We have continued our work with the Ahead Partnership to host our annual Women of the Future event, aimed at engaging with and encouraging students from schools across Leeds to learn key life skills and meet inspirational women at all stages of their careers from the businesses based at Wellington Place.
Held in celebration of International Women’s Day (Tuesday 8 March), we welcomed 42 young women from three secondary schools across the city to take part in a morning of interactive activities designed to inspire them to think about their individual skills and goals for the future.
Volunteers from businesses across various sectors located at Wellington Place, including HMRC, Netpremacy and New Street Consulting Group, engaged with the young women through open discussions and guided them through a variety of tasks relating to networking, goal-setting and life skills, to help them realise their potential and think positively about opportunities beyond school.
The students also took part in office tours around Wellington Place, taking in modern designed workplaces and introducing them to the wide range of sectors and jobs available to them within the city, including law, tech, and the built environment.
Following the event, a number of students said it motivated them to work harder at school, and commented that the event changed their perspective of an office environment from negative to positive.
One Year 9 student commented: “Everyone has made an impact on me today and they have taught me to be optimistic. This event has really opened my eyes to other careers and the types of amazing places you can work at.”
Dominique Murray, Marketing Manager and Head of Customer Experience at MEPC said: “We have been working with Ahead Partnership for a number of years now, helping to improve young people’s employability and life skills and enabling them to build a more confident future.
“The Women of the Future event provided students with the invaluable experience of witnessing first-hand the opportunities available to them through business communities and working environments such as Wellington Place. We’re delighted with the feedback from this year’s event and want to extend our thanks to all of the organisations and volunteers who took part to help inspire the next generation of women in the workforce.”
Megan Lipp, Head of Development at Ahead Partnership, added: “Since our partnership began, it has been fantastic to work closely with organisations located at Wellington Place to help improve social mobility in inner-city areas of Leeds. The strength of the feedback that we have received from the students who took part in this year’s Women of the Future event demonstrates not only the importance of giving young women exposure to different employers and sectors, but also the positive influence that inspiring business locations such as Wellington Place can have on young women considering their future career opportunities.”
Watch the highlights here:
