Awards delight for Smith

Swans Community Trust’s Premier League Enterprise co-ordinator Graham Smith was recognised for his work within the community at Swansea University’s Employability Academy awards dinner.

Picking up The SEA Outstanding Contribution to Employability award at the annual event, Smith was rewarded for the part he played in the team that organised the Business in the Bay challenge earlier in the season.

The challenge saw teams from a range of universities, including Swansea University’s School of Management as well as Cardiff Met and Loughborough, compete in business tasks to help the students enhance their employability outside of academia ahead of graduating.

“I’m really grateful to Swansea University Swansea Employability Academy and School of Management for giving me the Outstanding Contribution to Employability award,” said Smith. “It was a complete surprise and a real honour. I think it’s reflective of the terrific work Swansea City Community Trust are doing across the area as we work to help people in Wales have better lives.”

Jess Loomba, from the Swansea University School of Management, added: “Working in collaboration with Swansea City Community Trust for Business in the Bay was a pleasure. Graham ensured that everything ran smoothly and was significant in helping with the organisation of the competition including the running of an assessment centre to choose the Swansea University team.”

The Business in the Bay event witnessed our Premier League Enterprise project venture into higher education for the first time – after mainly focusing on delivering enterprise education in secondary schools – and demonstrates the continued success and reach of the community initiative.

“It’s been a real pleasure to be able to expand the Community Trust’s enterprise education and work with Jess Loomba and Swansea University School of Management over the past 18 months,” added Smith. “One of our objectives as a Trust is to inspire young people to develop their skills and reach their potential.

“The Business in the Bay competition was a highlight of year for me as it encapsulated this perfectly. To host talented students from all over the UK at the Liberty Stadium and support them in developing their business and employability skills though this competition was a really worthwhile endeavour.

"We saw some excellent business ideas and listened to some top quality presentations. This is a partnership we hope to continue developing, and look forward to some exciting times in the years ahead!”

For more information about Premier League Enterprise, please email Graham@scfccommunitytrust.co.uk