#AmazingAccrington businesses showcase exciting opportunities for school pupils

Seven Hyndburn-based businesses hosted over 100 Year 9 pupils from Rhyddings as part of the secondary school’s ‘Step Into Work’ day on Thursday 15th September.

North Lancs Training Group (NLTG), Sundown Solutions, What More UK, Accrington & Rossendale College, Studio, Senator and CMAC all welcomed groups from the Oswaldtwistle based school, where the children got the opportunity to learn what it is like in the workplace.

As part of their visit, the 13-14 year old pupils had the chance to speak to current employees, enjoy tours of the facilities, as well as learning about the wide variety of jobs available across the borough, while goodie bags were also provided for some to take home.

Following the trip, the Rhyddings’ pupils returned to school via transport provided by Town & District Transport Trust to prepare and deliver a presentation for the rest of their class on what they had learned from the business which they had visited.

Judith Dutton, careers leader at Rhyddings, said: “We took all our Year 9 students to various businesses around the Hyndburn area to give them the opportunity to learn about the world of work and the jobs that are available in the local area.

“Their favourite part of the day was getting the chance to meet all the different employees and learning about the business.”

Ali Shah, school liaison officer at NLTG, commented: “We explained to the students what we do as a business. They were really receptive, really interested in learning about what we do and it also helps in raising our profile amongst young people. Out of the 14 students we had today, already five to seven of them are thinking about doing something with NLTG or through the Apprenticeship route.”

Will Fort, software engineer at Sundown Solutions, added: “Children at this age are at the forefront of technology and are the future of technology, so it is important to inspire them and enthuse them to have a career in and an interest in computing and IT.”

Amy Lucas, curriculum leader at Accrington & Rossendale College, commented: “We’ve had a selection of Year 9 students from Rhyddings high school, we’ve had a quick tour of our facilities, we explored the types of jobs you can do as part of an educational facility, and we had a little bit of a focus on sport including having some sports professionals in to talk to us. The students were absolutely brilliant and we had a great morning.”

Lee Morris, works manager at What More UK, said: “It’s really important to do things like this. It gives the children an idea about the manufacturing industry and what they could potentially be doing, and it could spark an interest in them for the future. We even had one student who said he definitely wants to work here at What More when he is older!”

Scott Barnes, learning and development of operations at Studio Retail Ltd, said: “It was great to have Rhyddings pupils on site, to get an insight into what we do especially, in our warehouse operations. They went on a short tour, we gave them some leaflets and information to take away and use at school, as well as some good freebies to take away.”

Amber Green, head of sustainability at CMAC, commented: “We had a great morning showing the children around and telling them about what we do here at CMAC and the various opportunities available for the students once they leave school. They also got the chance to meet a former Apprentice and ex-Rhyddings student, who gave them a little bit more information as to his career path at CMAC.”

Amelia Tattersall, group HR business partner at The Senator Group, added: “Activities like this are extremely important for both us as a business and for the students themselves. We have so much talent here in Hyndburn and meeting them at this age is key in allowing us to provide more information on the opportunities available to them.”

You can learn more about Rhyddings on their website: https://www.rhyddings.co.uk/