Possibilities

Young Enterprise

In December 2014, AT&T announced how our mentoring program for secondary school students in Europe is gathering pace. More than 1,900 students at more than 60 schools in France, Germany, Slovakia, The Netherlands, Israel and the UK have enrolled for the 2014-15 academic year.

AT&T contributed $187,000 to Young Enterprise in 2014 to help manage the program. AT&T employee volunteers are working with Young Enterprise (member of JA Worldwide) and five other European members of JA to share their business knowledge and skills with young people. Students have the opportunity to join career skills master classes as well as learn what it’s like to work for a multinational company such as AT&T. AT&T has selected more than 60 schools near its offices as employee engagement and mentoring is an important part of the program. The locations of the schools include Kosice and Bratislava in Slovakia; The Hague and Amsterdam in The Netherlands; Boeblingen, Germany; Paris, France; Lod, Israel; and Havant, Redditch and London in the UK.

Students can join one or both of two programs offered by AT&T.

• For the entrepreneurial program, students have the chance to set up their own enterprise as part of Young Enterprise and JA-YE (Junior Achievement – Young Enterprise)’s Company Programme, over a period of three to 12 months and with the support of AT&T volunteer business mentors. They have the opportunity to enter the JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition where they compete with the best student companies from the 39 country members of JA-YE Europe.

• The employability program sets out the skills and knowledge young people need to succeed. They have the opportunity to join one-day workshops led by AT&T employees who teach work-readiness skills such as compiling personal goal statements, interview techniques and future study and career options. Where possible, students will gain work experience through job shadowing with AT&T employees.

In April 2014, six students from St Augustine’s Catholic High School in Redditch, UK spent a week of work experience at the AT&T Internet Data Center and offices in Redditch. They shadowed AT&T employee volunteers who showed them the business perspectives and corporate strategies of customer service management and assurance, finance, legal, project management, sales, asset management and technical sales consultancy. Five students entered the 2014 JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition.

Then in July 2014, AT&T employee volunteers in Slovakia welcomed 15 students for a day from four secondary schools in Bratislava, Kosice, Levice and Namestovo. The young people took part in customer meetings. Additionally, they learned how to project manage, design and present a mobile application. Four university undergraduate alumni of the UK and Slovak schools’ programs completed two month internships.