Go-forward Goes National!

Apr 15 2008 By The Journal

THE North East Employer Coalition (NEEC) recently welcomed several visitors to the North East, all of whom are interested in adopting the Go-Forward pre-employment programme for contact centres in other parts of the country.

Carrie England from the London Employer Coalition, Andrea Smith of EDF Energy London and Andrew Candlish from UK Virtual Contact Centres, visited Go-Forward providers Contact Centre Professional and the Contact Centre Academy. The group was also joined by Kevina Turnbull of EDF Energy in Sunderland, who has first-hand experience of Go-Forward graduates.

Kevina said: "It has been great to meet with the providers and current learners on the programme. Go-Forward has certainly helped better prepare candidates for work with EDF and we hope to work even more closely with all of the partners in the future."

The party is also now exploring the possibility of home-shoring, with the support of EDF and other North East contact centre employers.  
Jill Wheeler, NEEC sector development manager, said: "Home-shoring has become more popular within the sector over the last few years.

The North East contact centre sector is very buoyant and in some areas the labour market is in danger of becoming saturated. By considering the possibility of home or community working, we will be able to engage with more rural labour markets to meet employer demand. The Go-Forward pre-employment programme is fundamental in preparing these relatively untapped pools of labour for work within the sector."

The visit is hoped to be the first of many as interest in the Go-Forward model from partners across the UK continues to grow.

For more information about the programme, contact Jill.wheeler@necoalition.org.uk