Reed in Partnership

We were delighted to attend the Soldiering On Awards Finalists’ Reception with friends and colleagues in the House of Lords. The Soldiering On Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of those who have served their country, and the diverse people and groups who work together in support of the Armed Forces Community. We are proud to be sponsoring the Education, Training and Development Award and look forward to further celebrating the achievements of all the finalists at the awards night in October. It was also a pleasure to hear from the new Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns, who underlined the vital contribution that veterans are making to society and celebrated the role of the organisations and individuals in the Armed Forces Community who are ‘absolutely essential to the ecosystem of defence and security’. As a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, for which we hold the Gold Award, we recognise the distinct value that veterans bring to the workplace, and are committed to best practice. Later this year, we will begin delivery of the Career Transition Partnership, the Ministry of Defence’s dedicated scheme to help approximately 15,000 service leavers each year find job opportunities through a combination of face-to-face, online and instructor-led support and courses. #SOA2024 #ArmedForcesCommunity #Veterans

📣 ⭐ “I would have been stuck in my old ways if it wasn’t for the Restart Scheme. I now understand that you have to put in the work to get the results!” When Darren joined our delivery of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)'s Restart Scheme, he was suffering from debilitating anxiety and at times he even struggled to leave the house. Darren was also dealing with addiction. He said: “I was out of work for so long, as I struggled with addictions and wasn't making the necessary steps to move forward. “I knew I had to leave the house eventually and as I felt more comfortable in attending appointments with my Employment Adviser, it became second nature.” Darren’s Restart Scheme Employment Adviser, Melanie, immediately made referrals to services – Evolve and Working Minds - that could help Darren to improve his mental health and support his issues with addiction. Melanie told us: “Since working with Evolve and Working Minds, Darren feels that they have given him the support to move forward and helped him to make better choices. He has attended sessions every week so far and has felt a relief that he has been able to get things off his chest by speaking to them as professionals and with no judgement. “Darren has shown pure determination to turn his life around and has focused on the areas where he wants to improve most to help him back into working life." With Darren now receiving professional support for his addiction and mental health problems, he and Melanie started to focus on employment. Melanie assisted Darren with setting up his own bank account and was able to give financial support towards funding travel costs for his Restart Scheme appointments. Together, they explored Darren’s transferable skills, and he decided he would like to pursue employment in the cleaning industry, “Darren has battled through to continue attending his scheduled appointments with myself and the team”, said Melanie. “He has completed in-house courses focusing on resilience, transferrable skills, effective job searching, and mock interview practise sessions, which has helped him to confidently apply for jobs. “After taking part in our Self-Confidence Sessions, and attending Working Minds, Darren told me how he felt able to open up more, and that the words from our Skills Trainer have significantly helped him to move forward.” Darren has since been invited to interview with a cleaning agency and was offered a job, for an ideal role that is local to him. He shared with us: “I would have been stuck in my old ways if it wasn’t for the Restart Scheme. I now understand that you have to put in the work to get the results!”

💡 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: ‘Mission’ is set to be the new watchword in the new Government’s agenda.   Last year, we sponsored research by the IPPR which set out a vision for what mission-driven government could look like for public services reform in the years ahead. As ministers begin work in their new departments, our Director of Public Affairs, Andrew Bell, considers some reflections from the research as a possible route map for taking the Government’s missions forward. There are four key steps:   1️⃣ Set bold missions 2️⃣ Make smart investment 3️⃣ Build workforce capacity 4️⃣ Drive learning and improvement   Taken together, these steps could help the Government embed public services reform that delivers transformational change for service users. Read more ➡ https://lnkd.in/eWBcFe5n #Missions #NewGovernment #PublicServices

📣 ⭐ Discover how Aftab was able to continue his career in security, after a career gap left him feeling out of the loop... After joining our delivery of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Restart Scheme with our partner PeoplePlus UK, Aftab met with his new Employment Adviser - Jonathan - who got to know his background, current situation, and job goals over their first few sessions together. Aftab discussed his previous work experience in the security job sector and that he had an expired SIA badge. Working in the security sector was something Aftab wanted to pursue and continue his career in. At the Restart Scheme, we have priority access to job opportunities in the area, built from the strong relationships we have with local employers. This improves the chances of our participants finding suitable and sustainable long-term employment. Jonathan told us: “Our Recruitment Manager made me aware of an upcoming job opportunity in retail security, and I was able to contact Aftab immediately with the news and share the vacancy with him.” Our Employment Advisers are there at every step of the way to support participants back into work, with interview workshops, mock interview sessions, and confidence boosting group sessions. Aftab attended the office the following day to meet with Jonathan and go through the application form together. Jonathan supported Aftab with updating his CV to a high standard, highlighting all his experience and skills to reflect the application requirements, along with a cover letter. Aftab felt more confident in applying for jobs than he had previously, and he told us: “I am very happy with the Restart Scheme and all the support that I’ve had towards finding work again.” Aftab was selected for an interview, where he was offered the job shortly after! “I feel that I have a lot more confidence now, which is helping me in my new job”, said Aftab. “I am very thankful to Jonathan and the rest of the team at Restart Scheme for their support. The Restart Scheme were on hand to support Aftab on his financial transition back into work, by providing vouchers to buy new clothes for his new job, and by covering his travel costs until his first pay day. “My new job is going really well; it is the challenge I needed, and I am really enjoying it!”

💡 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭: How the Reed family values shape our culture and the services we deliver. Last week, we celebrated the annual Reed in Partnership Values Awards, showcasing the impact co-members across our company have made through demonstration of our company values: ⚪ We are fair, open and honest ⚪ We take ownership ⚪ We work together What does it mean to work at a values-driven company? In a new article, our Operations Director, Shirley Allen, gives her perspective. Read more ➡ https://lnkd.in/em3WpZ8Q

🏆 We’re proud to announce that we have been recognised at the first The Quality Professionals Awards: Further Education and Employability, winning in the Outstanding Contribution to Quality Improvement – Employability category! Members of our Continuous Improvement and Lean Projects teams attended the event alongside 200 other individuals from across further education and employability providers, coming together to celebrate the achievements and contributions of quality and compliance professionals in the UK. Lou Doyle, CEO of Mesma; the founders of the Quality Professionals Awards, said: “Outstanding quality assurance and compliance practice is what you do when no one is looking. It is created by building trusted and supportive relationships with colleagues. Today, we celebrate the achievements of people who exemplify that and the impact they have across further education and employability.” At Reed in Partnership, we pride ourselves on delivering high quality services to our participants with a focus on building a culture of continuous improvement across the company. Many thanks to the Quality Professionals Awards for our Outstanding Contribution award and thank you to everyone involved for your commitment to quality improvement.

Congratulations Reed in Partnership 💥 Outstanding Quality Improvement Practice: Employability With thanks to the award sponsor Tribal Group and Carla Martinho #QPA24

Today is Reserves Day 2024! The Reserve Forces make up approximately one sixth of our Armed Forces personnel. Reservists give up their spare time to serve, balancing their civilian life alongside a military career. This week, as part of our Armed Forces Week activity, members of Reed in Partnership’s Armed Forces Working Group attended the SSAFA the Armed Forces charity Reservist Reception 2024. The event was opened by National Chair of SSAFA, Air Marshal Sir Simon Bollom, who gave an overview of support offered by SSAFA. Alistair Roxburgh, Principal Consultant and Armed Forces Champion for AtkinsRéalis, then spoke about the value of employing Reservists.   We were delighted to attend this event and show our support for the Reserve Forces.   We are also pleased to announce that Reed in Partnership is sponsoring the Education, Training & Development Award at the Soldiering On Awards 2024. This award honours excellence in the provision of vocational education, training or skills development for preparatory, ongoing or transitional development for members of the Armed Forces community. Best of luck to those nominated for this important award – the ceremony will take place later in the year. Find out more about the finalists here: https://lnkd.in/eqfDXrny

Today marks the first day of Armed Forces Week 2024 – an opportunity to show support for those who make up the Armed Forces community, from currently serving troops to Services families, veterans and cadets.   Reed in Partnership has a proactive Armed Forces Working Group that works year-round to introduce and improve policies that support those in the Armed Forces community currently working at (or who intend to work at) Reed in Partnership, including veterans, forces families, reservists and CFAVs.   To mark Armed Forces Week 2024, we are attending a number of events to show support for the Armed Forces community, including: - Monday: Attending the SSAFA the Armed Forces charity Reservists Reception with our Defence Relationship Management (DRM) colleagues - Tuesday: Learning about Strategic Defence and Security with General Barrons at a D Group event - Wednesday: Joining Deloitte on their Military Insight Day - Thursday: Celebrating our Armed Forces Working Group collaboration award and the work we have done so far for Armed Forces personnel - Friday: Walking the 13 Bridges to raise money for SSAFA   The week culminates in Armed Forces Day, which is on Saturday 29 June. Armed Forces Day events will be taking place across the country – find your local event here 👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/eHwVDha

Today marks the halfway point for our company's annual Strategy Roadshows. This week our Board of Directors and members of our Senior Leadership team are touring 45 Reed in Partnership offices to present our strategy for the next three years directly to our co-members.   This morning, Managing Director Donna Murrell and Associate Director of Marketing & Communications Oliver Steward delivered the Roadshow to our team in Sheffield. Our Chairman James Reed CBE joined the presentation to help share some exciting updates for the future of our company and the investments we are making to help our teams deliver high performing public services.    It’s really important that our co-members have a say in the future of our company, and our strategy was shaped by feedback and ideas given to us during focus groups we held with our teams back in January.   Our new company strategy retains our commitment to delivering services that contribute to our company mission. Since 1998 this has been to transform the lives of people and their communities. Thank you to everybody who has attended an event so far.   #StrategyRoadshow2024 #WeWorkTogether