For the fifth consecutive year in Crawley, the Love Local Jobs Foundation are proud to be delivering inspirational programmes that equip students with the essential tools and confidence that will help them to fulfil their potential.
The Dare to Dream programme, supported and endorsed by Crawley Borough Council, challenges young people to change the way they think. The programme is centred around core themes of self-awareness, mindset, gratitude, resilience, teamwork and employability, with our inspirational speaker and business mentors drawing on their own experiences to engage with and motivate some amazing local students.
For the third consecutive year, PwC UK will be helping to enable the Love Local Jobs Foundation to deliver a much-needed boost of positivity and self-belief for Crawley’s young people. In the wake of the Covid pandemic, and in recognition of the many challenges facing schools and their students, PwC UK is significantly increasing their level of support for this year’s programme, helping to support approx. 500 local young people over the academic year.
As ever, Programme Lead, Jack the Lad Hayes, the well-known former host of the Breakfast Show on Heart FM, who is now on air with More Radio, will be presenting his personal journey to the students. In a truly inspirational session, he’ll also spend time listening to and understanding some of the challenges and incredible stories from the students, our local next generation and future workforce.
The delivery of the Dare to Dream programmes is only possible thanks to the generosity of exemplar local employers and the support of their staff, who participate as mentors to the students.
Simon Bailey, partner and Regional Market Leader for Kent, Surrey and Sussex, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to support Dare to Dream again this year, demonstrating our continued commitment to the local market by increasing our investment in the program by 50%. For us, it’s about giving back to the local communities in which we live and work by sharing our skills, time and talent. Collectively, we aim to ensure that our support for people and communities means that people from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds are able to make the most of their potential, whether that is at PwC or elsewhere.”
PwC UK’s support of the Dare to Dream programme for 2021/22 will help raise aspirations for entire year groups at three separate schools across Crawley, including year 9 students from Oriel High School and Ifield Community College and year 11 students from The Gatwick School.
Volunteers from PwC UK will directly mentor 45 students who are currently disengaged in school and often come from vulnerable or disadvantaged backgrounds. The students selected are believed by their schools to have great potential and will participate in a mixture of interactions including group workshops, one to one mentoring and workplace tours.
The mentors from PwC UK will help the students to recognise and begin exploring their potential by listening, encouraging, sharing personal and professional experiences, and reinforcing core programme themes that are central to wellbeing, employability and a positive future.
PwC’s purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. As part of this pledge, the firm believes it has a responsibility to its communities - both those it works in and beyond, to help reduce inequality, raise aspirations and promote social and digital inclusion. Through its 22,000+ workforce in the UK, it aims to lead by example, role modelling and promoting diversity, inclusion and wellbeing to empower its people and deliver exceptional value to its clients.
Local schools involved in the Dare to Dream programme in Crawley are Oriel High School, Ifield Community College, The Gatwick School, St Wilfrid’s Catholic School, Thomas Bennett Community College and Hazelwick School.