Briggs Equipment - Regional Sponsor, Hampden Park (Glasgow)
Why did you want to sponsor Hampden for PF Live?
After meeting Andrew through our Net Zero project, it was clear from an early stage that PF were a highly motivated and focussed team with a clear vision that required support from the business community. Their enthusiasm was infectious. This fuelled our interest in being involved.
We have been working with PF for a couple of years, supporting informal events, acting as school mentors and being panellists on the presentation days. We wanted to further develop that relationship, and both companies were keen to move forward with a more formal partnership. We will be running the workplace challenge in future but the opportunity of sponsoring the Hampden event was discussed as something we could support both financially and physically to make the event a memorable experience for everyone involved (especially the students) while also presenting an arena to promote the opportunities for employment that exist within all 5 of the Briggs Scotland group of companies.
Why was sponsoring PF Live at Hampden important to you.
The Briggs Equipment Group are highly active within charity and community involvement projects both locally and nationally. It is an important part of the group strategy of which we are extremely proud. Sponsoring the event underlines our commitment to the social value aspect of our ESG strategy and from a commercial point of view represents value for our investment.
Why does Briggs want to support young people as they move into the next stage of their careers?
Briggs recognise that as employers, we have a duty to create opportunities and train the younger generation to be the best versions of themselves that they can be. By partnering with Powering Futures, we have a terrific opportunity to make a difference BEFORE they enter the workplace, help to develop the meta skills that will make the transition into the workplace less daunting and hopefully more enjoyable, ultimately producing high quality employees that will have long careers within the Briggs group.
As you approach retirement, why was it important for you to invest time in supporting the next generation through Powering Futures?
When I left school many years ago (1978) there was absolutely no preparation for working life post education. You simply left school and looked for a job.
Not a great deal really changed in several decades. Lots of posturing from politicians, various rebranded training programs but very few with real impact at a school level (with a few exceptions for a small percentage of pupils). All these were implemented with the best of intentions but most activity happened after pupils had left school.
Powering Futures is a breath of fresh air into the education system. Personally, I would have loved this type of challenge as I approached school leaving age and I have huge respect for all the PF team for getting this far in such a brief time. I guess that really underlines my point that education was crying out for something completely different.
For me, as retirement beckons, I wanted to play my part in this revolution, however large or small that may be. If I can help shape the future of even one young person, that will be a success in my eyes. This is not a one-way street as I am also learning as the process evolves. Every day is a school day for me too!!!
Working with Briggs has let me lay the foundations to build and develop the partnership between Briggs, PF and the education system that will result in teenagers entering the working arena far better prepared than ever before. That surely justifies the effort, doesn’t it?
If I can continue to play my part beyond retirement, as a volunteer, whether representing Briggs or as a member of the public, that would be the icing on the cake.