Hull youngsters gain insight into one of city’s biggest industries

School children in Hull have gained insight into one of the city’s biggest industries after spending a day at leading holiday home manufacturer, Willerby.

The visit, organised by Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) Children’s University, saw dozens of year six pupils from Lift Green Way Primary School go behind-the-scenes at the manufacturer, touring the company’s facilities and learning about job opportunities in the industry.

Willerby colleagues from across the business volunteered their time to host a range of activities for pupils to get involved with, highlighting the broad range of roles within the business, from marketing and health and safety to interior design and electronics.

Throughout the day, the students had the opportunity to get hands-on with tasks inspired by real- life roles at Willerby, including constructing furniture destined for the holiday homes, creating their own social media marketing video and building an electronic circuit to power a built-in radio in the
holiday home.

They also learnt about health and safety in Willerby’s manufacturing facility, trying on personal protective equipment and discovering how Willerby ensures all its colleagues are safe while at work, as well as unleashing their creativity to create a mood board for their own holiday home, picking out flooring, materials for soft furnishings and more.

As well as getting stuck into the fun tasks, students spoke to Willerby employees and had the opportunity to ask questions about their roles, career journey and working life.

Among the colleagues was one of Willerby’s longest serving employees, Production Manager Glenn Craig, who has over 35 years of industry experience under his belt. Glenn spoke to students about the journey he has been on over the decades, and lessons he’s learnt in that time.

Electrical Process Engineer Chris Murphy was also on hand during the day and spoke to students about his experience of completing an apprenticeship, sharing insight into different training pathways and routes into industry.

Lift Green Way Primary School year six teacher, Lucy Fisher, said: “The experience day at Willerby has been a fantastic way to open students’ eyes to the wide variety of jobs that are available to them right here in Hull.

“Many of the children have never seen inside a holiday home before so they were just in awe of how luxurious they are inside and really enjoyed learning about everything that goes into building the homes and the sales process.

“It was inspiring to meet so many Willerby team members and I think it’s helped to demonstrate what contributes to a good work ethic.”

HEY Children’s University’s Head of Development, Sarah Brodie, added: “The holiday homes industry employs thousands of people in the region, so it’s highly likely that some of these children will work in the industry one day.

“It’s been a great opportunity for them to see exactly what goes into making a holiday home and the wide range of jobs that are available, not only in manufacturing but in areas such as marketing, design and more. A huge thank you to Willerby for its support!”

The experience day is just one of a series of activities Willerby is taking part in this year to support the work of HEY Children’s University, which is one of the manufacturer’s two Charities of the Year.

Throughout the year, the business and its colleagues have organised a range of fundraisers in aid of the Children’s University, which works to create unique learning opportunities and inspire children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Willerby colleagues are currently gearing up to take part in a sports day showdown with fellow Hull-based holiday home manufacturer, Swift. Colleagues from the two industry giants will go head-to-head on July 18 th to raise vital funds for the worthy cause.

Willerby’s Director of People, Susan Pender, said: “We’re proud to support HEY Children’s University and have been fundraising for the charity throughout the year, but this was a great opportunity to go one step further and engage with the local community directly.

“I was really impressed by the creativity of my colleagues who came up with inspiring and engaging activities for the students, to help explain complicated ideas in a fun and understandable way.

“I’d like to thank all of our team who volunteered their time to inspire these young people, some of whom may well become the next generation of Willerby colleagues!”