Bondholders inspire next generation of entrepreneurs

Marketing Derby Bondholders have been inspiring pupils at a city school after taking part in a careers event.

Leaders from companies including Bowmer + Kirkland, Colleague Box, Alstom and Penguin PR took part in the event at Allestree Woodlands School, which was staged by the E4E careers scheme, which is backed Derby City Council.

E4E was set up in 2014 to help prepare the young people of Derby for the world of work.

Their volunteers take part in mock interviews, CV workshops and enterprise days throughout the year.

The event at Woodlands, which was organised by careers lead Charlotte McEntee, welcomed experts from various industries.

Ms McEntee said: “We worked closely with E4E to host an event aimed at inspiring our Year 8 pupils, who are all between the ages of 12 and 13, as they prepare to choose the subjects which they will be studying for GCSE.

“Derby is a city which has a rich history in innovative engineering; the home of the Industrial Revolution, we’re also brimming with talented entrepreneurs such as Colleague Box and Project D who saw a gap in the market, created a product which could fill that gap, and are thriving as a business.

“It was good to see so many different sectors being represented, and the pupils were thoroughly engaged in all the activities throughout the day.”

Pupils were given ‘hands-on’ tasks by Bowmer & Kirkland and Hazelwood-based chemical company Lubrizol, involving spaghetti, marshmallows, and a giant ramp with a pulley.

They also heard from Gus Brett and Fran Coult at Alstom, plus Simon Burch – director of city public relations company Penguin PR – and his colleague Kerry Ganly, who spoke of her 17-year careers in sports journalism.

Simon, who was taking part in his very first E4E event, said: “I found the event really rewarding; the pupils were engaged with the presentation and, who knows, maybe we will have PR professionals who took part in the event joining us at Penguin PR in a few years’ time.”

Arshad Iqbal, manager of E4E, said: “The enthusiasm shown by the pupils during the sessions was great to see.

“Each form group enjoyed the tasks that they were given to do, and they did them in a responsible and professional manner.

“I’m thankful for the volunteers who made this event such a great success and can’t wait for the next one.”