“A very rewarding experience” – volunteers call on businesses to join schools outreach programme

Business professionals from some of the UK’s most innovative high-tech companies are enthusiastically urging peers to volunteer for the Silverstone Park Schools Programme after speaking of the rewards they experienced during its first inspirational day event of 2023.

Around 200 Year 8 students benefited from advice about career types and pathways from 12 volunteers representing eight businesses when they visited The Buckingham School.

The businesses represented included Silverstone Park occupiers Delta Cosworth, PUNCH Flybrid, MultiView Media, Silverstone Composites, Lunaz, Kirsty Edmonds Photography, Silverstone Technology Cluster and TD Group.

Below is feedback from some of the volunteers – to join them on the programme, please email leonie.matthews@aheadpartnership.org.uk at Ahead Partnership which is managing its outreach and events, more of which are scheduled for the coming months.

PUNCH Flybrid’s Chief Engineer Andrew Early captured the imagination of classrooms with an interactive workshop about saving energy – the business is innovating in technologies that recently saved 1 million tons of diesel CO2 emissions in heavy duty industry sectors.

Andrew commented:

“I thoroughly enjoyed engaging with the Year 9s. My interactive workshop about energy and how we use it in our lives sparked some great discussion with the students.

“There still aren’t enough school leavers choosing to go into engineering, so we jump at any chance to help promote this career path.

“I would encourage other businesses to do the same – industry needs the next generation to be interested and it’s also interesting for us to hear their take on ways to help the climate.”

Multiview Media is at the forefront of camera technology used in premier sports and other major public events such as music concerts.

CEO Ray Meadham asked students to plan a music festival or similar for 50,000 audience at Silverstone including headline artists, merchandise designs & general event layout.

Ray said:

“The students developed some very interesting ideas and worked well in groups to achieve the task.

“They were super engaged with some interesting questions about careers, qualifications and the future of jobs in the technology sector.

“It’s a very rewarding experience for a volunteer and well worth giving up a few hours of time to be a part of the programme.

“I told the students that I didn’t have a university degree and I hope they were able to see from my example that you don’t necessarily need one to become an entrepreneur.”

Delta Cosworth is pushing the boundaries in high performance battery technologies, particularly in automotive.

Engineering Director Scott Herring enthused:

“We feel empowered yearly to get in front of our future potentials via the Silverstone Park Schools Programme’s activities.

It’s a great opportunity for businesses to showcase themselves to young people who are starting to consider their career options.

“At Buckingham, Verónica Valverde (graduate engineer) and I wanted to show there’s precious energy left unused in today’s vehicle batteries – showing how better, more efficient use of the earth’s resources to power the future can be unlocked here in the UK, at Silverstone.

“We genuinely saw some sparks of genius in our sessions which in turn drives us forwards, underpinning the drive for performance and efficiency via future powertrain and vehicle technologies.”