It has never been more important to support young people in developing skills for the workplace.

That’s the view of Sue Cook, chief executive of Junior Achievement in the island.

The island’s largest educational charity has launched a campaign to find more volunteers to help with its work.

Despite the challenges faced by the pandemic, Junior Achievement Isle of Man supported more than 3,950 students in the past academic year.

This was only possible thanks to the dedication and commitment of more than 240 volunteers, from island businesses and the wider community, who have collectively donated 1,824 hours of their time to work across all Isle of Man primary and secondary schools.

Ms Cook told Business News: ’I am not sure if the Manx public is aware of the scale of our work and how many thousands of young people we have helped over the last decade.

’We believe what makes Junior Achievement unique is the interaction that students have with people from business, whose range of skills and experience help to bring the workshops to life.

’It has never been more important to support young people in developing skills for the workplace and we need more volunteers to support our work. Our amazing team comes back each year because they love it. That feeling you get when you inspire a young person and help them prepare for the future is truly like no other.

’We would love to hear from new individuals who would like to find out more about volunteering with Junior Achievement and the wonderful opportunities available. We’d encourage anyone interested to get in touch for an informal chat.’

The charity raises £300,000 annually to ensure that every child in education in the Isle of Man has free access to workshops, and the lessons are designed in such a way that every student can participate, regardless of their academic ability.

A spokesman said Junior Achievement is working hard to run extra classes to make up for the recent school closures and is in desperate need of additional volunteer resources, as well as funding.

To find out more about Junior Achievement and the volunteering roles available, contact Sue Cook at [email protected] or visit the Junior Achievement website: www.jaiom.im