BUSINESS LEADERS WELCOME PUBLIC SECTOR CHOICES GUIDE
Business leaders from across the West of England welcomed a bespoke guide and website for public sector staff moving into private employment at an event held in Bristol on Tuesday 17th January.
The Choices Guide, which includes the website www.hays.co.uk/jobs/LEP, was compiled by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in conjunction with national recruitment experts Resource Solutions Group Plc (RSG) and Hays in response to more than 54,000 public sector job losses across the South West.
More than 60 people attended the breakfast briefing at Ashton Gate's Premier Lounge, which included a presentation from Marlene Morley, Head of Change Management at the MOD.
Attendees at the event, which was hosted by BBC West Business Correspondent Dave Harvey, included representatives from HMRC, Job Centre Plus, VOSA, ACAS, BANES Council and Nationwide.
The Guide aims to highlight the valuable transferable skills available in the public sector and explains how employees can effectively showcase these skills in the private sector through CV's and interviews.
It also offers advice on the choices available to them upon leaving public sector employment including starting up a business or freelancing.
Colin Skellett, Chair of the LEP, said: "Jobs in the public sector are set to decline at a rapid rate over the next few years. There are, however, a great many people in the public sector who have excellent transferable skills and would excel in the private sector.
"In June 2011, we established a Task and Finish Group which focussed on how to move from public to private sector employment. The result of this was the CHOICES guide. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in putting the guide together including Hays and RSG. This guide is one-of-its-kind in the UK and hope it will gain national recognition from other LEP's and public sector bodies."
Mike Beesley, CEO at RSG, said: "This was the culmination of seven months' work working closely with Business West and the newly formed LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) as well as leaders from the public & private sector to include the MOD, B&NES and Bristol Water.
"It is important and heartening to see that all those involved in the production of the guide and website are working together towards strengthen our economy in this region and we were delighted to have had the opportunity to have worked with the LEP and Hays in hosting this event today."
A video link to Mark Prisk, Minister of Business and Enterprise, discussing the CHOICES guide was also presented to guests and can be viewed here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQcCa0dpSis
