Article 17 October 2022 Providing opportunities for students to shine! This summer we welcomed 13 talented young people to the business. They replaced their summer holidays with paid internship at Mite. Placements were offered across the business and UK, through our partnership with Career Ready. Career Ready are a Social Mobility charity partner through our GivingBack programme. The charity actively targets schools in disadvantaged areas, providing an opportunity for all students to flourish. This is the second year we have delivered the programme at Mitie. Mentor Chris Hall, Account Director on the Scottish Government shared his Career Ready experience: “Mitie’s partnership with Career Ready has provided me with the opportunity to take on the role of mentor for a young student, Olga, who is entering her final year of school and beginning preparations for the world of work. “The programme provides school students with the opportunity to be mentored by those who can offer guidance and support in their final academic year, hopefully making the transition from school to the work place an easier experience. The support required is not onerous on the mentor and if anything, is very rewarding. It has been a pleasure to see the students being mentored by myself and my Mitie counterparts grow in confidence and learn new skills. “The four-week paid internship has been a particular highlight for me. Olga, Marcus and Sarah joined the Mitie team and within the short space of four weeks they experienced what it is like to work in Facilities Management & Construction, whilst at the same time receiving support in key career preparations like CV writing and interview techniques. ‘I would encourage others to take advantage of the relationship between Mitie and Career Ready and support todays youth in their career aspirations. Not only is this personally rewarding but it also supports Mitie’s corporate aspirations in relation to Community Benefit and Social Value.” Olga – Chris’ students shared her experience: ‘Working as a team on our project was really great and we split up the roles between us depending on our skills. I learned that although I don’t normally like to work in a team that I am capable of it. Everyone at Mitie has been really welcoming and I have enjoyed the experience of working in an office. I now feel more confident about my skills’. “Working with students is a great way to support their development and provides opportunities they may otherwise not had. It also proves to be a rewarding experience for all colleagues involved.” Adam CDM Projects Coordinator – Rutherglen comments on his experience: “I found working with the interns was really rewarding, seeing their personalities grow over the course of the 4 weeks due to the work and effort we all put in was a great thing to see. I enjoyed taking them out to St Andrews House for a site inspection and getting to know them as young people, rather than just our interns. I think the internship made a massive difference to their outlooks on the working world and I definitely saw each of them develop in their own way as the days passed.” A massive thanks to everyone that took part in this year’s programme! Can you inspire the next generation? We’re looking for mentors to sign up to next year’s programme, who can also offer a paid internship. This is an excellent opportunity to make a real difference and contribute to our Social Value commitments. Read more here > Career Ready + programme 2023. Career Ready are hosting a Lunch on lean on the 26th October @13:00. Register via the link > https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/career-ready-plus-lunch-and-learn-tickets-439531399247 Givetober is back – you can get your team involved today and help us reach the 3,000 volunteering hours in one month! Since April this year we’ve logged 5,077 volunteering hours across Mitie as a whole and we would love you to help us to increase this by volunteering this October. We set an ambitious goal to achieve additional 3,000 volunteering hours in one month! Remember – all salaried employees are gifted 10 volunteering hours per financial year, and our hourly colleagues can also take part upon line management and client agreement. Find out how to get involved in volunteering here.
