At Great Places, we believe in the power of inspiration and community. Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming back the enthusiastic pupils from Manor Park Primary School for an exciting careers visit to our head office. Building on the success of last year’s event, around 30 bright Year 5 children returned to dive deeper into the world of work and careers in housing. This marks the third year of our project and the third visit to our head office.
As part of our community investment work in Longridge and Shaw Heath, this event aims to build and sustain the financial resilience of the community and ignite the aspirations of its young people. The pupils were warmly greeted by Guy Cresswell (Executive Director – Customers) and Steve Mather (Chief Property Officer). They then embarked on a journey through various departments, engaging in hands-on activities with our colleagues from communications, construction, human resources, homelessness, new home sales, and finance.
The pupils also had the chance to meet with our fantastic suppliers, including Emmanuel Whittaker, VPS, and Simon Fenton Partnership. These experts shared insights into careers in property management, quantity surveying, construction, and regeneration, sparking curiosity and ambition among the young visitors.
Guy Cresswell commented on the day: “It was a pleasure to welcome the pupils from Manor Park Primary School to our head office earlier today to experience careers in housing – they were raring to go and eager to participate in the activities on offer. Our partnership with Manor Park School demonstrates our vision of creating Great Communities and Great People, and we’re thrilled to work with the pupils and school to help improve the financial resilience of the community and aspirations of the children.”
Nick Abbott from Simon Fenton Partnership added: “At Simon Fenton, we’re committed to providing opportunities for apprentices and graduates, so we were delighted to support today’s visit by Manor Park Primary School. It was great to be joined by our Graduate, Ollie, and Apprentice, Louis, who engaged with the children through a fun activity showing them how maths can be applied to building houses and different ways to get involved in construction without getting cold in the winter laying bricks.”
This initiative is part of Great Places’ ongoing efforts to inspire young minds and foster a sense of community and financial resilience. The project will continue throughout the academic year with additional workplace visits to local businesses, broadening horizons and enhancing students’ understanding of diverse career opportunities.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates on this project.
