We understand the importance of supporting education, realising the pressures that schools and colleges are under financially. We have developed a range of initiatives to support students in our local communities, from work experience placements, participating in educational sessions and offering careers advice and guidance.
Here’s how we have helped our communities through education.
Our colleagues regularly volunteer to participate in educational sessions such as school careers fairs, apprenticeship events and classroom engagement sessions. This includes supporting local schools by offering students careers guidance. The sessions focus on raising awareness of how a successful business operates, and colleagues from various departments can give advice and share their career experiences to assist students with their future career choices.
We are focusing on supporting children through a range of initiatives, such as assisting schools with their careers programmes, preparing the future generation for the world of work and exposing students to some of the skills they may need in the future. Through our Corporate Social Responsibility programme, we have also created an Enterprise Challenge that can be utilised by local secondary schools; students create their own businesses, and working in teams, their challenge is to design a life safety product and plan how they could launch this into the market. This gives students the opportunity to develop creativity, team development and presentation skills.
“On behalf of all the staff and Year 10 students at Belvidere School, I would like to thank Aico for providing us with such a valuable and insightful experience!”
“Students hugely enjoyed learning about the inner workings of the business, the building tour had the ‘wow factor’ and students were engaged and enjoyed all of the activities throughout the day. They were perfectly pitched and accessible for all abilities. Aico have been supportive, flexible and welcoming throughout, we look forward to future careers and aspirations support from Aico. The team at Aico inspired, enthused, educated and entertained – the impact of our visit will be long-lasting.”
Megan Revell, Assistant Head (Personal Development), Belvidere School
We show continued support to schools with student work experience programmes. The programme involves students working alongside our colleagues in various departments, to enable them to experience all aspects of a busy office working environment. Our aim is to encourage students to interact and gain experience by being involved in activities and projects during their placements.
Two of our colleagues have taken on the role of Enterprise Adviser, working with both Lakelands Academy and St Martins School. The role of the Enterprise Adviser is to act as a business support for the school, providing critical advice and building relationships with the Careers Lead, resulting in a well-rounded careers programme that every student can access.
In February 2021, we became Cornerstone Employers, enabling us to show our commitment to supporting young people in the local area. Through this opportunity, we will work with schools and colleges in Shropshire and beyond to improve careers education, inspire students and ensure all students have the support they need when they enter the world of work.
“Aico staff have attended our careers days, Speed Networking Events and speaking to 250 students in small groups throughout the day.”
“We have also been lucky enough to take groups of students to Aico, where they have learnt about fire safety. Aico are committed to engaging with schools and the local community and students have benefited tremendously from their involvements. I look forward to inviting them to career events in the future.”
Meg Murphy, Careers Guidance and Inspiration Officer, The Marches School
“The trip to Aico was absolutely amazing, a fantastic experience for the students which gave them confidence gaining knowledge of fire awareness in the workplace and their own homes.”
“They also gained valuable knowledge of varied employability opportunities. All of the Aico staff were very accommodating and friendly towards our students. We would like to say a big thank you to Aico for providing this experience and we very much look forward to working with the team again in the future.”
Ruth Braddick, Teacher, Derwen College in Walford