Future First and Osborne Clarke

“[Before today] I thought I needed to follow the crowd and do what my friends were doing, but now I know I can stand on my own and do what I really want to do… it really has helped me.” – George Green’s pupil

The Background

International law firm Osborne Clarke was looking for ways to effectively address the low levels of social mobility in the legal sector whilst at the same time developing the potential of its staff. The Firm wanted to collaborate with a school in its nearby vicinity through a community education partnership and then build a long term relationship with them to track the impact and benefits of its support over time.

“At Osborne Clarke, we’re committed to making a tangible impact on improving social mobility in the communities close to our offices and beyond. To reach that goal, we are also helping to bridge the gap between the education and private sectors for our mutual benefit. I think that working with Future First has really helped us make progress on that front this year.’’

A partnership with Future First would engage the Firm’s staff with pupils from George Green’s comprehensive school in Tower Hamlets. Inspiring and interactive employee engagement opportunities were designed and delivered to raise the confidence and career aspirations of some of the most disadvantaged pupils at the school.

The Challenge

George Green’s is a mixed inner-city London comprehensive school located in the Isle of Dogs, East London, an area with one of the highest rates of multiple deprivation in the UK. English is a second language to more than 40% of the school’s pupils and over half of the pupils are eligible for free school meals.
Osborne Clarke had not previously worked with such a challenging school. The key to success was finding an effective way to engage with teachers and pupils in a way that would deliver maximum value to both the school and the Firm. In addition, tackling the overall aspiration levels among pupils meant the task ahead required a flexible approach that made allowances for differences in cultural behaviour and expectations.

The Approach

Future First worked with Osborne Clarke to design a tailored employee volunteering programme that offered staff a variety of ways to engage with the school depending on their individual motivation, experience and availability.

Opportunities included a series of Career Insight Days providing Year 9-13 pupils with the chance to step inside the corporate world for a day, gain a unique insight into ‘a day in the life of’ an employee at the Firm and the range of jobs and skills available and get taken on a tour of the office in the heart of the City of London. Staff from a range of departments were encouraged to offer work shadowing opportunities to provide pupils with unique access to advice and professional experience from niche areas.

Staff were also offered the opportunity to participate in interactive careers guidance events in the school combined with coaching in CV building and interview techniques to help raise pupil’s employability skills. As a direct result of this event, some pupils were offered a one week work experience placement at the Firm.

Future First supported staff at every stage of the process, providing relevant training, support and resource materials to enable them to feel fully prepared to participate.

“The sessions we have had with the students from George Greens have been thought provoking for all who took part. We have had positive feed back from everyone at OC who has taken part, all of whom are convinced that they get as much out of the events as the students themselves.” – Gabriel Robertson, Solicitor, Osborne Clarke

The Results

In total 45 pupils and 25 staff have benefited from the programme so far, a number which is consistently increasing.

In feedback collected after each event, all pupils rated the experiences as ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ in improving their awareness and confidence about career options and newly acquired CV building and interview skills. All of the students expressed an interest in future careers in law or business with 75% having never previously met anyone in such roles, so were experiencing them for the first time which was invaluable in broadening their horizons.

Feedback from staff revealed their appreciation at having an opportunity to step outside of the daily work routine and make a positive lasting impact on a young person who would not otherwise have such an opportunity. In return they enhanced their communication and leadership skills and acquired a fresh new dose of motivation to their work.

Teachers also noted that pupils returning to school were more confident, optimistic and motivated to work hard.
Based on the success of the programme Osborne Clarke has committed to continuing and enhancing the partnership well into 2012 and beyond.

Click here to view a video clip showing Future First’s Jake Hayman and Osborne Clarke’s Gabriel Roberston talking about the partnership at a conference hosted by The European Association for Philanthropy and Giving on 27^th September 2011.

Future First and Taylor Wessing

“The firm’s interest and involvement in the nearby community was an attraction when I applied to Taylor Wessing and it is encouraging to see the firm continuing with this involvement via Future First.” – Taylor Wessing staff member

The Background

With rising youth unemployment, worsening levels of social mobility and a chronic shortage of vocational skills in the UK, International law firm Taylor Wessing was looking for an innovative way to utilise the Firm’s resources to address these issues. The Firm wanted to use the expertise of its workforce in a way that would both harness their skills in communication and leadership, whilst at the same time bring tangible benefits to many young people in the form of pathways to employment and raised confidence.

In early 2010 Taylor Wessing approached Future First to design a programme that would provide its staff with inspiring skills based volunteering opportunities that would raise the confidence and career aspirations of young people from some of the most deprived socioeconomic backgrounds in London.

The Challenge

Taylor Wessing had not previously set up an employability programme. The biggest hurdle was finding a way to engage with state schools and communicate directly with teachers to determine what form of help would be most valuable and needed. In addition, the lack of any aspirational role models to provide informal advice and guidance about the labour market to pupils in Future First schools meant the task ahead would require an innovative approach.

The Approach

Leveraging its strong relationships and extensive reach in UK state schools,  Future First was able to offer strategic guidance to Taylor Wessing on how to engage with and deliver an effective employee engagement programme with its partner schools across London.

Staff were given a variety of ways to engage with the programme depending on their motivation, experience and availability.

“We are proud to be supporting such an innovative and forward thinking organisation such as Future First. Their ethos of promoting talent and aspiration are synonymous with the values close to the heart of Taylor Wessing. We’re looking forward to developing our relationship further over the course of the next year.” – Lorraine Smith, Head of CSR – Taylor Wessing

Opportunities included a series of Career Insight Days providing Year 11-13 pupils with the chance to step inside the corporate world for a day, gain a unique insight into working at the Firm and the range of jobs available and receive some coaching in CV building and interview techniques to raise their employability skills. Pupils with a specific interest in working in The City were invited to put themselves forward to attend the events.

Staff from a range of departments  – from lawyers to HR, catering and business development – all were encouraged to offer work shadowing opportunities which provided pupils with unique access to advice and experience from niche areas.

Future First supported staff at every stage of the process, providing relevant training, support and resource materials to enable them to feel fully prepared to participate.

The Results

In total 37 pupils and 48 staff have benefited from the programme so far, a number which is consistently increasing.

“The best things I learnt today were that you don’t have to be a lawyer to work in a law firm; that I should be more comfortable around new people; and I learned interview techniques and how to write a good CV”. – Future First student

In feedback collected after each event, all pupils rated the experiences as ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ in terms of improving their awareness and confidence about career options and employability. An average of 75% of those pupils given a work shadow experience had never previously met anyone who had worked in a similar role. Some were even offered further work experience by staff at Taylor Wessing. Teachers also noted that pupils returning to school were more confident, optimistic and motivated to work hard.

Staff in turn gain coaching and communication skills which transfer directly back into their professional role. Feedback demonstrates the level of appreciation of having an opportunity to step outside of the daily work routine and make a positive lasting impact on a young person’s life.

Taylor Wessing hosted an event in March 2011 attended by employers, journalists, educationalists and policy makers to celebrate the first year’s partnership and to launch Future First’s latest report into careers advice and social mobility. Based on the success of the programme Taylor Wessing has committed to continuing the partnership well into 2012.