Business News


Sponsored by: Birmingham Education Partnership


We’re here to help schools and colleges


By Mike Pipe, senior enterprise coordinator


During this difficult time, we are focusing on pulling together and disseminating existing ideas and resources that can be used by schools, colleges and students while we’re all having to work remotely. In the longer term, we’re


thinking about ways we can continue to deliver our mission of (virtually) connecting schools, colleges, young people, employers and training providers. We will be in touch with


Careers Leaders in schools over the coming weeks, to share these ideas and resources to help to support them and their students. We will do this appropriately - we know that many are being pulled in lots of different directions whilst working remotely. There are safeguarding concerns, issues of quality and duplication to address. We’ve listened to what


schools and colleges are telling us is working, and we’ve been sharing this with all of the Careers Leaders across the city. We’re also busy developing our own further resources, based on the gaps in provision that schools and colleges have told us exist at the moment. It’s helpful to look for the


positives in situations like this, no matter how small. We think that one positive will be that the public will increase their appreciation of the crucial role that schools and colleges play in our society. Thank you for your hard work.


Street life: The new markings 18 CHAMBERLINK June/July 2020


Younger generation see hope after pandemic


Despite the death toll and the damage done to the world’s economy, a new survey has found that 92 per cent of young people think Covid-19 is an opportunity for ‘positive change’. The survey – by youth engagement agency Beatfreeks – also found some rather less positive conclusions, with 83 per cent of respondents ‘more worried’ than they normally would be due to the crisis, and a further 58 per cent saying the pandemic had left them ‘unsure about their future’. The ‘positive change’ question


received this response from a young person in Manchester: “I think a takeaway from the pandemic is people trying to take care of one another. “Being mindful of others mental


and physical wellbeing. Having adequate social care. Realising that although we may all be in the same situation, the reality of what that means and what life looks like is different for all of us.” Of those interviewed who were


self-employed, 77 per cent said that they had lost work, become financially unstable or were unsure about what the future holds for them.


Anisa Morridadi: Young are being ‘marginalised’


The survey also asked questions


about whether young people were sticking to the lockdown, with 90 per cent claiming they were. Only a tiny minority – 0.4 per cent – of respondents admitted ignoring Government advice. The research was conducted just after the lockdown began, also


found that most respondents (80 per cent) were getting information about the crisis from traditional news and media outlets, and not social media. As a result of the findings,


Beatfreeks has come up with a list of demands which it says would support the wellbeing of young people during and after the crisis. These include establishing a


‘National Young Person’s Response Unit’ to ‘embed young people in the coronavirus decision-making process’, and change what the organisation called ‘the media- narrative of young people’, through championing young essential workers and volunteers. Beatfreeks founder Anisa Morridadi said: “Young people have had no authorship over the narrative presenting them in this pandemic. “Unfortunately this is


symptomatic of a deeper systemic issue of young voices being dismissed and marginalised. “It's vital to understand that


young people have been impacted in a diversity of ways by Covid-19 and that understanding their experience will be pivotal in the reset and recovery of the UK.”


Pavement plan is streets ahead


One of the UK’s first pavement markings and signage schemes designed to guide the public on how to follow social distancing has been launched on Broad Street, Birmingham. Westside BID has laid 100-metres of two-way markings on a 60-metre stretch of pavement from the junctions of Gas Street and then along Broad Street to Berkley Street. The markings and signage will help the public to adhere to social distancing once businesses in the area begin to re-open. Mike Olley, general manager of Westside BID, said:


“These pavement markings have been designed specifically to help people easily follow social distancing guidelines. Our understanding is that we are among the first areas of a UK city centre to pilot this sort of initiative. “We hope that the pilot will be seen as a successful


way to help businesses in our area to prepare to reopen, keeping staff and visitors safe when Birmingham’s ‘golden mile’ starts to re-open. If this pilot is deemed successful, we will work with the city council to hopefully install similar pavement markings and signage across the entire Westside BID area.” The pavement markings have been produced by sign


maker Hollywood Monster, said they were made from a self-adhesive vinyl that was shrink-wrapped to the pavement, then covered with anti-scratch laminate to make it hard-wearing. The firm said the markings would last for three to


four months, which made it ideal in case something more permanent was needed, or if social distancing guidelines changed.


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