Mansfield-based Year 12 students from The Brunts Academy that forms part of The Evolve Trust joined in and networked with the business community at a Mansfield 2020 breakfast networking meeting.

The initiative to give all young people in the area the opportunity to network within a business environment was developed from an idea discussed at the Mansfield 2020 Business Forum group, which deals with business issues preventing growth.

Mansfield 2020, which attracts more than 120 business leaders to its monthly breakfast meetings, works in partnership with all local schools to provide opportunities and to fulfil the requirements of the business community, which is asking for school leavers to have essential employability skills.

The student networking scheme has been running for more than three years, co-ordinated and driven by Berni Dickinson, (pictured right), director of marketing at the Evolve Trust and 2020 Board director.

The networking scheme is fulfilling the 10 D2N2 employability goals recently launched to support business growth within Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

The goals, identified after consultation with the trust and the University of Derby amongst other business partners, outline a requirement for young people to be well-informed, self-directed and accountable — all of which the networking opportunity addresses.

Berni said: “I have worked alongside this business community for more than eight years and it has been responsive to partnership working and proactive with employability activities.”

The scheme has been made possible through the 2020 business development group and its members. Each student who attends is sponsored by a business for the cost of the breakfast meeting.

The scheme is regularly supported by Career Champions B. Jephson (Mansfield) Ltd, Mansfield Rotary Club, Mansfield Christian Book Centre and the Mansfield and the Ashfield NewsJournal.

Caroline Cox, operations manager for Mansfield 2020, said ‘Employability skills are high on the agenda for business communities across the UK and 2020 is renowned for making things happen.

“We listen to requirements for growth from our business network and work with our partners to fulfil their needs to achieve growth.

“We have several success stories to share as a result of the student networking initiative and would encourage this innovative programme to be rolled out across all the business clubs in the UK. We need to lead by example and open the doors for their future.”