Pupils from years 4 and 5 at The Bramble Academy, Mansfield Woodhouse, took part in an innovative, interactive and fun two-day Little Genius Project.

The programme was delivered in partnership with Asmech Systems Ltd, Mansfield, and Lukas at Work.

All the young students had the experience of going through two workshops, which involved finding out about a business, products and different types of jobs available while listening to career stories told by both employers.

Shane Gunstone, managing director of Asmech Systems, said: “Employers in the engineering and manufacturing sector believe it is important to influence children in primary schools to consider the career opportunities that are relevant to the economic growth.

“I was delighted to be involved in shaping this programme. We need to get more employers involved in future programmes.”
Both workshops involved doing an activity. In the Asmech Systems workshop, students had to build a tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows, while the Lukas at Work workshop involved students completing a mini CV.

Katie Trinder, company director for Lukas at Work, said “It’s never too early to start to think about the career path you would like, particularly when you realise you can base it around all your favourite things from school.”

Anna Froggatt, head of the academy, said: “This type of innovative employer-led transition programme is important to enable our young people to think about the wide range of career opportunities that are available and embedding the importance of key subjects.”

Working in teams, the youngsters present back to parents, teaching staff and employers what they had learnt during the two days. All received a little genius star badge, certificate and printed copy of their mini CV.

The project was organised by Berni Dickinson, director of marketing and enterprise for The Evolve Trust, which was formed by The Brunts Academy and also includes The Bramble Academy and The Beech Academy, Mansfield.