Supporting Social Mobility Through Public Speaking—MNG’s Youth Upskill Initiative

Mare Nostrum Group’s Managing Director, David Pickering, reflects on MNG’s recent charity work:

It’s now over four years since we first launched our ‘youth upskill initiative’ and in that period we have contributed a good deal to the impressive work of our charity partners through mentoring, running masterclasses, attending workshops and through fund raising efforts.

Anyone involved in a small business will know just how difficult it is to keep all the plates spinning at once. For Mare Nostrum it is no different, trying to combine the practical challenges of serving our publisher clients and running a healthy business, whilst looking after the less tangible elements which, when harnessed, can contribute to staff wellbeing, a stronger culture and the greater good.

Fortunately for Mare Nostrum we have our internal Charity Committee, tirelessly presided over by Katie Lee, which endeavours to keep pushing community outreach to the top of our collective agenda, constantly reminding us of the importance of our goal to help teens from difficult backgrounds build new skills and confidence that will assist them as they move through education, work and life. Ultimately, we set up this initiative to make a company contribution towards improving social mobility and if we can make even the smallest positive influence on the lives of the teenagers we work with, then it is all worthwhile.

Recently, the team has been sponsoring and volunteering at workshops run by Speakers Trust, an incredible charity which aims to unlock the potential of some of the most disadvantaged children in the UK by improving their ability to express themselves in front of groups and consequently build their confidence.

Jeanette Percival, David Pickering, and Amy Boyle attend Lawnswood School in Leeds.

Anyone who has been through school in the UK will recognise that unfortunately public speaking and communication is not a core part of the curriculum. Although Voice 21 UK (which is connected to Speakers Trust) is lobbying to build listening and speaking into the curriculum, children currently learn through a mixture of classroom instruction, reading and writing, and consequently most students emerge from school with little or no experience of public speaking. This lack of confidence has been exacerbated by the pandemic and in parts of the country considered to be social mobility cold spots, the situation can be even worse. Crucially, it is in these areas where Speakers Trust often seek to offer their workshops.

The practical goal of these workshops is to introduce the Year 10 students to key communication skills and techniques and then, through the course of the day, help them practise and build towards giving a short speech in front of all their peers. The best speakers then go on to give their speeches in front of a school assembly and the best of those go on to a regional event where they speak in front of hundreds of people. But regardless of how good their speech is, at the end of the workshop, all participants are left with a communication pamphlet which they can use to remind them of tips and techniques learned during the day. Ultimately, all students are left with the clear message that this workshop is just the beginning of their communication journey and if they are to become competent communicators, they must endeavour to keep practising, which will in turn improve their chances of being successful in the future at whatever they choose to do.

Amy Greene and David Pickering were delighted to be welcomed by Dan Bowman, Head of Humanities at Carr Manor Community School.

As a business we like to offer team members the opportunity to attend these sponsored workshops and I was delighted to see that over the past few weeks Amy Boyle and Amy Greene have followed in the footsteps of others at Mare Nostrum and attended two different workshops at Carr Manor Community School and Lawnswood School to assist Speakers Trust trainers. Both team members have commented on how incredible it was to witness the journey of some children, from barely being able to look you in the eye at the start of the day, to giving a small talk in front of their peers at the end. There are varying levels of ability and enthusiasm and no small amount of anxiety and emotion during the day, but the professional trainers, often with acting backgrounds, are superb in helping the students build confidence, practise techniques and deliver their talks at the end.

David Pickering in the House of Lords during the My Maiden Speech event.

I was also fortunate enough to be invited to another Speakers Trust initiative – My Maiden Speech – at the House of Lords, last year. This is a slightly different concept, but with a similar goal in mind. Here, children from 11 different schools are coached by Speakers Trust to deliver a speech on behalf of their chosen charity, with a focus on a key issue that concerns politicians and communities. It really was a wonderful event and I was absolutely astonished by the confidence and delivery of the 11 teenage speakers who spoke from personal experience and delivered speeches on a wide range of subjects including domestic abuse, employment for people with disabilities, the dangers of vaping, the importance of nature, support of the LGBTQ community and mental health in front of MPs, community heads and business leaders with aplomb. Delivered in that environment, with all those people present, I can only begin to imagine how positive an impact this experience will have on their lives and future success.

Well done Speakers Trust for making your focus such an essential, but often neglected, part of children’s lives and for quite clearly making such a positive impact.