When approaching young people/students through company visits, technical school visits or at trade fairs, it is useful to involve the parents as they have a strong impact on the decision making of young people and often lack knowledge about job opportunities ion the paper industry
In the frame of the EU project Turn The Page, Indufed in cooperation with two paper mills in Belgium and the communications agency Good Planet, has organized a project for school classes in the vicinity of 2 paper producers in which the classes/schools go through the following process:
1. They have a conversation with GoodPlanet about the course of the project (different stages and project planning) followed by a preparatory activity in the classroom based on the papier.be teaching sheets (exist in two languages – sheet for the teacher and online teaching module to be completed independently by the pupils)
2. A day trip to the factory where they have a company visit and they prepare and have a dialogue with company managers / HR / sustainability department – addressing their questions, expectations, what is stopping them for applying with a pulp and paper company, etc
3. Evaluation by teachers and pupils
Key stakeholders:
– Schools
– Pulp and paper companies
– potentialy also municipalities
Specific Benefits:
The young people do not only get to see a paper company but they also learn about the sector and prepare for a fruitful dialogue with employees in the company so that they can ask targeted questions. The pulp and paper mills do benefit as a personal contact with young people who are potential future employees is established and they also learn what matters to the students
Conditions for success:
– Companies involvement: to show their factories but also to offer further time for discussion with key employees (in HR, Management, sustainability depot,..)
– Schools /teachers to allow both the preparatory work and the time for the company visit
– investment in a third party (eg an agency) guiding and accompanying the process