Staff from accounting powerhouse Deloitte spent a day with learners from Harrow College as part of a volunteering event. A group comprising of Learning Links students from Harrow College (from the specialist LLDD department at Harrow College for Learners with Learning Difficulty/Disabilities), year 11 pupils from Shatesbury School and Kingsley High School, along with tutors and support staff welcomed the team from Deloitte and together undertook two projects.
The first involved transforming old classroom chairs into stylish newer chairs using the art of Decoupage (decorating an object by gluing coloured paper cut-outs onto it). Using an array of colour and thinking carefully about design styles, the resulting transformations were very impressive.
Another team of Deloitte employees offered their ideas, experiences and expertise to teach students job skills including interview techniques and writing CVs. The learners received tips on how best to present themselves both face to face and on paper and had the opportunity to ask lots of questions.
Johanne Narayn, Lecturer for LLDD students at Harrow College, was involved with the event. She said "Throughout the day students engaged with volunteers and worked together to produce chairs which had been given the Decoupage treatment. There was a lot of creative work going on all round and the volunteers pitched in enthusiastically. Lots of interaction took place during the job skills session which was great for the students. The day has been a thoroughly productive day for all involved".
Maria Powell, Tax Analyst from Deloitte who was one of the volunteers thoroughly enjoyed the day. She said "I think I speak on behalf of our whole team in saying that we all had a lovely time. Everyone was so welcoming and the students were so kind and interactive which definitely made our jobs a lot easier. It was great that we could get so many students involved, I'm glad to hear that they got something out of the day – we certainly did! Hopefully you'll have us again next year".