Wellington Place is celebrating five years of collaborating with Ahead Partnership on a series of events tailored to inspire, empower and elevate local young people.
Over that time, the thriving urban quarter has empowered more than 900 young people from 18 local schools, with the dedicated support of over 200 volunteers from across the Wellington Place business community who have stepped up to make each event a success.
Marking this milestone last week was the fifth installment of its annual Enrichment Festival, a dynamic event created to inspire local students and equip them with valuable personal and essential life skills.
This year, Wellington Place invited 60 Year 10 students from schools across inner-city Leeds to take part in a series of workshops and activities across its two-day festival. Schools are chosen based on a local needs analysis to identify which young people would most benefit from the enriching sessions delivered.
This unique event is led by employees from businesses based at Wellington Place including GHD, Burendo, Redmayne Bentley, Equifax, EY and Willis Towers Watson. The workshops give students the chance to learn directly from industry leaders and gain first-hand insights into the world of business.
The sessions offered a wide array of experiences, from business-led workshops covering finance, wellbeing, and office etiquette, including how to have difficult conversations, to networking opportunities and student-led time challenges. Each activity was specially designed to address challenges young people face in today’s society, helping them gain insight into working within a modern business environment and teaching valuable life skills, whilst inspiring them to set goals for their future careers.
The Enrichment Festival is just one event that Wellington Place and Ahead Partnership have collaborated on over the past five years. The initiative also includes an Ecology Series, encouraging sustainable thinking and green skills with Key Stage 2 students and the Women of the Future event, which celebrates International Women’s Day, which also held its fifth installment earlier this year.
One student who participated in the Enrichment Festival and Women of the Future events this year, shared their experiences: “I really enjoyed my first visit to Wellington Place earlier this year and was so pleased when I was told I was able to go back. I felt inspired after the first event, and it really made me think that I could work somewhere like this! Coming back for the Enrichment Festival has given me another boost, and I gained valuable tips from the session leaders on how to turn my dreams into reality.”
Dominique Murray, Associate Marking Director at MEPC, the developer and asset manager behind Wellington Place, said: “We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate our fifth year of working with Ahead Partnership and hosting another valuable Enrichment Festival. The longevity of the partnership is a testament to our long-term outlook and our belief in positively engaging with our local community . Every year we are inspired by the fantastic feedback from the young people who take part, with nearly all of them saying it helps boost their self-belief and encourages them to consider their future goals.
“This couldn’t be possible without the generous support of participating businesses. We’re not only enriching the lives of young people, but also those who volunteer, as they pass their expertise and knowledge on to the next generation.”
Leonie Matthews, Programme Manager at Ahead Partnership, added: “Long-term partnerships with local schools are essential for driving meaningful change, which is why reaching this five-year milestone with Wellington Place is so significant. We must continuously support young people who may have faced challenges early in life, helping them unlock their potential, build their confidence, and acquire the skills needed for success.
“Sustained engagement with students is crucial for fostering personal growth, and it has been wonderful to welcome back some students from this year’s Women of the Future event to our Enrichment Festival. Hearing from the young people about how we are genuinely impacting their lives is incredibly rewarding and couldn’t be possible without the support of Wellington Place. This partnership stands as a model of best practice, and we hope to see more initiatives like this in the future.”
