From learning to doing: Bristol students tackle real property challenges
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September 19, 2023
A new property foundation class intended to give school pupils in Bristol an insight into the varied job roles and skills in the property sector was launched this month by the Bristol Property Inclusion Charter, UWE Bristol and Bristol WORKS.
The class involved volunteer mentors and experts connected with the property sector assisting and providing guidance to year 11 students from Orchard School, Bristol. The students were divided into groups and given a mock project of how they would use an empty unit in the Galleries Shop ping Centre, Bristol with a budget of one million pounds but subject to requirements that their idea must be sustainable and 20% of the space must be used for community purposes.
The class ended with the different groups of students making presentations to a panel of experts on their respective ideas.
The Bristol Property Inclusion Charter was launched in 2019 to boost diversity and inclusion in the Bristol Property Sector. The Charter was founded by Karl Brown who is a Commercial Property Partner in the Bristol office of national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP. Karl commented: “In order to achieve the objectives of the Charter I am determined to boost engagement between the property sector and local young people so that they can see the fantastic range of opportunities in the sector and local employers can engage with potential future recruits from diverse backgrounds. I am thrilled to have been able to launch the new property foundation class and was really impressed with the fantastic ideas and thoughts of the students from Orchard School.”
Ytzen van der Werf is the Programme Leader for Real Estate Finance & Investment at UWE Bristol and is the UWE lead on the new property foundation class. Ytzen commented: “UWE Bristol is committed to be a diverse and inclusive learning environment that strives to deliver future property professionals. It was great to see so many keen and inspiring students work on this real-life project. The panellists were baffled by the quality of the ideas and presentations put in front of us after just three hours work.”
Bristol Works is a service within Bristol City Council which facilitates opportunities for young people in Bristol to engage with local employers through a variety of experiences of work including careers talks, real work challenges, work experience opportunities and initiatives such as the property foundation class. Hayley Galpin who is the manager for Bristol WORKS commented: “It has been fantastic to collaborate with UWE and Bristol Property Inclusion Charter to showcase the variety of opportunities and pathways in the sector and the passion to bring more diversity within it. The students benefited hugely from hearing the stories and experiences of the mentors and gaining a snapshot into the industry which I am sure will spark their interest further.”
