As we approach the middle of the year, and with some definite ‘speed humps’ appearing in the UK economy, Reliance High-Tech thoughts turn to how we can support those less fortunate than ourselves, how we continue to attract new talent into the industry, and how our business success can ‘give back.’ So I thought I would share a few things we have been up to over the last few months.
On 31st May, our founder and group chairman, Brian Kingham, and his businesses including Reliance High Tech, hosted an evening at Middle Temple Hall in aid of Young Enterprise, an organisation that empowers young people to discover, develop and celebrate their skills and potential. The evening featured an inspiring speech from Brian, supported by the executive team from Young Enterprise, on the importance of equipping young people for meaningful careers, followed by a number of amazing operatic performances. It also provided the opportunity to meet new people alongside drinks and canapes with over 200 guests. The evening aimed to raise £25,000 for Young Enterprise and was supported by Sharon Davies, the Young Enterprise’s chief executive, and her team.
At Reliance High-Tech, having helped to raise money for Young Enterprise over a number of years, we are now working with Donna Wells (Director of Development) to investigate how we might work more closely with their Schools and Colleges in a quest to motivate and attract young talent into our industry at a school and college-leaver level, as well as sharing insight into the business world. To learn more about the great work that Young Enterprise does, I would encourage you all to visit: https://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/
On a separate note, we carry out various money-raising activities throughout the year. As the saying goes, “every penny counts” and with that in mind, we are currently running a golf putting competition at our Bracknell office, which everyone has got behind. The longest putt to date is around 40ft. Staff or visitors pay £2 for 3 attempts, and the proceeds keep growing, alongside the light-hearted fun and stiff competition.
Proceeds from this and other activities throughout the year will go to MIND, our internal charity of the year. We are proud to support their work providing advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness of mental health and promote its understanding. What’s more, one of our employees, Franky Wooders, is also running a half marathon in Ipswich in September in aid of MIND, and you can sponsor him here.
Lastly, having raised funds in the past for SSAFA, and as a proud employer of a number of ex-forces personnel in our apprentice and retraining programme, we have now signed up for the Armed Forces Covenant. The Covenant is a promise by the nation that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families should be treated fairly and should not face disadvantages when seeking to access public or private goods and services in the UK. Reliance High-Tech has made the pledge to support the Covenant to demonstrate support for the Armed Forces Community, and I look forward to updating you on the impact of that pledge in due course.
