Jan 18 2010: Student Richard supports Sheffield homeless charity
SIXTH former Richard Achahboun is putting his A Level business studies to practical use supporting a Sheffield charity for the homeless.
The 17-year-old Birkdale School student is carrying out work experience with Hillsborough-based Aspire Sheffield, the organisation that helps prepare the homeless and socially excluded to return to the workplace.
Richard is the first pupil to be involved in the new Birkdale Work Experience/Entrepreneurial Development project with Aspire Sheffield.
During his week of work experience he learned as much as he could about the Aspire business model and developing a detailed understanding of the organisation’s structure.
In doing so, he hopes to be able to generate and offer Aspire a successful marketing strategy that will result in new business opportunities and revenue generation for them in the future.
His plan is now to continue to work with Aspire Sheffield on an ongoing basis and implement his marketing ideas.
“I became involved in enterprise three years ago by joining the school’s Enterprise Club in Yr 10,” Richard explained.
“The Enterprise Club’s ethos is to encourage all pupils to develop their own business ideas and entrepreneurial skills.
“When I heard that Aspire was one of the social enterprises that was willing to work with the school’s pilot project to merge part of its Work Experience Programme with the Enterprise Club’s Entrepreneurial Development Programme I thought it would be a great fit for me.
“I saw a unique opportunity to combine some of the entrepreneurial ideas I have been working on over the last year with some of the marketing skills and techniques I am learning in my Business Studies classes to hopefully create new target markets for their products.
“This in turn could result in helping many local people trying to make a new start in life.
“This is a very rewarding challenge for me and I am looking forward to getting really involved and hopefully making a difference to this growing organisation and the people who depend on it.”
Aspire supports its work through a range of projects, including a Packing and Mailing Service which has attracted the support of some of Sheffield’s biggest organisations including law firm Irwin Mitchell, Sheffield Hallam University, Veolia Environmental Services, The University of Sheffield and Hallam University Students’ Union.
It also has a Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) service, aimed specifically at charity, faith and community groups.
Another extremely successful branch of the Aspire Sheffield operation is giving fresh life and new homes to redundant office technology.
“I am really interested in computers so that’s one area I’m really keen on helping with,” said Richard, who is studying for A Levels in Computing, Maths, Physics and Business Studies.
“I’m helping in every area though and that’s giving me a better understanding of what Aspire is trying to achieve.
“One of the things I’d like to do in the future is help develop new business opportunities, introducing companies to the range of activities offered by Aspire, making sure that people have heard of them and adding to the services on offer.”
Aspire general manager Dave Metcalfe said he was delighted that Birkdale was introducing its pupils to the work being carried out by the charity.
“This really does bring two opposite ends of the spectrum together, he said.
“I think we can both gain something from this bond and we are very keen to strengthen our links with the school. The school’s Enterprise Club leader, Kathy McKay, is also very excited by the results as more pupils are coming forward to participate in this pilot programme. Plus the marketing research conducted so far by the school’s Business Studies classes have presented a number of promotional strategies for Richard and Aspire to explore which hopefully will be involving many of the medium and large size businesses located in South Yorkshire.
“Richard is our first work experience student and it’s been refreshing for us because he does offer a different perspective on the work we are doing here at Aspire Sheffield.”
www.aspire-sheffield.co.uk
