The Manchester office of BDO has once again set out to inspire the city’s young people, welcoming more than 1,000 students over the Summer as part of the Government-funded National Citizen Service (NCS).
The NCS programme, delivered locally by charity, Salford Foundation, aims to engage 16-17 year olds with new experiences that will support them in their future working lives. The four-week programme helps build self-confidence and instils young people the self-belief that they can take on and achieve anything in life.
For the third consecutive year, volunteers from BDO have worked with teams of students to help them learn about making business decisions and budgeting as part of their preparation to pitch for funding to deliver a project in the community.
This year’s project focused on setting out a business plan for a music festival in Spinningfields, bringing in BDO’s involvement with the Bee in The City initiative.
Patrons of the NCS include David Cameron, Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge CBE, Carolyn Fairbairn of the CBI and Bear Grylls.
Jillian Smith, who leads CSR for BDO in the region and is a senior manager in the BDODrive Solutions team said: “We’re pleased to be supporting the NCS programme once again this summer – it’s a hugely valuable initiative that teaches young people important skills that can’t be taught inside a classroom.
“The ethos behind the NCS programme is also very closely aligned to BDO’s values and our commitment to opening up the accountancy profession to young people of all backgrounds. We hope that, by spending time in our office working alongside our team, we can provide some inspiration and guidance by helping them think about themselves – where they want to be in the world of work, their place within it, as well as whether accountancy could be the right career for them.”
