Sixth Form pupils from Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School (TIGHS) are a step closer to achieving their Mini Masters of Business Administration after visiting Newground in Blackburn.
Mick Smith, Managing Director of Newground, hosted a visit from 20 students to show them how a community interest company operates to drive positive social and environmental change.
The visit was part of an innovative work experience programme which sees students hone their business and research skills on projects with major local employers. Students gain the expertise and opportunities of work experience with the added advantage of boosting their academic skills through an individual research project connected to their career interests.
Working in partnership with the School of Social Entrepreneurship in Liverpool, the theme of this year’s Mini MBA is to research and develop a proposal for a social enterprise that will benefit the environment.
Mick said: “With over 20 years’ experience developing and delivering environmental and social projects, we are passionate about bringing interactive and thought provoking learning experiences to individuals, schools and businesses across the North of England. So we were delighted to welcome TIGHS students to learn about what we do, how we do it and why.
“We hope that we have inspired some of the students to take up a career in environmental services and we wish them all the best for the future.”
The school’s Assistant Principal, Asia Ali, said: “The programme is a fantastic way to prepare our pupils for the world of work. Liaising with senior figures in major organisations in the North West, our students get first-hand knowledge and insight into how these businesses operate. We are grateful to Newground for supporting our pupils by providing valuable experience on real-life tasks.”
TIGHS pupil Aneesah Kholwadia said: “The visit gave us a valuable insight into the strategy and operations of a social enterprise and helped us to understand how Newground is delivering positive change in the community. I have taken away many new concepts and ideas about business and social value from Newground and the other social enterprises that we visited, which will help greatly to shape my mini MBA project.”
