A group of students from South Leeds Academy have paid a special visit to the First Direct Arena in Leeds during a World of Work’ visit hosted by HSBC and organised by Mosaic.

HSBC employees have given up their time to act as mentors to the students as part of Mosaic’s Secondary School programme, helping the young people improve their confidence, self-belief, motivation and employability.

Mosaic would like to thank our headline supporter the Al Faisal Foundation, alongside the Sir John Cass Foundation and the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery for their generous support of the secondary school mentoring programme.

The visit to the First Direct Arena, which is the principle entertainment centre in Leeds and hosts live music, comedy, entertainment shows and sporting events, was organised to help the students build connections with local employers and help them realise their full employment potential.

Abigail Winn, Link Teacher at South Leeds Academy, commented: “The students have thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the Mosaic mentoring programme, which culminated in a world of work visit to the First Direct Arena. This programme has allowed the students to think about their employability skills and how they can develop them to achieve their future goals. The mentors have been great throughout and it has been really beneficial for the students to work alongside business professionals.”

Nicola Gifford, Lead Mentor at HSBC, said: “We were proud to have the opportunity to show the students a place of work with strong connections to HSBC as the conclusion to our mentoring sessions with them.”

Leah Larkin, Mosaic’s Regional Manager for Yorkshire, added: “The event aimed to provide the students with an introduction to the people and activities that come together to make the First Direct Arena operate as a successful business. It was an excellent way to enthuse them about the world of work and expand their horizons, and we would like to thank HSBC for its ongoing support.”

Mosaic’s Secondary School programme aims to encourage self-belief, confidence in young people and help bridge the link between education to employment through educating mentees about employability skills.