Advantage West Midlands is to sponsor CBI West Midlands' Business in the Classroom initiative over the next two years with a £110,000 package of support.

Business in the Classroom promotes partnerships between businesses and schools which aim to increase young people's knowledge of the work place and improve their employability skills.

AWM's sponsorship will commence on 1st May and the funding will enable Business in the Classroom to be rolled out across the West Midlands and Oxfordshire region by 2011.  A full time Programme Manager will be employed by the CBI West Midlands to help develop the initiative.

Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham launched the initiative in September 2008, following an initial case study between Simple Health & Beauty Ltd and Small Heath School.  As part of the first phase, a further seven CBI member companies have formed partnerships with schools in the region and a wide range of projects are underway.  

Geoff Percy, Chairman of the CBI West Midlands comments; "We are delighted to announce AWM's sponsorship of Business in the Classroom. The first six months of the initiative have proved how valuable one on one partnerships between business and schools can be.  The young people involved have become better able to understand the needs of business and, most importantly, are developing the employability skills which will be vital for their future careers. This is especially important in the current climate. Through working with education providers businesses are investing in our future workforce, ensuring young people will be better equipped with the competencies demanded by an increasingly competitive jobs market."

In particular, the initiative places focus on the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills.  It encourages young people to understand the benefits of studying these subjects in terms of future employment opportunities. The shortage of STEM skilled talent in the UK means that employers increasingly recruit from elsewhere in the EU.  The UK's future economic growth and prosperity hinges on the need for a world-class skills base.  Business in the Classroom provides the opportunity for businesses to actively make a difference and help address the skills gap in the region.

Mick Laverty, Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, said: "The West Midlands, like the rest of the country, needs more young people to become interested in business, now more so than ever.

"Advantage West Midlands is delighted to support the CBI Business in the Classroom project, which will help raise awareness among young people of the exciting career opportunities business has to offer, while also emphasising the skills needed to succeed.

"Bringing our businesses and schools closer together like this provides a fantastic opportunity to develop in our young people a real enthusiasm for business at the same time as developing their capabilities and nurturing their spirit of enterprise.

"I am extremely pleased the CBI has started this work in our region."