"Haines Watts have been very supportive throughput the year by providing the workshops, videos for our website, career podcasts and general advice and guidance. Their input has been invaluable."
Christine Thomas
The Newcastle office of a leading national accountancy firm has teamed up with a Consett based charity to help young people prepare for their future outside of school.
Haines Watts was established in the 1930’s and has always promoted entrepreneurial spirit as one of its business aims. As part of their commitment to young people in the region they have partnered with Building Self-Belief to provide mentoring, workshops, and practical skills to help them find their way in the world of business.
Building Self Belief works around the North East with schools to improve the wellbeing of young people and supports them by building their self-belief by putting in place strategies, support, and advice to help them get the best possible start as they embark on adult life.
The charity is run by Education Consultant, and Chief Executive, Christine Thomas an ex-teacher who also runs an education consultancy ‘Everything Educational,” with her teacher husband Peter.
Building Self-Belief’s workshops and programmes for schools use a variety of content including team building activities, cultural projects, and educational experiential visits as well as discussions, creative writing, and self-reflection. The latest project saw Year 12 business students from Cardinal Hume Catholic School, Gateshead visit the Newcastle office of Haines Watts.
During the visit, the students attended workshops on how to write CVs, creating LinkedIn profiles and they also took part in mock interviews. This was the latest initiative from Haines Watts, with their team having also taken part in podcasts throughout 2021, about working in the financial and accounting sectors which the young people were able to download from the Building Self-Belief website.
"The team at Haines Watts, Newcastle, made our young people feel very welcome. The students got a brilliant insight into a modern workspace. Plus, the Haines Watts workshops provided them with advice and experiences that will undoubtedly help them create the right professional image to support their future careers,” said Christine.
Sara Andrews, Associate Partner of Haines Watts said:
“We have loved working alongside the team at Building Self Belief throughout the year and it was a real pleasure to welcome the sixth formers from Cardinal Hulme into our office.
“Navigating through all the different career and education routes available can be quite overwhelming and preparing for application processes and interviews can seem like daunting tasks. So we hope that the day provided some useful insights, tips and practical skills which the students can draw upon in the months and years to come, as they start to look towards their future outside of school.”
Donna Bulmer, Regional Managing Partner also announced that the scheme will be extended to another Haines Watts office in the New Year.
“We’re very much looking forward to continuing to work alongside Building Self Belief, and due to its success, we are welcoming more students into our Leeds office in the New Year.
“When we first partnered with Building Self Belief, our aim was to ensure that we were playing an active role in supporting young people in our region, rather than solely focusing on fundraising. Our team created a series of practical workshops for the students to support them with their employability skills. The experience was as rewarding for our team as it was for the students, and we were genuinely impressed with the sixth formers’ interview skills.”
Building Self-Belief values the unique relationship as Christine explains:
“Haines Watts have been very supportive throughput the year by providing the workshops, videos for our website, career podcasts and general advice and guidance. Their input has been invaluable. We look forward to developing new projects next year that will enable more young people to learn about the financial sector and make informed choices about their careers,” she said.
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Caption: Students and members of Haines Watts with Building Self Belief
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Photo: L to R Rhiannon Livesley HW, Jane Carmichael, Cardinal Hume School, Christine Thomas Building Self belief – students -
to the right of the picture Left to right : Katie Anderson , Sara Andrews, Evie Moffett
Back row left to right: Peter Thomas Mario Minchella, Sam Moore
Media: keith@highlightspr.co.uk 07814 397951
