EmployabilityUK
TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
for the Year Ended 31 December 2022
© EmployabilityUK 2023 Registered charity number: 1159718 Version 1 02/06/2023 Page | 1
Table of Contents
........................................................................................................................................... 1 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS ............................... 3 TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT ...................................................................................... 4 Structure, Governance and Management .................................................................... 4 Risk Management ........................................................................................................... 4 Risk Management post-Covid 19 .......................................................................................... 4 Objectives, Aims and Activities .................................................................................... 5 Charitable Objectives: ........................................................................................................... 5 Principal Activities: ................................................................................................................ 5 Review of Achievements and Performance for the Year........................................... 5 Operational Performance ...................................................................................................... 5 Financial Review ..................................................................................................................... 6 Plans for the Future................................................................................................................ 7 Our Aims: ................................................................................................................................ 7 ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2022 .......................................... 8
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MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
Registered Charity Name EmployabilityUK Registered Charity Number 1159718 Registered Office The Enterprise Hub 5 Whitefriars Street Coventry West Midlands CV1 2DS Trustees Joel Blake OBE Anthony Barnett Lynn England Neil Makin Diane Burdett – Officially stepped down at the last meeting in 2022 John Bradford Paul Broadhead Chair Joel Blake OBE Treasurer John Bradford Bankers COOP Bank Independent Examiner Et Voila Accountancy Services Limited Isis House Smith Road Wednesbury West Midlands WS10 0PB
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TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT
Structure, Governance and Management
EmployabilityUK was registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 23 December 2014 under charity registration number 1159718.
The charity is governed by its Constitution which was adopted 1st April 2015, and amended 3 July 2020.
The objectives are to advance the lives of young people by providing career guidance and related services to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals.
The charity was delighted to receive The Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2021.
The charity was also delighted to see our Chief Executive, Diane Vernon, receive her MBE medal for Services to Disadvantaged Young People, in March 2022.
Risk Management
The major risks to which the charity is exposed, as identified by the Trustees, have been reviewed and systems continue to be established to mitigate these risks.
In 2022 the charity reviewed its future strategy and plans. This will necessitate a review and edit of the risk management framework which will be completed in 2023.
Risk Management post-Covid 19
Lockdown proved significant for the whole education sector, with its continuing impact still being seen in schools, colleges and universities during 2022. The charity was ready to take advantage of the first opportunities to deliver face-to-face programmes in schools, which began again in February. Risk was mitigated in the event of further changes to government policy, by adopting a ‘hybrid’ programme to strengthen our provision, with existing partners agreeing that programmes halted in 2021, were able to be rolled out and built upon. The situation was carefully monitored by the CEO and her team and reviewed at Trustee Board meetings.
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Despite a strong Powerful Partnerships strategy being unveiled, with plans to establish new corporate partnerships with education across a variety of UK towns and cities, engagement with the business sector continues to be difficult, with high levels of competition for funding across the sectors
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There is significant evidence, post-lockdown, that the teaching of employability skills in schools has taken a back seat, with many students in HE/FE who are still receiving lessons online, no longer benefiting from this support to help them become workready, as part of the curriculum, at all
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Funding support, especially from central Government in the wake of Kickstart, is not aimed at small charities, or of practical help, with many funding sources not focused on outcomes that show measurable impact and benefit to young people, with the highest needs, which will be of long-lasting effect
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Getting the infrastructure right to support growth, has been an ongoing project this year, with steps taken to establish a working CRM and a focus towards service delivery –
of much anticipated client business, over multiple sites some things remain a work in progress, but risk has been mitigated as part of an operational, forward-thinking plan
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- The charity’s Trustee Board has remained stable this year, but with potential new Trustees to be brought in for 2023, as several members reach the end of their terms, suitable replacements are already being sourced. 2022 also saw a number of volunteer and staff changes in what was a busy period, with new skilled people coming in to take up a variety of roles, but also changes seen to middle management staffing where there has been an ongoing need for recruitment. A number of excellent, motivational speaker volunteers helped the charity deliver key programmes as we moved back to face-to-face delivery. We will be welcoming a new Trustee Board member in 2023 who participated in our CBS programme previously, this will be a unique and insightful addition to the board.
Objectives, Aims and Activities
Charitable Objectives:
The Charitable Objectives of EmployabilityUK as set out in the constitution are to advance in life young people by providing career guidance and related services to enable them to participate in society as independent, mature and responsible individuals.
Principal Activities:
Since that time, we have enabled just over 4,300 young people to have a first-class employability skills intervention and more than 600 people from all sectors and industries have benefitted from high quality volunteering opportunities.
The mission of EmployabilityUK is to facilitate employer engagement to enhance the aspirations, opportunities and career prospects of enthusiastic and committed young people.
As an education charity, we believe the best way to bring sustainable employer engagement and first-class professional employability skills to schools, colleges and youth organisations is by working with them to understand their individual needs and the aspirations of their learners and their parents. We offer support and fresh ideas, thus the very best employability skills training with practical experience.
We design bespoke employability skills programmes for businesses to provide high quality employee volunteering opportunities, with something for everyone, no matter what their own job may be. Our programmes are fun and rewarding, giving individuals the flexibility to decide how much or how little time they want to give.
By forging strong partnerships, we provide immediate and long-term support, helping to improve the employability skills of young people, raise their confidence and help prepare them for the workplace.
Our programmes are unique as we have a group of dedicated mentors, coaches and speakers from regional and national businesses who support our participants in developing qualities that employers need to be successful.
Every one of our programmes is different, offering businesses and the education sector a wide range of flexible, tailored interventions. Many programmes typically focus on developing the following key areas: professional presentations, interview techniques, CV building, practical activities, interaction with employers and understanding the workplace.
Review of Achievements and Performance for the Year
Operational Performance
We’ve made some excellent progress this year and completed some truly exciting and inspirational programmes, notably the Tech Boss Challenge with Kagool, the conclusion of Inspiring Young Birmingham built around the Commonwealth Games, and the continuation of
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the Coventry Building Society programme, our long-standing partner.
2022 also marked the end of the DWP ’s Kickstart scheme, which enabled us to partner with other organisations to develop their employability skills offerings, and also for us to work with some excellent young talent through our own placements. Each of our ‘Kickstarters’ made an impact on the charity, influencing with their new ideas. Many of them went on to find fantastic jobs, and some remain with us to this day, working in much-needed roles within the charity.
Above all, EmployabilityUK’s goal remains to boost the prospects and enhance the aspirations of young people through our programmes. 2022 has seen us do just that, reaching, supporting and helping more than 1,300 young people this year.
February 2022:
We returned to the classroom, kicking off our face-to-face programmes with 80 learners from Archbishop Ilsley School
March 2022:
Final Kickstart placements made, taking EmployabilityUK’s total to 10 young people supported, with 38 for our employers
April 2022:
EmployabilityUK’s award -winning programme created in partnership with Coventry Building Society (CBS), gets back into schools post-COVID – its success cannot be over-stated
May 2022:
EmployabilityUK launch the ‘Tech Boss Challenge’ in partnership with Kagool
July 2022:
Saw the culmination of the ‘Bring the Power’ programme m anaged by EmployabilityUK in conjunction with Birmingham 2022
September 2022:
As part of our ‘Roots to Success’ programme, EmployabilityUK works with Birmingham CIC, Sports Key
November 2022:
EmployabilityUK attends a Careers Day at Hadley Learning Community school in Telford, where over 400 young people are in attendance
December 2022:
EmployabilityUK attends the Birmingham Children’s Trust Care Leavers Conference, speaking to young people in, or having recently left, the care system
Over the 2022 period, we have continued to develop strong, strategic alliances with the John Lewis Partnership, National Express and Severn Trent, and expect 2023 to be a significant year for the charity, with work already well underway on our most ambitious project yet.
Financial Review
As outlined in this Trustee report 2022 was a year where the charity completed support for the DWP Kickstart initiative, and took time to consider and formulate it’s future strategy.
This pause in core activities meant income in the financial year would reduce, which was evidenced by a drop in income to £93,463 and a deficit for the year of £10,131. Costs were well managed and were within budget.
Capital and reserves remain strong at £115,000. The Reserves Policy is reviewed annually and aims to keep 6 months of overall costs held as unrestricted reserves. At the review of the policy in July 2022 the agreed level of unrestricted reserves was £54,000. Cash holdings as of 31 December 2022 were £111,000 with in excess of £80,000 held in unrestricted reserves.
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Plans for the Future
During the 2023 - 24 academic year and beyond, we will be looking to build on our core strategic aims of delivering bespoke programmes, focusing on critical skills, raising aspirations and building the confidence of our learners, and will launch our new initiative – Powerful Partnerships (PP). Under the Powerful Partnership initiative heading we will launch Skills Clubs in each city and location. This programme will enable EUK to build a sustainable partnership model to forge greater links between businesses, the public sector and learners, enabling them to unlock their employment and higher education potential.
We are now looking to take our work to a total of 25 cities and large towns between 2023 - 2025, expanding on our initial thoughts of six core cities in the East and West Midlands. We will be identifying place-specific issues and tailoring our employability and life skills solutions, to help improve prospects for children and young people in their localities, drawing on our past successful programmes such as the Coventry Building Society, Kagool and National Express.
Our focus is on supporting disadvantaged learners who are often furthest from achieving the best jobs in the labour market and middle achievers who sometimes fall through the cracks.
A City Manager will be appointed in each PP location to improve our understanding of the issues we are best positioned to tackle, and to educate as to how we can make the biggest difference. As part of the rationale for PP we are keen to generate job creation and economic prosperity as well as improved outcomes for learners.
In line with our city-wide approach and the focus on delivering measurable impact, we will look to establish two tiers of Skills Clubs - U18 for 16-18 year olds and O18 for 18-24 year olds, in each of these 25 areas. We recognise that both youth unemployment and digital disadvantage have become even more critical post-pandemic, as the job market and education systems have shifted towards digital platforms, leaving many young people without the necessary skills and resources to succeed in the new economy.
Our Aims:
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To create a minimum of 25 Skills Clubs in selected locations by 31 December 2025
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• To provide safe spaces for young people to supplement their academic and vocational education with accredited transferable employability skills
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To assist businesses to meet their social value commitments and provide volunteering opportunities
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A published programme will be produced covering all elements of employability skills, which will strive to meet in full, the Gatsby Benchmarks of good careers guidance
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To gain endorsement from a relevant body to meet quality standards
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To enhance the employability skills, confidence and work readiness of 2,000 young people
Our vision to achieve the realisation of CREST - The Centre for Real Employability Skills and Talent, remains a key focus, with young people at the centre of everything we do. There will be challenges ahead in 2023 as we strive to take that next step up in our growth plans and being able to focus in on key business.
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Charity number: 1159718
EMPLOYABILITYUK
ACCOUNTS FOR YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2022
Independents examiner's report to the Trustees of EmployabilityUK
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of EmployabilityUK (the charity) for the year ended 31st December 2022
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity trustees of EmployabilityUK are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in the accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (the act)
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable directions given by the charities commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
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Accounting records were kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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The accounts do accord with those records.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Miss Sally Wainwight, ACMA
3rd February 2023
Et Voila Accountancy Services Limited
Isis House Smith Road Wednesbury West Midlands WS10 0PB
Receipts and Payments Accounts year ended 31 December 2022
| Notes Receipts: Grants and Donations 2 Kickstart Scheme (restricted) Total Payments: Salaries & Wages Consultancy & Professional Fees Telephone & Office Subscriptions Marketing Printing, Postage and Stationery Insurance Travel Accountancy Fees Bank Charges Miscellaneous Total Net Receipts/ (payments) 3 Cash Funds at 31 December 2021 Transfer between funds Cash Funds at 31 December 2022 |
31st December 2022 £ Total Funds £ 68,872 68,872 24,591 24,591 93,463 93,463 43,614 43,614 47,787 47,787 1,809 1,809 240 240 1,544 1,544 301 301 157 157 5,581 5,581 1,339 1,339 - 1222 1,222 103,594 103,594 (10,131) (10,131) 125,651 125,651 115,520 115,520 |
31st December 2021 £ Total Funds £ 83,119 83,119 39,315 39,315 |
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| 122,434 122,434 |
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| 26,884 26,884 53,480 53,480 571 571 317 317 18,363 18,363 1,315 1,315 246 246 5,196 5,196 1,320 1,320 72 72 964 964 |
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| 108,728 108,728 |
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| 13,706 13,706 111,945 111,945 |
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| 125,651 125,651 |
Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 December 2022
| 31st December 2022 Unrestricted Funds £ Cash Funds Trade Debtors - Cash at Bank 111,387 111,387 111,387 111,387 Assets retained for the charity's own use Laptops 4,133 4,133 4,133 4,133 Liabilities Trade Creditors - - 115,520 115,520 Total £ |
31st December 2021 Unrestricte d Funds £ 128,048 128,048 2,585 2,585 4,982 4,982 125,651 125,651 128,048 128,048 2,585 2,585 4,982 4,982 Total £ |
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These Financial statements were approved by the trustees on 6th February 2023 and signed on their behalf:
Joel Blake
Chair
Notes to the financial statements
1) Receipts and Payment accounts
Receipts and payments accounts are statements that summarise the movement of cash into and out of the organisation during the financial year. In this context "cash" includes cash equivalents, for example, bank accounts where cash can be readily withdrawn to pay for debts as they become due.
2) Grants and Donations
| 2) Grants and Donations National Express Coventry Building Society Biffa 1961 Trust Carter Thermal Industries CAF Resilience Fund Individual Donations Roger and Douglas Trust Woodward Trust Grosvenor Health Birmingham University Birmingham Ormiston Birmingham Games GBCH Hospice (legacy) John Lewis Future Business Albrighton Trust Kagool Sport Birmingham Active Wellbeing Kickstart Scheme Amazon Donate Birmingham Sport and Physical activity Trust |
Unrestricted funds Restricted funds 2022 Total funds Unrestricted funds 2021 Total funds £ £ £ £ £ 5,000 5,000 10,000 10,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 0 300 300 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 2,000 2,000 12,142 12,142 360 360 3000 3,000 1000 1,000 5000 5,000 774 774 400 400 4999 4,999 7500 7,500 0 12,172 12,172 0 2,250 2,250 800 800 500 500 9,999 9,999 2,400 2,400 1380 1,380 24,591 24,591 39,315 15 15 |
| 68,872 0 24,591 93,463 83,119 122,434 |
Notes to the financial statements
3) Funds
| Unrestricted funds Restricted Funds Total Funds |
Balance at Incoming Resources Excess 1st January 2022 Resources Expended funds £ £ £ £ 125,651 68,872 79,003 115,520 24,591 24,591 |
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| 125,651 93,463 103,594 115,520 |
4) Related party transactions and Trustees' expenses and remuneration
The Trustees all give freely their time and expertise without any form of remuneration or other benefit in cash or kind (2021: £nil).
No Trustees, or person related or connected by business to them has received any payments or other benefits from the charity during the year.
Whilst there is no separate Trustee Indemnity Insurance purchased, Trustees are covered by the Employer Liabilities section of EmployabilityUK’s overall insurance.
5) Trade Creditors
This is the money that was owed to Companies participating in the Kickstart Scheme (2021), it had not been transferred at 2021 year end and was still owed. Nothing was owed at 31 December 2022