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Hello everyone and welcome to our first ‘spotlight on’ newsletter. Rather than sending you very long newsletters covering updates from every team in RPD, we’re trialling a new ‘spotlight’ approach where teams take it in turns to share updates on a more frequent basis. Up first we have updates from across Employment, Business & Skills.
These updates are really timely and relevant to all teams across RPD as we begin to prepare for a new Inclusive Growth & Economy Strategy in 2023/24. This will supersede the previous 2016/20 Economic Growth Strategy, but bring together the work of our teams in a new and innovative way. The Strategy will set out all of the opportunities emerging from our new Local Plan, and pick up key workstreams across Town Centres and High Streets, industrial areas and infrastructure investment. It will be a spatial piece of work picking up on our Area Frameworks and Levelling Up Fund projects, but also integrating with Jonathan’s inward investment programme. The Inclusive Economy part of the work will focus on how we ensure these growth and investment opportunities generate maximum benefits for our residents, especially vulnerable residents who need these benefits most. Employment, Business & Skills is clearly a critical part of this and the updates below really articulate how our work contributes towards an Inclusive Economy.
Ian Rae
Corporate Director – Regeneration, Planning & Delivery
EBS welcomes two new teams
We're excited to welcome two new teams to our Regeneration Planning and Delivery Family.
Firstly, the EBS Business Support Team from customer services, who will help learners navigate their journey from enrolment to achievement and provide vital information, advice, and guidance. Angela Eusabe will manage the team. Secondly, the Business Intellectual Property Centre (BIPC) staff joining us from Libraries. The BIPC Local centre offers resources for business development, community workspace and expert advice for SMEs, freelancers and start-ups. Sade Johnson will manage this team.
Apprenticeship Week
Apprenticeship week (6 to 10 February) was an exciting and busy time for the Opportunities Team. Hosting and exhibiting across 4 key events including our own apprenticeship jobs fair we engaged with over 70 business including high profile employers such a TFL, UEL and Ernst & Young to support their apprenticeship plans.
In addition, we also reached over 250 residents to raise awareness of these amazing employment opportunities. So please watch this space for further developments in the borough as we look to grow the apprenticeship offer with new sectors and jobs and link the team to any businesses or partners who might be interested in providing apprenticeship opportunities.
For more information on employment opportunities contact Zaid Al-Sayyah - Principal Programme Manager
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Creative Industries Hub
The Young V&A is set to reopen in summer 2023 at its Bethnal Green site, with our Creative Industries and Opportunities Team aiding their initial recruitment drive for 28 front of house roles. Over 900 applications were received, with 10% of shortlisted candidates being residents. This partnership has been essential, with over 50% of attendees at the Young V&A’s open recruitment day being residents interested in working in the creative industry.
“Collaborating with the team at The Creative Industries Hub has been such a rewarding experience. Everyone that we have worked with is friendly and enthusiastic about our recruitment project. They have also helped to raise awareness of our recruitment open day and even supported us in person on the day.” Kirsty Thomson, Senior Head of Operations and Commercial at the Young V&A
For more information on the Creative Industries Hub, please contact Temisan Williams - Programme Manager
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Fashion District
After the development of a unique brand for Waltham Forest Fashion, the Leyton Green Studios signage has been erected. The Studios are an affordable co-working space managed by Waltham Forest Fashion, Arbeit and Fashion District and is currently the studio home to 13 creative businesses. As the hub for Waltham Forest Fashion, Leyton Green Studios frequently hold networking, business support, pop-up markets and community events.
The Fashion District is going from strength to strength, building a strong network of likeminded creatives and business owners that are interested in understanding how they can design, make and operate as a sustainable business. Our second fashion round table event in March delivered in collaboration with the Green Business Network, had over 80 attendees with the focus for the evening on 3 key approaches to eliminating waste textiles – repair, resale and redistribution. Keynote speakers from WRAP UK and The Seam shared their expertise and insights, leading engaging round table discussions on each approach.
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Creative Enterprise Zone
The Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ) Blackhorse Lane has come about as a result of excellent collaborative work across RPD. Last week the CEZ showcased work across a diverse range of creative businesses, co-working spaces and colleges to Deputy Mayor of Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons; accompanied by LBWF Portfolio members and the senior leadership team. The tour included an immersive student performance at Big Creative Academy, an exhibition and demonstration of the skills and talent that enjoy Blackhorse workshop and businesses located in the CEZ at Yonder. This event happened on the back of the CEZ’s first Advisory Board, an important milestone in its development and thanks to colleagues across RPD who are championing the CEZ in their work and networks.
For more information on the Fashion District and the Creative Enterprise Zone, please contact Louise Ward - Project Manager
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Adult Learning Service
The Adult Learning Service delivered a successful open day on 10 February. Counsellor Vicky Ashworth took the time to engage with lecturers and learners and sat through a presentation about the employability programme, passport to work. The hard work certainly paid off with the event welcoming 119 people through the door. This significant turnout indicates that there is a strong interest in adult education in the local community and the attendance resulted in 104 enrolments.
For more information on Adult Learning Services, please contact Caroline Valentine - Head of Skills
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Multiply Programme
We’ve had a great response to our brand new Multiply programme with adults from across the borough signing up to attend workshops, events and activities to improve their numeracy skills. The new programme will help people to better manage their money and make budgets, support their children with math homework, learn math to get more job opportunities or even study towards a GCSE.
We are asking staff to get the word out and share with partners, family and friends about the support on offer and how beneficial it is to help them in their lives.
For more information on Multiply contact Amber DeRosa - Multiply Project Coordinator
I hope you’ve found this first spotlight edition of our newsletter useful. Its end of year appraisal time and I know a lot of you will have had or will be shortly having your end of year review. I would like us to place a real focus this time on the findings of the Council staff survey. We’ve had some really useful insight to staff feedback at a service level across different parts of RPD. There are some common bits of really positive feedback around motivation, fulfilment, and understanding how your role fits in with the wider work across RPD and the Council. Areas we all need to focus on include making time for training and learning; workload management; empowerment; and better enabling performance management of staff. We can devote more time to thinking about all of these areas and end of year appraisals is a good place to start. We’ll also focus on some of these points at an all staff RPD session in June – more information to follow on that.
Ian Rae
Corporate Director – Regeneration, Planning & Delivery
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