Education, Training and Employability
ScottishPower has provided employability training for young people since 1996, when we began delivering the Skillseeker and Prince’s Trust volunteers programmes to help prepare young people, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, for the world of work.
Over the last two years, however, our education and training programmes have undergone a strategic shift. With planned investment of some £200 billion in the UK’s electricity infrastructure between now and 2020, there is a growing demand for engineering and technical skills, made all the more urgent by the high number of electricity industry staff set to retire over the next 15 years.
As a result, we are focusing our efforts on building the talent pipeline of the future.
Skillseeker Programme
Our Skillseeker Programme drew to a close in 2010 having helped 1,255 young people since its inauguration in 1996. We are proud to report that overall the programme had a 75% success rate, with 226 youngsters gaining jobs with ScottishPower, 617 finding full-time employment with another company and a further 93 moving into full-time education or training.
Engineering Foundation Programme
A new 12 month technical vocational programme, the Engineering Foundation Programme, was launched in September with 30 participants.
The structured programme aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds, combines vocational studies with utility sector experience and is designed to generate interest in the energy and utility sector and act as a stepping stone to modern apprenticeships.
The programme is being delivered in partnership with Stow College, Glasgow and Wirral Met College.
Work with schools
We continue to work with schools and 1,423 young people benefited from our schools based programmes during 2010.
A total of 23 students started their Young Apprenticeship programme in September 2010. This is a vocational programme, aimed at 14-16-year-olds, which runs for the last two years of school in Merseyside and Glasgow. The programme is known in Scotland as Skills 4 Work Engineering.
In addition, 100 students from five schools completed their Young Managers programme in 2010. They attend a series of modules designed to improve and develop their employability and enterprise skills. Modules included communication, team building, problem solving and presentation skills. Fifteen ScottishPower staff and eight teachers supported the programme
We also supported an INEOS science fair event delivering a number of interactive sessions to 1,300 students aged 11-12, along with a one-day Engineering Your Future careers event at which workshops were delivered to 100 pupils from 11 schools and a Celebration of Engineering & Science, the flagship event for the Young Engineer and Science Club, which was attended by 600 young engineers, companies and teachers. In addition, we supported a two-day Skills Scotland event at which we engaged with 500 young people through interactive activity and a quiz.
We supported a range of enterprise events across North Wales and North West England, including the finals of Young Enterprise competitions, the Enterprise Masterclass, career days and motivational workshops for senior business studies pupils.
Also in Wales, we sponsored two drama projects in partnership with Clwyd Theatre Cymru. One project set out to help 30 pupils who have suffered low self esteem and the second was part of an on-going project, that initially was part of Business in the Community’s Seeing is Believing programme, to support pupils at a school phobia centre.
The aim of the projects was to develop the pupils’ motivation and self-belief to enable them to be reintegrated and re-engaged with education.
STEM Ambassadors
In 2010, 25 employees, including graduates and apprentices, worked with schools on a voluntary basis as STEM Ambassadors to share their enthusiasm for their career and encourage more school children into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects at school.
Our STEM Ambassadors were involved with a number of schools across the central belt of Scotland, Merseyside and parts of North Wales during 2010. They delivered career talks, acted as a role model or helped to deliver interactive activities as part of the STEM agenda in schools. The opportunities to get involved are diverse and are often innovative and provide staff development opportunities through strengthening communication, planning and presentation skills.
IBERDROLA Foundation Scholarships
The Fundación Iberdrola Scholarship Programme was launched in January 2010 to contribute to excellence in training and research in the field of energy. It awards scholarships for Postgraduate Studies in Spain and the UK to students of Spanish or British nationality wishing to carry out studies in the following areas: renewable energies, sustainable energy systems, environment and biodiversity, clean carbon technologies, emissions management and carbon capture, energy efficiency, energy storage, electric vehicles and smart grids.
In 2010, the Fundación Iberdrola awarded 38 scholarships, of which four were funded by ScottishPower. The scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees plus a monthly allowance of £1,200.
The knowledge and expertise resulting from the scholarships programme will contribute towards a sustainable energy model and broaden our future talent pipeline. As the programme develops it will offer opportunities for employees to become involved as mentors.
Community Based Programmes
Our community-based programmes are designed to help young people build their skills in preparation for work, realise their potential and help them set goals for their futures.
Prince’s Trust
During the year we continued our support for the Prince’s Trust Development Awards to support next steps into further education, training or employment for youths coming out of Princes Trust re-engagement programmes.
The awards look to remove any financial barriers that may prevent disadvantaged young people from getting a job, receiving the training they need or entering further education. This may include the payment of fees, or having certain materials or equipment to make them eligible for a role.
In 2010, nine ScottishPower staff members were involved in granting 17 awards within the Glasgow area to young people looking to go in to further education, training or employment. This was part of 165 grants that were awarded in Glasgow by Princes Trust. Within three months of receiving the awards 85% of young people moved into a job, education or training.
Outward Bound
We continued our sponsorship of Outward Bound to allow schools in disadvantaged areas to access Outward Bound courses to develop their pupils’ self-esteem and confidence. In 2010, in partnership with Glasgow City Council, we funded a residential development programme entitled “Widening Horizons”. This programme enabled 150 children across five school groups from socially challenged areas around Glasgow to gain new skills, while breaking down social barriers and providing them with opportunities to develop their confidence and broaden their outlook for the future.
Duke of Edinburgh's Award
We sponsor and partner the Duke of Edinburgh's Award to increase participation and success in Glasgow and Liverpool.
Our funding aims to ensure that young people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to develop themselves through the award, raising their aspirations, confidence and employability prospects for the future.
To date 168 young people, who would not normally have had access to the programme commenced the DofE Award. Our funding has also enabled the creation of a Development Office at Glasgow City Council (Licence Holder) to coordinate regional activity. In 2010, 45 new volunteers came on board to support the young people through their programmes, including six ScottishPower staff members.
During the year we launched a new online programme, Skills in Energy, to support the skills section of the Award.
Skills in Energy enables young people to understand the importance of using a variety of different ways of creating electricity and its impact on the environment. It introduces them to the latest technology to support the demand for electricity and teaches basic electrical skills, with a strong emphasis on safety.
To further complement this programme, we supported a group of apprentices taking part in Glasgow City Council’s Commonwealth Apprentice Initiative by providing practical workshops, site tours and business overviews
The initial cohort of seven were given the opportunity to demonstrate some of their newly-acquired electrical skills, such as basic wiring installation, drawing cables and circuit testing to HRH The Earl of Wessex, during his visit to Stow College, Glasgow, in November.
In addition, seven teams of ScottishPower staff completed the DofE ‘Reach for the Peaks’ Challenge and raised £12,500 for the charity in the process. The 42 employees navigated their way across a 20-25 mile route through moors and completed survival challenges along the way, giving them a taste of what 275,000 young people go through to achieve their DofE each year.
Employee Volunteering
For the last few years we have combined our commitments to communities with the personal development of our people by providing community based development (CBD) opportunities.
These opportunities enhance employees’ personal and professional development and give them the feel good factor of making a positive contribution to society.
During 2010, 190 employees participated in Community Based Development.
Through these innovative schemes, employees can expect to develop:
- Leadership skills through Business in the Community’s Partners in Leadership Programme
- Team-working and communication skills through team community projects
- Presentation skills through our Young Managers Programme
- Interpersonal skills as a Prince’s Trust Development Awards Assessor
Community Based Development provides opportunities for employees to engage with a cross section of the communities we serve. Raising staff awareness in turn helps the company to understand the diverse needs of its customers. It also provides opportunities for teams from across ScottishPower to engage in community activities. Working on a community project can help develop teamwork and can act as an opportunity for cross-departmental working.
Carmunnock Willow Sculpture Project
We continued our partnership with Glasgow Greenspace in 2010 to work on a Willow Sculpture Trail project in the village of Carmmunock.
The project, which began in November 2009, aims to transform a little-used area of willow plantation in the village by creating a trail for use by local people and visitors, incorporating willow sculptures.
A team of 29 ScottishPower employees, working under the guidance of a willow sculpture artist built the first willow sculpture on the trail.
In 2010 the project was extended to include four local primary schools. Around 200 children learned skills such as coppicing and weaving and created Scottish woodland themed animal sculptures, including a giant spider, snail and fox, using a renewable, local resource.
Further developments are planned for the site, including a link with the 2014 Commonwealth Games Mountain Bike Course on nearby Cathkin Braes, along with biodiversity enhancements, such as ponds and wildflower meadows.
IBERDROLA International Volunteering Day
Teams of staff from the UK took part in IBERDROLA’s International Volunteering Day in October.
Four key projects were carried out on Saturday 23rd October, including the sorting of items for donation to previously homeless people gaining their first tenancy, with Inverclyde Starter Packs and collecting donations for the armed forces charity, Poppy Scotland.
Another team in Warrington transformed a room at Fairfield Community Project, making it suitable for use by a playgroup, including the provision of toys.
At the RSPB’s reserve in Lochwinnoch near Glasgow, a team of six ScottishPower staff worked with adults who have learning disabilities to maintain paths, remove scrub and undertake pond clearing and general gardening.
Arts & Business Board Bank
During the year we continued to contribute to the Arts & Business Board Bank, which provides business volunteers to serve as non-executive directors on the boards of arts organisations.
Arts & Business keeps a confidential register of business volunteers who wish to serve on the board of an arts organisation or museum. Volunteers receive a thorough induction and are then matched to organisations seeking support.
During 2010 six senior managers shared their skills through the Arts & Business Board Bank, at galleries, theatres and Glasgow’s Tall Ship.
Pilotlight Scotland
We continued to support Pilotlight Scotland, which matches teams of senior business people from different businesses with small charities and social enterprises, in order to help them build capacity and sustainability.
The relationship is based on a team approach to coaching and is facilitated and supported by a dedicated Pilotlight project manager.
In 2010 six senior managers were involved in Pilotlight with five charities – Deaf Connections, Orbiston Neighbourhood Centre, Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health, Theatre Nemo and Cumnock & Doon Valley Credit Union.
Public Safety
Our Energy Networks business runs an award-winning public safety programme, much of which is dedicated to school children, to make them aware of the dangers of electricity at primary school age.
PowerWise, our safety education initiative, runs a pioneering safety education programme teaching primary school children aged four to 11 years the potential dangers of electricity in the home and outdoor environment.
The programme is taught by qualified school teachers and is linked to the school curriculum in our operating areas across Scotland, North-West England and Wales. Schools in Wales could opt for the programme to be delivered by an English or Welsh speaking teacher. In 2010, 387 teaching days were utilised, reaching 47,438 pupils.
PowerWise resource packs, full of lesson plans, activities and all the resources needed for primary schools to conduct their own electricity safety lesson are provided free of charge to schools that have received the classroom education programme, or who have requested packs via the website.
In 2010, the resource pack was fully translated into the Welsh language so schools in Wales can now opt for an English or Welsh version of the PowerWise resources. During the year, 387 resource packs were distributed.
The PowerWise website, at: www.powerwise.org.uk, is packed with lesson plans, interactive games and electricity information for primary and secondary school children, teachers and parents.
Safety Education Centres
We support two innovative, dedicated safety education centres within ScottishPower’s network areas – DangerPoint in North Wales, which is run as a charity and the Risk Factory in Edinburgh, which is operated by the local authority.
The safety education centres are designed to educate and raise awareness of accidents, injury prevention and personal safety, in a safe and controlled environment. They provide realistic settings, specifically designed for children and young people, as a background for safety education through hands on experiences in the home, on the roads, at the farm or in the country, and on building sites.
ScottishPower has re-created substation and overhead power line scenarios at each centre so that every visitor is made aware of the potential dangers of apparatus on the electricity network.
During the 2010, 6,280 children visited DangerPoint and 7,509 visited The Risk Factory.
Crucial Crew
Crucial Crew is a national experiential learning programme where children take part in a range of fast-paced scenarios designed to raise awareness of the dangers of electricity and other common hazards.
Last year Energy Networks representatives spent 145 man-days presenting key safety messages to 13,000 children at Crucial Crew events across the UK.
Other public safety initiatives
As well as schools, Energy Networks provides electrical safety information and educational events to the public, including high-risk industrial sectors, such as construction, agriculture and leisure; and contractor associations and trade bodies.
In 2010 we supported two events organised by the Health & Safety Executive. One, in North Wales, was attended by representatives from 200 small construction firms. The second, in Lanarkshire, was aimed at agricultural workers, another high risk group, and was attended by 300 delegates.
Longannet Power Station, ScotAsh and some key contractors continued to sponsor a vehicle used by Community Police in West Fife during 2010. The venture has been highly praised by Fife Constabulary and enables Community Police officers to instigate campaigns aimed at promoting public safety and security.
Visitor Centres
We have visitor centres at several of our sites – Cruachan Power Station’s centre, near Oban, which is open all year round is particularly successful and welcomes over 60,000 visitors each year.
Visitor Centres at the Galloway Hydro-electric scheme and at Longannet Power Station are open only to organised groups, by appointment.
Cockenzie Power station doesn’t have a Visitor Centre, but has hosted the 3 Harbours Festival for the last five years. In November 2010 the festival included the display of the Prestonpans Tapestry, a 104-metre tapestry, which tells the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s journey from France to victory at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745.
Hundreds of volunteer embroiderers from across Scotland have spent more than 25,000 hours making more than 10 million stitches to tell the story.
Tongland Tour
Our Visitor Centre at Tongland Power Station – part of the Galloway Hydro-electric Scheme – has a strong focus on water safety.
The centre, which was re-opened in early 2010 following refurbishment, offers tours to school groups by appointment. Children learn about water and electrical safety, along with the history of the scheme, all about renewable energy and wildlife – such as the lifecycle of a salmon – and have the opportunity to see the fish ladder and walk across the dam.
The Galloway Hydros produced a safety DVD, which has been distributed to local schools and also has a safety factsheet, which is downloadable from the Energy Wholesale website: www.spenergywholesale.com
Environmental Sponsorships
We continued to sponsor a range of environmental projects during 2010, including the West Fife Woodlands Snowdrop Festival, with guided walks around snowdrop displays, and participation in the Forth Estuary Forum, which seeks to promote sustainable use of the River Forth.
We also continued our sponsorship of countryside rangers at several of our sites, including Valleyfield and Musselburgh Ash Lagoons, the Falls of Clyde at our Lanark Hydro-electric Scheme and a further two rangers at Loch Ken and Loch Doon, which form part of our Galloway Hydro-electric Scheme.
In Galloway we also continued to sponsor fish research projects undertaken by the Galloway Fisheries Trust and the Ayrshire Rivers Trust.
In Glasgow, we supported the RSPB by taking part in a community project to install solid path bridges to bird hides, enabling safe access to the hides for people with disabilities.
We also took part in another community project with Glasgow Greenspace to carry out environmental improvements at Cathkin Braes nature reserve. Forty nine staff were involved in conducting maintenance work to the area, including a bird hide and a learning circle used by schools for outdoor education.
Staff in Wales completed two community projects under Business in the Community’s give and gain day programme, including transforming an outdoor space at a playgroup in Wrexham, complete with planters and a gazebo and creating an outdoor classroom for pupils at Chirk Primary School.
We also completed the third year of a £30,000 sponsorship of an RSPB project, to recreate native woodlands at Abernethy, near Aviemore, to enhance Caledonian forest habitat and boost the population of Capercaillie, one of the UK’s most endangered birds. See our Biodiversity Section, under Environment, for more details.
Green Energy Trust
ScottishPower established the Green Energy Trust as an independent charity, in 1998, to support the development of new, small-scale renewable energy sources at community level.
In 2010, £137,872 was awarded to 10 projects. Since its inception the Green Energy Trust has funded 128 projects with grants totalling £1,364,398.
Examples of projects funded during 2010 include a 5kW wind turbine for Joined Up Holidays, Bishop Auckland for its eco-friendly respite care and holiday centre in County Durham and 40 solar photo voltaic panels for Wood Green Community Shop Association in Hampshire.
A biomass and solar scheme to replace oil-fired boilers at the Taraloka Retreat Centre in Whitchurch received a grant from the Trust, as did the Organic Growers of Bothwell, for solar panels linked to under soil coil heating, which will help to extend the growing season at their sustainable community garden.
Another major project funded was a grant towards the installation of a wind, solar and thermal scheme for community buildings on the isle of Tiree.
For further information visit the Trust’s website at: www.scottishpowergreentrust.co.uk
Energy Efficiency
Our flagship community energy efficiency programme, the ScottishPower Energy People Trust is an independent charity, which provides grants to not-for-profit organisations that help people who suffer from fuel poverty.
Since it was established in November 2005, ScottishPower has donated almost £9 million to the Trust.
Between its inception and 31st December 2010, the Trust had awarded more than £8 million to 160 projects, benefiting over 1.5 million people in 1.2 million households throughout Britain.
In 2010 the Trust awarded £1,691,171, funding 29 projects, helping 637,883 households and 690,794 individuals. For further information see the Customer section of this Review or visit the Trust’s website at : www.energypeopletrust.com
Arts & Culture Sponsorships
Celtic Connections
During 2010 we continued our sponsorship of Celtic Connections, a major traditional music festival involving 1,500 musicians and singers from all over the world.
The festival also includes an education programme and in 2010 13,000 school children – many experiencing live music for the first time – attended a series of eight school concerts at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, while 2,000 children participated in 40 free workshops.
ScottishPower Pipe Band
We also continued our sponsorship of the award-winning ScottishPower Pipe Band, which in 2010 was ranked 6th in the world. The band’s Leading Drummer retained the title of World Solo Drumming Champion in 2010 for the 4th consecutive year.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
During 2010 we continued our sponsorship of the Edinburgh International book Festival, which is attended by over 800 authors, philosophers, poets and entertainers from 40 countries and around 220,000 visitors.
The ScottishPower Story Swap shop was promoted to all primary schools in Scotland. Hundreds of pupils across Scotland took part in the Story Swap Shop, which encouraged children to recycle their old books by swapping them with their classmates for a nominal sum, to raise money for environmental projects at the same time. The competition was organised in conjunction with the Edinburgh International Book Festival and environmental charity Friends of the Earth Scotland.
Llangollen International Eisteddfod - Children's Day
In Wales we sponsored a Children’s Day at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, an annual international festival of music, dance and poetry, which dates back to 1947. 4,500 young people attended the event, which included music and dance from India and Sudan.
Your Champions and Your Heroes
The “Your Champions” and “Community Heroes” Awards programmes, are run in partnership between ScottishPower and Trinity Mirror Newspapers in North Wales, Cheshire and Southport.
The award schemes recognise members of the local communities for the contributions they have made and there were many inspirational community champions.
The Champion of Champions this year was 17-year-old Chester schoolgirl, Hannah Jones, who raised £90,000 for the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, while receiving treatment for cancer herself.
The Community Heroes winner was Aimee Watson, of Bootle, who set up a charity, Megan’s World, in memory of her stillborn daughter, to help other parents. Aimee has raised funds by skydiving, bungee jumping and other pursuits to expand the charity, which now has support groups nationally.
Other Charitable Initiatives
Our power stations support hundreds of local charities, good causes and community events each year, ranging from gala days, to community organisations that work with the elderly, children and families and those suffering from terminal illness.
In addition, our staff raise many thousands of pounds for charities each year, supporting community causes and national charities, such as Help for Heroes and Children in Need.
We operate a charity chest that match funds staff fund-raising efforts up to a maximum of £300. In 2010, we paid out match funding of just under £30,000 and staff who applied for match funding raised a further £82,264.
