Over 150 students from Merchants’ Academy are set to visit Bank of Ireland UK at Temple Quay in Bristol to experience the running of a national financial services business during May and June; ranging from working in customer services to facilities management. Bank of Ireland UK has had a supportive and strong relationship with Merchants’ Academy for many years, and the programme is set to continue growing in 2016 – to include more mock interviews with Year 10’s, longer work experience and the development of a variety of skills in relation to enterprise and commerce.
The planned visits follow the success of last summer where over 160 students from Merchants’ Academy visited Bank of Ireland UK’s Bristol offices as part of the bank’s responsible business programme.
These workplace visits have given Year 8’s insights into working for a large organisation, developing their understanding about the specific roles and relationships needed to run the business and operations in the building.
Last year’s 12 and 13 year olds were welcomed by Bank of Ireland employees and encouraged to ask questions about the parts of the business they were experiencing.
Commenting on the programme, Principal of Merchants’ Academy, Anne Burrell said: “This is an exceptional opportunity for our young people to engage with the world of work and I greatly appreciate the time and effort all the Bank of Ireland UK staff give to organising and running these events. They really are life changing and help our students achieve more than they ever thought possible.”
Susan Greenwood-Jones Head of Mortgage Underwriting Bank of Ireland UK, said: “Working with Merchants’ Academy is extremely important to Bank of Ireland UK, as we want to encourage children from school age to learn more about the way financial services operate, and provide them with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the work place. This is an ongoing partnership and has already proven to be an invaluable experience for all, students and staff alike. Bank of Ireland UK is committed to providing these types of opportunities to the communities in which it operates, and will continue to develop this relationship in 2016 and the following years thereafter.”
In future visits, employees will continue to be encouraged to talk about their work life journey and impress upon students the importance of working hard at school and the lifelong skills needed to be employable.