This summer HBT is proud to be partnering with Career Academies UK in its bid to help young people gain valuable work experience.

Over 120 UK schools and colleges are involved in the Career Academy Programme and 2,500 students have participated to date. The idea behind the scheme is to lead and support a movement of employers, schools and colleges working together to raise the aspirations of 16 to 19 year olds.

HBT is currently employing A Level student, Junior Shodipo, aged 18 (pictured) within its sales department for a nine week placement over the Summer “I’m really enjoying my time at HBT. You get to find out what it’s really like to work in an office, something that isn’t taught in normal business subjects. I’ve been given my own project to work on, which has involved marketing a new product, conducting market research and contacting customers on the phone. I’ve also been to a few face-to-face meetings that have also been really interesting. The whole experience has given me a great insight into the world of work and will hopefully improve my job prospects in the future.” Junior has recently completed ‘A’ levels in Business, Law and Sociology and hopes to study Business and Law at University.

Sales Manager at HBT adds, “The business workplace is very different to academia, so it’s so valuable for students to get some real-life experience of business and understand how this operates in practice rather than from a textbook. It’s great to get involved with younger people and to hopefully make a difference to their future career prospects.”

“We are also planning to get involved in their ‘Partner in Business’ mentoring scheme too, which means that we can offer students one-to-one support with coursework, lifeskills and preparation for their internship, university or employment.”

For more information visit www.careersacademies.org.uk