Ben Hughes Memorial Fund

Aim

To help 1,000 young people get access to work experience placements & 25 young people start businesses,

Who is Ben Hughes? 

Ben was the Vice Principal of Pearson College for seven years and involved in Higher Education for a further ten years. Ben was passionate about giving students and young adults from all backgrounds the very best opportunities to enhance their skills and to connect with industry to learn on the job. Ben was tragically killed in 2018, but his spirit lives on in all those students who grasp opportunities and turn them into valuable life experiences. 

Background 

2020 and the fallout from the global pandemic has affected us all in a negative way. For many students and young adults this has been a disastrous time. Their studies have been interrupted, their exams cancelled, and the future of job opportunities remains very uncertain. Now more than ever, we need to support the next generation.

How Westminster Business Council will Help in 2021 

Westminster Business Council is raising money for the Fund. Here are our exciting plans showing how we will deliver for students and young adults across Westminster. 

Dragons Den: Students or young adults with a side hustle and possibly that next great business idea, will be invited to pitch for investment. They may need to buy a piece of software or build a website for example and some funding will help that next step of the business come to fruition. Students will be invited to competitively pitch for small amounts of money and let our panel of business experts know what they wish to do with their investment and how it will benefit the business. Those that successfully pitch will also be assigned a mentor to help them with their exciting side hustle. 

Work Experience: WBC will work with our network to find work experience opportunities. The fund will help to pay young adults the London Living Wage to attend and complete their work experience placement be that virtually or in a physical workplace. Employers will be asked to give feedback that will support the development of the young adult involved. 

The Life Skills Academy 

WBC is creating a Life Skills Academy - a series of virtual interactive workshops for young adults to improve soft skills, including: 

• Communications skills
• Giving feedback to colleagues 
• Interview techniques 
• Pitching and presenting skills 
• Productivity tools 
• Making yourself heard 
• Sales skills 
• Financial education 
• Write a great CV  

By the end of 2021, we will have: 

Found and facilitated 1,000 work experience placements;

Funded the creation of 25 new businesses 

1,000 young people benefitted from our Life Skills Academy 

This project closed unsuccessfully on 18th April 2021