Recently CEO of FAUN Zoeller, Simon Hyde hosted the celebration of 5 years for the Power Up Mentor Foundation at the headquarters in Redditch. The group honored their growth and success of the scheme with 90 Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) members involved, which is so crucial in helping and supporting young students at schools and colleges across Worcestershire. Local MP, Chris Bloore was also in attendance to see just how far this special journey had come.
The evening consisted of a presentation started by Hyde which was followed by current mentors and mentees across the region who were keen to share their experiences and how it has benefited both parties in growing and ultimately gaining strong relationships. One of the experienced members who went through the mentoring program was Libby Mccann, Marketer and Events Coordinator for Milford Research and Consultancy, who gave her experiences on the past few years. “I really enjoy looking back and comparing my personal progression from before and after completing the 10 mentoring sessions. I believe a large percentage was thanks to my mentor, Rob Milford of Milford Research and Consultancy, and our encouraging, insightful discussions including informational, fun, and collaborative activities. Overall, this has made me able to visualize my next career steps clearly as well as having the privilege to know and refer to somebody experienced and approachable. Power-Up! has also helped me see how I can merge my passions with my direction and build up needed employment skills e.g. business etiquette. After my initial sessions, me and my mentor stayed in contact through email and Microsoft Teams meetings which consisted of further conversations about my future and other professional topics. He then offered to employ me as a part-time Marketer due to my creative skill set and therefore continued our relationship further and my exposure to other connections/projects. Fast forward to June 2024, I became the sole Marketer and Events Coordinator at Milford Research and Consultancy. I couldn’t be more grateful and suggest signing up for this more! Many opportunities arise if you put yourself out there.”
Awards for excellence were given to some of the key members of the group for their hard work and dedication before everybody tucked into some ‘fish n chips’ to conclude the night. The group also discussed ways to turn ‘Power Up’ into ‘Power Plus’ by encouraging vibrant ideas and new innovations to the table on how they can expand the group and ultimately reach more students. This demonstrated the key to keep pushing and positively affect more lives as the current trustees and mentees had positive feedback about the growth not just professionally but also personally in everyday life. The mentors also added that it was not just the students benefitting but also them with the feeling of satisfaction and pleasure knowing you are helping someone. Here was Simon Hyde speaking on the next steps for the foundation. ‘It’s clear that we have a collective interest to expand the program because of the successes that we have maintained with our current mentees, and we’re all thrilled and delighted that we have a growing interest from both schools and local businessmen to expand that. With expansion comes new challenges and with that we need to redefine our ideas. We had a fantastic last session with the group in the room and I would draw the conclusion that there was a lot of passion, excitement and desire which is great for me. So, the next steps clearly are putting forward a strategic plan for the charity to expand but at the right pace with the right procedures, policies and governance. What is clear is that we’re doing great stuff, and we have great stories, but the market locally doesn’t really know what we are doing, so we need to make sure we are marketing it properly. All said the next steps are very positive, challenging but i think there was a general excitement in the room for togetherness and recognition that it is a useful program for young people and a lot of people want to contribute so i am very pleased with the outcome.’
The scheme believes it is to give young people the support to make them feel valued, understood and able to achieve their full potential. It can be very tough to know what you want to do after school and sometimes the university route isn’t always an option. Research suggests that 55% of students are now doing paid work, compared to 45% 12 months ago. In a survey of over 10,000 students, 76% said the cost of living has impacted their decision to drop out of university. This emphasises the importance of helping the younger community into the workforce and giving them the skills and confidence required to meet needs and expectations of everyday life. The Power Up is excited to see further progression with the programme as they head into 2025.