Micro Focus provides Theale Green School pupils with first taste of Hi-Tech Horizons virtual sessions

Education Business Partnership aims to inspire 50,000 pupils in five years

Education Business Partnership’s (EBP) flagship programme, Hi-Tech Horizons, has gone virtual so it can continue to showcase the exciting array of hi-tech careers available to young people.

Along with EBP’s prestigious hi-tech partners and supporters Gamma, Greenham Trust, Softcat, Rosalind Franklin Institute, Micro Focus, Reading UK, Westcoast and now AWE, it has ensured that together they can continue the programme’s mission to inspire 50,000 pupils in five years, despite the impacts of Covid-19.

Newbury-based Micro Focus is taking part in Hi-Tech Horizons as part of its Micro Focus INSPIRE programme, where employees are given volunteer days to enable them to participate and inspire young people to consider a career in the technology sector.
The Micro Focus team were really keen to get sessions going again after the UK’s first lockdown.

They delivered their first virtual workshops to 140 Year 10 students at Theale Green in early November.

Theale-based Westcoast is adopting four of the UN’s global goals for companies, including gender equality, environment, sustainability and education.

It will be using its Westcoast Brightsparks Programme, developed with the support of EBP, to work towards implementing its ‘education’ goal, and is looking forward to getting sessions rolled out this month.

Teams at Newbury-based Gamma and Rosalind Franklin Institute have worked incredibly hard alongside EBP adapting their workshops and creating virtual content and were excited to start sessions again with students in December.

EBP chief executive Michelle Smith said: “We simply couldn’t achieve any of our goals without our valued partners and we are incredibly grateful to all of our Hi-Tech Horizons sponsors without whom the programme would not be possible.

“We would also like to recognise our partner schools. The uptake of virtual Hi-Tech Horizons workshops has blown us away, with schools and colleges showing tremendous adaptability to enable live online sessions to take place to ensure students don’t miss out.

“We are absolutely delighted that AWE are joining us. It’s fantastic to be building on our long-standing partnership with the organisation and to have even more opportunities to showcase the exciting STEM pathways and opportunities available to young people.

“EBP’s mission is to ‘unite education and business to inspire and equip our future workforce for tomorrow’s workplace’ and giving students across our region the chance to engage and interact with leading edge employers is fundamental in achieving our mission.

“Such opportunities have never been needed more than at the present time when our young people face so much uncertainty due to the impacts of Covid-19.”

AWE said: “We are delighted to be part of Hi-Tech Horizons. Helping attract talent into the STEM sector is always high on our agenda and the programme gives us a fantastic reach and allows us to engage with our community during these strange times.”

To find out more and be part of the programme, call EBP on (01635) 279279, email info@ebpwb.co.uk and visit www.hitechhorizons.co.uk