Welcome Rizvan! Derby city careers scheme E4E welcomes new member of staff

A CAREERS initiative created to help inspire young people in Derby has bolstered its delivery team as it aims to link more businesses in the city with schools.

E4E is a Derby City Council-backed careers scheme that was set up in 2014. Led by manager Arshad Iqbal, it provides CV writing workshops, mock interviews, mentoring and ‘Dragons Den’ style Enterprise Challenge Day, where pupils pitch a project to business leaders who volunteer for the session.

To date, the project has helped almost 50,000 young people and has 600-plus volunteers from various sectors across the city and county. Companies who are involved with E4E include global organisations such as Rolls-Royce, Alstom, Toyota and Lubrizol as well as small businesses operating from the city such as Colleague Box, Macmartin and Project D.

And now it is Rizvan Bhatti’s job to engage with more companies in the area in the hope that they will volunteer their time to help schools with their careers programmes.

Rizvan said: “I’m really pleased to have joined the E4E team. I want to encourage meaningful and real-world contact between pupils and employers to create a better understanding of career opportunities, and to help raise employability and enterprise that will inspire the next generation.”

He joins E4E in a new partnership role working alongside D2N2 LEP Careers & Enterprise Company and the Unlocking Potential programme.

“I have worked with children and adults in previous education settings and I look forward to working with local employer volunteers, helping students to raise aspirations and have a better understanding of the world of work,” added Rizvan.

E4E manager Arshad Iqbal said: “Rizvan has a lot of experience and he will be a great acquisition to the E4E team.

“One of his main roles will be to engage with businesses, particularly SMEs, to support local schools as we look ahead to another busy academic year of mock interviews, CV workshops and Enterprise Challenge Days.

“He will also be involved in the annual E4E Raising Aspirations awards, which will take place later this year at the University of Derby.

“Last year we heard of incredible tales of adversity, courage and success and gave recognition to those schools and individuals – and the volunteers who go above and beyond in supporting young people – who we felt deserved praise.

“It’s always a highlight of the year and it will be good to have Rizvan involved this year.”

E4E are looking for volunteers for their programme of events in schools, and also sponsorship for the Raising Aspirations Awards. For further information, email [email protected] or [email protected]