Progressive Recruitment shows support for youth mentorship at the Raise Foundation

Every year, Progressive Recruitment takes part in the Raise Foundation event in support of young people at risk of disengagement. The Raise Foundation is a registered Australian charity which provides mentoring programs for young people in high schools and the wider community.

At this year’s event, we were delighted to have inspirational speaker Professor Michelle Simmons. Michelle is the 2018 Australian of the Year winner for her contribution to society as a quantum physicist and is currently developing a prototype quantum computer with a team of about 200 researchers across seven universities. Upon completion, the quantum computer is expected to solve complex problems within minutes instead of years.

Michelle spoke about how Australia is well positioned to lead the quantum revolution. We’ve learned that leading universities such as The University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, Macquarie University and University of Technology are collaboratively setting up the Sydney Quantum Academy – a start-up organisation that has already received a $500,000 grant from the New South Wales Government.

When questioned about the feasibility of the atomic-scale quantum computer, Michelle responded that “in science, doubt is generally considered an asset,” and that “doubting your understanding of something makes you try harder”.

The founders of the Raise Foundation also presented the organisation’s mission: “To impact the wellbeing of young people at risk of disengagement in Australia through best practice mentoring programs”. Julie Wood, Operations Manager at SThree agreed with this statement and added that “The Raise Foundation is a youth mentoring foundation that encourages and empowers young people to become resilient, capable and connected through best practice mentoring programs. It helps young people to stay in school and prepare them before they enter the workforce”.

We were also honoured to have Raise Foundation’s Patron David Gonski AC as host and key speaker. It was a great opportunity to hear David share his views on the Australian education system at the event. Earlier in the year, David released a report recommending ways that Australia’s current education system can be improved. According to the report, Australia’s education system needs to evolve urgently towards individualised learning. Through a personalised learning plan, students would be able to reach their full potential in the absence of the restrictive nature of year-level progression. In April 2018, the government agreed to implement the report’s recommendations ahead of the new national schooling agreement.

The Raise Foundation is a cause that deeply resonates with our purpose and principles at Progressive Recruitment. We have set up SThree Foundation in 2016 to support bright young people from underprivileged and diverse backgrounds into STEM industries. Since then we have developed unique programs that have helped support over 500 young people on their journey towards a career in STEM. At Progressive Recruitment, we understand the value of mentoring and training for progress. This year, we won ‘Best Training and Development Initiatives’ at the Recruitment International Awards for the continued investment Progressive Recruitment has placed in the careers of our employees.

If you would like to know why our people love working at Progressive Recruitment and find out more about the causes we support, watch this video or call us on 02 9285 1000 for a chat.

Progressive Recruitment is part of the larger SThree Group.