Introduction – ‘There is a role for everyone!’

To kick off the day, Emerald Group CEO Vicky Williams welcomed the children and young people from One In A Million’s Windhill Hub, giving them an introduction to the company, what they do, the job roles available, how to apply for a job role and the qualifications and skills needed for a variety of roles within the company.

Making a book - ‘There's a book inside of everyone’.

The young people were split into 3 x teams and set the days challenge, which was to come up with a concept for a new book, publish it, market it and sell it to a range of buyers, working with Emerald staff members.

Technology - ‘Hello world’

The next stage of the day was learning all about digital marketing and how to put your book on the Internet, which included coding, web design, pricing, editing and going live!

From marketing to sales - ‘Time to Make Some Money!’

This section of the day was led by Shariq Mumtaz, Global Sales Director, (and OIAM school governor), who introduced the young people to Sundar Radhakrishnan, Regional Director for Emerald India, who joined us via live video link! They gave the young people their top tips for selling their books.

Meet the buyer - ‘Sell, sell, sell!’

Once briefed, it was time for the young people to meet the buyers and sell their books. They met Emerald colleagues who were given the roles of; ‘easy sales’, ‘hard sales’ and ‘no sales’. The young people were very impressive using their skills of persuasion!

It’s a wrap - ‘show me the money!’

To wrap up what was a fantastic day, Danielle reiterated that there is a role for everyone at Emerald. It was time for the young people to count their money and claim the prizes. All the children got “paid” for doing their job and the best sales team get a special prize.

What Emerald had to say about the day:

“I would just like to extend my thanks for giving us the opportunity to work with your young people this morning. Our staff volunteers were very energised by the experience, and are chomping at the bit to do this again if you so choose”. Danielle Ormshaw, Emerald Publishing.

What the OIAM children & young people had to say:

• “It was really fun!”.
• “I really enjoyed selling our book.... One of the women said that I should write my book and sell it in real life”.
• “I write my own stories at home... my favourite part was writing our story."
• “I enjoyed every part of today”.
• “I enjoyed everything about today. It was so much different to being at the skate park”.
• “I saw jobs today that I would like to do, like building a website and selling to potential customers; I also realised that there are many ways to get a job, you don’t always have to go to University or College”.

Feedback following the visit from our children and young people:

• Not one of our young people had experienced anything like this before.
• Every one enjoyed the experienced either very much indeed (57%) or totally (43%); a great result indeed.
• Every one saw a job or role that they are interested in or inspired by (86% either very much or totally).
• Everyone was more excited about getting a job in the future (71% very much so or totally.
• Everyone said they were now more informed about the world of work (43% stating to a great degree).

On behalf of everyone at One In A Million, we would like to express our sincere thanks to Danielle and team at Emerald Publishing for inspiring our children and young people and giving them an incredible introduction to the world of work.

Who Are Emerald Publishing?

Emerald Publishing is one of the world's leading digital first publishers, commissioning, curating and showcasing research that can make a real difference.

We work with thousands of universities and business schools across the world to share knowledge and provoke the kind of debate that leads to positive change. We are a family business passionate about people and doing things differently.