Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub · Article.
ROLLS-ROYCE MENTORS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH LOCAL YOUNG PEOPLE
06.06.2023 Press Release
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to confirm its continued participation in Dare to Dream, a mentoring scheme designed to help pupils realise their potential and overcome their personal barriers to success.
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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
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Andrew Ball
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
- Rolls-Royce Motor Cars renews its involvement in #Dare to Dream mentoring scheme
- Run by Love Local Jobs Foundation, a charity working with schools and leading employers in West Sussex
- Members of the Rolls-Royce team share experiences and insights with Year 9 pupils from three nearby schools
- Aims to build pupils’ confidence, help them overcome personal and academic challenges and shape their life’s journey with support from people already in work
- Participants invited to the Home of Rolls-Royce to experience the workplace and be inspired by the early careers opportunities offered
“We’ve been involved with Dare to Dream for a number of years
and it’s always been an incredibly rewarding experience for the
young people taking part, and our own team members acting as
mentors. This year has been particularly special, since we were able
to welcome the students on-site at the Home of Rolls-Royce for the
first time since the pandemic. Sharing their concerns, experiences
and aspirations with those already in work is a huge
confidence-booster for these young people as they approach their
GCSE choices. We’re delighted to be able to support them and help
unlock the enormous talent we see in our neighbouring communities.”
Mark Adams, Director of Human Resources, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to confirm its
continued participation in #Dare to Dream, a mentoring
scheme designed to help pupils realise their potential and overcome
their personal barriers to success.
During the 2022-23 school year, 15 volunteers from across the
company have acted as mentors to Year 9 students from Chichester Free
School, Bourne Community College and Ormiston Six Villages Academy,
all close to the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood. The team includes
some who took part in 2022 and have remained involved as ‘super mentors’.
Each mentor works with three students, all of whom are facing
challenges affecting their personal lives, academic progress and
future career choices. Over the course of three sessions, the mentors
share their experiences and thoughts, seek to understand the student’s
outlook on life and explore and challenge what they may believe (or
have been told) about themselves and the world.
Helping the students to think beyond the bounds of school and
home can spark aspirational ideas and the motivation to grapple with
what lies ahead. By sharing their own journeys, which have not always
followed conventional educational and employment paths, the mentors
demonstrate that doors aren’t always closed; opportunities come with
the desire to pursue things they enjoy and are interested in, however bold.
Alison Turnbull, Head of Year 9 at Chichester Free School, says:
“This inspirational, impactful programme makes students aware of a
variety of pathways and opportunities, while giving them the
confidence to believe in themselves and make better-informed decisions
about their future. The visit to Rolls-Royce was an amazing experience
and sparked conversations about alternative post-16 options. Please
don’t stop doing what you’re doing; you really don't know how many
lives you’re changing!”
Dare to Dream supports students at what can be a daunting
time, when they are choosing their GCSEs and feel under pressure to
start formulating long-term education and career plans. Mentors
provide much-needed support at this crucial stage: it can be
especially helpful for students to realise that adults already in the
working world also face challenges and have their own doubts and
uncertainties to deal with.
One participant, who’s in Year 9 at Bourne Community College,
explains: “This was one of the best things I've been able to do yet!
The Rolls-Royce employees were super-friendly and offered a wide
variety of jobs and applications available for passionate and talented
students. The Dare to Dream programme has been amazing and
has improved my confidence and my abilities to overcome challenges in life.”
Previous mentors report seeing a noticeable growth in students’
confidence from one session to the next. As well as encouraging
students to take ownership of pursuing their dreams, the mentors offer
practical coaching, helping them consider what skills they might need
and how they could go about gaining them.
Lydia Woodroff, HR Sustainability Business Partner, Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars, is coordinating the project at Rolls-Royce. She says, “We
were delighted to continue our support of Dare to Dream this
year, and see the programme’s continued impact on the selected
participants over the year. They met some of our Apprentices and saw
how we support people’s early careers; they also watched vehicles
being built and experienced a ‘customer reveal’, culminating in
sitting in a Rolls-Royce Phantom and having their photographs taken as
a souvenir. We’re pleased to have this opportunity to show young
people the range of skills we use here, and the varied roles we make
available to home so close to home.”
Jack ‘The Lad’ Hayes, programme lead from the Love Local Jobs
Foundation adds: “Our work in and around Chichester simply wouldn’t be
possible without the unwavering support of our friends at Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars. For students, knowing that one of the world’s most
prestigious brands wants to support and encourage them makes it a
truly unique experience. As ever, the mentor team at Rolls-Royce Motor
Cars really embraced their role: their work will have a hugely
positive impact on the students they worked with.”