World Ready Proposal

James Cooke - Standing Start Solutions Ltd

World Ready Training
An International Self-Development Programme
Readying People for Modern Business Demands

Business Proposal & Feasibility

15th November 2010

Presentation to HCL Technologies Ltd
Europe

Version 1.2

James Cooke
Standing Start Solutions Ltd
www.standingstartsolutions.com
james@standingstartsolutions.com
+44 (0) 7813 299039

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1. Introduction & Background

Public and private sector organisations around the world are increasingly concerned
about attracting and retaining young employees of the right calibre who possess high
standards of integrity, resilience, loyalty, commitment and self-organisation. Rapid
turnover of unsuitable staff has an impact both on the individuals self worth and the
effectiveness of the organisation.

Both sectors are also recognising the need for staff with enhanced abilities in team
work, communication and organised effort to deliver work objectives. This combined
with a mature outlook on the world and a sense of responsibility, have become
increasingly important. Many businesses are international in nature requiring staff to
be based abroad adapting quickly to the culture of the host country and working
alongside people of different backgrounds. Academic achievement on its own is no
longer sufficient.

Organisations need a wealth of talent and commitment at all executive and non-
executive levels drawing on these core abilities for their sustained success.

Many young students leaving school or university take a “gap year” to travel and
widen their experience. Most do this in an unstructured way which does not always
make best use of the time to both enjoy and improve them-selves, ready for
employment. Many others languish in unemployment or attend weak vocational
training courses.

1. Business Objectives

World Ready Training is designed to address these needs fulfilling both the
individual’s aspirations whilst also improving their effectiveness for the work place
and value to the world community. Specifically the programme will provide:

Students who have completed a one year assessed course of self-
development projects and have attained a high competency standard in the
areas of:

o Verbal and written communication
o Problem solving
o Planning and organising
o Managing Change
o Resilience
o Managing diversity in multi- national teams

To provide a regular stream of high potential candidates available to
sponsoring public and private sector organisations. These people would have
clearly evidenced basic life skill attributes and would be suitable for junior
management roles or long term effective service in a non executive role.
To provide students with a structured programme of environmental and
community projects in different exciting regions of the world, managed and
trained by some of the world’s best practitioners in different fields of expertise.

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Each individual will work within a multi- national team on challenging but
realisable goals.
Continuous management, assessment and mentoring of the individual
throughout the course by qualified staff to achieve the competency standard.
To provide the course to individuals who meet a basic selection criteria. 70%
of each 15 person team (10) would be prospective employees of the
sponsoring organisation and a further 5 would be selected from a central pool
of suitable candidates from the wider community who have evidenced their
commitment to self development.

2. Unique Selling Points of World Ready Training

It provides an integrated approach of student identification, selection,
development and eventual employment by contributing organisations
The whole programme is delivered using the highest calibre managers and
trainers from across the world paid on a professional not voluntary basis. This
will allow continuity of standards and consistency of delivery.
The programme will be based on the interaction of the individual within a team
context to deliver tasks. A classic team management model. Both individual
and team performance will be developed using assessment, mentoring and
progressive management techniques
Teams will be made up of 15 individuals from diverse backgrounds and
regions of the world to reflect modern trends of working and living
The programme will include a personal learning programme together with four
extended periods of team project work in some of the world’s most exciting
environments
Successful candidates will have achieved a high competency standard in core
areas of life and work skill. Progress to achieve each student’s objectives will
be assessed using a professionally accredited framework to identify positive
behavioural indicators whilst undertaking a range of activities.
Delivered by an independent Charitable Ltd Company the programme can be
used in a cost effective way by companies and public sector authorities to
train potential staff members using a unique method which they would find
difficult and costly to replicate in house.

3. Programme Structure & Process

Student Identification

World Ready agents in each global region working together with the Funding
Director will advertise and promote the programme to public and private
sector organisations seeking a main team sponsor for 4 team programmes
each year. Each sponsor will be able to select 10 persons to attend the
programme who they would like to consider for future employment.
World Ready agents will establish a further pool of prospective candidates in
each region within the target market of 18-30 year olds. Selection will be
competitive and based on an application form (available on line) to elicit key
indicators of motivation, vision and commitment to improve and achieve. 5
places from this pool will be selected to join each team.

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The marketing will be clear over the demands and requirements of the course
to help prevent frivolous applications. It will be made clear that the quality of
the application forms part of the final competency assessment and will act as
a baseline for the candidate.
Each application will require credible sponsors and referees
There will be a means test to ensure that the final bursary reflects fairly the
financial status of the candidate. Those with personal and family means will
be required to contribute on a scale of rates.
Careful mark offsetting will be allowed for poor literacy standards if there is
clear corroborated evidence of motivation and commitment provided by the
candidate and sponsors.

Initial Assessment and Screening

Each Regional Agent will be responsible for screening final applications using
a centrally approved aggregate marking system to order the applications.
The top 20 applications will be forwarded for placement in the 4 Team
programmes each year.

Student Profile and Development Plan

After formal offer a place the student will be assigned a personal manager
who will be responsible for:
o Conducting initial interviews and assessment of current competency
levels, setting the base line.
o Completing a comprehensive profile of the student
o Completing a development plan for the student focussed on personal
learning needs and objectives for each team project.
o Completing monthly assessments of personal development against the
plan objectives and competency standards achieved. This will identify
improvement needs and how these will be achieved
o A final assessment report at the end of the year which will be focussed
on the competency behaviours evidenced on the programme and to
what level.
After formal offer the student will be assigned a professional mentor who will
be responsible for:
o An initial interview and objective setting
o Monthly meetings to review progress and address needs
o Be a ready supplier of learning sources and information to support the
students progression
o To support the student in inter-personal issues by acting as a sounding
board to resolve conflict situations in team exercises.

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Individual and Team Project Assignments (over period of 1 year)

Individual

The development plan will identify numerous areas of personal learning to
help achieve the objectives set such as:
o Books and articles to be read and reviewed to deepen understanding
and reflection on key behaviours
o Languages to be learnt
o Occupational skills such as driving and computer skills
o Verbal and written communication skill courses
o A Research & Development project on a chosen subject
Between team project periods the student will be expected to complete these
assignments in their own time with financial support where appropriate. These
will form a key part of the assessment process.

Team Projects

It is envisaged that there will be four team projects during the course of the year,
which will be:

4-6 weeks in duration with 1 week post review period and clean up.
Conducted in four exciting regions of the world involving polar, temperate,
desert or Tundra and tropical climate based projects.
Involve different forms of travel such as walking, cycling, skiing/snow shoes,
canoeing and all terrain vehicles
Conducted in teams of no more than 15 students
Task orientated using bush-craft and engineering methods
Managed by a world leading practitioner and his staff
Daily briefing and de-briefing sessions
Assessed afterwards for personal and team performance learning

Luminary Support Services & Annual Awards Event

All students who complete the programme will become luminaries and
considered for future mentoring and management roles within the programme
on a paid basis.
A database of contacts and employers who contribute to and/or support World
Ready will be maintained for student networking and employment purposes
Each year there will be a presentation on the year’s programme together with
awards for top and most improved/promising students. Luminaries and World
Ready members will be invited to a top international venue.

4. Organisational Structure & Staff Requirements

It is proposed that the programme will eventually be managed, funded and regulated
by a Charitable Ltd Company by guarantee. This will be registered in the UK but will
have a global remit for all operations. However, consideration will also be given to

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establishing a Community Interest Company (CIC) as an alternative which will have
tax advantages without necessarily going to full charity status.

The Ltd Company or CIC will be set up initially and will be responsible for initiation
work and all professionally paid operations including managing and paying agents,
directors, managers and mentors

A Charitable legal entity will then possibly be added to oversee fund raising and
strategic direction. This will be directly linked to the Ltd Company and will hold
control of the main bursary fund and its distribution. Charitable status will allow tax
free fund raising and gift aiding from contributors in the most cost effective way.

Ltd Company/CIC Central Staff:

World Operations Director (Full Time)
o Operations planning and commissioning for field projects
o Management and commissioning of student managers and mentors
o Planning and delivery of all elements of programme

World Operations Support Director (Full Time)
o Identification and securing of staff and associates
o Initial fund raising from key private & public sector bodies
o Programme promotion and networking

Company Secretary/Administrator (Full Time)
o All administration duties and Companies House returns

Ltd Company Associates:

Student Managers (Part time)
o Assigned to each student to prepare profile, complete and review
development plan, monthly assessments and final report. The manager
will also be responsible for all disciplinary and welfare matters.

Student Mentors (Part time)
o Assigned to each student for monthly set meetings and 24/7 access in
urgent support situations

Field Project Operational Managers (Part time)
o Responsible in liaison with world Operations Director to plan and
deliver a field project
o Manage team for 4 week period and complete report at end for all team
members

Regional Agents (Part time)
o Advertising programme in world regions each year
o Screening and marking applications
o Collation of finally accepted applications ordered by marks awarded

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Charity

Board Trustees
o To include volunteer contributors and balanced range of interests
linked to objectives of programme, with elected chair

Members
o Voting members to include those providing finance or other support
products but who do not wish to perform trustee duties.
o Annual meeting to elect trustees for that coming year

5. Finance

The underlying principles of funding World Ready will be:
The establishment of a Charitable Award Fund which will support the entire
programme costs for both the students and their management
Each team will have a main sponsor who provides 70% of the overall costs.
The remainder being made up of a student fee and funds fro other charitable
and government enterprise sources.
The Charitable arm will be responsible for fund raising and management of
the award scheme thereby separating out financial affairs from the operational
Ltd Company responsibilities.
The programme will be fundamentally a paid professional provision NOT
based on voluntary support. Consistent standards of delivery and quality
will be paramount to its success.
A full 3 year budget for income and expenditure is set out at Appendix A

6. Competitive Organisations

The Princes Trust

Established in 1976 as a charity and led by HRH Prince of Wales, this is a
highly successful linked set of programmes targeting 14-30 year olds in the
UK who are unemployed, in trouble with the police or marginalised at school
due to behaviour or low educational attainment.
It is a volume type scheme with 40,000 young people supported in 2009 and
600,000 since start by any one or combination of the following:
o A 12 week course of personal learning and team community projects, 1
week of which is residential. This is designed to improve confidence
and organisational ability
o A grant towards setting up a business
o Inclusion on a web promoted small business index of Trust supported
individuals across UK.
o An international endeavour expedition of about 10 days testing the
participants endurance in a remote part of the world
o Attendance in intensive pre employment training workshops, work
sector focussed
o The Trust costs a staggering £1million EVERY WEEK to run in terms of
staff and administration costs

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Raleigh International

Raleigh International has a high profile in the UK and was established in 1984
as a charity by Blashford –Snell the explorer. It is expedition centered in the
UK and abroad with a target audience of any aged person who wishes to get
involved either as a participant or volunteer expedition manager. There are
two entry bands, 17-24 and anyone aged 24 upwards. It aims to fill gap years,
career breaks and retirement in a structured way.
Its objectives are somewhat vague, but appears to be to provide inspiring
community projects and expeditions to participants, building friendships and
understanding of the local environment and people.
The programme sets 4 challenges; a competitive application process, raising
your own funds for the expedition, completing the expedition and using the
learning after return
It has a much smaller core of professional management and relies heavily on
voluntary support and participant fund raising.

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)

VSO was established in 1960 as a charity and is aimed at placing volunteers
aged 18 upwards in disadvantaged communities across the world to use their
professional skills and motivation to fight poverty. In the UK it has a very high
profile and is very successful.
Travel and subsistence costs are heavily subsidised by the host local partner
they are attached to
VSO also is active in advocacy on behalf of such communities into world
forums such as the United Nations to raise awareness and support
VSO builds partnerships with local delivery agencies to ensure the skills of the
volunteer can be used in a variety of ways
VSO is an active participant in an exchange programme called Linked
International Learning (LINKS) for staff from the participating agencies to
improve knowledge and understanding

The “Year Up” Programme - USA

Established to close the opportunity divide for urban young adults aged 18-24,
providing skills, experience and support to reach their potential through higher
education and professional careers. Primarily focussed on the unemployed at
risk low achievers who need specialist support to boost their confidence and
ability
Currently operating in 6 US Cities, Boston, Providence, Washington DC, New
York, San Francisco and Atlanta with plans to expand to a further 5 targeting
209,000 young people.
Funded by corporate sponsors with ratio funding from public sector and
individual benefactors. Apprentices are assigned to the programme for a 1
year period split into 2 parts involving business topic education and a 6 month
internship with the sponsoring company. On successful completion the
individual is considered for a full time position. The student can claim
apprentice level wages for the year.

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The education element includes classroom based tuition in IT, presentation
skills, project work, numeracy, literacy, communication both written and
verbal.
Each student has access to a mentor, social worker and advisor.
In observation it is apparent that this is again targeted at high volume
numbers of students as a major national social programme for employment
training, aimed at disadvantaged 18-24 year olds. There are some similar
objectives with regard to personal learning and work experience, however:
o There does not appear to be a rigorous assessment process based on
competency development for the individual and with the large numbers
being processed this appears to be a possible weakness affecting
standards and outcomes
o There are only limited team learning opportunities of a very low level
intensity
The opportunity of using apprentice level accreditation is worth investigating
which would enable government funding to World Ready students and the
overall costs.
The target market looks markedly different and focuses entirely on at risk 18-
24 year olds

7. Feasibility Study Outcomes

This was carried out between May-September 2010 in the UK and involved
interviewing selected specialists from the following sectors:

Large Corporate Business Managers
Young graduates and school leavers
HR Directors
Employment Training Specialists
Business School Department Heads
Expedition & Outdoor Training Managers

Five areas of consideration were posed to the interviewees including:

1. Is the training relevant and appropriate to modern work and living conditions,
meeting a real business need?
2. Would it attract a wide range of potential students from across the world as
being relevant to their needs and would they be prepared to contribute
towards the fees?
3. Is it realistic to expect team sponsors to invest such a large amount (70% of
all the programme costs) and what is the payback?
4. Is the budget sufficiently robust and realistic to deliver a high quality
programme?
5. Is the programme replicated successfully by any other organisation already?

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Feasibility Outcomes

There was a clear enthusiasm for pre employment training particularly for
those with no work experience graduating from University, College and
school. The basic soft skills of time keeping, positive attitude, communication
standards, team work and resilience were lacking in many instances. This
required immediate training resources to be applied before the individual
could become efficient and effective. This presented a major time and
production cost factor to business operations. Office and production liabilities
increased exponentially due to inexperience and aptitude factors. This could
manifest into major personnel and safety issues.
The ability to scrutinise and develop potential employees outside the work
place was largely welcomed especially in a structured programme of
development
There was universal enthusiasm for the use of a proven competency
assessment framework involving evidenced behaviours in the core skill areas
highlighted. All would have liked to have seen more detail and viewed this as
a unique selling point of the programme
Young people interviewed welcomed the opportunity of such a unique exciting
programme especially as there was a good prospect of employment at the
conclusion.
The biggest caveat were the high operating costs of such an intense 1 year
programme and the possible ways of reducing these by:
o Reducing the time length of the programme by 50% (6 months) or even
75% (3 months) with only two or one major team projects.
o Making the team area based for the duration to reduce travel costs.
Many global companies have national offices made up of multi-
national employees so the diversity qualities in the objectives would not
be lost
o Dedicating one sponsor to one team programme to achieve clarity,
identity and cost effectiveness. In return the sponsor would select 10
students out of 15 on each team for training and possible future
employment.
o Ensuring the student made a contribution to cost on a means tested
basis
o Securing match funding from charities and government
enterprise/apprentice schemes towards each team
o Using mature mentors and student managers from within the
sponsoring company to reduce professional service costs in this area.
This would be on a voluntary or attachment type basis

Currently no other organisation in the world is delivering this type of
competency behaviour based training on such a structured basis. Many use
expedition work or team skills training in isolation to a personal learning plan,
with varying standards of manager and mentor support. In several instances
the programme is targeted at a high volume number of participants with
severe managerial and supervision costs.

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8. Implementation phases & stages

Feasibility Testing (May – September 2010)

Founders need to conduct structured meetings together analysing the
proposals and challenging the structure, objectives and process in detail
Founders need to consult key business and personnel experts to examine
feasibility question areas
Founders to conduct further research to address feasibility questions and
adjust proposal to enhance its content

Set Up (1st Year)

Full business plan to be prepared by founders from proposal document
Business plan to be presented to identified sponsors globally and fund raising
commenced. 1st year pilot sponsor to be identified
Legal advice to be commissioned regarding legal entity and employment
factors
Staff needs assessment to be compiled on basis of experience, qualification
and aptitude to envisaged roles. Founders to discuss and agree standards
expected
Staff and associates to be researched, identified and approached for interest
Staff positions advertised and selection process initiated
Ltd Company or Community Interest Company to be registered with
objectives and memorandum of association

Pilot Programme ( 2nd Year )

Select first 15 students by pilot sponsor choice
Use only 1 student manager and mentor for all 15 students to reduce costs
Compile evaluation report template for staff, sponsors and students to compile
feedback on quality of programme, process and delivery issues.

Full Operations (3rd Year)

4 Team programmes. 2 based in each hemisphere

Appendices

Appendix A - 3 Year Budget

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Appendix A

Year 1 (Set Up) Year 2 (Pilot) Year 3 (Full Ops)
Expenditure
Management:
CEO 120 days( £350)=£42k 120 days( £350)=£42k 25% addition each
Administrator 75 days (£150)=£11k extra team
Student Manager 70 days(£250)=£17k
Student Mentor 70 days(£150)=£10k
Regional Agents 30 daysx2(£250)=£15k
Total £42k £95k
Administration:
Stationary £2k £3k £4k
Insurance
Marketing & Selection
Launch
Web site £20k £20k
Advertising for
students
Selection &
recruitment staff
Accountancy & Legal £5k £7k £10k
Equipment
Travel & Subsistence £10k £20K(Directors & £20k
Costs Associates)
Total £17k £50k £54K

Field Projects (4x): Team of 15
Instructor & 2 (4x4week Projects)
Assistants
Equipment
Team no. multiplier
£200K (£50K each)
Accommodation
Food
Insurance
Clothing store
Travel to/from site
Total £200k £200k (per team)

Grand Total £59k £340k (full Year) Dependent on no.
£170k (6 month) of teams
£85k (3 month)

Income
Team Sponsor £59k £340k 1 Year 70% each Team
£170k 6 month
£85k 3 month
Trust/Charity Funding 20% each Team
Enterprise Funding
Student Fee 10% each Team
Grand Total
Balance

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