Today Gloucestershire EBP achieved the Award for Education Business Excellence.

The Award is run by the Institute for Education Business Excellence and accredits organisations to the former Department for Children, Schools and Families’ National Standard for Education Business Partnership Organisations (May 2008). It recognises the continued efforts and high standards achieved by Gloucestershire EBP in its ongoing work connecting education and the world of work for the benefit of young people in the area.

Gloucestershire EBP provides work-related learning and enterprise solutions to all secondary and special schools across the whole of Gloucestershire. Gloucestershire EBP works with over 200 businesses to help prepare young people for working life. These businesses not only provide over 4,000 young people with a mock interview each year, but also support a diverse range of other work-related learning and enterprise activities.

Heather Lee, Manager of Gloucestershire Education Business Partnership said: “We, at Gloucestershire EBP, are delighted to be accredited with the Award for Education Business Excellence. We are pleased that all of our efforts to improve the learning experiences of young people in Gloucestershire have been recognised at a national level by the Institute for Education Business Excellence. We are all extremely proud of the work-related learning and enterprise services we offer which help our schools develop the skills of their young people in preparation for the future.”

Education Business Partnership Organisations work with over 300,000 companies and organisations nationally to enable employers to work successfully in partnership with schools and colleges as a contribution to young people’s education and their journey to adulthood. Work-related learning has a positive impact on young people and is particularly important during this period of economic uncertainty with the significant increase in numbers of young people without relevant skills or employment.

The Award for Education Business Excellence is just one of a series of initiatives to professionalise the sector alongside the formation of a new professional body – the Institute for Education Business Excellence. The Institute will offer national recognition with regional support, driving quality and innovation through the provision of specialist networks, expert practitioner groups and forums and a new CPD framework.

Declan Swan, Chief Executive of IEBE said: "The Institute for Education Business Excellence will provide quality assurance for organisations and professional development for practitioners working across Education Business Partnership Organisations. It's an exciting development which will ensure that employers and agencies wishing to get involved in education have access to networks of dynamic and high quality professionals. The Institute is an open association so I urge any like-minded professionals working in the field of education business partnership activity to join us and participate in our work to change the way young people learn."


The Award for Education Business Excellence is managed by the Institute for Education Business Excellence. The rigorous accreditation process involves self-assessment which is then verified by external scrutiny. A key consideration for organisations looking to work with a good Education Business Partnership Organisation, will be whether the EBPO has or can demonstrate the ability to achieve the National Award.

http://www.iebe.org.uk/index.php/aebe

The Institute for Education Business Excellence is a new professional body launched on 1st June 2009. It is dedicated to driving change in the education business sector to create real opportunities for young people to develop the skills they need for adult life. Building on the solid groundwork of the previous National Education Business Partnership Network, the Institute will become the pre-eminent professional body in the sector to drive and support sustainable, mutually beneficial partnerships between education and business, in order to measurably improve outcomes for young people.

For more information and membership enquiries contact Carole Hawkins on 01635 279914 or email members@iebe.org.uk

www.iebe.org.uk