www.city-action.org

CASE STUDIES

Astbury Marsden and City Gateway

Background

Astbury Marsden, a recruitment firm specialising in banking, financial services and management consulting, sought to develop its community programme through skills-sharing.  To achieve this, the firm contacted City Action, using their brokerage service to connect them with a suitable charity.  City Action subsequently matched the firm with City Gateway, a Tower Hamlets-based charity that provides young people classified as NEET¹ with the skills and opportunities necessary to gain employment or pursue further education.  The organisations were paired to enable Astbury Marsden employees to share their recruitment knowledge and skills with young people actively seeking employment. 

In supporting a community organisation, Astbury Marsden aimed to develop employee skills, increase employee confidence, share knowledge and noticeably impact the beneficiaries.  City Action ensured  that these goals could be achieved with City Gateway, and also that the business goals corresponded with the charity’s objectives; namely, to connect, engage and train some of the most excluded young people and women in Tower Hamlets in order to help them get into work.   This includes teaching the individuals practical tools for gaining employment, which is most effectively done through practicing them with a City business.      

 

In Their Own Words...

 

 This was a fantastic way for our staff to develop their skills with a different client group.  What was most special for our volunteers was seeing the development of the young people over the course of the programme.

         - Astbury Marsden

 

 

 

 This was a great match for us.  It was incredibly valuable having recruitment experts share their knowledge and experience, allowing us to focus on our areas of speciality with young people.

         - City Gateway

 

Volunteering Experience

To share their skills, Astbury Marsden employee volunteers facilitated four workshops geared towards improving the young people’s employability skills and raising their aspirations.  Each workshop addressed key skills essential to overcoming the challenges of gaining employment.  Volunteers provided 1:1 advice on CV writing, opportunities to practice telephone etiquette and self-promotion, and assessed interview techniques through mock interviews.  In addition, to enhance their understanding of businesses identities, beneficiaries learnt about branding and commerciality.  The programme, delivered over several weeks, concluded with a final presentation where the young people received certificates and awards, recognising their development and achievements.

At the end of the programme and in order to equip City Gateway employees with the expertise to support the young people to find employment, Astbury Marsden agreed to run a workshop for City Gateway staff as well.  Astbury Marsden’s Head of Training and Graduate Development advised four City Gateway employees on how to manage a recruitment process, establish new relationships, and accurately matching young candidates and opportunities.  City Gateway also received guidance on developing job opportunities, including writing job descriptions and providing feedback to employers and young people. 

 

Benefits

The programme delivered by Astbury Marsden in conjunction with City Gateway was a great success, benefitting the business, charity, and participating young people. 

Benefits reported by Astbury Marsden:

·         Staff engagement:  Running the sessions in the Astbury Marsden offices made it effortless for employees to get involved and elevated staff interest in community initiatives. 

·         Skills development:  Volunteers developed their presentation, communication and leadership skills, enhancing their confidence, by facilitating the various workshops. 

·         Visible impact:  Volunteers appreciated their real impact on the young people, evident from the participants’ development over the sessions.

Benefits reported by City Gateway:

·         Service delivery:  Receiving professional support helped City Gateway deliver their services by providing employees with more time to focus on areas of work specialised to them, such as addressing social problems, educational challenges, and mentoring. 

·         Skills development:  A further opportunity grew out of the initial collaboration for City Gateway employees to learn about recruitment, enhancing their ability to advise young people on employment issues. 

Beneficiaries’ benefits, communicated on their behalf by City Gateway:

·         Skills development:  The young people who participated gained new practical skills to successfully compete for employment.

·         Personal growth:  The young people demonstrated both higher aspirations and greater confidence from the beginning to the end of the programme.