BBVS JV, Old Oak Common Station Project, for the initiative: “SEE – The Skills, Employment and Education Strategy”
In a radical shift of its public outreach methodology, BBVS, a joint venture working on behalf of HS2 at Old Oak Common Station in West London, are rewriting the rules on how to target and manage social value.
Connecting with the local community to deliver public value has always been problematic, particularly to those most in-need, underrepresented or disconnected from the opportunities available. To address these challenges BBVS has designed 4 scalable digital solutions to improve the long-term impact and performance of its community engagement programmes:
- Local Intelligence Plan
The Local Intelligence Plan is a tool that aggregates data from multiple sets including education, employment and the national census, allowing BBVS to quickly and accurately identify community stakeholders via a digital demographic map of the local area.
- SEE Portal
The SEE portal is a new online platform to help BBVS’ large supply chain manage their social value initiatives, connecting them with community stakeholders and providing full traceability on its projects.
- Serious Gaming Initiative
Inspiring the next generation of construction and engineering professionals, BBVS have developed a new Serious Gaming Initiative that showcases the world of construction with in-class ‘gamified’ learning. The online careers and construction building game supports KS3/ KS4 of the national curriculum, and gives students access to real-world applications reflecting the roles and activities of the project.
- Student Mathematics System
Working in partnership with HegartyMaths, BBVS have subsidised the SPARX maths platform for 18 of the most disadvantaged, underrepresented and in-need secondary schools (as identified by the Local Intelligence Plan). The tool has not only helped to upskill local students, but it has also allowed BBVS to identify new talent with an aligned skillset to consider a career in construction.
Delivering Social Value
This outstanding community enrichment programme has harnessed digital innovation to improve the social outcomes of the community, delivering 1 SEE output for every £1.22m spend on the project, which exceeds its target of 1 per £2m spend.
Social value successes at Old Oak Common in numbers:
- 47 new apprenticeships
- 62 existing apprentices transferred onto the project
- 45% of full time equivalent staff are apprentices
- 209 new local job starts
- 18 workless jobs starts
- 367 hours of work completed with further educational college staff
- 2,286 hours of interaction completed with school students
- 90 employees gained professional training
- 40 work placements
- 5 million maths questions answered on SPARX, delivering over 300,000 hours of learning to 14,000 students (55% of whom are female)
- 100,000 student accounts agreed for the Serious Gaming Initiative