Enterprising Futures Corporate Strategy 2012
OUR VISION
“To create enterprising futures for individuals, companies and communities”
OUR MISSION
Enterprising Futures is the social enterprise arm of the Aspire Group. Through our family of
social enterprises we provide a range of services across the private and public sectors.
Being a social enterprise means our services concentrate on maximising the social,
economic and environmental impact we can have in the local area.
Surpluses we make as a business are re-invested in the creation and development of
further social enterprises and via our Group’s regeneration charity – The Realise
Foundation – which provides opportunities for local people, companies and assists in the
regeneration of neighbourhoods within the area.
Enterprising Futures is fundamentally about transformational change, in helping to create
enterprising futures for all the people and companies that we work with and in creating
prosperous communities. Through our family of social enterprises we aim to provide
extensive training, skills development, employment opportunities and services which
increase the productivity of North Staffordshire, enhance individual’s lives and help to
improve the quality of our communities.
Our intention over the 3 to 5 year life of this Corporate Strategy is to increase the impact
our services have in adding value, creating opportunities and changing lives.
OUR VALUES
Our Values are shared with Aspire, our Group parent. As a Group we aim to Go Further in
all that we do.
Go further for our customers
Go further by doing the right thing
Go further by delivering great value
Go further by valuing people
Go further for the environment
Go further by always improving
INTRODUCTION TO OUR FAMILY OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
PM Training
PM has a long and successful track record. Established in 1982 we have supported over
15,000 individuals and worked with over 600 companies to become the leading training
provider in Staffordshire helping people to enter work.
PM have modern on site training facilities in Stoke, Newcastle Stafford and Leek can boast
a 150 strong team of qualified assessors/verifiers, team leaders and trainers who are
experts in service delivery.
PM have worked with companies to help increase productivity and staff retention and
have assisted them in meeting their corporate social responsibilities through the provision
of direct training and the supply of high calibre trainees and apprentices.
PM has supported individuals to increase their knowledge and skills and have been able
to successfully find full time employment for the vast majority in a wide variety of chosen
careers.
PM work closely with local schools to ensure opportunities for young people from the age
of 14 and gives them a guaranteed progression pathway post 16. This often leads to jobs
and apprenticeships
PM have helped communities to improve individual homes, neighbourhoods and estates
through our direct services which annually benefit over 5,000 people living in North
Staffordshire.
Furniture Mine
Furniture Mine has over 20 years experience and knowledge in the furniture reuse sector.
Established in 1990, Furniture Mine has made collections of furniture and white goods from
124,300 households and supported local authorities in their efforts to reduce the amount
of waste sent to landfill. Furniture Mine has helped to alleviate hardship by providing
essential household furniture to over 36,000 households which has benefited over 90,000
individuals.
Furniture Mine employs 11 staff and also provides volunteering opportunities to members
of the community.
Fundamentally, for Enterprising Futures and its family of social enterprises the prosperity of
the people, communities and companies that we work with is critical for both ourselves
and the successful, sustainable regeneration of the areas we work in. This means longterm commitment with continuous innovation.
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OUR SERVICES
Enterprising Futures offers a wide range of services through its family of social enterprise
businesses which have significant and proven benefits for individuals, businesses and
communities.
Pre-16 Vocational Education
Working directly with schools we provide a wide range of vocational skills to young
people from the age of 14 and help them to enter further education or work through a
choice of 4 main programmes :
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Practical provision-Level 1. One day a week courses for 2 academic years.
Occupational areas covered include Brickwork, Carpentry, Joinery, Painting and
Decorating and Blockwork.
Non–practical level 1. One day a week provision covering areas including,
Business Administration, ICT and Music Technology
Tradeskill- Predominantly a one day a week provision that is flexible in what the
delivery is but mainly practical. Aim of this programme is re-engagement or
engagement of learners that may be in danger of disaffection or already
disaffected.
Flexible bespoke provision. For some schools we tailor our delivery service to meet
their and their pupils specific needs. This often means a mix of qualifications and
delivery on school site and off.
All pre-16 learners are guaranteed a place on our Foundation Learning programmes.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to extend our vocational offer to a wider base
of schools and areas to help support young people.
Preparing people for work
Working predominantly with young people who have left school with limited formal
qualifications, we help prepare them for the world of work through:
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practical work experience placements
off the job training
apprenticeships
social, personal and interactive skills
employability skills.
PM Training are the most successful training providers in Staffordshire in helping people
positively progress into full time employment and apprenticeships by ensuring that our
learners are work ready and can immediately benefit businesses.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to continue to excel in our provision of services
in this area and increase the opportunities we provide for both young people and adults
to prepare for employment.
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Apprenticeships
Working with companies, we provide significant apprenticeship opportunities in the
following areas:
Business administration
Construction
 gas
 painting & decorating
 plastering
 plumbing
 joinery (site & bench)
 brickwork
Customer Service
Information Technology
Engineering
Horticulture
Landscaping
Manufacturing
Team leadership
Warehousing and distribution
Housing
The vast majority of apprentices supported by PM Training are successful in completing
their full apprenticeship and our results are consistently above national averages. Our
Apprentices have also been successful in obtaining regional and national recognition,
with one of our apprentices recently winning the prestigious National Youth Builder of the
Year Award and another winning the National Apprenticeship Service West Midlands
Young Apprentice of the Year Award.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to expand our range of apprenticeships to help
support more people and businesses.
Workforce development
PM Training work with local and national companies across a range of sectors, helping
them improve productivity and staff retention.
We have our own qualified trainers and assessors who provide structured work
programmes based around ‘on the job’ training and assessment, enabling individuals to
enhance their skills and qualifications and achieve their full potential.
An extensive list of tailor-made training programmes is offered, all shaped around the
specific needs of individuals and companies in the following areas:
Management
Retail
Information Technology
Customer Service
Warehouse Distribution
Storage and Logistics
Business Administration
Construction
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Manufacturing
Engineering
Glazing and Fenestration
Landscaping
Housing
The vast majority of participants involved in our workforce development initiatives
successfully complete their individual programmes and our overall results always exceed
national average performance.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to expand the range of workforce
development programmes we offer to ensure that companies can maintain and enhance
their productivity and that individuals can optimise their skills.
Homeworks
PM Training also provides direct home improvements and environmental services across
the local area through its ‘Homeworks’ service.
This service enables our trainees to engage with local neighbourhoods and particularly
specialising in providing:
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Gardening and landscaping
Carpet fitting and furnishings
Painting and decorating
Environmental Improvements
Estate caretaking
Public art, including sculptures
Through its dedicated teams of trainers and trainees, currently 40, we serve more than
5,000 customers every year and provide services on behalf of Stoke-on-Trent City Council,
Kier Stoke, Aspire Housing, Staffordshire Housing, Moorlands Housing, Sanctuary Housing
and Great Places, as well as to individuals.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to expand the number of Homeworks teams
and services we offer so that more individuals can benefits from the training programme,
customers can benefit from high quality value for money services and communities can
benefit from improved environments.
Artworks
Artworks is the urban art and streetscape service from PM Training. Each Artwork piece is
created for the home or public environment by a PM Training learner or apprentice. The
products are cost effective and of high quality and can be individually commissioned.
During the past 12 months PM Training has undertaken over 100 Artwork commissions from
individuals, businesses and public sector organisations.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to expand our Artworks service to deliver more
community projects that improve environments and to enable more young people to
become involved in the design and manufacturing of products.
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Furniture Re-use
Furniture Mine collects and reuses furniture and white goods such as cookers, washing
machines and dryers from a range of sources:
 Directly from households by responding to donations offered
 Through the operation of Bulky Waste Collections on behalf of local authorities
 From donations made by commercial organisations including hotels, housing
associations etc.
The furniture is displayed in the warehouse in central Stoke and made available to those
in need. Electrical goods are tested, repaired if necessary and provided with a
guarantee.
To make sure it is those genuinely in need who benefit from the service they are supplied
to:
 Those who have been referred to us by local authorities, housing associations and
charities who are helping to prevent homelessness and hardship
 Individuals who can show that they are in receipt of benefits or on low income
In the last year FM supported 20 charities, 4 local authorities, 6 housing associations, the
NHS PCT and 1,500 households on benefits or low income. It also prevented over 400 tons
of waste being disposed of through landfill; a valuable contribution towards the
government ambition of zero landfill by the year 2025.
Furniture Mine collects and reuses furniture and white goods such as cookers, washing
machines and driers from 5,000 households every year as well as collections in partnership
with local authorities. We then provide this furniture to over 3,000 households each year.
Over the lifetime of this strategy we intend to increase the number of furniture collections
we make and the number of households we support. We also intend to expand the
accessibility of the service and increase the volunteering opportunities we offer.
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OUR AIMS
Over the 3 to 5 year lifetime of this Corporate Strategy, we want to continue to provide an
enterprising future for all the individuals, companies and communities that we provide
services top and which helps us to create prosperous communities. We will achieve this by
delivering against 4 core aims;
Delivering Excellent Services
Our services will equal or exceed all of our customers’ expectations as measured through
customer surveys and contractual review groups. Our aspiration is to be recognised as
one of the leading social enterprises in the country.
We will place customers at the heart of what we do and provide services that are tailored
to best meet individual needs. We will work with customers and stakeholders to ensure our
services reflect their priorities and offer great value.
We will also shape our services so that they meet the needs of our partners, commissioners
and regulators.
Neighbourhood Impact
We will seek to work with partners to support the regeneration of neighbourhoods by
targeting our services to priority areas.
We will enhance the neighbourhood environments via our suite of extensive Homeworks
services.
Maximising Our Social Impact
We will maximise the social impact we make by expanding the numbers of individuals
and companies that we provide services to and contributing growing surpluses for
application via the Group’s regeneration charity – the Realise Foundation - which will aid
reinvestment into sustainable regeneration activities.
Maximising Impact
We will grow our existing businesses in both volume and geography and seek to expand
our range of social enterprise services.
We will bring existing businesses into Enterprising Futures and seek to create and support
new enterprises via a range of initiatives including venture capital and joint ventures.
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MEASURING SUCCESS
We will measure our success against each core aim by establishing and performance
managing a number of key critical success factors against each of our core aims. The
delivery against these objectives will be regularly reviewed in order to ensure that we are
achieving our overall vision.
Delivering Excellent Services – Core Objectives
To be in the top 10% of training providers for service provision, ensuring that our
performance remains above national averages
Achieve 95% customer satisfaction for all of our services
Obtain ongoing key funders and regulators satisfaction
Neighbourhood Impact – Core Objectives
Increase Homeworks teams delivering neighbourhood services
Increase recycling of furniture to reduce land fill
Expand the number of neighbourhoods receiving environmental improvements via our
social enterprise activities
Targeting our preparing people for work programmes to priority neighbourhoods
Maximising Our Social Impact – Core Objectives
Increase the annual training and employment opportunities to 2,000
Increase the number of active stakeholder companies to 1,000
Increase our furniture reuse service to 10,000 households
Generate an overall social value of £25m per annum
Maximising Our Impact – Core Objectives
Increase annual turnover to £10m
Expand our breath of core social enterprise service areas by continually diversifying our
product range and geographical operating areas
Develop a venture capital fund to support new and existing enterprises and joint ventures.
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OUR LAST WORD - REGENERATION
Through its family of social enterprises, Enterprising Futures has successfully engaged with
deprived communities for a combined total of more than 50 years and therefore
regeneration is high on our agenda.
Together with other companies in the Aspire Group, Enterprising Futures will ensure that:
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The economically excluded are given the very best opportunities to improve their
life chances and achieve their true potential through training and employment
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Companies can improve their profitability, and root their activities in a supply of
well trained local labour
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Public service authorities can capture local talent and commitment for civic and
neighbourhood benefit
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Local people can take pride in their neighbourhoods and local achievements
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Skills, enterprise and employment levels are enhanced, raising aspirations and
creating more prosperous and sustainable communities
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Our workforce is diverse, skilled, knowledgeable and competitive
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We create prosperous communities
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