More information at:
www.eyps-swift.org.uk
SWOOP Featured in Equal-Works June e-zine
The June edition of the Equal-Works e-zine is all about employment and the older worker, featuring the work of various age projects and age related news throughout the UK.
Featured at the top of the list is SWOOP with participant quotes and some early data from the telephone survey of participants.
Regional Forum on Ageing
The first meeting to discuss the creation of a permanent forum on age issues (housing, care, transport, employment, etc.) was held on 8 th June 2007 involving key regional agencies and organisations.
A further meeting will follow in late July at which time consideration of how to take this idea forward, who should take it forward and where support/funding might be sought will be discussed. SWOOP and SLIM are represented.
June Conferences
SWOOP delegates attended Employment Week in Brussels (4-6 June), Competence 50+ in Gothenburg (17-20 June) and Welfare to Work in Birmingham (20-21 June).
All three conferences provided great opportunities for mainstreaming the work of the SWOOP project and profiling emerging data from early evaluation reports. Many useful contacts were made and details of project activities shared and discussed.
Alan Denbigh, SWOOP Project Manager (Employers) ran a project showcase session at Employment Week. Lindsey St. John, Project Director and Anne Jennings-Bramly, Project Manager (ePortfolio) each ran workshops with other organisations during Competence 50+. Gabi Recknagel (Exeter CVS) ran a workshop at Welfare to Work with Nick Heard, Project Manager (Skills and Learning) in attendance.
We will be posting video clips of recorded sessions on the SWOOP website soon.
Transnational Visit to Prague
During SWOOP’s recent exchange visit to the Czech Republic , a case study visit was made to the Skoda plant. In Mlada Boleslav, nearly one half of the 46,000 inhabitants work at the Skoda plant between the ages of 15 and 60.
It’s not quite a ‘cradle-to-grave relationship’, but symbolically the rapid growth of the plant means that it now encircles the town’s cemetery! Skoda is aware that it needs to fuel its success by attracting more workers in competition with two other major car producers in the Czech Republic (which has the highest car production per capita in the world).It must also look after its existing workers and takes a keen interest in their health and wellbeing. The proportion of Skoda workers over 50 (currently 5,000) is likely to increase.
For Skoda employees, the main assembly line work involves crouching and climbing inside a car every 2 minutes during an 8 hour shift. The company is trying to identify less physically demanding jobs for their older employees such as packing, but these types of jobs are less prevalent. They also allow older workers to rotate around the 2 day shifts rather than full 24 hour 3-shift system.
Skoda also has a major preventative health care programme for which staff get extra days off for fitness, healthy use of PCs, lifting, and yoga. Health support measures include cardiovascular, cancer prevention, flu vaccinations and smoking reduction and staff get a medical check up every 2 years.
Whilst Skoda was very receptive to the demographic ageing message, other organisations in the same Czech region (where unemployment at 4% contrasts with the rest of the country at 7%), also took part in the Third Career workshops to help make their companies more alert to age issues. The Czech programme was working on the re-vitalisation of older employees using a mid-career reflection process, similar to elements of the SWOOP projects It’s about You, Experience Matters, and ePortfolio.
SWOOP at the Legacy of Learning Conference – Scotland
9-11 May 2007
Attending on behalf of SWOOP, Lindsey St. John and Anne Jennings-Bramly took part in a workshop and submitted a paper at this event.
The workshop was well attended and well received, and a number of useful contacts in the UK and Europe were formed. There was particular interest in the ePortfolio development as a means to assist older people to identify, assess and present their experiences, skills and knowledge.
The newly developed ePortfolio training programme being offered as outreach also generated a great deal of interest. Although the first day of the conference was primarily about lifelong learning and older learners, as the event progressed this grew to encompasses the larger issue of demographic change and the keynote speakers on the second day addressed this more particularly.
Effectiveness of Government’s Employment Strategy Enquiry
SWOOP submitted a response to the House of Commons Work & Pensions Committee at the end of 2006. The committee were inquiring into the effectiveness of the government’s employment strategy.
The submission is now published in the proceedings, along with those from NIACE, TAEN, Age Concern and others. Members of TAEN and Age Concern were among those who addressed the committee. The SWOOP submission, which reflected that the lack of qualifications amongst older workers was not indicative of a lack of skills and knowledge, was referred to in the committee’s discussion.
The final report and minutes of the meetings can be found at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmworpen/63/63i.pdf and copies of the written submissions can be found at: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmworpen/63/63ii.pdf
Focus on Age Legislation and Employers
There is evidence to suggest that despite new Age Legislation coming into effect on 1 October 2006, employers are still using excuses and false claims to get rid of older workers.
Myths including older workers being sick more than younger workers, suffering increased memory loss and increasing poor health have many UK workers believing they will be unable to do their current job at 60 or older.
Some companies which had previously allowed their employees to continue working beyond retirement, have now implemented a formal retirement age of 65. Fears regarding allowing employees to carry forward dismissal rights beyond the age of 65, has led companies to enforce a retirement age. Alan Denbigh SWOOP Project Worker for the Employers section said: “This is felt to be a very negative response, particularly in comparison with companies such as Sainsbury’s which do not have a retirement age. Sainsbury’s employees are able to notify their employer when they wish to reduce their hours and/or completely retire. Consequently, there is no formal retirement notification, appeals procedures and bad feelings.”
Regarding Ageist Advertisements
Newspapers have become more diligent in checking that adverts are compliant with the Age Regulations. A recent case in point was a SWOOP advert recruiting older people to one of its programmes.
The advert was initially rejected, although the matter was later resolved. Another example was when the adverts of three Exeter-based employers were identified as being indirectly discriminatory as they were specifically asking for a graduate. In each of the three cases, the employer withdrew the advert conceding that it would be safer to list preferred skills, but suggesting that the word ‘graduate’ was being used to describe a set of skills and not as a means of exclusion based on age.
According to statistical data, people over the age of 50 are 50% less likely to have graduate qualifications (formally identified as being Level 4) than people aged 25 to 30 years old.
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