NORWICH’S FIRST ‘ENTERPRISE ADVISER’ PARTNERSHIP FORMED BETWEEN THORPE ST ANDREW SCHOOL AND LOCAL FIRM

A Norwich firm of accountants, business advisers and financial planners and a Norwich school have got together to form the city’s first ‘Enterprise Adviser’ link – designed to support schools to build sustainable careers and enterprise structures  and build lasting links between the worlds of education and business.

Vicky Webber, HR adviser at Lovewell Blake, has become the city’s first Enterprise Adviser at Thorpe St Andrew High School and Sixth Form.  She will be working with senior staff at the school to advise on their employer engagement strategy, and helping the school build a better network of business contacts.

The appointment is the first in the city under the Enterprise Adviser Venture launched earlier this year by the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), part of a national programme designed to motivate and inspire young people’s career aspirations and improve their eventual employment prospects.

“All schools are realising that they need to build closer relationships with their local business communities,” commented Thorpe St Andrew assistant principal Greg Dewar.  “Businesses like Lovewell Blake can offer us a much more detailed insight into the needs of employers, and guide us about what employability skills we need to be introducing to our students.”

Vicky Webber added, “Often both businesses and schools are keen to engage with each other, but there hasn’t always been the structure to make that happen.  When we heard about the new initiative from the LEP, we were delighted to step forward and volunteer, and that has resulted in the first such partnership in Norwich.

“I believe this kind of joint approach is valuable both to the school – teachers and students alike -   and to the employers taking part.”

At the launch of the initiative, LEP chairman Mark Pendlington commented, “If we want to compete and win on a world stage, we need to deliver a higher skilled workforce for our growing economy.  We can help do that by placing business leaders at the heart of the education system, to inspire young minds when they are seeking out their future paths and looking to match their talents and aspirations with a high value and rewarding career.”