Careers Fairs and the Wolf Run: Your latest Prosser Knowles company update

Our team has plenty going on this summer, with several careers events at local schools and an upcoming charity run.

Keep reading to learn all about the recent school career days we’ve attended, plus a particularly muddy charity event happening in September.

Our 2024 careers fair visits, as told by Senior Associate, Laura Evans

Myself and my colleagues Paula Aston and Matthew Freemantle attended a careers fair at Waseley Hills High School on 25 April this year.

Students from each year group attended the fair throughout the day so we had the opportunity to speak with more than 300 children aged 12 to 18. We had some very good conversations where we explained how rewarding a career in financial services can be, alternative careers within the profession, and possible career pathways into financial advice. We spoke mostly to the Year 12 and 13s, who were closer to making these important career decisions.

There were approximately 15 employer stalls that attended the day and the follow up from the school was fantastically positive. We handed out Prosser Knowles tote bags which started a trend across the whole school!

Stourport High School

My colleague Nicola and I attended a careers fair at Stourport High School on 28  June this year, this being our second year attending the event.

The students attending this event were younger than at Waseley, as they came up from primary school Years 5 and 6 (ages 10 to 12). Three schools from the Severn Academies Educational Trust attended the event and there were approximately 12 exhibitors and more than 300 children in attendance.

The aim of the day was to show the children how doing well across the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and maths) could develop into a career across these subjects. Due to the younger audience, we made our exhibition a bit more fun by adding an activity for the children to take part in – a “guess the coins in the jar” challenge.

We also tailored our discussions to encourage the children to bring their maths learning home, by saving their pocket money and seeing how quickly this can grow. The children really enjoyed the day, particularly as one of the exhibitors was an ice cream man!

The organiser, Toni Branagh-Wall, sent us an email after the event: “The day was a hit. All the teachers have reported that the children returned to school excited to discuss what they had learned and their new career choices!”

Both events were a fantastic opportunity to enthuse about how rewarding a career in financial advice can be and to encourage more young people to join the profession.

Financial services need young and talented people to want to join the profession in order to survive. At Prosser Knowles, we are proud to have a younger demographic of advisers than many other firms, having encouraged development from within the company alongside participation in apprenticeship schemes for many years.

I was taken on as an apprentice shortly after graduating from Stourport High School in 2010. It was thanks to the ongoing encouragement of Prosser Knowles and mentoring from my wonderful colleagues, that I was able to achieve such a fulfilling career as an adviser.

We look forward to attending many more school careers events in the future!

Our next charity event is the Wolf Run, in support of The Family Haven

You might remember the recent success of Jon Bissett and our friends at Griffiths Marshall Business Advisory, who completed the Three Peaks Challenge for charity in June.

Our next charitable endeavour is set to be another physical challenge for our team, alongside brave participants from Griffiths Marshall Business Advisory, with whom we work closely.

This time, we’ll be taking part in the local Wolf Run on Saturday 14 September.

The Wolf Run is a 10 km course that involves mud, climbing in, over, under, and through obstacles, more mud, jumping in a lake (optional – you can walk around it!), even more mud, and of course, running, jogging, or walking.

We have 15 “wolves” running from Prosser Knowles and our friends at Griffiths Marshall Business Advisory:

• Matthew Freemantle
• Leighton Parkes
• Millie Court
• Laura Evans
• Nicholas Broughton
• Jonathan Bissett
• Edward Brecknell
• Vanessa Coates
• Rachel Robb
• Gavin Sterry
• Toby Vaughan
• Charlie Bonnell
• Caitlin Macauley
• Nicola Hale
• Nicola Price

We’re running in support of The Family Haven, a charity we have worked with for two years now. The Family Haven works with vulnerable families around Gloucestershire, providing support around education, mental health, and accessing community services that could improve their lives.

Matt Freemantle, a financial planner here at Prosser Knowles, is organising our participation in this event.

Matt says, “I did the spring Wolf Run around two years ago, and I must be honest, I was a bit anxious in the build-up, thinking I wasn’t fit enough. BUT… You don’t have to be an athlete to take part!

“Yes, it is a demanding 10 km run and I’ve recommended to my colleagues that they do some form of training in the build up to the event. You have 2.5 hours to complete the 10 km course and you can go around any obstacle that is too challenging. However, the Wolf Run is all about you pushing yourself beyond what you think you can do and working as a team. People will help you over, under and through all obstacles – you shouldn’t be afraid to ask a marshal or a fellow runner for help. You can do more than you think!

“The course is set up superbly, with course marshals along the way to not only help guide you, but to give you encouragement to overcome 30 exhilarating man-made and natural obstacles. As you cross the finish line, your well-deserved finisher shirt awaits, boasting a one-of-a-kind design tailored specifically for each event.”

If you’d like to sponsor our Wolf Runners and show your support for The Family Haven, we’d be very grateful for any donations made to our GoFundMe page.

Come back for our next company update, where we’ll let you know how our “wolves” got on and how much they raised for this important cause.