‘Fit for Employment’, the training programme developed by Esh Group, winners of this year’s ‘North East Business of the Year’ award and Deerness Valley School, has completed its first year and 18 young graduates of the scheme have taken up their new roles with Esh Group and its subsidiary companies. 

• Craig Hindmarsh, Lee Hughes, Neil Griffiths, Paul Shaw, Sarah Thornton and Stephen Richardson have joined the Group’s house building company, Dunelm Castle Homes
• Debbie Archer, Gemma Firby, Kristie Taylor, Lynsey Young and Paul Facey have joined Lumsden & Carroll, the civil engineering business
• Adrian Waker, Craig Thompson and Stephen Powles have joined building services’ company, Bartram and Walker
• Nicola Arrowsmith and Rachael Urwin have taken up roles with Deerness Fencing
• Nichola Stephenson has joined equipment hire business Mechplant and
• Sarah Dodds has been employed by Esh Group itself

Commenting on the appointments, Brian Manning, Chief Executive of Esh Group, said:

‘We are delighted to welcome these young people into jobs at Esh Group - they have earned their places and deserve the opportunity.  When we set up ‘Fit for Employment’, together with Deerness Valley Comprehensive School we wanted to make a real difference - and our promise of jobs was what set this scheme apart.  We have had close ties with the Deerness community for many years and our wish was to provide a tangible and prestigious opportunity which raised students’ aspirations and, hopefully, results in lifelong benefit for them - and so ‘Fit for Employment’ was born’.

‘Fit for Employment’ started in academic year 2002-3 was completed in 2003-4 and ran in three phases:  Key employability skills were highlighted in Week 1, in Week 2 the emphasis turned to the skills required and opportunities to be found in the construction sector and Week 3 focused on specific career paths.  Over 100 students took part and each had to apply for and pass selection tests in order to progress to the next phase. 

Key Performance Indicators employed as part of the usual school management process were used to assess the outcomes of ‘Fit for Employment’.  Academic and attendance results show:

For the whole year group;

• A 59%* improvement in actual GCSE performance compared to the predicted grades estimates made for these students in their previous academic year
• At 91%, attendance in this year group was the highest for any in the school during that academic year
• Unauthorised absence in this year group was the second lowest in the school

For the students selected for week 3

• A 58%* improvement in actual GCSE performance was achieved by Week 3 students compared to their predicted grade estimates made during the previous academic year
• 87% of Week 3 students showed increased attendance compared to their attendance record in the previous academic year
• 90% attendance rate was achieved by over 67% of Week 3 students

Phil Young, Technical & Customer Services Director at Esh Group continued;

‘It’s been a real team effort throughout and the students have embraced the opportunity with commitment and enthusiasm.  Over 100 students, more than three quarters of the whole year group, have been involved.  Every student who took part has benefitted - as the overall improvements in both academic results and attendance rates prove.

‘Some students chose to settle for just the first week of employability skills training and others applied to be selected onto the second and third weeks which focused specifically on the construction sector and then their career paths.  Being selected to progress onto the next stage depended on a number of factors including attitude and commitment.  The competition for jobs was intense and we were very pleased when we were able to offer positions to all those students who met our selection criteria’.

Anne Lakey, Headteacher at Deerness Valley Comprehensive School said:

‘Fit for Employment’ has been a major success in school with its value in enhancing learning being recognised by OFSTED in Deerness Valley’s recent inspection.

‘Our partnership with Esh Group has given real hope with a future for success in employment to many of our students who in the past may have believed that they would fail in the world of work.  It is really exciting to see and to follow the progress of so many of our young people as they take up their jobs with Esh Group

‘The wider impact of the partnership is the raised aspiration for all of the young people who took part.  Some have gone on to college and aspire to university, others have decided upon a job in another sector whilst 18 of the real success stories moved on to work for Esh Group

‘The ‘Fit for Employment’ programme has given a real vision and a clear focus to many students who perhaps had very little hope of a means to achieve their dreams.’

Deerness Valley School is aiming to be the first Business, Technology and Enterprise Specialist College in the country by September 2005.  The Specialist College Status will be based upon the success of the 'Fit for Employment' Programme, which is essentially an outstanding Business and Technology experience.  With Specialist College Status, Deerness Valley School will build on its existing strengths in these subjects in state-of-the-art ICT facilities to really prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs for life after school.  The Community aspect of our Specialist Status bid is to take the best of 'Fit for Employment' to 16-25 year olds working, of course, with our partners Esh Group.