Back in 2010 I met Lisa Jarvis, managing director of Permanent Solutions Direct, to discuss upcoming employment legislation.
Permanent Solutions Direct is an award-winning HR and Marketing recruitment consultancy , based in Copthorne and Lisa is a Council member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) - the trade body for the recruitment and employment industry. We also chatted about volunteering at events run in local secondary schools by the former West Sussex County Council Business Education Partnership scheme - Lisa had been a regular volunteer for several years.
Taxpayer funding for the scheme didn’t survive the onset of austerity but Permanent Solutions Direct felt that they were in a strong position to continue this invaluable work by using their extensive network of client contacts and so offered their support to schools directly.
They are passionate about helping school leavers to enter the labour market equipped with as many skills as possible and events are now running successfully at several West Sussex schools. Events have included CV Writing and Interview Technique workshops, conducting Mock Interviews and Careers Speed Dating, a fun and interactive event - a cross between ‘What’s My Line’ and ‘Speed Dating’!
This is a fantastic way for students to learn about different career options from people who are actually performing the role. Business volunteers have included solicitors, engineers, HR professionals, airline personnel, and even a prosthetic surgeon from the NHS.
The feedback on the sessions has been great with students gaining valuable careers advice and volunteers benefiting from a fantastic networking opportunity, meeting like minded individuals from other local businesses – a truly win/win situation. There is no charge to schools and the team at Permanent Solutions Direct will put together the programme.
In 2012, Permanent Solutions Direct were delighted to be shortlisted for an IRP Award ‘Best Contribution to the Community’ as a result of their work with local schools.
The success of these events is dependent on the support of local business volunteers so I’d strongly encourage anyone who is interested to get in touch and find out more.
Lisa Jarvis and Emma Packer at Permanent Solutions Direct can be contacted on 01342 710630 or via l.jarvis@permanentsolutionsdirect.co.uk. They’re also happy for readers to get in touch to find out more about events planned for February and March.