The Grass IS Greener on the Other Side

Cooperation and teamwork is more important than ever as we seek to create opportunities and lasting experiences in the fields of education and training. Ecorys UK’s Birmingham office houses some of the delivery team for the Erasmus+ UK National Agency, in partnership with the British Council. On July 4 the team were able to apply the principles of the new programme in its annual commitment to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Office attire was left at home in exchange for garden greens as staff spent a day volunteering at Ackers Adventure.

‘Chip off the Old Block’ Ecorys UK staff hard at work maintaining the public footpaths.

Based in inner city Birmingham, Ackers Adventure centre is a venue that offers a unique range of adventures for all ages and abilities. With an area over 75 acres split in two halves by the historic Grand Union Canal, overgrown ponds and maintenance of public walkways is often a challenge to keep on top of.

“It was nice to mix the teams and have people from different levels working all together” commented Annelies Stalpaert, a Project Manager for Erasmus+

Key Action 2 cooperation and exchange of good practice highlights the principle of working together and sharing innovative practices, whereas working in the office environment can restrict the sharing of good practices across multiple teams. The volunteering day, in the outdoors, provided an ideal opportunity to work together involving, as it did, new starters from across different teams with staff from numerous backgrounds.

“The volunteering day was officially my first day at Ecorys. I imagine that this will be probably be the most memorable first day of my professional life… It was also a great way to meet everyone in a more informal setting” added Khalid Miah, TCA Manager at Erasmus+

Enriching the knowledge gained by sharing it with others and working as a team not only gives something back, in this case to the local community, but supports the development of staff. The CSR event was a great learning experience, not just from gaining new skills that are not necessarily found in the office environment but it also gave staff the opportunity to learn more about the local community.

Similarly, by aiming to boost skills, Erasmus+ also helps to continue the modernisation of education, training and youth work, building transnational partnerships, fostering collaboration and addressing issues in education, youth and sport.

Despite a day of blistering from shovelling and muscle aches a plenty, the team took away with them, not just the satisfaction of helping to support the local community but the major benefits of working with each other in a genuinely shared experience.

If you would like to find out more about the opportunities and benefits that Erasmus+ has locally, nationally and internationally please feel free to sign up to our newsletter.

 

 

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