A new Salisbury partnership that links schools and businesses to develop "home-grown talent" is asking for help.

Salisbury Education & Business Partnership, which launched on Tuesday (July 20), aims to support schools to develop the talents of school pupils, who are "the future of this city".

The launch event, which more than 75 individuals and businesses attend on Zoom, introduced the partnership's first initiative, 'Investing in our Talent'.

A key objective of the partnership is for schools, colleges and businesses to work together to ensure pupils have the qualifications, knowledge and skills to be able to work their way into the business world.

In the first half of 2021, a comprehensive list of activities for the next academic year needing support from business was collected from secondary schools in the area.

These have been summarised to seven key areas common to all schools.

Businesses are now being asked to support these activities by completing a short survey here: forms.gle/3WMAJsDV7rcJtvsS6

Businesses and schools can work together by holding workshops, providing work experience placements, judging competitions, mock interviews and help with CV writing.

As well as benefits to schools and pupils, there are also positives for businesses too. Involvement in the project could lead to future recruitment, staff development opportunities and it offers businesses a chance to give back to the local community.

Daniel Rhind-Tutt, Chair of the partnership, said: "The launch night was a fantastic success with a great array of representation and some of the largest employers of the area in attendance all keen to be part of this moving forward.

"Our first initiative is an important one to be part of - the students of these schools are the future of this city."

David Clayton, Managing Director of Boatwrights Estate Agents, added: "By supporting and interacting with schools at an early stage, we know from personal experience that this will help to develop and grow their ambitions and hopefully retain their talent locally, rather than lose them elsewhere."

Dan Collins of Salisbury BID said: "There has been an amazing response from local businesses, and I would like to say thank you to all those who have expressed interest in such a worthwhile project.

"This launch has been an accumulation of six months of hard work from the team, but it is just the beginning. We need more businesses to sign-up and help inspire future generations and work towards developing talent for the local area."

Salisbury Education & Business Partnership is the creation of Salisbury BID, Salisbury and District Chamber of Commerce and Sarum Rotary, who came together to forge closer links between businesses and schools.

They joined with schools and colleges across the area to launch the Salisbury Education & Business Partnership (SEBP) after education establishments voiced a need to connect more closely with the local business community.

Previously, forums were held once a term with schools as a way to understand how businesses could best assist them, and this new partnership takes that joint working a step further.

For more information, visit: www.sebpartnership.org

 

 

Get more Salisbury news. 

 

 

You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date.

 

 

If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering or a digital subscription.

 

 

Email newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories.