In October 2020, global built environment consultancy firm Arup sponsored a second event, Black Youth in Business (BYIB), with The Decision Factory (TDF).

The BYIB programme was established to offer black students a soft introduction into different areas of business and to peak interest in a range of careers from a young age. The BYIB event was also made open to all genders, a well received addition by parents in the community.

Arup assisted TDF by offering a group of their highly skilled workforce to give the students a series of presentations on the following subjects:

• Civil Engineering
• Town Planning
• Bridge Design
• Project Management
• Digital Consulting

Over a two day period, the following successes were noted:

• 21 students attended the online event: 15 of the students were male, with the other 6 being female.
• Following feedback from the parents 90% of them mentioned they would recommend this event to others.
• 3 students from last year’s event came back to attend the 2020 edition.
• 100% of the children who attended gave positive feedback on their experience.
• 4 of the children formed positive relationships with the other children. This was evident with them spending an additional hour online with each other to refine their assignments together.

TDF Director Ramone Johnson had this to say about the event:

“Considering this was our first online event, I was amazed by the consistent engagement  from the students. They were proactive, inquisitive and patient over both days. The sponsors’ presentations were both age appropriate for all who attended but also highly informative. It was truly warming to see.”

Arup’s Manchester office leader Mike Wilton had this to say about the event:

“As we battle the pandemic, engaging our young people in a positive future is so important – well done to the team who ran a very successful virtual Black Youth in Business event last week.  It’s great that we were able to engage with so many young people from the Black communities of our city, and many thanks to the Millennium Powerhouse for helping some of our participants with the IT equipment to join us.   I was particularly pleased with the very positive feedback from parents about the event.”

The team at TDF would like to thank all supporters of the 2020 event, including 84 Youth, a Manchester based youth-led organisation aiming to address youth issues resulting from social inequalities.

Despite the challenges that the year has presented, we delivered a successful event and maintained critical engagement with the community. We already look forward to arranging the next event for young people.