National Career Service

Job postings in Cumbria have increased. There were nearly 9,610 postings in the quarter to July 2015, 2,445 more than in the previous quarter and 4,961 more than the same quarter last year. This translates into more opportunities for workers in Cumbria, and potentially more opportunity for us to match clients to jobs, securing more Jobs and Learning outcomes.

Performance in September has slipped which makes it imperative that we focus on generating new business and ensure we are doing the follow-up phone calls to convert existing contacts into Jobs and Learning outcomes.  A key challenge for us is to ensure we are consistent with our recording in Skills Action Plans, making them personalised, meaningful, containing clear advice and guidance and accompanied with SMART action points. Remember that from the 12th of October Skills Action Plans could be transferred to Life Long Learning Accounts which will be seen by customers, and potentially scrutinised by Ofsted, Skills Funding Agency and the DWP.

Hitting targets has become even more important with the change in how our performance is now measured. All outcomes need to be achieved according to a monthly profile.

Events, such as the hosted careers fair in the Barrow centre, continue to drive awareness, as do additional business opportunities such as the Ready for Work based programme with Morgan Sindall. Meetings with local DWP managers are also in place to give a fresh impetus to NCaS referrals.

To help Inspira deliver messages about career management and the National Careers Service we are also engaging more on our Advice Services social media channels, reaching out to people on how we can help them with practical advice, and pushing them towards making contact with us. To read the latest blogs click here.