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Regional award, Example of Excellence

ScottishPower - Wales Employee Volunteering Award - Winner

Volunteering can be the means of putting fires inside people.  It can make a difference to an individual's motivation and self belief.

Roy JonesCommunity Liaison Manager, ScottishPower

ScottishPower's long established volunteering programme is focussed on developing their staff, sharing the company's skills and resources and contributes to them being a good neighbour. 

Recognition of the skills gap in their industry has led to a recent refocusing of the programme to promote sector attractiveness, leading to strategic partnerships being developed with Rhosnesni High School in Wrexham and communities initiatives linked to boosting future recruitment to their industry.

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Introduction

ScottishPower operates across central belt of Scotland, North West and North/Mid Wales. The company generates electricity, operates and maintains large power delivery networks, and provides energy retail services to 5.2 million customers. 

Since 2007 ScottishPower is an integral part of Iberdrola – A Spanish Company following a period of international expansion has established itself as one of the 4th largest energy companies. Globally it has over 32,000 employees based in 40 countries with a strong Atlantic rim presence.

Process

ScottishPower's aim for volunteering is that all initiatives should contribute to improving the quality of life for people in regions that we operate.

The challenges that the company has faced in the last 24 months due to economic climate, have led to ScottishPower developing a strong business case for their volunteering programme. 

As part of this, ScottishPower looked at how they could refocus community based initiatives which had previously had a remit for employability (ScottishPower Learning) – and supporting under-achieving young people, schools and areas of deprivation, towards a range of initiatives that promoted sector attractiveness, and possible future recruitment into the utility business.  

ScottishPower have developed a strategic partnership with Rhosnesni school which has allowed them to champion the school and deliver a range of activities that our employees can support – from employability workshops, mock interviews to delivering an enterprise masterclass supported by 8 of our STEM Ambassadors to 200 Year 10 pupils.

Restructures, financial restraints, downsizing and re-organisations have a profound effect on the motivation of staff. ScottishPower have used community projects as teambuilding events – this option is relatively low-cost, while having the same impact on teambuilding, and communication whilst benefiting the local community at the same time.  ScottishPower have completed three such initiatives in north Wales this year. 

Impact

  • Volunteering activity in 2010 contributed more than £73K in employee time
  • Engaged 72 staff in activity in their activity in North Wales
  • Engaged 100 teachers from Ysgol Rhosnesi in industry days
  • 80% of staff agreed that ScottishPower should continue the activities

See also

Download the Wales Awards for Excellence case study book

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