The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has encouraged its members to ‘build stronger links with local schools and colleges’ by becoming school governors.
In an article, published on the CBI website, Alister Bould, Head of Governance Programmes at Education and Employers, details the mutual benefits to businesses and schools of organisations becoming involved in school and college governance.
Although school governors make up the largest volunteer force in the country, the need for new governors remains high with more than 1 in 10 governor positions vacant at any time. There is an opportunity for schools to gain invaluable commercial experience by recruiting volunteers from professional organisations, addressing the need for a strong balance of skills around the governing body table as the challenges facing schools increase. On the other hand, governance is a great chance for professionals to develop their skills in financial management, recruitment, and strategic planning, and it can be a perfect addition to an organisation’s corporate social responsibility programme.
The Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds, remarked that there are few opportunities for an employer to have a more far-reaching impact in their local community ‘as being a governor or trustee at a school or college.’
And as Alister Bould points out, this is a ‘win-win’ situation for all those involved so, instead of asking: “Why should I get involved in school governance?” perhaps the question should be “Why wouldn’t I get involved in school governance?”
You can read the full article here.