SMITHCORP RAISES £45,832

SMITHCORP RAISES £45,832 TO HELP UK CHARITIES THROUGH THE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.

The Big Night In (TBNI), coincided with what would have been
our annual charity ball, where we raise money for an overseas aid trip.
However, with the ball and the trip unable to go ahead this year, we thought
we’d join in with TBNI.

SmithCorp Charitable Trust decided to donate 25,000 to the
cause and invited the team to donate as much or as little as they liked.

The SmithCorp team have always been supportive of charity initiatives but we were blown away by the team's generosity.

We're so pleased that collectively, we've
been able to contribute to supporting UK charities at this difficult time.

We're Hiring in Jersey

An opportunity for an experienced recruitment consultant has arisen in our Jersey office.

T15 International is an education recruitment specialist. We find and place inspiring teachers across the UK as well as globally. Due to our continued success, we’re seeking an experienced recruitment professional to join our team in Jersey.

For those unfamiliar with the island, Jersey offers a fantastic lifestyle with stunning beaches combined with outdoor activities (surfing, cycling, sailing, equestrian etc) and a vibrant bar and restaurant scene.  The education and medical provision are unrivalled resulting in a great environment to raise a family – equally, the booming business sector offers the prospect to earn with 20% tax whilst enjoying island life. There are daily flights to all major mainland airports; you can be back in the UK in just 30 minutes, should you wish.

With the backing of the highly successful group structure of SmithCorp (the UK’s largest privately-owned group of education recruitment companies), this is a serious prospect for an individual with a proven track record to take ownership of a new venture.

In addition to uncapped earning potential, we’ll be offering the successful applicant –

• Basic salary of £25 – 70k dependent on experience

• Lucrative personal commission structure (uncapped)

• Business profit share

• Generous package to include 25 days holiday, private medical care and mobile phone

• 20% standard tax rate

• Scope to fast track to Director level in just 2-5 years

Offering a vibrant, sociable culture, the right individual will thrive in a fast-paced, lively environment and possess a positive, tenacious attitude alongside the following -

• Proven billing record (any sector considered)

• Ability to bill and team lead/manage in tandem

• Understanding the importance of cultural alignment and leading from the front

• Ambition to fast-track career

• Appreciative of the sacrifices required to achieve success

Interested?

Send a CV with a cover letter outlining your suitability to lydia@t15international.com.

Mongolia Charity Project

In August seven of our SmithCorp employees travelled to Mongolia to embark on a charity project. The school our team worked on is based in Altanbulag in central Mongolia which is quite a rural area and is one of many that do not receive enough support from the government. This tends to force families to move into the City where they struggle to gain proper work and can end up in very poor circumstances.  Funded by the SmithCorp Charitable Trust the aim of this project was to build an outdoor stage and shelter for the local school to use for ceremonies, plays and presentations, and also to generally improve their facilities which gives the children more scope with what they can achieve.

After a 17 hour journey our team were met with lots of rain, though it did nothing to dampen their spirits as they got acquainted with Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar and readied themselves for their adventure ahead. They then travelled out into the country where they met their host families who would be sharing with them their home, food and shelter for the next 10 days.

We got to stay in yurts for two weeks which was an interesting experience to say the least! We were quite literally in the middle of nowhere…

True nomadic families living in traditional yurts is as close to the Mongolian culture as you can get and our guys experienced it first hand. It was extremely basic living conditions with no showers and the families all have to tend to their livestock, make their own dairy products and get their water from a well, and our guys got involved too!

With dryer and much hotter days ahead of them, the team started their hard work on the task at hand. This involved the team laying foundations, mixing and laying cement (by hand), making large wooden frames and building the entire roof along with painting and re surfacing. There was a lot to do and the team managed to get it all done and competed by the end of their trip which is a great achievement!

When we got there it was a bit run-down and it was clear that a lot of work needed to be done.

In-between working their socks off, milking cows and spending time with their host families (sometimes going horse riding), our team got some time in the class room with the children where they imparted some of their knowledge and had fun with the kids. Then with the building work done and some very tired backs and bones,  they got 2 days exploration and relaxation time where they hiked up a mountain to explore an old Buddhist temple and went to a national park and got extremely close to some of the wildlife.

Every day a few of us took a break from the building project to teach English to the children, which was really rewarding as they were all so enthusiastic and eager to learn!

They have all returned home and settled back in bringing with them their experiences and memories of what they achieved, and have reported back that it was an eye opening experience and they had an amazing time. It has been a very successful and immersive trip where everyone got to sample a very different way of life.

The team is currently creating a video to show at the Charity Ball in April 2020, which will detail the project in full.

The team; Ellie Rogers, Sophie Tomlin, Chris Povey, Grace Allen, George Lacey, Paddy Lawrance and Leanna Goldsworthy.
Thank you for putting in all your efforts and hard work to complete the project, and getting out of your comfort zone to help improve the lives of others who don’t have all the luxuries and opportunities that are available to others elsewhere.

Mike takes first SmithCorp Sabbatical

Mike was first take advantage of our new sabbaticals, taking his wife Jenni and baby daughter Ruby to the other side of the world.

Highlights from their trip included a drive along Australia’s Great Ocean Road, a tour of the Barossa wine region Smith Corp trainer Craig Wilkes and time travelling in Tasmania. On their way home they spent some time in Singapore – the highlight being cocktails on top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel .

When asked what he thought of SmithCorp’s newly introduced sabbaticals, Mike said “It has been brilliant. I would encourage everyone to take advantage of them. We all work really hard day to day. I’ve always been a big believer in using all your full holiday allowance to get away and stay fresh throughout the year but I think this extended period has been invaluable and it’s come at a great time for me. It has allowed me to switch off from work, spend time with my family and friends, get to know Ruby and really enjoy some of her early days whilst she has been learning to crawl. Jenni and I already have plans in place for our next sabbatical which I’ll be eligible for in less than four years time”.

Namibia Charity Project

Over the end of July and beginning of August eight of our SmithCorp employees took the opportunity and travelled to Namibia to embark on a charity project to help out a local primary school in a very small community in Damaraland, Namibia; a scenic yet rugged and dry area that is part of an elephant conservation scheme. Funded by the SmithCorp Charitable Trust the build itself was designed to provide the primary school with more protection from the local elephant population.

A.Gariseb Primary School is situated in a remote part of the desert and currently, the 280 students (the majority of whom stay on site during the week) are very susceptible to any wandering elephants, and are forced indoors whenever they are in the vicinity, sometimes for hours on end.

The purpose of the wall is to a provide a small sanctuary for the children, giving them an area they can play in, whilst ensuring they can do so in a safe manner.

The journey out for our volunteers was arduous, starting with a 25 hours delay in Heathrow, a stopover in Addis Ababa, arrival in Windhoek and ending with a 6 hour life-or-death thrill ride across the Namibian countryside in the back of a minibus which definitely had all 4 wheels off the road at one point!

On the first day they visited the site they would be based at for the duration of the trip – tents under the stars! They were extremely basic but comfortable and perfect to lay their heads down at the end of each day. All food was prepared by the local community and cooked over an open fire.

The early part of the week was spent focussing on preparing the site for the build – 17,000 bricks had to be moved into position near the wall. Several days were spent travelling up and down the short journey to the local river to excavate several sand-pits and multiple 50kg bags of cement had to be carried into position. Once the prep work was done and they had been shown the basics of laying bricks, they then spent most of the time building up the wall to the required 1.8m height, which was surprisingly straight!

Their days were hot, long and extremely tiring but they worked hard and put in everything they had to finish the project on time!

They also helped to construct a “jungle gym” consisting of several wooden structures to provide a playground for the children to use.

They were then lucky enough to have the chance to track the elephants and came face-to-face with them on multiple occasions before enjoying the local culture in Swakopmund. It was then time for the return journey home which thankfully went with slightly fewer hitches!

The team all had an incredible time and would recommend a volunteering trip to anyone who is considering it in the future

They are currently creating a video to show at the Charity Ball in November, which details the full construction of the project.

The team; Hannah Sinfield, Harriett Gibson, Dominic Holmes, Adam James, Jessica Sneddon, Sophie Chesterton, Joel Brickell and Joe Van Doorslaer

Leadership ... Flying High

It was a case of taking leadership to the next level during the month of March as our LDP leadership group participated in a drone flying session, led by The Phantom Flying School, UK’s longest established drone flying school.

Rob and Darren, both commercial drone pilots and trainers with the School, provided the introductory overview of the drone, the flight basics and the associated legislation and safety. It was then up to the leadership team to nail the task, ‘To create and develop a leadership video using a drone and video equipment’ … within 3 hours, and with no prior drone or video knowledge or experience!

It was a great learning activity enjoyed by all, which clearly highlighted many aspects of effective leadership – which were all discussed with a drink at the end of the day.

Take a look at what the guys came up with…

Volunteers Lend a Local Hand

The SmithCorp Charitable Trust has been busy again...

...but this time not building a school in a deprived part of the world, rather helping the Bristol community by refurbishing the halls and classrooms of a local junior school.

All in all, sixteen eager SmithCorp employees made full use of their paid volunteer day over the summer and put their back into helping out with this worthy cause.

Here is what the school’s Head teacher had to say:

“I am writing to express my sincere thanks for choosing Courtney Primary School as a beneficiary of your charitable work, for sending so many willing and productive volunteers to our School at the start of the summer holidays and for paying for our paint.

Courtney Primary School is on a journey.  We are determined to provide first class education to all our pupils. However, there are many challenges to overcome including the huge budgetary constraints acting on all schools, but particularly those in South Gloucestershire. The school had not been painted since its construction in 2011 and without your input we would not have been able to afford to paint many areas. Thanks to SmithCorp’s generosity, a significant proportion of the school has been repainted and we can now instigate an affordable and achievable rolling programme of decoration ensuring that [in the future] the school is always maintained to a good standard.

Thanks to SmithCorp’s generosity, a significant proportion of the school has been repainted...

All the classrooms and several other key areas of the school have undergone a remarkable transformation. They have gone from looking rather tired and uninspiring to bright, sparkling and enticing areas of work. The change in the school is clearly visible and lots of members of staff remarked on the difference without knowing what had happened over the holidays. The staffroom was looking very tired. It is now a much cleaner, lighter space which will inevitably provide a more positive space for staff to rest and work. The redecoration has clearly added a spring to the steps of many staff and will definitely be reflected in their work.

The classrooms have undergone the greatest transformation. Understandably, these had received the greatest wear and were looking very battered. We had hoped to repaint the majority of these but, thanks to the number of volunteers you provided and their work ethic, all the classrooms have been redecorated. They are now much healthier learning spaces and this has already been noted by teachers and pupils. Here are just a few of the comments pupils have made in the past two days:

“The school was dim and now it is a lot brighter”

“It is just a lot easier to work in class now”

“The displays on the wall are much more eye-catching now the walls are clean”

Once again, thank you so much for your contribution of both paints and volunteers and for helping make our school a positive, inspiring learning space.”

Well done to our volunteers and painting teams!

Costa Rica Charity Project

Last month eight of our SmithCorp employees travelled to Costa Rica to embark on a charity project. Funded by the SmithCorp Charitable Trust the aim was to build a primary school in a village 30 minutes from Nicoya, after it was ruined by an earthquake 6 years ago. Partnering with Projects Aboard to facilitate the project, we helped to improve the education and lives of the people still affected by this disaster.

The school is situated in a very rural part of Costa Rica right next to the Barra Honda National Park. Houses are few and far between and built by the families who occupy them. The area is very poor and with out the help of SmithCorp Charitable Trust this project would not have been completed for another 6 years.

The children were currently in a temporary classroom with torn plastic sheets as walls, which let in the heavy rain onto the desks.

On the first day we visited the site we would be based at for the next 2 weeks. The children were currently in a temporary classroom made from a corrugated roof and a concrete floor, with torn plastic sheets as walls, which let in the heavy rain onto the desks. The building of the new school had begun with the help of the locals who had put up the frame of the building and the concrete walls. However, it was still very much an empty shell. We knew we had our work cut out!

Most of our days were spent digging or cement mixing (or both) which I can safely say is a skill we feel we have all mastered .The sun was scorching in the day followed by thunderstorms in the afternoon. We created moats to direct the vast amount of rain so it wouldn’t flood our hard days work. Once the roof was on and the floor had set it was time to buff, plaster and paint the walls. The days were long, tiring and very hot but everyone worked their socks off! All of this work was guided by a local builder who became our legend, Jose, and a member of Projects Abroad, Oscar.

The days were long, tiring and very hot but everyone worked their socks off!

Mid completion the locals held a celebration day for the new school.  All of the students, the parents, and the community came to the site and cooked us food in show of thanks for the work we were doing for them. The community were so grateful and we could tell it was making a big impact on them. Donations were given to the school; football kits, trainers, books, teddy bears, sweets, pencils and paper. We spent the day interacting with the children by playing football and playground games. The principal of the school also gave a speech, which was filled with gratitude and love for the charity they had been given. 

The community were so grateful and we could tell it was making a big impact on them.

The money raised and donated went in to the building of the primary school, along with new toilets and a playground.

The team is currently creating a video to show at the Charity Ball in November, which details the full construction of the school.

Pura Vida!

The team; Sam Start, Sammy Harris, Lucy Sinclair, Heidi Hardman, Chris Povey, Nick Bamber Josh Murch, and Ryan Murtagh.
As the director of Projects Abroad put it, ‘Thank you very much, you have changed their world. It means a lot to everyone, this place can’t even been seen on a map’.