SDM Training Services

Did you know that over 12 million people in the UK have a criminal conviction? Did you also know that over 99.9% of those with a criminal conviction don’t have ‘HMP’ tattooed on their neck?

That means in can be difficult to know if our clients have a criminal conviction or not.

Having a criminal conviction can be another barrier to gaining employment, as well as many other aspects of life including volunteering, education, travelling, housing and financial services.

During our Bee Work Ready support, we never ask our clients if they have a criminal conviction, they own that information during our discussions. Instead, we inform them that we have knowledge and understanding of the system if they wish to access this in any way that they are comfortable, including.

🗣 A tailored 1:1 session as part of their support package.
💻 Discrete access to disclosure resources within The Hive.
➡ Signposting to support organisations.

In the coming months we will be starting to analyse the data around referrals and outcomes, allowing us to keep improving how we support people.

Some early analysis shows that…

📈 Referral numbers have increased by 160% on this time last year due to establishing referral pathways.

🚧 25% of those who we support are aged 25 or younger, presenting their own unique barriers to employment.

🗣 There are 6 different first languages amongst those we have supported, including English!

And we are planning…

👣 Brand new Walk n Talk sessions, combining employability support with health and wellbeing. Full details to be announced very soon…

✍ 3 new subjects, focusing on changes within employability, including AI.

💥 Our 1st ever impact report will be published in October 2024.

AI is changing how people produce their CV, but the principles remain the same 📝

A rapidly increasing number of people are turning to AI to produce them a CV, which can help to reduce anxiety, whilst saving valuable time, and possibly even money.

However, there are still some things to consider.

😊 Your CV is your initial introduction to the company or recruiter. When used to good effect, they can also reflect your personality and character, providing a more personalised introduction. At interview, you can often tell if a CV has been produced by the candidate or a third party.

📈 It is important that your CV highlights not just your experience and skills, but also your aspirations and potential. These are often missing in a document that looks more like an autobiography than a summary of how you are the best person for the role and can add value to that organisation.

🔎 A CV should be tailored to each role applied. Take note of the wording and language that are in the job description and person specification. This helps to ensure your document highlights the information that is important to them and can pass through their sifting process.

💟 Get to know your CV, in particular the person it introduces and the jobs it is being used to apply for. At interview, you may need to elaborate on some of the information it contains, so being confidence in its contents can reassure interviewers around competence.

SDM Training Services are not a CV writing service. Instead, we give people the skills and confidence to do all of these for themselves, whether they have produced their base CV using AI or independently.

Which of Gareth Southgate’s skills and qualities are your favourite?

This week we had an excellent employability session with learners from Enrych, where they explored the many skills and qualities of the England national men’s football team manager. They all agree that he has many fantastic attributes, and these are needed to help him in a very difficult job.

They then explored their own skills and qualities, including those they value most and the ones they would like to improve to help them move forward to their goals.

Our own favourites are his resistance to peer pressure, being polite and the fact that he continues to learn.

Good luck to Gareth and his team in the final, they continue to keep working hard and do our country proud.

The final barrier was her believing that she could do it…

From the first session, she enrolled on courses that would help her to add qualifications and further knowledge to her existing administration skills. She already had a wide range of skills but was concerned they would not be transferable to a new role. Despite receiving compliments on her CV, she was falling just short in the roles she was applying for.

Thankfully, she was able to be stay focused and believe that she would be successful, as she has now been rewarded for her hard work 👏

Good luck to her in her next chapter.

🏉 Pride can be a very powerful medicine in rehabilitation 🏉

This fantastic looking rugby pitch in Scotland has been freshly cut by a gentleman who is receiving Bee Work Ready 1:1 support. He proudly sent the picture as an example of the work he is doing in his new grounds manager role. To support him with his redirection, we have also identified training courses to upskill him, and the insurer has agreed to fund these.

When someone has had a tough journey, taking pride in their achievements can have a huge impact on their emotional wellbeing.

Excellent facilities, with drinks and biscuits for about 1/3rd of the price paid elsewhere ☕🍪👏

We’d love to give Dragon Coworking the praise they deserve for such a great level of service and communication.

It can be hard to find a suitable cost-effective location to hold face-to-face 1:1 sessions. The environment must be right as our clients can already be anxious, so it’s vital they feel comfortable.

We will be using these facilities again in the future and it can be reassuring to our referrers that they are of such a high standard.

Feedback like this makes the time and effort worthwhile ✍

Thank you to a recent client, who took the time to send through this wonderful feedback.

Resilience and patience are 2 things that stand out in this case.

The client was an absolute pleasure to support and secured a role just 1 session in to the 6-session Bee Work Ready support package. However, we used the remaining time to continue working towards his goal of moving into a managerial position that would be less physically demanding.

Being employed in the role helped him to develop greater confidence in his English-speaking skills as well as bringing his CV back up to date. Whilst working there he was promoted to supervisor and offered an assistant manager role. Despite this, he remained focused on his longer-term goal, whilst being honest with his employer at all stages.

He continued to search and apply for roles, maintaining motivation even when things weren’t going well, and he was finding his current role physically challenging.

This week he called to let me know that he had been offered a store manager position in an industry that he already has vast experience, and the role has progression potential.

Leaving his current team will be hard work, as he is well thought of. However, he has been rewarded for not just an outstanding attitude, but displaying resilience and patience when it would have been easier to give up.

Coaching around interview preparation is so important. It’s vital that the candidate can be relaxed, allowing the interviewers to see the real person and not a programmed robot.

We’ve been delivering a lot of support around interview skills recently and one of those being supported sent this through. Absolutely brilliant!

Skills aren’t just gained and developed in the workplace, there are other places too, like…

✅ Hobbies, interests and social groups
✅ Home
✅ Learning environments
✅ Volunteering & work experience
✅ Travelling
✅ Saturday jobs
✅ Plus many others!

We help those we are supporting to explore the skills they have gained, understand the level that they have used them and identify how to acquire the new skills they need to achieve their goals.

Find out more by visiting https://www.sdmtraining.co.uk/

We are proud to be part of this and helping to promote positive change in those with a criminal conviction.

📊 Exciting update! The data from our Multiply programs is in, and the impact is truly remarkable! 🌟 We're thrilled to see the tangible results of our efforts in empowering individuals and communities. From improved skills to enhanced opportunities, every number tells a story of positive change. 📈

We are proud to specialise in supporting and developing individuals and groups who face barriers to employment. This includes those who have come into contact with the Criminal Justice System, have been a member of the armed forces or have an age or health related barrier to employment.

Find out more by visiting https://www.sdmtraining.co.uk/

We are proud to have an area that offers resources via a variety of means, helping to better support a greater number of learners.

The Hive is exclusive to those who we support and continues to evolve within an everchanging environment.

Our learners have access to
✅ Written handouts
✅ Virtual handouts
✅ Coaching videos
✅ Tick sheets

Learn more about The Hive at www.sdmtraining.co.uk.

Over the past few years I've been trying to raise awareness of Vocational Rehabilitation. I recently recorded a podcast with JobOppO to discuss this area, including opportunities that exist for armed forces veterans and service leavers. If you have a spare 20 minutes, have a listen and feel free to get in touch if you'd like to know more.

What is...? Vocational Rehabilitation?
Have a listen to Stu Miller chatting with our host O'Sullivan as he explains a little more about VR and why it's important to some members of our community.
To access more episodes, on a variety of subjects, visit our website and join the JobOppO Community https://tinyurl.com/2dnw8evf

It was great to be part of 2 fantastic sessions in HMP Rochester yesterday to deliver Multiply in Partnership with Sports Connect UK for Medway Council. Both groups on the programme are very different, with their own unique challenges. However, both engaged brilliantly with the group interview task, making full use of the resources, before carrying out a thorough taste test!

It was also great to see their coaching skills develop with Ian supporting them to plan and deliver their own warm up sessions.

Next week they will be starting to build confidence in talking about a range of subjects that includes their interests, skills and themselves, which can then be transferred into interview settings.

Once again looking forward to attending an exciting and vibrant night with Dragon Coworking. These events prove that networking can be relaxed and enjoyable, presenting an opportunity to meet people from a variety of businesses. The last one was excellent, with some great relationships built.

On Saturday morning we supported a client with a volunteer meet, greet and insight trip to a local fort. The client has been unable to work for a couple of years after a very serious accident left him with life-changing injuries. A suitable volunteer role can be a huge help for people going through career redirection or returning after a long period of absence.

Throughout the visit he was able to chat with the volunteer team, learn more about the work and get a better understanding of the physical environment/terrain. The team were also able to highlight some of the skills he will learn and how he will be aided out of his comfort zone.

A summary and photographs of the visit will be sent to his case manager for discussion at an upcoming MDT and allowing them to better understand any additional support he may require.

Absolutely brilliant event and really thankful for the invite with numbers limited. Some fantastic presentations, conversations and people, all focused on positive outcomes. The chance to spend most of the morning talking about football was an added bonus!

Upcoming FREE employability resources available to all via LinkedIn and Facebook…

🎬 Aspirations and the transition to achieving them.
🕙 08.02.2024 at 12:00

🎬 Military spouses and the valuable skills they bring to a role.
🕙 22.02.2024 at 12:00

🎬 A positive focus for ourselves and others.
🕙 14.03.2024 at 12:00

These are part of a programme of regular resources that we share completely free based a variety of key employability subjects. Please feel free to share this post with those you are supporting or anyone you think may benefit from them.

And likewise, it's great to be part of and contribute to a thriving community.

JobOppO Endorses
We love working with like-minded organisations, often also Veteran-owned or operated organisations, who share our desire to do the right thing for the right reasons - and if possible, doing it differently.
So credit where it's due;
SDM Training Solutions http://tinyurl.com/2ho7kya7

Do you know anyone interested in getting into Business Administration in the Aylesford area?
We are recruiting an apprentice to be based at our office near Maidstone.

To apply please click here: https://www.cognitoforms.com/sportsconnectltd/staffapplicationform

This was a great project to be involved with. Nearly 3 years ago now, not sure where that time went!

JobOppO recognise a job interview, particularly for new Veterans, can be quite daunting, which is why we worked with Stuart Miller at SDM Training Services to create a 6 module Employability Skills Development Series.
If you have an interview coming up please watch our short video and follow the link, download our guide - then sign up with us for more great insight, introductions and opportunities. http://tinyurl.com/2pyqecnd

Without a doubt our biggest area of progress during 2023 was the development of our Bee Work Ready support packages. This involved working hard (including a long drive to deliver a presentation whilst on holiday) to promote these and establish several referral pathways. The packages are designed to develop employability skills and confidence to aid with career redirection.

✅ Tailored to each individual
✅ Flexible session bookings, including evenings and weekends
✅ Summary updates after each session, including goals and self-directed learning tasks
✅ Access to written and video-based resources, including personalised coaching videos
✅ AfterCare support for 1 year post course

You can find out more or make a referral using the options below.

🛈 www.sdmtraining.co.uk/who-we-support/bee-work-ready
📝 www.sdmtraining.co.uk/referral-form
📧 [email protected]
📞 07437 619234