Business community volunteers support Burntwood School Year 12’s

Over 80 Year 12 pupils at Chase Terrace Academy in Burntwood were joined by business contacts from across Staffordshire and Greater Birmingham who spent the morning conducting mock interviews and presentations about how to gain employability skills as the young people continue their journey towards the world of work.

Organisations including The Listening Centre, Staffordshire Jobs and Careers Service, Balfour Beatty, Equans, Inhealth intelligence, Midland Metro Alliance and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport spoke in 15-minute sessions to pupils in one-to-one interviews to pass on their advice and support.

Following the interviews, the learning continued with carousel workshops with Alison Taylor, a global business development entrepreneur, sharing insights into the corporate world, David Clift, founder of the Good Turns Foundation, offering perspectives on the not-for-profit sector and Chris Brewerton, division director at the Lichfield and Tamworth Chamber of Commerce, providing valuable insights into the world of business.

Assistant headteacher, Jenny Devereux said: “I would like to thank all the speakers and interviewers for giving up their time to come and work with our students. The feedback from pupils has been overwhelmingly positive with each and every student gaining something positive from the experience such as personalised feedback from the interview and valuable information from the talks they received.

“I really don’t think there is a better way for pupils to have an insight into the world of work than to have these encounters with local employers.

“These workshops aimed to broaden our pupils' horizons, foster a deeper understanding of different sectors, and inspire them to explore diverse career paths.

“We're grateful to our guest speakers for their time and expertise in guiding our pupils toward a bright and successful future. Well done to all our Year 12 pupils for their active participation and enthusiasm throughout the day.”

Should any business be keen to offer their support to Chase Terrace Academy they are encouraged to contact Mrs Devereux by email on j.devereux@chaseterraceacademy.co.uk for a list of available dates into December and early 2024.

Pictured: A student with global business development entrepreneur Alison Taylor