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How To Win More Bids Through The Social Values Model With Code First Girls
The UK’s Social Value Model redefines public sector contracts by prioritising bids that deliver positive social, economic, and environmental impact. Contractors have an opportunity to stand out during the tender process by aligning with the key themes in the framework. The Code First Girls ‘Recruit Train Deploy’ (RTD) model offers businesses a strategic edge, providing skilled, diverse tech consultants while directly supporting Social Value objectives. Discover how we can help elevate your bid with impactful, inclusive hiring practices and a commitment to social responsibility.
What is the Social Values Model?
The Social Value Model is a framework introduced by the UK government to ensure that public sector contracts actively contribute to positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes. This model requires organisations seeking government contracts to demonstrate how their work will benefit society. The model’s purpose is to encourage companies to go beyond profit-driven objectives and focus on creating a meaningful, positive impact on local communities, equality, and sustainability.
The Social Value Model assesses potential contractors on their contributions across five key themes:
- Tackling Economic Inequality: Efforts focused on job creation, skills development, and widening economic opportunity.
- Equal Opportunity: Addressing inequalities in the workforce and ensuring equal access to job opportunities.
- COVID-19 Recovery: Initiatives supporting community and business recovery from the pandemic.
- Fighting Climate Change: Commitments to reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability.
- Wellbeing: Promoting physical and mental health in both businesses and the wider community.
In assessing bids, the framework places a minimum 10% weighting on social value, giving businesses a significant opportunity to differentiate themselves through social responsibility initiatives. To improve tender success, companies must clearly demonstrate their contributions to these themes. Partnering with Code First Girls enables companies to do exactly that!
Boost Your Social Value Model Score: Integrating Code First Girls' Recruit Train Deploy Model
What is the Code First Girls Recruit Train Deploy model?
Our Recruit Train Deploy model allows businesses to hire highly skilled tech consultants on a flexible, contract basis. These consultants have undergone intensive training in specific tech areas such as data science or software engineering, ensuring they are job-ready and can immediately impact projects. Additionally, Code First Girls allows businesses to transition these consultants into permanent employees at no extra cost, making it a sustainable, long-term solution for talent acquisition.
How does our RTD model align with the social values framework?
The program is designed to train and upskill women in tech, directly addressing gender inequality and providing economic opportunities to individuals from diverse backgrounds. On average for every woman deployed, we reinvest back into 10 women in the local community through free education. Our community includes women and non-binary individuals, with 55% being the first generation to attend university and 57% from underrepresented ethnicities. This emphasis on diversity and inclusion makes Code First Girls an ideal partner for businesses looking to meet social value criteria related to workforce inequality and economic opportunity.
How Code First Girls Supports 'Tackling Economic Inequality'
1. Create New Businesses, New Jobs, and New Skills
Code First Girls offers free training programs that equip women with the critical tech skills needed to thrive in today’s digital economy, whether by entering the workforce or launching their own ventures. To date, we have delivered over 200,000 learning opportunities in essential areas such as software engineering, data science, and cyber security. The impact is significant; among CFGdegree graduates, we observed a 23% lift in those employed full-time and an average salary increase of £12,000 post-training. By creating these pathways, companies can directly support these efforts, hiring skilled, diverse talent and contributing to the growth of women-led tech startups, aligning directly with government objectives for job creation and skills development.
2. Increase Supply Chain Resilience and Capacity
By hiring from our diverse tech pool, companies can diversify and strengthen their tech supply chains with skilled professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Among CFGdegree graduates, 86% report that Code First Girls was essential in helping them enter the tech sector, highlighting the key role we play in building industry capacity. Embracing diverse talent strengthens supply chain resilience by adding fresh perspectives and reducing dependence on traditional sources like university graduates, creating a more robust and adaptable pipeline of tech talent for the future.
How Code First Girls Supports 'Equal Opportunity'
1. Reduce the Disability Employment Gap
We support businesses in creating more inclusive tech environments and address the disability employment gap. In particular, we strongly advocate for neurodiversity inclusion. Within our community, 19% identify as neurodiverse, and 93% of our neurodivergent community report that Code First Girls has increased their interest in tech careers. By partnering with us, companies can access a more diverse talent pool and benefit from specialised programs that are accessible to neurodiverse people. We also provide guidance on inclusive recruitment practices, from accessible job adverts to tailored support during interviews. Through these initiatives, companies can make meaningful progress toward disability inclusivity.
2. Tackle Workforce Inequality
Code First Girls actively addresses workforce inequality by providing businesses with access to a highly diverse talent pool and promoting fair hiring practices. In the CFG community, 57% come from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, 41% are career switchers, and 55% are the first in their families to attend university. As a women-focused organisation, CFG also helps tackle the persistent gender imbalance in tech by training and supporting women to enter and thrive in technical roles. Currently, women make up only around 25% of the tech workforce, highlighting the ongoing need for gender equity in the field. Additionally, CFG assists companies in implementing inclusive hiring practices, such as using blind CVs to reduce unconscious bias and improve equity throughout the recruitment process.
How Code First Girls Supports COVID 19 Recovery
Upskilling Women to Build Resilient Communities
Code First Girls helps women impacted by COVID-19 transition into resilient tech careers, providing free training and upskilling opportunities tailored to in-demand digital skills. By equipping individuals with new career pathways, our programs support local economic recovery, foster resilience, and create sustainable job opportunities in communities affected by the pandemic.
How Code First Girls Supports Fighting Climate Change
Fostering Green Skills for a Sustainable Future
Our training programs incorporate sustainable tech practices and green skills, empowering individuals to create eco-friendly solutions. By fostering eco-conscious workforces, Code First Girls helps businesses reduce their environmental impact and align with climate-focused goals in an increasingly sustainability-driven economy.
How Code First Girls Supports Wellbeing
Empowering Individuals and Building Community Cohesion
Code First Girls enhances wellbeing by empowering women to build rewarding careers in technology, boosting confidence and personal growth. Through mentorship, online training, and a supportive community, we foster cohesion and inspire individuals to achieve their full potential, driving both professional and personal development.
Maximise Social Value in Public Sector Bids with Code First Girls
By integrating the Code First Girls RTD model into a workforce strategy, companies can not only bridge the tech skills gap, but also fulfil key criteria within the Social Value Model. With our focus on inclusivity, job creation, and skills development, our programmes align closely with the framework, enabling companies to submit stronger, more socially impactful bids, and successfully contribute to their own diverse and skilled tech workforce.
