BMet partners with Miss Macaroon to boost employability opportunities for young people

BMet partners with Miss Macaroon to boost employability opportunities for young people

BMet College is affirming its commitment to helping young people become work-ready by offering work experience opportunities to trainees at Birmingham-based social enterprise bakers, Miss Macaroon.

The partnership will provide Macaroons that Make A Difference course trainees with access to practical employability activities, industry insight and pathways into further education.

Miss Macaroon is a social enterprise business that provides young adults with training, wellbeing workshops, 121 counselling, work experience and personal development programmes in a catering and retail setting. Their aim is to help people to build their confidence, skills and to improve their future prospects.

As a result of the collaboration, trainees in various roles at the business, will have the chance to further develop their employability skills by attending a variety of sessions at BMet’s Matthew Boulton College.

Speaking of the partnership, Suzie Branch-Haddow, Vice Principal – External Development at BMet said: “Work Experience plays a vital role in helping learners gain real-world experience, build confidence and prepare for future employment.

“We are very excited about this partnership with Miss Macaroon as it shares our mission to provide innovative pathways that benefit both the employer and young people.”

The initiative is part of BMet’s wider programme of employer partnerships, designed to support young people and adults with the right skills, knowledge and experience to excel in their future careers and goals.

Suzie continued: “We often ask employers to invest in young people through work experience and employability opportunities.  As an employer ourselves, it is important that we lead by example, helping young people gain the skills, confidence and experience they need to succeed.”

By the end of the Macaroons that Make A Difference programme, young people should have developed a variety of “work skills” including CV writing and interview skills, teamwork and communication, digital literacy, professional behaviour and workplace etiquette.

The first partnership programme took place at Matthew Boulton College and included:

• “Welcome to Work” Tours:  Half a day of interaction with a group of 6 current trainees to view the facilities, to hear from staff on their journey and to have a mock interview at the college. The trainees will also have the chance to find out about relevant entry level vacancies at Matthew Boulton College.
• Keep Warm Activity:BMet will keep in touch with the trainees to make them aware of future career-focused opportunities.

Rosie Gindlay MBE, CEO and Founder at Miss Macaroon said: “We are delighted to develop this partnership with BMet as a key local employer. Our trainees are excited to learn more about teaching assistant apprenticeships, catering roles and many other opportunities.

“In the first few weeks of the programme they have already grown so much in confidence and overcome so many barriers. It’s great to see an employer providing opportunities for them to show off their interview skills, be inspired by their team members’ career journeys and apply for open roles.”

To find out more about BMet’s employer partnerships, visit www.bmet.ac.uk/employers.