Ten lucky Mosaic mentees from The Oldham Academy North spent the day at Bentley Motors in Crewe on an amazing ‘World of Work’ visit as part of their Mosaic experience.

Thanks to long-standing Mosaic supporter and leading creative businesswoman Noreen Mirza, the students spent half a day at Bentley’s factory learning about the history of the iconic Bentley brand, what goes in to making one of the world’s most prestigious luxury car brands and about the many different career opportunities available across the 4000-strong workforce on the site.

World of Work visits complement our school-based mentoring programmes, and are designed to address deep-rooted issues amongst the young people being mentored – including low motivation, lack of ambition, and lack of awareness about local employment opportunities.

After a tour of the Bentley exhibition, charting the unique history of one of Britain’s leading engineering businesses, the 10 teenagers were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the production line. To protect industrial secrets, the students had to leave behind their mobile phones and cameras (a painful experience for some!) – and in return, they had the opportunity to see Bentley cars being made from start to finish.

‘Like a great big family’

Rafia from year 10 said afterwards: “The cars at Bentley motors were amazing. We’d never seen anything like them before and they made us think about what we might want in the future. The people that work there are like a great big family all working together.”

Year 9 pupil Mohammed was thrilled too: “I would really like to visit Bentley again. The trip was an amazing experience and everyone at the factory was so friendly. It has inspired me a lot in many ways. I’d love to work here, but my big ambition now is to own a car plant under my own name.”

The students learned about Bentley’s excellent apprentice schemes, the loyalty of staff to Bentley and got an insight to the array of skilled jobs available and what it takes to get to work for one of the most famous manufacturers in the world. They also heard about Bentley’s super-rich and celebrity clients!

An impromptu mentoring session

After the tour, the students were lucky enough to have an impromptu mentoring session with leading jewellery designer and Mosaic mentor Noreen Mirza of Mirza Collections [add link http://www.mirzacollection.com] who had organised the visit for them. The students heard how Noreen was determined to make her own way as a jewellery designer, following her dream and overcoming many barriers on her way so that today she is one of the UK’s leading designers, with commissions from some of the most successful individuals, including royalty and celebrities.

Unfortunately, the students were unable to take a car home with them on the day – despite a valiant attempt to negotiate a sample – but they left inspired by this amazing example of a world-leading British engineering success story.

More about World of Work visits

Read about a recent World of Work visit to H.R. Owen in London

Could you organise an inspirational World of Work visit for a group of young people? Contact us to find out more about getting involved in our work with disadvantaged children.