Students gain course data thanks to local firm

Students from Arrow Vale High School in Redditch descended on local firm, Oakland International, as part of their applied business studies assignment, spending the morning questioning staff on a range of internal and external factors affecting their day to day business.

The visit was an integral part of their AS level assignment and was worth one third of their overall grade. Playing host to the students, Oakland’s HR/Purchasing and Facilities Controller, Sue Walton, said the company welcomes interaction with local schools and colleges: “Oakland is delighted to support education initiatives based within the workplace environment, and is more than happy to assist students in their research.”

The company is known for its active promotion for greater links between schools and the business community and supports other Arrow Vale students through projects such as the promotion of languages within schools, believed by Oakland to be key to the students’ future employment prospects.

Said Sue: “The aim for the students will be to find out key aspects of Oakland’s business such as the influence of external environmental and economic factors, the use of market research within our business activities and how Oakland’s teams work together to deliver a service bespoke to our individual wholesaler, supplier, manufacturer and retailer needs.”

A veteran partner, chosen to work with major retailers and suppliers across the UK and Ireland, and European wholesale and convenience markets, and includes Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Asda, Morrisons, SPAR, Nisa-Today’s, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland, Somerfield, Landmark, Co-op, Makro, Dunnes, Superquinn, Supervalu and Musgrave, Oakland’s support continues to be valued by the school.

Steve Last Subject Leader for Business: “Students benefit enormously from collecting data first hand when completing assignments in business. It provides them with a real world context to apply the theories and concepts taught in the classroom. It also improves student’s communication skills by visiting the operations and interviewing key personnel. We are extremely grateful to Oakland International for their support and will be using the company in the future for further visits.”

The students had a deadline in which to complete their investigations, are now well on target to deliver their results thanks to Oakland stepping up to the plate, despite it being the start of the company’s busiest season.