About BELS

Business & Education London South (BELS) is a consortium of South London organisations established in 2001. We help Young People move from education to employment by improving their employability skills and preparing them for work. We support employability research, work experience (WEX) and employment taster opportunities for young people aged 14-19 in Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton.

We have successfully worked with the majority of schools in South London supporting WEX and Work Related Learning activities (WRL) for the 14 - 16 age group for the last eight years. Since 2005 we have also worked with colleges and training providers throughout London supporting WEX for less able 16 -19 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). We also provide training and support aimed at helping young people aged 14- 19 to get ahead and prepare for employment. BELS is a consortium of Education Business Link Organisations (EBLOs) and national partners in South London that is primarily funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC).

The consortium members are:

Associates include:

Kingston Local Authority
Merton Local Authority
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network
Trident from Edexcel
Way To Work
Connexions
Sutton & District Training
Springboard Bromley
Training for Work
South London Schools VI form and FE colleges
London Central EBA
Local and National Employers
14-19 Borough partnerships
Training Providers
Local Authorities
Youth Offending Teams
Young Parents Groups
Prospects
Trident from Ed-excel

BELS believes that it is the responsibility of the whole community, business and education working together, to prepare the young people of South London for adult and working lives which will enable them to be:

Equipped for work when they enter employment
Achievers at their highest level
Well informed about business, the economy and the society in which they live.

In the year to July 2009 BELS has:

Enhanced the experience and improved the employability of 68 young people engaged on ESF (European Social Fund) programme by providing high quality specialist training and work experience opportunities;
Provided personal finance training to nearly 400 young people across East and South London;
Provided personal financial "Train the Trainer" training to 95 professionals working with young people;
Continued its research into how to improve the employability of 16 – 19 year olds in South London including the introduction of piloted materials in colleges and sixth form colleges as well as the development of an employability project focussing on the delivery of the creative and media element of the new diploma.
Updated the Business Toolkit for New Diplomas Work Experience that was first published in 2006-07 using the insights of over 40 employers across the London region (copy downloadable from the projects section of the website);
Supported over 3,000 young people from years 10 and 11, 14 – 16 year olds working towards Key Stage 4, into quality work experience placements for periods of one to two weeks;
Received support from an additional 2,289 employers across South London for employer involvement and enterprise activities with local schools and colleges;
Enabled over 2,000 young people to engage in EBL activities;
Delivered 66 customised professional development placements (PDPs) for teachers to experience more about current best practice in their subject areas by linking Continual Professional Development or developing specialised cirriculum materials

To view the latest copy of Business and Education London South's Report and Financial Statements please click here