Partner Article

400 Manchester pupils take part in career events

Hundreds of Manchester high school pupils have been given an insight into the world of work through a series of city-wide events with Manchester City Council, Wates Living Space and business-led charity Business in the Community (BITC).

400 pupils attended the ‘A World Away’ events, which saw them interact with a variety of business professionals to give them an opportunity to develop team-working skills.

The events, which were held to inspire the pupils and increase their interest in following a career path once they leave school, were also attended by Angela Harrington, Head of Regeneration at Manchester City Council and Executive Member for Digital Economy, Employment and Skills.

Pupils took part in an informal roundtable exercise with business professionals who discussed the kinds of jobs they did after leaving school and the varying routes into their chosen career via academic and vocational training.

Afterwards the pupils took part in a teambuilding exercise, which saw them work in small groups to build large-scale tetrahedrons, the aim of which was to show the value of working as a team. All of the individual structures were then fitted together to create one complete arrangement.

Lee Sale, Regional Director for Wates Living Space, commented: “This is a great milestone in the various education-related initiatives we have carried out in partnership with Manchester City Council. The aim of the events was to inspire the pupils and engage their interest in their next steps after they leave school. Young people react well to interactive events such as ‘A World Away’, which help them to understand career options and opportunities they may not know existed. These events are testament to what responsible businesses can contribute to society whilst working on regeneration and construction projects such as the Housing Investment Fund Project.”

Wates Living Space has supported over 2,000 Manchester-based students whilst delivering the Housing Investment Fund (HIF) in partnership with Manchester City Council, the (GMPF) and the Homes and Communities Agency. Wates Living Space was appointed to the programme in spring 2014, which is seeing the delivery of 240 new homes across the city.

Cllr Sue Murphy, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, added: “For many young people the decision of what to do after leaving education can be an overwhelming and daunting prospect. However, it’s events like these that put their options in to focus and show them that there isn’t a single route in to employment – whether that be further education, training or something more vocational, there is the right path for everyone.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Wates .