Member Article

Young Leaders help students to Aspire

A group of 15 volunteers who all work for successful regional businesses are undergoing a unique five day management programme backed by the Aspire Campaign, which will see them inspiring other young people to achieve their career goals here in the North East. The Aspire ‘Young Leaders’ programme is designed to tackle the lack of aspiration in the region’s young people. It gives young business professionals the opportunity to inspire school age students through their own story.

The aim of the Young Leaders programme is to work with local employers to shift the negative perceptions young people have towards employment opportunities in the North East and to contribute to the social and economic well being of the region. At the end of the course they will receive a nationally recognized Young Leader Award and be featured on Aspire’s online employers’ showcase. It is hoped that some of the current batch of Young Leaders will go on to work directly with schools, youth groups and a wide range of business and education organisations, to open young minds to the reality of the vast amount of careers available in the North East and the lifestyle they can achieve.

Pamela Hargreaves, young people and partnerships manager at the Aspire Campaign, said: “Regional employers are finding it more and more difficult to recruit the appropriately skilled and motivated employees they need and simultaneously young people in the region have a negative view of the employment opportunities available to them. “We want to give our young leaders the opportunity to learn more about their own potential and be able to communicate their vision more effectively to others. “They will have the chance to take new skills and experiences back into their businesses, which will in turn benefit their performance and that of their organisation. Critically, their work will help inform young people in the region who are keen to hear firsthand about working life and the opportunities available to them.”

Over 1600 companies have already signed up to support Aspire’s objectives and 250 of those have identified an appropriate member of their organisation to become an Aspire young leader as a role model for young people. For further information, or to sign up your company or young leader, go to www.aspiretoday.co.uk.

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