Kickstart project nominated for National Training Award
A Kickstart campaign in Redbridge has been shortlisted as a finalist in the National Training Awards 2010.
The Redbridge Kickstart has been shortlisted as a finalist for the National Training Awards 2010 in the London region. The award ceremony for the London region will be held in September. The winner of the London regional event will then go forward to the National award. A full Press Release is included below, for more details go to www.nationaltrainingawards.com.
Jobseekers Eliminate Temp Costs for Redbridge Benefits Office
Training Synergy helped the London Borough of Redbridge to save thousands of pounds in contract temps by training promising jobseekers to work in its Revenues and Benefits department.
Redbridge provides services for 240,000 residents, with the Revenues and Benefits service employing 250 people with a caseload of around 24,000 housing and council tax benefits claimants.
In 2005, it needed 16 trained staff for the department but was not prepared to pay £67,000 per month in salaries for contract temps. Synergy proposed a programme, they would call Kickstart, which would find local jobseekers, conduct a training needs analysis, and design a training programme to give them the skills and confidence to perform complex roles.
Synergy started by inviting local people without any benefits experience to a skills assessment today. People with the right transferable skills and attitudes would undertake an intensive training programme.
Then, using training materials developed by Synergy, Redbridge staff would provide on-the-job training, mentoring and systems training. Then after a final assessment, successful trainees would be offered permanent positions in the appropriate teams.
During the following five years, 60 trainees attended Kickstart at Redbridge, 40 of whom gained permanent employment at the Revenues and Benefits service. Of those, 38 are still working there today.
Using jobseekers has enabled Redbridge to save the cost of using temporary contract staff, which equates to £402,000 over a six-month period. In comparison, a six-month Kickstart training programme costs a total of £208,400 for 24 trainees, and produces permanent staff.
Synergy used a variety of methods to train new workers in legislation, local procedures, computer systems and customer service, to cater for different learning styles. It employed role-play, case studies, group discussion, practical exercises and presentations, providing trainees with reference manuals, desk aids, online guidance and mentors.
“From complete novices with no benefits experience, the trainees have become confident, productive and valued members of staff helping to improve performance and morale in their teams,“ says Niall Shanahan, Training Consultant at Training Synergy.
Trainees were able to halve the time it took to process claims, leading to fewer front-line enquiries even during a period of rising caseload. They also speeded up customer enquiry resolutions and brought greater stability to the teams.
Dawn Cove, Benefits Operations Manager, says of the trainees, “They are keen, enthusiastic and dedicated, and always eager to learn more. Their commitment is fantastic. It has been a real pleasure for me to work with them and I am very proud of the way they have all developed into excellent Benefit Officers.”
Sarah Bimpong is one trainee who became a Benefit Officer. She comments, “Having four children and wanting to develop my career made it difficult for me to achieve a work-life balance, but this programme offered me a training opportunity to help me get into the complex area of housing benefit administration.”
Benefit Officer Abdi Elmi, adds, “Following my medical discharge from the Army, Kickstart literally saved my life. The excellent training and support helped me on a new path with hope, independence and most importantly a career to support my new family.”
Peter Ratnarajah, Head of Benefits Service, concludes, “I must admit I had mixed feelings about the scheme at first: it was too good to be true. But the new Kickstart team proved me wrong by their professional approach and by successfully recruiting and training 16 local, highly-skilled Benefits, Revenues and Customer Services staff within tight time scales. I was particularly impressed with the intensive training programme. The feedback from staff was excellent.”
Story Date
Monday, July 19, 2010
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