Beresford Street Kitchen crew members experience life at Ogier

Continuing its partnership with Beresford Street Kitchen, Ogier in Jersey is offering the charity's crew members an exciting insight into the world of work.

Six crew members from local charity, Beresford Street Kitchen (BSK), recently visited Ogier's office in Jersey for the first in a series of office tours designed to support their journey towards open employment.

BSK provides quality education, training and employment opportunities for people with learning disabilities and / or autism. Their vision is of an inclusive workforce where people can maximise their potential, be recognised for their skills, and be regarded positively and with respect.

Organised by Ogier employees, the office tour was a collaboration between the firm's CSR Committee and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Employee Network to provide BSK crew members with an insight into a different working environment and learn about office based job roles.

"Exploring ways to build meaningful charity partnerships that create real social impact is something we're passionate about at Ogier," said Leanne Allison from Ogier's Jersey CSR Committee. "As a corporate partner of BSK supporting their workplace training programme, we wanted to offer additional support in a meaningful way. Being able to engage with the crew members during the tour was equally educational for our team. We look forward to welcoming BSK to Ogier again in the near future."

BSK Academy's Learning Lead, Rob d'Orleans said: "Having the opportunity of collaborating with Ogier on a tour of their workplace has given the BSK crew an invaluable chance to explore a greater diversity of job opportunities, expanding their professional horizons beyond what they might have encountered otherwise."

During the tour, the BSK crew met colleagues from across the business and learnt about court room attire and etiquette, boardroom meetings, preparing documents and more.

BSK crew member Heidi Morely added: "I thought everyone explained very well what they did at Ogier. I really liked seeing the different areas and all the different types of jobs there are. I enjoyed having a go at filing."

Fellow BSK crew member Rachel Christie added: "The tour was very good to do because I never did anything like this before and I saw a lot of new jobs. I would tell others to go on a tour like this."

Last year, Ogier in Jersey donated £10,000 to BSK to contribute to their workplace training programme with teams of volunteers also supporting two of the charity's fundraising events. Find out more.