Latest news
Young citizens at your service
Employees from Sellafield Ltd’s business improvement team have been part of a trailblazing national youth programme, sharing their expertise with local students.
Connexions Cumbria with partner organisations including the Outward Bound Trust and Young Cumbria, were successful in their bid to become one of only 12 groups nationally to deliver the first National Citizen Service (NCS) pilot projects.
Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said: "Too many young people feel isolated from society. NCS will bring together 16 year olds from all different backgrounds to give them the skills and confidence to make a difference in their communities."
Transformation directorate’s improvement engineers Daniel Frankland and Wendy Storey, assisted by Sharon Hodgson guided students through an ‘A3 thinking’ planning tool as a mechanism for them to take away to plan their community project.
A3 thinking is used to manage any project on one piece of paper by breaking it down in to bite-sized chunks. Users are very clearly led through the steps progressing from the project background, current state onto future state and the root cause to the problem. Completing a gap analysis and action plan leads onto milestones and benefits.
Daniel explains: “We showed how one sheet of paper becomes a communication tool that follows a logical narrative that could be taken to job interviews or university applications as a record of achievement. Having one piece of paper with all information on also creates a concise, one-stop shop for all team members to focus upon.
"At Sellafield Ltd we help colleagues plan their work to improve efficiencies and help them become more productive. It’s good to be able to share some of this knowledge in a community setting."
Over 120 year students took part in the scheme which included a residential programme of outward bound activities; living in a youth hostel with other team members and dedicating 30 hours to complete a social action project.
The West Cumbrian students worked on individual and group community projects which included renovating a bus shelter, working with Howgill children’s services and delivering a ‘flash mob’ in Workington town centre to promote National Citizen Service.
Pauline Farrell, Sellafield Ltd’s education manager, said: "It soon became apparent how the A3 thinking idea would benefit the teams – it’s an excellent idea which has a proven track record of success at Sellafield Ltd. The business improvements team delivered a packed one hour session including two ice-breakers which demonstrated how a tough job can be made easier and the importance of giving specific, clear instructions. They made the sessions fun and informative. I’d like to thank Business Improvement champion Hank De Groot and the engineers for their assistance in delivering the project."
Wendy added: "I have really enjoyed working with the groups. They were all fantastic and up for the challenge of learning something new in a very short space of time ….we also had fun too!"
