Last month, some of our colleagues played virtual hosts to a group of young students in Bradford as part of a Work Insights Week organised by one of our education partners, Social Mobility Business Partnership (SMBP).
SMBP is a charity which provides an innovative programme bringing together a collaboration of large corporate organisations and professional sports clubs to work together to break down barriers, develop skills and provide experiences to sixth form and college students from disadvantaged backgrounds who would otherwise have minimal access to them. The programme helps to build their aspirations and inspire them to pursue a career in a profession such as law or accountancy which they may not have previously considered.
Usually our event is held in our Bradford, but due to school closures and lockdown restrictions we now had to work out how to create a similar event online. All our fabulous volunteers from Vanquis and our wider Group rose to the challenge and worked with great energy and enthusiasm to deliver virtual presentations and workshops that inspired the young people.
Here is what some of our colleagues said about the event:
Mary Preston, Group Lawyer: "We rose to the challenge of providing a virtual Provident Financial Day this year. It was a great collaboration across the whole group with a variety of workshops being provided across many different business areas inc uding HR, Property , Procurement, Customer Services, Business Change and Marketing. The students were able to interact through the chat facility on Teams and we finished the day with a Careers Panel where the students heard about the different career journeys of some of our colleagues. It was a great insight for the students into the workings of a large corporate organisation and it will hopefully broaden their understanding of the different career opportunities available to them which they shouldn't be afraid to seek out. We were also able to share our values and principles with them and show them how our Blueprint principles equally apply to them, as they should be hungry for better, act like it's their own and seek out and take opportunities in life as they come along. This day hopefully gave them ideas, thoughts and inspiration as they start to map out a career path for themselves".
Dan Garnett, Head of New Business: “It’s great to be a part of something that provides encouragement and support to younger adults at the point where they are deciding which employment route to take in their future.”
Jason Beckett, Senior Customer Services Agent: “Very much enjoyed being a part of the Social mobility presentation. It gave me a good feeling of giving back to the younger generation, sharing wisdom.”
