2. 2. New Staff
3. Introduction from chief
executive
4&5. The 2nd Annual Urban
Futures Staff Conference
6. Interview with Charlene
Greenaway
7. Business Advice Case Study:
Janie Bailes - Janie Pet Services
7. Interview with Conny
Nasmythe - HR at Urban
Futures
8. Apprenticeships at Urban
Futures
9. Apprenticeships at
Outward—Then & Now
10&11. Haringey Education
Business Partnership
11. Booster Plus 2 and Raise
project
12&13. Interview with Dave
Wyatt — Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Urban
Futures
13. An update from Russ
Patrick
14. Current Offers and Services
15. New Uxbridge Office
16. Connect with Urban
Futures
Urban Futures welcomes new staff
Charlene Greenaway - Director of Operations
Conny Nasmythe - Human Resources Advisor
Gordon Keenan - Head of Business Development
John Hilton - Head of IT
Bally Singh - Business Manager Wembley
Ben Haynes - Trainee Admin
Joel Ekperigin - Trainee Admin
Natasha Wilson - Team Senior Advisor
David Fosuhene - Employment Advisor
Kunle Bakare - Employment Advisor
2
3. 3
This is now our 4th
edition of the staff and
customer newsletter so hopefully you are all
familiar with the format and layout and are
thinking of making a contribution to future
editions. Remember this is your chance and
opportunity to have a say your views are
important so don’t stay silent.
Autumn is nearly upon us and we have had a
very busy Summer period here at Urban
Futures. A number of changes have happened
throughout the organisation from top to bottom
and we have even changed offices in Uxbridge!
So a huge welcome to our new Director of
Operations Charlene Greenaway, who started
with us in mid April 2013. She has already had a
major impact on our service delivery and all for
the better, particularly at our HQ in Wood Green
where much of the ‘clutter’ has now
disappeared and the inter activity between staff
and customers is much improved.
A number of staff have gone to pastures new
and we wish them every success in their future
careers. This has meant that we have welcomed
a whole array of new staff as well and some
were in time to make our 2nd
Annual Staff
Conference which was held in July in west
London at the Premier Inn. This Conference, like
our newsletters, is an ideal way for all of the
staff to get together to discuss business planning
and we will continue to develop these
communication methods year on year.
Over the coming months and subsequent
newsletters, we intend to raise the profile of the
Urban Futures Board Members and their crucial
role in the governance of the organisation. They
have the task of ensuring that everything we do
meets the founding Aims & Objectives of the
company (remember we are a ‘not for profit’
organisation and social enterprise) as well as
ensuring that our
finances are sound and
that we are meeting
our costs and
producing surpluses.
Their perspective on
life, the development
of the company and
their own personal
careers will be
illuminating for all.
We will also
increasingly raise the profile of our sister
company, Haringey Education Business
Partnership (HEBP). They share our offices here in
Wood Green and although a small staffing team
they certainly punch above their weight here in
the London Borough of Haringey. We believe they
are a fantastic complimentary service provider to
Urban Futures and they deliver services to over
2,000 Haringey school children. They deserve to
have their praises sung!
So if you’re a customer with us then let us help
you to either retrain, get a job, or upskill your
knowledge so you can move on to better things.
You are the reason we exist and we need to know
that you are happy with our services. And if
you’re a staff member, remember you are the
company asset that supports and helps our
customers to achieve their goals so please ensure
that you are talking to the right people in order to
deliver that quality service. Let’s make sure we
can all make a difference to each other’s lives.
Steve Delaney, Chief Executive.
4. On Monday 15th
July 2013, staff members
from across all eight Urban Futures offices
convened for the second annual staff
conference. The theme for the conference was
‘Delivering Best Practice through Quality
Services’.
Cllr. Del Goddard, a board member and vice
chair for Urban Futures was the compere for
the conference. The main aims and objectives
of the conference were namely:
· Continuing to understand the business and
contributing to plans in an ever evolving
working environment by delivering a
quality service
· Recognising and understanding best practice
in the delivery of an employer led service
(e.g. Heathrow Retail Academy)
· Understanding and taking responsibility for
your personal role in the success of the
organisation.
The main subject areas covered in the
conference included a company update by
Steve Delaney which featured an
introduction to Urban Futures, the current
Vision, Mission and Objectives and what the
company presently delivers. The update also
detailed what has happened within the
company over the past year and focused on
what direction the company is heading in.
Karima Sakhi; the manager for the Heathrow
Retail Academy and Antoinette Mitchell;
Recruitment Account Manager explained
4
5. Urban Futures’ role with the Academy and
highlighted the valued relationship Urban
Futures has with the Academy.
The new business plan for 2013-14 was also
shared for the first time and details on the
new upcoming pensions scheme were
explained by Urban Futures new HR
manager Conny Nasmythe.
All staff took part in four workshops to
allow the opportunity for staff to
contribute towards the business plan and
the direction of the company. Topics
included Business Planning for Welfare to
Work Services; led by Richard Penny,
Business Planning for Young People
Services; led by Derek Wheeler, New
Products (employability or other); led by
Antoinette Mitchell and Quality Service
Provision – Why we need it; led by Anita
Garrard.
From top to bottom/left to right: Steve Delaney –
CEO of Urban Futures, Richard Penny – Operations
Manager (Welfare to Work), Anita Garrard
(standing) – Training & Quality Manager, Michael
Locke – Business Advisor, Del Goddard – Vice chair
for Urban Futures and compere for the conference.
5
6. Q: Charlene Greenaway, welcome to Urban
Futures, how are you settling in?
A: Have settled in well. Everyone has been
really welcoming and responsive, which has
made settling in much smoother
Q: What is your official job title here at Urban
Futures?
A: Director of Operations
Q: Fill us in on your day to day tasks.
A: No day is ever the same, so I do not have day
to day tasks. More like day to day priorities! A
typical morning involves me answering lots of
emails, daily catch up with direct reports,
meetings/telephone calls with stakeholders/
external contract managers, MI analysis, setting
the priorities for the day and coming weeks,
and of course responding to anything urgent
which needs my attention. I then focus the
afternoon on planning and development – i.e. –
How do we manage and identify talent? Do we
have the correct systems in place to manage
performance?
Q: What did you do before Urban Futures and
what made you decide to join?
A: I worked for Working Links for 10 years,
starting on the front line as a consultant
(Advisor position here), and rising to National
Operations Manager for Work Choice. During
those years I have worked in Admin, Finance,
Employer Solutions (Employer Engagement
here), Engagement, Business Manager etc. and
worked on a number of contracts in the
industry.
Q: How are the projects you’re involved in
currently doing?
A: Now that’s a really big question! Some of the
contracts have several challenges,
however we are now beginning to turn those
contracts around and back into strong
performance. I am also working on producing
MI for the business and can already see the
impact it’s having on not only managing
performance, but assisting with planning for
performance.
Q: How would you sum up your managerial
style?
A: Highly demanding, but highly supportive. I
enjoy developing people and am always striving
for perfection. I am a visionary leader, with a
keen eye for detail.
Q: What are the best things about working at
Urban Futures?
A: The people and variety of contracts. No one
day is the same. It’s a great feeling when you
are in an organisation that’s passionate about
what they do, and you are open to new ways of
working. Even better - head office is 10 minutes
away from home.
Q: If you won £10,000,000 what would you buy
first?
A: I would be booking a sandals holiday and
annual leave…
For more Information please contact
Charlene.greenaway@urbanfutures.org.uk
6
7. Urban Futures
provide dedicated
business support
functions to help
customers, both
employed and
unemployed start
up their own
businesses with our
dedicated business
advisor; Michael Locke.
Case Study - Janie Pet Services
Janie provides a dog walking, doggie daycare
and holiday pet sitting service. She also tends
to any other pet requirements such as
feeding etc. She previously worked for RBS in
the foreign payment client services
department but was made redundant. Janie
decided to work with animals after
volunteering in a Bear Rescue centre in China
for Animals Asia. She studied canine
behaviour and wolf ecology years ago and
decided to create a business from what she
knew best.
“Michael Locke was an incredible mentor... I
realised I really could do this. Michael
encouraged me and taught me all I needed
to know, so that I went from being
apprehensive and cautious, to being
confident and successful!”
In a years’ time, Janie hopes to have an even
larger client base and to maybe expand even
further with training and move to a bigger
house so she can have 'dog quarters'.
For more Information please contact
michael.locke@urbanfutures.org.uk
7
Q: Conny Nasmythe, welcome to
Urban Futures, how are you
finding it so far?
A: Thank you, I’m doing pretty
well at the moment, things have
settled down well I think. I have
more or less met or at least
spoken to everyone in Urban
Futures via email at some point over the last 4 months.
Things are now at a point where I have now stopped
looking stunned and feel very enthusiastic about my
future work here.
Q: What is your official job title here?
A: Officially, my job title is HR Advisor.
Q: What did you do before Urban Futures and what
made you decide to join?
A: I've always wanted to be somewhere where I could
have a greater input into the daily workings and
changes within a company. When previously working
for a charity, I realised that I quite liked the community
programme arena. The opportunity to work at Urban
Futures presented itself at the right time, I was looking
for an organisation where I could utilise my skills and
learn lots more. I had a limited knowledge of work
programmes and community projects, but the appetite
I have for organisational culture, balanced with
wanting to help individuals understand their
organisation better made Urban Futures appealing to
me.
Q: What are the best things about working at Urban
Futures?
A: The variety in my day. I could be talking about what
cakes to bake (for those of you that know) and then
dealing with an employee’s serious question on
contract content or congratulating staff on the new
arrivals within their families then dealing with a breach
of contract.
Working for UF and supporting the staff who are the
organisation’s greatest assets can be challenging on a
general level but extremely rewarding by seeing the
results take shape.
For more Information please contact
conny.nasmythe@urbanfutures.org.uk
8. In April 2013, Urban Futures secured a
contract with the Skills and Funding Agency
(SFA) to deliver the apprenticeship
programme for anyone currently not in
education, employment or training and
between the ages of 16-18. The programme
was secured because of Urban Futures
previous success in delivering the
apprenticeship programme through lead
providers.
The majority of apprentices were sourced
from the National Apprenticeship Service
(NAS) website.
Apprenticeships offer young people a
structured pathway into the world of work
through supported training, on-site mentoring
and vocational qualifications. So far, Urban
Futures has hired nine new apprentices
through the scheme across our six offices.
Roles include trainee administration,
receptionist roles and compliance work.
8
Q. How did you apply
for the position?
A. Granville from
HEBP came to
Haringey 6th
Form
where I went to
college to talk about
work experience. I
applied for work
experience with HEBP
by sending my CV to
Granville. I was successful and worked there for 2
weeks. In January 2013, Granville contacted me
again about apprenticeships at Urban Futures. I
came for an interview and successfully got the job
which led to an apprenticeship.
Q. What were you doing before the
apprenticeship programme?
A. I was in Haringey 6th
Form College studying
Business Level 2
Q. How are you finding working at Urban Futures
as an apprentice?
A. I’m finding it really enjoyable working as an
apprentice and it has also helped me to learn more
skills and build my confidence.
Urban Futures also sourced apprentices for five
different companies doing a variety of roles; these
companies include Compupaye, Resources for
Autism, London Care, Relocate-me and Intertops
For more Information please contact
Karanjit.paul@urbanfutures.org.uk
9. In August 2012, Urban Futures
on behalf of Outward (A North
East London care charity) were
asked to source 20 apprentices
within the health & social care
and business administration
sectors.
Urban Futures apprentice
coordinator Karanjit Paul and
marketing team member
Aaron Sands started sourcing
candidates using primarily the
National Apprenticeship
Service (NAS) website where
many candidates applied for
the positions. After an influx of
interest, on the 14th
September
2012, Urban Futures held an
information day about
Outward and what the
company offers. Over 30
candidates arrived for the
meeting. We held an in-depth
information session explaining
what Outward does, what they
offer, their services and how
Urban Futures will support
them through their
apprenticeship if successful.
Urban Futures stayed in
contact with all the candidates
during the time period
between the information day
and the forthcoming interviews
with Outward. On the 23rd
October 2012, Outward held a
process to determine which
candidates would be hired. This
included a candidate
introduction where they were
spilt into 4 groups to partake in
a group exercise which
culminated into a presentation
from each group on their
specific topic. Finally, after the
group exercise, individual
interviews were conducted to
determine the final candidates.
Out of the 25 candidates, 18
were hired for Outward and
started work on the 19th
November, 2012.
After 10 successful months, all
18 apprentices are still happily
working at Outward with
the support of Urban
Futures. Urban Futures have
supported these
apprentices by providing
National Vocational
Qualification (NVQ) training
twice a month at our Wood
Green office where they
meet an assessor to
complete coursework and
take functioning skills and
NVQ exams. We have also
supported these
apprentices by providing
them with NUS and oyster
card discounts.
9
10. The Haringey Education Business
Partnership seeks to connect young people
with the world of work through
development of learning opportunities
that inform, inspire and prepare them for
their future life and work.
This is achieved through the delivery of a
menu of education-business activities
which develop young people’s knowledge
and understanding of the world of work
whilst enhancing their employability skills.
A common and key factor is that all
activities are delivered in partnership with
and through business and community
organisations. HEBP’s priority has always
been to develop bespoke programmes and
opportunities that meet the specific needs
of the curriculum, young people and our
partners in the business and wider
community.
The HEBP team currently consists of (from
Left to Right) Nurcan Ali (Office and Project
Administrator), Sherry Anadie (Work
Experience Manager), Talent Ramsamy
(Work Experience Co-Cordinator) and
Granvile Barrand (Manager of HEBP).
HEBP currently provide the following
services…
Work Experience - A period of time,
usually one or two weeks, spent working in a
company and undertaking the activities of a
young worker.
Interview Skills - Young people
attend a company for a 'real'
interview and get feedback on
their performance, prior to leaving
school and applying for jobs or
college places.
Enterprise Challenge - Young
people, supported
by a business
person, learn about
and undertake
10
11. the processes involved in setting up and
running a business.
Careers Fair - An event at which young
people are able to meet and talk to
representatives from local employers,
training providers and further education
colleges.
Health & Safety Accreditation - As part of
the preparation for work experience, young
people study a course leading to the British
Safety Council Level 1 Award in Health &
Safety at Work.
Pre Apprenticeship Programme - An ESF
project managed by the London EBP
Network, helping young people to learn
about and access apprenticeships.
Innovation Fund - The Innovation Fund
Round 2 is funded by the DWP over a three
year period from November 2012. The
Fund is designed to provide enhanced
support to the most disadvantaged young
people in society and requires projects to
focus on innovative ways of addressing the
issues and barriers that make young people
more at risk of becoming long-term NEET.
Participants are aged 14/15 years and can
link with the project through into further
education, work and/or apprenticeships.
For more Information please contact
Granville.barrand@hepb.co.uk
Urban Futures are delivering 2 new ESF based
employability projects. The RAISE project is sub
-contracted to Urban Futures by Eailing,
Hammersmith & West London College. Urban
Futures are the Prime Contractor for the
Booster Plus programme. Urban Futures also
sub contract part of the project to the Selby
Trust and Newlon Fusion.
ESF employability support programmes are
targeted at those considered to be
economically inactive (people who are not
seeking work or are not available to start work
immediately).
Urban Futures’ element of the programme
targets people from ethnic minority
communities living in the London boroughs of
Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield,
Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey,
Harrow, Hillingdon, Islington, Tower Hamlets
and Waltham Forest.
Through the programme each individual will
receive a minimum 6 hours personalised IAG
support with the aim of guiding them into
sustained employment for at least 1 full year.
There are also opportunities for participants to
gain work experience and qualifications
through job placements, further training and
education and vocational courses whilst
enrolled on the programmes.
For more Information please contact
alaric.williams@urbanfutures.org.uk
11
12. Q. You hold the position ‘Chairman of the Urban
Futures Board, what does that entail?
A. The role can be broken down into several parts
in addition to the general responsibilities of the
board – To attend and chair the 4 board meeting
we have each year and attend the policy and
resource committee meetings where we review in
more detail the company’s financial performance
and forecasts. I have a responsibility to ensure
that we have a board that is composed of the
right people to help the business drive forward
and meet its objectives. It’s also important that
I’m available for both Steve & Garba to call and
talk to about issues.
Q. How many board members are there? Who
are they?
A. There are currently 8 board members although
we are looking to increase that by another one or
two.
Dave Wyatt – Chairman of the Urban Futures
Board
Del Goddard – Vice chair UF – LBE councillor
(Cabinet member)
John Gray – Managing Director Diamond Build
Huw Jones – CEO North London Chamber of
Commerce
Paula Jeffery – CEO Enfield Voluntary Action
Peter Butler – Origin Housing
Steve Delaney – CEO of Urban Futures
Garba Sani – Director of Finance, HR and
Central Services of Urban Futures
Q. What are a Board Member’s
responsibilities?
A. It is the board’s responsibility to set and
agree the strategy for the business and make
sure it operating in line with the overall
objectives that the company was set up to do.
It is also responsible to make sure the company
is a financially viable business and is operating
in a legal and compliant way and that it has the
right management in place to ensure it meets
these objectives. Board members also
represent and promote UF interests in the
wider community.
12
Pictured L to R - Del Goddard - Vice Chair of
UF and Dave Wyatt - Chairman of UF.
13. Q. You also work with another company, who
are they, what position do you hold and what
do they do?
A. I work for GE Lighting which is part of a
division of General Electric (USA) which is a huge
multinational company that has sales of
$147billion and employs over 300 thousand
people that makes from Jet engines to medical
scanners and light bulbs to financial services.
I am the Operations Finance manager for our
Lighting business in Europe Middle east and
Africa which means I have financial
responsibility for all our factories warehouse
and inventory in the region. We manufacture
and sell all forms of lighting from household
bulbs to roadway and street lighting and
industrial to automotive.
Q. Urban Futures is larger than ever before and
soon to have more than 100 staff members,
with that in mind where do you see the
company in five years time?
Looking forward 5 years is a bit like guessing the
lottery. I think we need to learn from the past
that guessing out so far is almost impossible if
you looked back over the last 5 years would we
have predicted all that has happened,
government may change who knows where
unemployment will be and what schemes will be
in place. I think we have to focus on having an
organisation that is flexible and skilled that are
continuously up to date on programs and
technical schemes so that UF are able to exploit
opportunities as they appear. In addition we
have to continue to enhance our reputation for
delivery, service and being a great partner to
work with so we are the first people think of
calling when an opportunity arises.
Russ Patrick, former
Director of Operations
for Urban Futures left
the company in March 2013 to take up a two
year placement with the Voluntary Services
Overseas in Northern Uganda working with
and supporting young people.
“Hope all is going well with Urban Futures. The
organisation I work with in Uganda was asked
to tender for something that didn't really exist
but hopefully it will all work out in the end. The
centre in Uganda is getting its act into gear over
its training. Their outreach centres are literally
fields in the middle of nowhere so collecting
data is fun!
We are getting loads of kids into the centre
after school as there are no play facilities. We
have put up a volleyball net and got a couple of
footballs and a Frisbee so we are popular.
Hardly any of the kids will progress to
secondary school at 14/15 as the schools are
bad in Uganda and they can't afford the fees so
all the kids playing here are our future trainees.
We now have 10 chickens, 2 goats, 2 pigs on
their way, and two good vegetable gardens.
Also, working on some tree nurseries too -
hopefully someone in the West will pay us for
carbon offsetting.
Also, we’re trying to get VSO to donate
something to an Annual Business Award for the
best trainee's business plan, the sums needed
over here are tiny. To put that in perspective, if
Urban Futures wanted to donate £100 that
would be 400,000 Ugandan Shillings and would
set up a business!”
13
15. Contact:
aaron.sands@urbanfutures.org.uk
or
robert.prague@urbanfutures.org.uk
Alternatively, you can contact by telephone on
020 8352 5900 or via the website and other
electronic connections detailed.
Interview with the new Head of IT—John
Hilton
Interview with the new head of business
development— Gordon Keenan
The new Urban Futures Annual Report
2012/13
Latest Urban Futures Services & Offers
Training case studies
Go for It! - A new programme from Urban
Futures
Here at Urban Futures we welcome input and
ideas from all staff and customers. If you have
any ideas for articles of interest or new design
formats then please forward these to the
marketing department.
What to expect from our next edition
Newsletter coming soon…
Our Uxbridge Office has moved to:
Boundary House, Cricket Field
Road, Uxbridge,
Middlesex, UB8 1QG.
Phone Number: 01895 544 333
15
