ABCN, a not-for-profit organisation, brings together schools and businesses to provide workplace experiences and mentoring programs for school students in economically disadvantaged areas. The program is held in our offices and combines fully facilitated sessions with one-on-one group mentoring with our people. We began our partnership in early 2020, however our progress was a little hampered with COVID-19 restrictions. Targeted at Years 10 – 11 high school students, Focus aims to provide young women with the essential leadership skills they need to engage in a successful, meaningful career.
The initiative addresses the underrepresentation of women in senior roles in Australia. It is designed to support young women to develop their leadership skills, aspire to senior roles in business and the community, and foster a sense of self-belief that will encourage them to aim high.
Held at our Sydney office, key team members from across the business engaged the girls in a discussion about understanding the importance of failure in building leadership skills and growing from your failures.
Marie Victor, Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, says “We were delighted to engage with such enthusiastic girls, who will lead us into the next generation. Their hopes, dreams and fears are those that many of us had as teenagers. All of us in the people team got a lot out of the afternoon and we look forward to further ABCN events where we can impart some of our knowledge and experience to make a difference to disadvantaged children.”
Embodying the core principle of WSP with HEART, the ABCN is a group of over 200 low socio-economic status schools and 43 leading businesses, working together to address educational disadvantage through structured workplace mentoring and business/school partnerships.
The network mentors and supports the development of students’ skills and mindsets, confidence and aspiration, so they can achieve more than they thought was possible.
If you wish to get involved in the program, please contact Marie Victor for more information.
