Hilti Forges Ground-breaking Education Partnership With Hulme Grammar School to Ignite STEAM Careers

A Partnership Focused on Opportunity, Impact, and Community

This innovative relationship is designed to create tangible career pathways and enrich the educational experience for Hulme Grammar pupils, while providing direct opportunities and upskilling benefits for the wider Oldham community, and setting a new standard for industry involvement:

• Apprenticeship Investment & Community Benefit: Hilti has donated a proportion of its Degree Apprenticeship Levy to the school. This crucial funding will enable Hulme Grammar to offer new apprenticeship positions for its own staff members in vital support areas, including IT, Catering, and Early Years Education. This investment not only strengthens the school’s operational capacity but also focuses on upskilling adult learners in Oldham, directly creating valuable employment and educational opportunities within the local community.

 

• Assessment Centre Preparation: Sixth Form pupils will be invited to Hilti’s mock assessment centre in Manchester City Centre to experience and practice real-world recruitment processes, providing them with tangible feedback as they prepare for future careers and higher education applications.

 

• Unique Work Placements: Over the half-term holidays, Hilti is creating four unique work placement opportunities. These placements will offer pupils a complete 360-degree view of the business, tracing the customer journey from product sale to delivery, alongside tailored insights into core functions such as Engineering, Marketing, HR, and Finance.

 

• Pioneering Degree Apprenticeship: A key feature of the partnership is the pilot of a new Degree Apprenticeship programme in Fire Safety Engineering. This ground-breaking opportunity offers one pupil a career pathway within the Engineering department and a BEng degree through the University of Lancashire.

Global Alignment and Public Benefit: Supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This partnership explicitly supports Hulme Grammar School’s commitment to public benefit and outreach, directly contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those focused on improving local economies and providing education for all.

• Promoting Diversity: Hilti colleagues will actively participate in the school’s International Women’s Day celebrations, aiming to encourage more young women to pursue careers in STEM, raise aspirations, and break down traditional barriers. This focus on increasing diversity in technology and engineering supports SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

 

• Community Mentorship: Senior Hilti leadership will participate in school careers fairs, offering valuable mentorship to pupils, ensuring greater access to quality career education, which aligns with SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Setting a New Benchmark for Corporate-Education Integration

This partnership is truly unique in its depth and integration, demonstrating how industry and education can work together to identify mutual needs and objectives, establishing a progressive model for other companies to follow and making a direct and lasting difference to young people.

Kim Kerr, Head of People Experience at Hilti said:

“We believe this partnership with Hulme Grammar School is a blueprint for the future. Together, we are actively helping to equip young people with the skills and confidence to succeed in the modern, technological world, while also supporting adult learners in Oldham through upskilling apprenticeships. Our strong commitment to this collaboration, particularly our efforts to support and develop women in STEM, reflects our ambition to have a passionate and inclusive global team dedicated to Making Construction Better. We are proud to be the first global industry partner in the Brenda Mills Institute of Innovation and Technology.”

Marc Hornby, Director of Development and Public Benefit at Hulme Grammar added:

“The support from Hilti is transformative. This partnership, which not only enhances our internal capacity but also allows us to create tangible opportunities for young learners in Oldham and Greater Manchester, perfectly aligns with our public benefit goals and the vision of the Brenda Mills Institute. We hope this will inspire other leading companies to follow suit.”