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Company: Pearsons
Project: New to the UK
Dates: Aug 2007 to Sep 2007
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How did the project start?
North Yorkshire Together is a consortium of public sector organisations based within North Yorkshire who came together to address key objectives which led to the launch of the oneplacenorthyorks.com portal. Due to the demographic profile of the area and the rural locations, these organisations were having difficulty attracting people to the area to live and work.
The portal has been a great success and in the drive to address further objectives, including Sustainable Communities, Diversity and Employer of Choice our next brief was to help the organisations’ provide information to those people wanting to move the UK and North Yorkshire.
Actively targeting migrant workers was to help fill some of the lower grade posts they were having difficulty with, but also as an inclusive employer they are responsible for maximising the potential of labour groups such as migrant workers. Due to the profile of the area, many of the workforces are aging and as a lot of migrants are under 30, it was felt that this solution would also help the organisations with their aging workforce issues.
What options did you consider?
We developed a microsite – www.newtotheuk.co.uk which sits alongside the oneplacenorthyorks.com portal. The new site provides those looking to live and work in the UK with information on the opportunities available in North Yorkshire and provides a flavour of what they can expect when living there and within the UK.
It explains the cultural differences in the UK such as the laws, driving and travel information, what to do to report a crime or fire, even how to get healthcare. There are also great links on the site to the Police, Fire and Health in North Yorkshire as well as the Job Centre.
It provides practical details on what people will need to work in the UK and where to find help with searching for work as well as learning the English language.
As well as more practical information, within the job vacancies pages there is a good overview of the entry level roles mentioned earlier with links through to the talent pool which is held on the oneplacenorthyorks.com site.
We want to attract English speakers however understood that many of those visiting the site wouldn’t be fluent and therefore parts of the site include translations to support the visitors and help them get the information they need.
What help and expertise did you receive?
In house expertise at Pearsons.
Did you face any challenges or learn any lessons?
The challenge we faced was attracting the local ethnic groups to the site. We developed a full marketing campaign to co-inside with the website.
What are the outcomes and how has it improved your business?
The site was launched in September; we have had a very high number of visits. More than expected initially. Feedback from North Yorkshire County council as that the site is very informative, and is a platform for people New to the UK.
What are your plans for the future?
Future developments are to create the site in various different languages, this is phase two of the project.
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