Multimodal freight logistics company AV Dawson, which owns and operates Port of Middlesbrough, is a business that is actively welcoming students of all ages through its doors to discover the world of work.
The company, based on the River Tees, works with each stage of the education system; from primary and secondary schools, through to colleges and universities.
From work placement weeks to careers workshops and mentoring, AV Dawson is certainly a firm that is investing in young people and encouraging the next generation of employees into the business.
Louise Croce, people and culture director at AV Dawson Group said:
“We feel it’s important to inspire all ages into the world of work.
“We do this by working in collaboratively with a number of local education partners to create specific initiatives for students of all ages, so they can find out more about the business and see what it’s like working here.
“We have over 100 different roles undertaken by a workforce of around 200 employees – so there’s such a broad range of opportunities here.
“We’ve actually been delivering careers activities for a number of years. However, since launching our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, we’ve really formalised this into specific programmes of activities to enable us to fulfil our social ambitions.
The careers workplace event is a recent addition to AV Dawson’s school engagement programmes. allows the children to do just this. The all-day event sees the children come in and participate in tours across the business and learn more about the different roles. This is where they can see first-hand the various operations that are taking place across the business.
Louise continued:
“This is invaluable experience for them to see how a ship is loaded, or how a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) operates. This isn’t just important for exposing young people to roles that may be of interest to them, but it’s also about giving them a much broader understanding of industry and the important role that the transport, shipping and logistics sectors play.
“Opening our doors to more young people is vitally important to us as they are the future lifeblood of our organisation. We want students to see firsthand what goes on behind the scenes here. It’s also great to highlight the different industries and how the different departments work together.”
Not only does the firm work with students in schools, but it also engages with Teesside University and a number of local colleges and training providers including Redcar & Cleveland College, Middlesbrough College, Hartlepool College of Further Education, The Northern School of Art and Northern Skills too.
Each year AV Dawson works with The Northern School of Art on a 3D visualisation project. The students are given a live brief, where they create a 3D design of different locations across the port including the quayside and the automotive metals distribution centre. The project runs for over a 4-week period, allowing the students to practice both their design skills and their pitching skills.
Several AV Dawson colleagues are huge advocates for inspiring the next generation and are involved with careers events, mentoring and guest lecturing.
Louise concluded: “In addition to the importance of us undertaking these careers programmes, this has actually been a great opportunity for colleagues to develop too. Many colleagues also find this aspect of their role really rewarding and so we’re finding more and more colleagues are happy to get involved.”
Opportunities to thrive:
– Careers workshops
– Work placement weeks
– Guest lecturing
– Mentorship
