As part of its Premier League Works scheme, the Foundation teamed up with the club’s online foreign exchange trading partner, TigerWit, to help young people develop their personal and social skills to make a positive transition back into education, access training or gain meaningful employment.
The five-week scheme saw 11 18 to 25-year-olds take part in a range of activities aimed at inspiring and supporting them onto the next stage in their lives. This included one-to-one development sessions along with a CV surgery that focused on how to write and construct a successful CV to capture the attention of future employers, which was delivered at Anfield by TigerWit.
At the start of the scheme, participants received a special surprise when LFC legends John Aldridge and Roy Evans paid them a visit to deliver a career session with a difference, before they were able to head out onto the pitch for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on the famous Anfield turf, courtesy of TigerWit.
The youngsters were also treated to a trip to London to visit the impressive Bloomberg Headquarters to get a sense of what working life is like in a real professional environment.
The eagerness of 21-year-old Rebecca Dillon to learn throughout the programme saw her secure the opportunity to attend an all-expenses-paid week of work experience in TigerWit’s London head office, which will start this week.
Rebecca's schedule will see her spend time within a number of departments across the business, such as marketing, user experience design, finance and compliance, as well as sales and technology, to provide her with a well-rounded experience and help her discover the field she is most interested in.
Matt Parish, director of LFC Foundation, said: “Our employability programme offers employment support and unique experiences to young people who have either been out of work or full-time education for a period of time. It really helps them to build their confidence, which is a core part of the scheme.
“We recognise that young people are our future, so they’re learning additional skills, they’re meeting real people who work in the business world and seeing where they’ve come from and how they’ve got to where they are now. Often, they’ve been on a not-too-dissimilar journey, which can give these young people that inspiration for their own career paths.”
Talking about her experience on the programme, Rebecca said: “I found the employability scheme really valuable, especially the CV surgery as it helped me to develop my own CV and tailor it to different job applications to meet each company’s criteria. I also really enjoyed playing on the pitch at Anfield – it was fantastic to meet the former players and have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to score in the Kop.
“I'm really looking forward to starting my work experience in London. During the course I was motivated by TigerWit’s inspirational talks and wanted to get a glimpse of life in the city and a corporate work environment. I was able to find out more about the company, which encouraged me to apply for the position. This opportunity will be invaluable as it’ll give me transferable skills and knowledge which I’ll be able to use throughout my life.”
Tim Hughes, CEO at TigerWit, said: “It has been inspiring to work with the Liverpool FC Foundation and we look forward to continuing this scheme in the years ahead to help young people like Rebecca learn the skills and gain the confidence to get any job they want. We are looking forward to welcoming Rebecca to the TigerWit office in London and will provide her with a rounded week of experience that we hope will serve her well for the future.”