The Chamber's Business School Partnership BSP Programme got under way for this academic year with a virtual meeting on 8 November.

Around 150 teachers and Chamber members attended the Online Briefing for BSP 2021/22, to learn more about programme's objectives and meet their partner for the first time. This year, 56 member companies and 53 secondary schools are participating.

"While the pandemic has caused the suspension and cancellation of many Chamber programmes and events, the Business School Partnership Programme is one of our core student programmes and has continued running throughout," said Chamber CEO George Leung. 

He thanked all the participating companies and schools for making this possible, particularly given the difficult conditions over the past two years. 

Wilkins Lau, Assistant Manager of Talent Development, then introduced the BSP Programme in more detail. Established in 2001, it connects students with the commercial world by linking a school with a member company for a series of talks, visits, workshops and other activities.

The programme allows for a great deal of flexibility in terms of format and scheduling, enabling member companies to find the most appropriate activities for the students and their business. 

The participating companies come from a wide range of industries which varies from year to year – from banking to legal and retail and architecture. This gives the students the opportunity to get a good understanding of the different types of jobs available at different companies, and the sorts of qualifications they will need for their chosen career paths. The Chamber hopes to inspire the students to understand more about themselves and to prepare for their future studies and career. 

At the online briefing, the representatives from member companies and schools had the chance to discuss the activity plans for the year ahead.

The BSP Programme also includes the Student Ambassador Scheme, which gives a select number of students the opportunity to participate in some large-scale business events, such as the Chief Executive Luncheon and the Chamber's annual Business Summit. 

Due to social-distancing restrictions, some of the BSP Programme's events have been held online. However, with the pandemic coming under control, we have been able to organize more physical events in recent months. We hope we will be able to continue this practice as we move into the new year.