Over 500 Students Inspired by Co-op Academies’ Reach Programme
Now in its fifth year, our Reach careers programme continues to make a powerful impact.
More than 500 students from all Co-op Academy secondaries have so far taken part in the programme that ensures students develop vital employability skills.
Through direct partnerships with local businesses, students gain first-hand experience of the workplace, benefit from one-to-one business mentoring and work towards up to five AQA Employability Certificates which have been specifically designed for the Trust and not available anywhere else.
Thanks to the support of businesses including Mitie, NIC, Bunzl, Balfour Beatty, Link, GXO, Buro Happold and Link Contracting, students have enjoyed memorable, real-world insights into different industries and roles.
This year’s programme culminated in a celebration event at 1 Angel Square, where students were awarded their certificates and treated to an inspiring talk from Luke Askew of Aim A Little Higher, whose work focuses on bridging the gap between education and business while raising aspirations for all young people.
The Reach Programme is a brilliant example of what can happen when education and industry work together.
It not only gives our students meaningful insight into the world of work, but also helps them to build confidence, develop key skills and raise their aspirations for the future. It also empowers students to talk about their skills from an informed and practical point of view as the work related tasks are designed to incrementally develop essential skills and the employees explicitly point these out.
“I would like to extend my thanks to all the fantastic organisations who worked with our students this year and for their time and effort in helping them develop further.
Some photo's of our the event at Angel Square.
