KPMG Support Twining Clients
Earlier this year a team of KPMG employees invited an eager group of Twining clients to an all-day employability skills workshop at their Canary Wharf offices.
Arranged by 'Volunteer Matters', as part of their Employee Volunteering program, the day involved clients and KPMG volunteers working together in a mix of group and one-to-one activities.
14 clients attended and nine KPMG volunteers made it an exciting and informative event. The day started with a presentation and discussion session for the KPMG team. Andy Webb, Twining’s Employer Services Manager delivered the presentation, around supporting people with mental health problems into work. The volunteers then worked with clients for the rest of the day helping with CV writing, interview skills, and sharing their experiences and knowledge.
KPMG is one of one of the world’s leading providers of Audit, Tax and Advisory services and are supported by Volunteering Matters (formerly CSV) to encourage employee volunteering across the UK.
Every client who attended agreed the day was worthwhile, that they learned useful skills and were more confident as a result. “Excellent day, thank you” was a typical feedback comment. People found engaging in conversations with different people about a variety of employment topics and being given empathetic and helpful support, was particularly valuable.
Twining also took the opportunity to use the event to help reduce workplace stigma around mental health issues, and were really impressed with the feedback from the volunteers. Everyone who participated agreed it was an effective way of raising awareness of mental health issues in workplace and that they are now more willing to talk about it in the workplace.
Andy Webb said:
We are so grateful for the support from KPMG - the day was an outstanding success both for the clients and in terms of raising awareness of mental health in the workplace. One client has already put their new found confidence to good use by finding a job and being open about their mental health status. We also look forward to developing our relationship with KPMG and hope to deliver further workshops in partnership
