Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors John Ferrett, Will Purvis and Steve Wemyss.

Whilst there were no pecuniary interests it was noted that one of the witnesses (Clare Ansell) was related to Councillor Rob Wood, a colleague of the councillors present.

The minutes of meetings held on 8 October 2013 (update on previous review of Community Ownership) are attached for approval.

RECOMMENDED that the minutes of the meetings held on 8 October be approved as a correct record.

These were agreed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting of 17 October 2013 (current review) are attached for approval.

RECOMMENDED that the minutes of 17 October 2013 be approved as a correct record.

These were agreed as a correct record.

The panel is due to hear from the following witnesses:

a)    Helen Fuge, from Purple Door, representing the University of Portsmouth will present the attached paper prepared with Chris Martin (Education Liaison & Outreach Manager at the university).

b)    Clare Ansell, Director of Operations, Motiv8 to cover their initiatives with young people encouraging employment with reference to the extension of the Bicycle Recycling scheme to Portsmouth and the opportunity for members to visit.

c)    Written evidence - The CIPD's research report from April 2013 entitled "Employers are from Mars, Young People are from Venus: Addressing the Young People/Jobs Mismatch" has previously been circulated to members of the panel and the Executive Summary is attached for information.

(a)          Helen Fuge, Purple Door representing the University of Portsmouth

Helen Fuge presented the paper submitted by Chris Martin who was the education liaison and outreach manager at the University of Portsmouth who worked with schools and colleges.  Helen explained that her own role at Purple Door was to upskill students and get them into graduate employment.

Chris Martin's report explained the outreach work taking place with schools and colleges from Year 5 through to Year 13 with two core aims

(1)          Increasing applications from under-represented groups and higher education, in particular working with schools and colleges where there had traditionally been low progression into higher education; and

(2)          Enabling potential students to make informed decisions about whether the University of Portsmouth is right for them. 

The university recruits a team of student ambassadors and mentors who support the work across all age ranges and there is a membership club for 11 to 16 year olds "Up for It Club" which has approximately 5,000 members.  The club aims to raise aspirations, change perceptions and encourage pupils from all socio-economic backgrounds to see higher education as an attractive and accessible option.  This is a free scheme and activities are run in the school holidays.

School Events

The report set out the number of events held each year:

·         For primary schools with 1,500 children from Year 6 attending university tours, interviewing a student and attending a mini-lecture and mock graduation ceremony. 

·         For secondary schools there are over 150 events per annum offering campus tours, subject workshops, parents' events and talks and workshops in schools. 

·         Post-16 for A level/BTEC students there are over 250 events per annum entitled "Up for Your Future" with talks being given in schools and colleges and attending higher education and careers fairs around the country.

·         The university has recently introduced a session specifically aimed at raising aspirations of students on level 3 vocational courses who are under-represented in higher education. 

·         Also there is an annual and very successful Year 12 conference series attended by over 500 local 17 year olds where academics from each faculty offer taster lectures to help young people make better informed decisions about their future subject choice.

The University of Portsmouth offers support to all students and graduates throughout their time at university and up to five years after graduation as well as Purple Door recruitment which ran volunteering opportunities  There is a jobs board with online vacancies, appointments can be booked with career advisers, there is a wide variety of events and workshops to support students and graduates ranging from mock interviews through to the graduate recruitment fair.

Local Labour Market Information

Purple Door Recruitment works with over 5000 organisations across the South East including both the commercial and third sector. The agency works pro-actively with these employers to place students and graduates into volunteer, part-time and graduate positions.

The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey provides information on the activities of graduates after leaving higher education institutions. Data is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

The next meeting has been set for 6pm on Thursday 5 December and Head Teachers and education representatives have been invited to give evidence.

Meetings for early 2014 need to be set.

Apprenticeship Event - The event has been re-arranged for Thursday 23^rd January 2014 at Fratton Park. It will open between 09:30 and 15:00 for schools and will then remain open until 18:30 for others (parents, members of the public etc).

The next formal meeting will be held on 5 December to look at evidence from educational representatives.  The apprenticeship event on 23 January 2014 was noted and members would be asked to go independently to this.  The chair hoped to finalise a report in February so asked that members also hold 30 January as a provisional date for another meeting.