Careers Academy students enjoy inspiring visit

Thursday 21 October 2010

Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman of Marks & Spencer and of Business in the Community (BITC), led a group of top UK business leaders to meet with young people and see what real ‘Work Inspiration’ means.

The visit formed part of The Prince's Seeing is Believing programme run by BITC and took place during 'National Visit our Schools and Colleges Week'.  Delegates from amongst the business world's senior leaders included:

• Marc Bolland, Chief Executive, Marks & Spencer
• Adrian Ewer, Chief Executive, John Laing plc
• Robert Higginson, Managing Director, Warburtons
• Robin Pinchbeck, Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development, Petrofac Limited
• Mei-Li Tan, Managing Director - Franchise Initiative, Global Transaction Services, Citi
• Fiona Wilkinson, SVP Corporate Communications, Visa Europe

During the visit the delegates spoke directly with young people about their experiences of the world of work and their future aspirations.  In the current climate of skills shortages, the day challenged and inspired the business leaders present to do more to offer real, inspiring work placement opportunities to the workforce of tomorrow. 

Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman of  Marks & Spencer and BITC, said:

“Inspiring and supporting talented young people to move seamlessly from education into their chosen professional careers is a responsibility that all businesses should share. 

“We need to do all we can to secure the next generation of top class employable recruits – helping to equip them with the skills and confidence they need in today’s ever competitive job market.

“That’s why M&S is proud to be supporting BITC’s work by leading today’s ‘Seeing is Believing’ visit. We hope that showcasing the positive impact that ‘Work Inspiration’ has on both future recruits and businesses will encourage more employers to come on board.”

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