Mitie, the FTSE 250 strategic outsourcing and energy services company, is pleased to announce it has partnered with Working Knowledge, a social enterprise dedicated to tackling youth unemployment and providing thousands of young people with practical skills to succeed in business.
The partnership will see Mitie employees take on roles as Business Experts in ‘Dragons Den’ style enterprise events with Working Knowledge. The one day events aim to prepare young people for the world of work by raising their aspirations, building confidence, and providing invaluable employability skills.
Over 20 Mitie employees will take on these roles before the end of 2012, supporting Further Education students in Bristol, South Cheshire, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Guildford, Northampton, Hackney in London, and Warwick. Those employees that have participated so far have been encouraged by the innovative ideas of the budding entrepreneurs.
Mitie is committed to operating as a sustainable business and so the partnership is a fitting extension of the organisation’s existing sustainability programmes, such as ‘World of Work’ days and vocational Skills Centres. The programmes are designed to improve the life and chances of young people whilst also adding value to the business both now and for the future.
Stephen Barthorpe, sustainable business manager at Mitie said:
“Mitie’s entrepreneurial approach and passion for inspiring the next generation of employees is demonstrated by our commitment to invest directly in educational programmes.”
Mitie is the second organisation to become an official corporate partner of Working Knowledge. James Lott, managing director of Working Knowledge said:
“It is vital that we continue to partner with leading businesses such as Mitie so that we can show young people the breadth of careers that are available and give them the opportunity to be spotted by employers as the fresh talent of the future.”
Mitie was last week named as a top ten employer by Business in the Community (BITC) for its initiatives around boosting diversity in the workforce. In particular it was praised for its policies around recruitment and career progression, workplace policies and practices.
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For further information, contact:
Bell Pottinger
Juliet Chaplin
D: +44 20 7861 2521
E: jchaplin@bell-pottinger.co.uk
Notes for editors
About Working Knowledge
Working Knowledge is a social enterprise dedicated to bridging the gap between education and the workplace. Their aim is to prepare the next generation of young people for the world of work by raising their aspirations, confidence and employability skills. They do this by delivering large-scale events that simulate the workplace with the support of local employers.
Since 2005 Working Knowledge have delivered more than 350 funded events for over 100 FE Colleges and Universities that have simulated the workplace for 20,000 students.
They have an active community of more than 2,000 business volunteers representing the UK employment market including large corporates and SME’s.
Their events are award winning – the team recently won the 2012 Enterprise Champion category at the National Enterprise Educator Awards.
Working Knowledge will be delivering over 70 events this academic year, reaching out to 14,000 students in Further Education Colleges and Universities.
For more information, photographs or to arrange an interview please contact: Corinne Thomas, Marketing Manager
T: 0117 304 8000
E: corinne.thomas@workingknowledge.org.uk
