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Hertfordshire LEP

Helping Hertfordshire address regional skills shortages and overcome information overload for jobseekers

The client

Hertfordshire LEP

Hertfordshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – now known as Hertfordshire Futures - works with the public and private sector to develop investment and strategies for growing the regional economy. PDMS successfully tendered to assist Hertfordshire in developing their digital services aimed at transforming the county’s skills and employability landscape. 

The challenge

Supporting local job seekers 

Skilled workers are crucial to local GDP (Gross Domestic Product) yet there is a shortage of local skilled people to fill vacancies. Many people relocate or commute long distances for relevant job opportunities or training. Additionally, the abundance of career and training information can overwhelm young people, parents, carers, and teachers due to its often disparate, irrelevant or outdated nature. Local employers also face challenges in finding, recruiting, and retaining qualified, skilled staff. 

The solution

One stop portal for local employment 

PDMS’ proposed the implementation of our skills and employability platform, SignedUp Skills, offering tools and resources tailored to Hertfordshire’s needs. PDMS conducted user research and fact-finding sessions with various stakeholders to understand local skills and employability challenges. This user-centred insight, combined with discussions with Hertfordshire LEP, informed the project's focus, planning, visual design, custom configuration, content strategy, tools, and resources. 

Diverse group of people with different occupations
Hand placing coloured sticky notes to a whiteboard

The project

The project centred on developing a new brand for the portal. During sessions with local students, the concept of HOP (Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal) emerged, symbolising movement and progression. PDMS’s design team developed assets to bring the HOP brand to life and configured the SignedUp Skills platform accordingly.  

HOP is a one-stop portal employers, training providers and jobseekers, bringing together disparate resources into a central repository of content and tools. Alongside the portal and website, PDMS created a brand identity and tone of voice for HOP and launched four social media accounts to support and promote the platform locally. 

The results 

The HOP platform successfully addressed Hertfordshire's skills and employability challenges, creating a cohesive and accessible resource for the local community. Since its launch, HOP has achieved significant milestones: 

  • Within one month, new social media accounts generated 5.5% of all website traffic  
  • The website received almost 1,200 page views in one week, bolstered by social media support 
  • The most popular pages aligned with initial objectives and were effectively supported by social media 
Man browsing on a laptop with people behind him

Statistics

4 social media channels launched
5,000+ visits to the website
50+ placements made in the first month

Client Testimonial

Check out what our customers think

This is a proud moment for the LEP, Hertfordshire and me, personally. I have long advocated for a skills and training portal that acts as a one-stop shop for employers, training providers, students and residents wishing to re-train or upskill. The launch is just the start of what will be a very exciting journey in the months and years to come

Adrian Hawkins Chair of Hertfordshire Futures Skills and Employment Board

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