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Partnership PressAutumn 2010 |  |
Alive and kicking!
Despite the gloom and uncertainty that appears to have descended over so many, we at the EBP are still alive and kicking. We are proud to report, not least that we soared through our Quality Assurance with an outstanding result, but also in this last academic year we have partnered with 2,680 companies to support the skills development of young people; delivered work related skills events to 2,995 young people; and have celebrated our delivery of over 2,000 work experience placements. We are very happy to boast about these results and would like to give an enormous thank you to all the employers who have been involved. FULFILLING POTENTIAL: the business role in educationAnyone receiving our newsletter will have worked with the Education Business Partnership in some way over the past few years and may be interested in the CBI's recently published report on the role of employers in education which identifies challenges for government. Click here for the full report or here for a brief insight into the issues presented and extracts from the report. TeenTech 2011
Building on last year's successful event, planning for TeenTech 2011 is well underway. The event, which is sponsored by the Berkshire Institute of Directors, will attract students to the possibility of careers in Science, Technology and Engineering by giving them first hand interaction with industry experts. In March 2011, 300 young people from secondary schools throughout Berkshire will descend on the Madejski Stadium in Reading to try their hand at experiments, design prototypes for the year 2050 and find out about jobs that they never dreamt existed! "All over the UK, teenagers are sitting in classrooms convinced there's no need to make an effort with Science and Maths because they're going to be famous. They dream about owning the latest gadgets but few consider they could be shaping the future themselves. There's a real need to make them aware of the rich opportunities that exist in these areas." If you would like to know more about how you could get involved in this Award winning programme, please contact Amanda Richards on 01635 279900 or email amandar@ebpwb.co.uk Business Ambassador Award launched in West Berkshire
On 11th October, companies from across West Berkshire gathered at Donnington Valley Hotel & Spa to celebrate the launch of our Business Ambassador Award. We are confident the new award will raise awareness and promote business engagement with the schools and College in West Berkshire. The Award is given to those companies who support three educational events or offer five work placements to schools, in an academic year, through the EBP and would have remained on the drawing board had it not been generously sponsored by Apple Print who have designed and printed all the promotional materials including a web page. Award for Education Business Excellence
We are proud to announce that EBP West Berkshire has successfully completed its Quality Assurance, an essential qualification process that rigourously scrutinises how we operate every 3 years. "Education Business Partnership West Berkshire is an enterprising and innovative organisation with strong leadership, firmly established within local strategic partnerships. The EBP is highly respected and valued by local authorities, partners and stakeholders, and by the young people it serves. Its flexible portfolio of activities offers a broad range of provision, adapting as necessary to the changing needs of the sector. The assessment team is happy to endorse its successful accreditation, confident that EBP WB is well-placed to meet the challenges of the future." Full story... Work Experience - can you offer a short placement?The new academic year is now well underway and we are currently looking to place students in local businesses during 2011. Last year was an excellent year, with some great examples of how a placement can turn into part time work or apprenticeships for some students. Phil Murton from Mercedes Benz in Newbury speaks of one student "Tom came for one week and stayed for six! He really became part of our team for those weeks and proved himself to be willing and very capable, and I'm pretty sure he learnt a great deal from us. He's shown great interest in joining us on a permanent basis and I can't think of any reason why we wouldn't consider making that happen, especially as we now know him, and he knows us. If we could find a 'Tom' each year we'd be very happy, and we'll continue to support the work experience programme for sure." If you can help by offering a student a work placement or would like to know more about how this can work for you, please click here for our 2011 dates and how to get involved. West Berkshire businesses enter the dragon's den!
Three West Berkshire businesses bravely entered the dragon's den this autumn and opened their virtual doors to A-level students from across the county as part of our Champions of Enterprise event. Environmental Solutions, Oracle Storage and Sheepdrove Organic Farm were put under the microscope via videos created by Atlantis Media's Greg Rudman. To see how they did visit Atlantis Media's website. The event, kindly sponsored by Greenham Common Trust, is designed to assist students in understanding the various elements that go into running a successful business. The enterprise skills they learn at a Champions of Enterprise event are not only key life skills but also invaluable to their future careers and we are very grateful to the businesses and all the volunteers that act as business advisors and judges at the in-school events. If you would like to get involved as a business advisor or judge, please contact us on 01635 279900.
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INSPIRING OUR FUTURE WORKFORCEThe Education Business Partnership West Berkshire (EBP West Berks) is a local charity in Newbury which promotes and organises a wide range of innovative work related learning activities for young people in education within West Berkshire. WELCOME ABOARD...We would like to thank the following individuals and organisations who are supporting us for the first time or extending their support of our work. Click on their logos to find out more about them and if you would like to become a supporter of the EBP, please contact us on 01635 279900 or info@ebpwb.co.uk. 
COMING SOON...We will be running our exciting new competition, The S Word, in partnership with Sheepdrove Organic Farm in the spring. This event is designed to encourage young people to enjoy cooking with local, seasonal produce. If your school would be interested in entering or your organisation would be interested in this exciting opportunity to get involved in its local community, please contact us on 01635 279900. WOW PROGRAMME ENTERS ITS 4TH YEAR
Our successful WoW (World of Work) Programme entered its fourth year with two fun team building events. VODAFONE 'TAKES A CHANCE' AGAIN
Our Take a Chance Programme begins another year with over 70 Vodafone employees signing up or continuing to 'Take a Chance'. They will be working with 100 14-16 year old students from schools across West Berkshire at a series of workshops and group mentoring sessions held at Vodafone HQ in Newbury. The programme is designed to inspire and motivate young people to stretch themselves and achieve their potential whilst giving them an insight into how businesses work. FOND FAREWELLSStuart Robinson, Chair of Trustees for the EBP for 12 years, retired from the Board in July this year, and Geoff Woodward is retiring from the EBP after 7 years. We wish them both a long, happy and well travelled retirement; they will both be missed. Geoff Knappett from Newbury Building Society took over as Chair in September. |
Education Business Partnership West Berkshire, 188 Main Street, New Greenham Park, Thatcham, Berkshire RG19 6HW Registered in England No. 2829085. Registered charity no: 1030564
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