As part of Sharkey’s community support initiative our Account Director Mark Halliday and Account Manager Scott Hagart, led a successful 2-day programme in our Edinburgh HQ in conjunction with The Royal Bank of Scotland and Street Soccer Scotland.  The programme was designed with the aim of motivating a group of individuals through a series of employment workshops and light-hearted teambuilding challenges with the ultimate goal of empowering the participants with the skills and confidence necessary to break the cycle of social exclusion and secure a positive destination.

The charity Street Soccer Scotland, founded in March 2009, was inspired by how sport and in particular, football can be the catalyst for positive social change. Street Soccer Scotland use football-inspired training and personal development as a medium to empower individuals who are affected by social exclusion to make positive changes in their lives.

The participants, Ricky Moore, Tom Hilson and Raymond Hamilton were coached and guided in areas including preparing for an interview, understanding human resources, health & safety, team building, motivation, teamwork and attitudes, behaviour in the workplace and mock employment interviews, allowing the team members to benefit from practical experience of what to expect when entering the working environment.

Sharkey were also delighted to further support the participants by donating laptops, with the addition of full IT support, to each attendee, enabling them to learn vital skills whilst also allowing them to produce professional CVs and complete job applications.

‘We anticipate that once the group has completed the programme, the attendees will be highly motivated, will have grown in confidence, and will have reached a willingness to move on to the next stage of considering their options and planning for the future. It is crucial that the support continues from this point and is readily available so that they are encouraged to engage with agencies who will provide the necessary direction to help them move along the right path to securing a positive destination. It’s been a very enjoyable and highly productive couple of days’ said Mark Halliday.

Positive feedback was also received from the participants:

‘I took a lot from the couple of days we completed especially the confidence it’s gave me to go for an interview and put myself across well enough, it was a really good experience and the guys at Sharkey were amazing’ said Raymond Hamilton.

‘I really enjoyed the course, I found getting an insight into the company from a local boy’s perspective was good. I thought the Belbin session was excellent for me but also to see how a team is structured. Improving my CV was very helpful and hope I can maybe get some work experience through the programme’ said Ricky Moore.

‘I thought the course was really cool I enjoyed the time with the guys, it was relaxed which was good it’s helped build my confidence to look for work easier now’ said Tom Hilson.

The Sharkey team were fully supported in this worthwhile endeavour by both The Royal Bank of Scotland and Street Soccer Scotland. We therefore, would like to thank Jamie Hogg (RBS Business Community Partner); John Paterson (RBS Retail LCO); Alan Finlayson (RBS Project Lead, Workplace Services, Shared Services); David Duke, (Street Soccer Scotland, Founder & CEO) and Andy Hook (Street Soccer Scotland, Development Manager – East).

‘The guys were delighted to be involved and all of them definitely gained something from attending, Tom thanked me after the session on Wednesday for having the chance to be there’

– Andy Hook, Development Manager (East), Street Soccer Scotland

On Friday 25^th and Saturday 26^th September, 2015 Sharkey supported The Royal Bank of Scotland by sending a team to take part in the RBS Corporate Generation Challenge. The gruelling two-day adventure consisted of 10 physical and mental challenges with a target of raising vital funds to support the STV Children’s Appeal and Prince’s Trust.

Based at The Royal Bank of Scotland’s world headquarters at Gogarburn, the RBS Corporate Generation Challenge brought together 30 teams drawn from The Royal Bank of Scotland, their corporate customers and corporate partners. Each team was competing for the coveted winner’s prize and consisted of four team members from all age ranges; Under 25, 25-35, 35-45 and 45 years of age and over.

The Sharkey team, comprised Graeme Maclean and Sabrina McKelvey from our finance department, Billy Ratcliffe our RBS Account Delivery Manager, together with one of the newest members of our expanding surveying team, Kenny Millar. The team finished the challenge in a very creditable 8^th place and were delighted to have raised £5000 in the process.

Split over two days this demanding challenge included a 10km relay race (Sharkey finishing 3rd), football skills tests, scrabble, orienteering, beep test, tug of war (which Sharkey won alongside RBS), army team building challenges, 100ft inflatable army assault course, Jenga, Connect 4 and finished with a lively music-themed quiz.

It wasn’t all hard work however, as on the Friday evening the competitors were allowed a little relaxation time, with a street party inside the Gogarburn facility and a charity auction and dinner, all of which were great fun and provided an ideal opportunity for everyone involved to socialise and interact.

‘Thanks to you all for taking part.  It was a fantastic event that has made a big difference to two great causes.  We are motoring towards the £200k mark which is exceptional. I think we can safely say that the ‘proof of concept’ has worked and we’ll be back again next year – bigger and better.  I hope we see you all there again’

-Chris Wilson, MD Branch & Private Banking, Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland

Sharkey would like to thank The Royal Bank of Scotland and everybody involved for making this such a successful event and helping to raise such a substantial amount to help fight child poverty. We are already looking forward to next year’s event!

STV Children’s Appeal

One in five children and young people in Scotland live in poverty, affecting over 220,000 people. The STV Children’s Appeal was launched in 2011 by The Hunter Foundation and STV to raise funds and to help make a real difference to those who need it most, by providing practical help like food and warm clothes; creating opportunities for training and employability; and enabling social and emotional support.

The Prince’s Trust

The Prince’s Trust supports 13 to 30 year-olds who are unemployed and those struggling at school and at risk of exclusion. Many of the young people helped by The Trust are in or leaving care, facing issues such as homelessness or mental health problems, or they have been in trouble with the law. Three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training. The Prince of Wales’s charity has helped 750,000 young people since 1976 and supports over 100 more each day.

Having previously raised more than £30,000 over the last few years the team at Sharkey have once again shown their true team spirit and character by participating in a variety of events and challenges that has pushed them both physically and mentally.

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Billy Ratcliffe and Michael Burnett from our Edinburgh office alongside 10 of our colleagues from the Lloyds Banking Group framework successfully completed the arduous National Three Peaks Challenge in aid of Help for Heroes. Set the daunting task of climbing the 3 highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in less than 24 hours, the team conquered Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scaffell Pike (England) and Snowdon (Wales) with a combined elevation of 11,178ft in 22 hours 55 minutes including travel time. Both the Sharkey men had their difficult moments, but with the help of some great team support plus a lot of sweat and perseverance, they pulled through with nothing more than a few aches and pains. They raised an amazing £6,815 for Help for Heroes.

Well done to Billy, Michael and the other team members who completed the challenge.

On Yer Bikes

A team of Sharkey staff from Edinburgh undertook the adventurous challenge to cycle the newly opened John Muir Way, some 130 miles from Helensburgh to Dunbar over two days. The team comprising David Lindsay, Peter Watson, David Blair, Mark Halliday, Colin Buckley, Billy Ratcliffe, Scott Hagart, Murray Martin and Sammy Hyett with a support crew of Ross Sharkey, Sabrina McKelvey and Greg Halliday completed the challenge in the allotted time raising an impressive £4,300. This has been distributed to several local charities which include SIMBA (Simpson’s Memory Box Appeal), The Sick Kids and Age Scotland.

With the exception of one trip to A&E following a disagreement with a dry-stone wall the challenge went well. We would like to thank all who donated and everybody involved and hope all aches and pains heal soon.

Wildlife Trust

The Sharkey team in London have been working very closely with the London Wildlife Trust by donating recycled materials from The Grey Coat Hospital project we are currently working on. Our donation has helped to protect and enhance the habitat for unique wildlife at the Woodberry Wetlands Park in Stoke Newington. Donating re-usable materials from our construction sites engages the local community and encourages understanding of the important part recycling has to play in protecting the local environment.

We at Sharkey would like to thank all who participated in the above challenges and also everyone who generously donated or helped out along the way.