Students from Southwell Minster School gain valuable insight in to the commercial world - Feburary 2008

Young People

Can Years of Experience Prepare you for the Classroom?

Newspapers paint a torrid picture of the youth of today – troubled, abusive and disengaged from society. Believe what you read and you’ll cross the street to avoid them.

However, in Paul Maloney’s experience, gained from working with schools through East Midlands Business Champions this couldn’t be further away from the truth. To him, they are polite, attentive and eager to leave a positive mark on society.

Created and funded by the East Midlands Development Agency, Business Champions is a highly valuable programme that allows the regions best business people to share their skills and knowledge with schools, social enterprises and new entrepreneurs.

As well as mentoring and providing commercial expertise, some, like Paul use their acquired skills to help the workforce of the future. As a Business Champion, Paul volunteers his services at local schools in the Mansfield area, providing business acumen and expertise to students.

Having worked in a range of different market sectors and within companies from multi-nationals through to SMEs, Paul has a diverse knowledge base and is able to offer students a valuable insight into the commercial world.

“So many people talk about teenagers and the problems they cause but no one says how can I help?” comments Paul, managing director of Technology Management and Consultancy Ltd.

“I’m a big believer in helping in the decision making process and improving the future workforce,” says Paul. “I can see lots of problems and how it works or doesn’t work. Business Champions provides engagement with the majority of schools in my area through one contact, allowing me to put something back into my local community and make a difference.”

In one day Paul and his nine colleagues offered 160 students a chance to hone their interview skills in a simulated business environment.

“By going into schools we can provide an accessible route into the business environment, talk about entrepreneurial skills, set up mock interviews and help students put together their CVs. I was expecting it to be quite difficult but all the students were really receptive.

“We were quite critical of their performance, in a good way,” he laughs. “Contrary to popular belief they were well turned out, some even having borrowed their parent’s suits. You could see them taking on board our advice and learning from it. I think they will have been able to take away three key skills: good communication, CV preparation and personal presentation skills.

“The only negative is that with so many schools it’s hard to provide more time. If more people became Champions it would make such a big difference.”