Welcome to Advantage
Company Profile
Advantage is a leading company specialising in economic development and entrepreneurship for young people. We work with clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and apply our expertise to promote starting a business as a realistic and viable career option to young people aged 16-30. Through the programmes we have designed, we engage with over 15,000 young people in Northern Ireland alone each year and can offer each one, individual, bespoke information, advice and guidance on starting, running and growing a business.
Advantage has been providing products and services for young people in Northern Ireland for twenty-five years and is widely recognised as an example of excellence in its field. We have designed and delivered a variety of enterprise awareness and training programmes for public, private and voluntary sector organisations both nationally and internationally and pride ourselves on a creative, innovative and cost-effective approach.
The Advantage staff is made up of dedicated enterprise sector professionals with many years’ practical experience in youth enterprise, education, social and economic inclusion and both national and international consultancy. The Advantage team constantly strives to develop innovative products and services that promote awareness of, and provide guidance in, starting a business.
Advantage has been at the forefront of provision of enterprise awareness products and services for young people in Northern Ireland for some time. This has recently led us to facilitate the expansion of the company by introducing new programmes such as Business Boot Camp and The Big Idea! Clients we have worked with in the public sector include Invest Northern Ireland, Department for Social Development, Department for Employment and Learning and local authorities. We also work closely with the private sector and include Shell, Toyota, BT, Suzuki, Bank of Ireland and NYSE Euronext among the companies we have worked with.
Our aim is to deliver real benefit to our clients, our audience of young people and those they turn to for advice and guidance, through the work we do. We believe that to deliver well you must understand the policy you serve, be that from a public or private perspective. That's why, when we engage with a new client, we offer a full range of services: research and policy advice, capacity building, communication strategy, financing, programme management, delivery methods, and monitoring and evaluation.
We work at international, national, regional and local levels. Our work for international clients draws on our knowledge gained from the variety of projects we have undertaken at local level. Similarly, our work at regional and local level benefits from our insight gained through national and international experiences.
Advantage’s people are dedicated experts from practice and consultancy. We draw upon and share the best practice both within Advantage and with enterprise professionals, academics and other partners internationally to deliver work of the highest quality.
Programme management and realisation
Private and public sector clients of all sizes have seen substantial benefit in having youth enterprise projects designed and delivered by Advantage. Clients seeking to control risk, introduce 'leaner' project delivery, and maintain VFM whilst impacting on key target areas are increasingly looking to Advantage to provide solutions. Advantage provides a tailored response by deploying extensive project design and management skills, detailed knowledge of the sector and a thorough understanding of the client’s needs.
Advantage has advised many companies and public agencies on strategy and specific projects. Our company has hands-on experience in developing high-growth and fast track programmes, programmes targeting economic development in areas of conflict, programmes targeting economic development in areas of social disadvantage and programmes targeting excluded groups, to name a few.
We help government agencies and private companies develop good strategy in the area of youth entrepreneurship and economic development. Our staff have designed and managed show-case events for some of the UK’s largest companies in some of the UK’s most prestigious venues.
Our advice is based on current and developing policy, thorough research of the needs, mapping and interpreting the positions and roles of other key players, and a watchful eye on the trends within our sector.
Support
We provide ongoing management support for project delivery wherever required. Advantage will act as project managers, often across multi-agency partnerships, ensuring support at every required level. We may be involved at all stages of the process, from concept and design, through delivery and outputs to monitoring and evaluation.
Monitoring and Evaluation
We fully appreciate our clients’ have the right to demand full and transparent measurement of spend, outputs and deliverables. We work diligently with clients to ensure peace of mind throughout the project life-cycle. We have extensive experience of the management of substantial public and private sector funds and the brands that support them.
Approach
We seek to respond to your needs through comprehensive understanding of the nature and scale of the goal. We use various research techniques to offer a carefully structured menu of information, analysis and recommendations to address the specific issues in a
targeted way.
Code of business ethics
Advantage enjoys a reputation for conducting its business with integrity and with respect for the interests of those our activities can affect. This reputation is an asset, just as real as our people and our brands.
In the course of meeting our business objectives, we consider it essential that all employees understand and comply with our values and therefore share the Advantage way of doing things.
We stand by our core business ethics as the guiding principles in all that we do.
1. Standard of conduct
Advantage conducts its business with honesty and integrity and with respect for the interests of those with whom it has relationships.
2. Obeying the Law
Advantage and its programmes are required to comply with the laws and regulations of the countries in which they operate.
3. Employees
Advantage recruits, employs and promotes employees on the sole basis of the qualifications and abilities needed for the work to be performed. Advantage is committed to providing safe and healthy working conditions for its employees. Advantage believes it is essential to maintain good communications with employees, normally through regular information and consultation procedures.
4. Conflicts of Interest
Advantage expects its employees to avoid personal activities and financial interests which could conflict with their jobs. Steps are taken to ensure that employees receive appropriate guidance in areas where such conflicts can arise.
5. Public Activities
Advantage neither supports political parties nor contributes to the funds of groups whose activities are calculated to promote party interests. Advantage promotes and defends its legitimate business interests. In so doing it may either directly, or through bodies such as trade associations, raise questions and discuss particular government actions or decisions. Where it can be useful, Advantage cooperates with governments, individuals, agencies and other organisations in the development of proposed legislation and other regulations which may affect such legitimate interests. Advantage responds to requests from governments and other agencies for information, observations or opinion on issues relevant to business and the community in which we operate.
6. Product and Service Assurance
Advantage is committed to providing products and services which consistently offer value in terms of price and quality.
7. Environmental Issues
Advantage is committed to running its business in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner. Accordingly, its aim is to ensure that its processes and products have the minimum adverse environmental impact commensurate with the legitimate needs of the business.
8. Competition
Advantage believes in vigorous yet fair competition and supports the development of appropriate competition laws. Employees receive guidance to ensure that they understand such laws and do not transgress them.
9. Reliability of Financial Reporting
Advantage accounting records and supporting documents must accurately describe and reflect the nature of the underlying transactions. No undisclosed or unrecorded account, fund or asset will be established or maintained.
10. Bribery
Advantage does not give or receive bribes in order to retain or bestow business or for financial gain. Advantage employees are directed that any demand for or offer of such bribe must be immediately rejected.
11. Application
Where Advantage participates in joint ventures the application of these principles will be actively upheld; this will significantly influence the decision to enter into or to continue in any joint venture.
12. Compliance
It is the responsibility of the Board of Advantage to ensure that the principles embodied in this Code are communicated to, understood and observed by all employees. The Board of Advantage will not criticise management for any loss of business resulting from adherence to these principles. Equally, the Board of Advantage undertakes that no employee will suffer as a consequence of bringing to their attention or that of senior management, a breach or suspected breach of these principles.
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