London & Quadrant

For more than half a century, London & Quadrant (L&Q) has been creating homes and neighbourhoods to be proud of. Today, with more than 90,000 homes across London and the South East, L&Q is the largest landlord in the capital and one of the largest residential property developers.

As part of its mission to combine social purpose and commercial drive, each year L&Q aims to increase the amount of social value created by its supply chain. To this end, as a Category ‘A’ supplier to L&Q, Phoenix Software wanted to ensure it included a range of offerings in its partnership plan which would provide real social value. We took Board-level interest in what L&Q was trying to achieve for its tenants and the community at large, as there was a specific desire to make an impact at a personal level to an individual’s life.

A plan was therefore drawn up to provide relevant training skills to L&Q tenants, with the aim of helping improve their employment chances. After considerable consultation between ourselves and L&Q, a set of courses, both IT and Project Management-related, was presented as a starting point to this plan – with a view to providing the crucial skills required by the chosen candidate.

Corporate social responsibility

We have a Board-approved Corporate Social Responsibility Policy Statement and, more than a year ago, appointed a Social Return on Investment (SROI) Officer to measure and help manage and account for our social value and social impact.

At the heart of our Social Responsibility Policy is the commitment to create training opportunities via its strategic relationship with training partner Q&A. By working collaboratively with key strategic customers, we’ve also considered:

• the relevance of content and the desired outcome and target audience
• that the courses selected could be effectively tailored down and delivered where required in various locations across the country

We have expertise across a wide range of hardware and software technology solutions with access to product roadmaps, which we share as soon as we can with as many organisations as possible – including schools, charities, housing associations and public sector departments – thereby increasing awareness of the ICT world.

The training

Liaising with the L&Q Social Value Business Lead, Aurelia Ciseran, and the L&Q Employment Support Officer, Maxine Whyte-Rhoden, Phoenix Software identified a suitable candidate for the training.

Lavina Arthurs, the chosen candidate, was engaged and consulted as to the most desirable courses that would be of use and interest to her. The outcome of that was that we provided PRINCE2 course details. PRINCE2 (an acronym for Projects in Controlled Environments) is a de facto process-based method for effective project management. Used extensively by the UK Government, PRINCE2 is also widely recognised and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally.

Clare Metcalfe, Phoenix Software Managing Director, said: “We are delighted that Levina has chosen such a highly regarded and versatile course, one which can be used to establish the start of a new career path. This is exactly the kind of social value we hoped to be able to deliver – something which will make a real difference to Levina’s life and provide long-term benefit.”

Ahead of the course, Levina undertook 10 hours of pre-requisite reading to get ready, ensuring she was well-versed in the subject matter at large.

“I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to sit this course and passed the exams. Thanks to Maxine, she was instrumental in planning the path into construction, an industry that I did not even consider. All I said was that I would like to change path and do something different – something practical. Her perception, encouragement, and the opportunity, was all I needed to spur me into thinking that I could do the PRINCE2 course after all.

Not only does it look good on my CV, but I also believe that having it makes me more competitive especially in this male dominated field. It gives me an edge and supports my other recently gained certificates in construction and health and safety. I would encourage others, if given the opportunity, to become practitioners in project management as I find it very useful in planning and managing my own personal life as well. It’s a resounding ‘yes’ from me to offering this course to others.”