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INSIDE THE POWER: Whyalla GFG Foundation students in the Port Adelaide Football Club team room.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
GFG Alliance has shared a story with Council about its foundation students who were treated to a trip to Adelaide recently. Below is the statement from GFG:
Insipiring tomorrow's leaders
Whyalla’s GFG Foundation students have taken the next exciting step in their journey, travelling to Adelaide to learn more about leadership and to be inspired by other young achievers.
Seventeen students took part in the trip, attending the RAAF Air Show for a special STEM event, before being hosted by the Port Adelaide Football Club where they heard from young players Zak Butters and Xavier Duursma on what it takes to be a professional athlete.
According to GFG Foundation Chief Operating Officer, Jonny Samengo, this advice will have great relevance to them in any field of work.
“This insight will help them understand that whilst talent is important in any profession, it takes so much more than that to be successful,” Mr Samengo said.
“You need dedication, persistence, resilience and hard work to complement that talent, so we hope this provides inspiration for them to develop across all of these areas.”
GFG Foundation student Jordan McDiarmid said he learnt a lot during the Adelaide visit and was also benefiting from the broader program.
“On this trip, I’ve learnt about different jobs and career paths, and that there’s a lot more to footy clubs than just the sport side of things – there’s a lot of people that help make it successful,” he said.
“And the foundation program itself has been really good – it’s about how we can play a part
in making a better future for Whyalla.”
The foundation was first established as a UK charity in 2016 by GFG Alliance Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta and his wife Nicola, aiming to help young people gain a better understanding of industry and the opportunities it presents.
Mr Samengo said the pilot program had been running in Whyalla since the start of term three.
“The idea of the pilot program is to get an understanding of the needs of the young people of Whyalla regarding their personal development, knowledge of STEM and desire for future employment,” he said.
“We’re doing this through directly involving them in STEM activities, as well as giving them some unique first‐hand experiences – such as this Adelaide visit and a tour of the Whyalla Steelworks – that will inspire and excite them as to what is available to them after school.
“Most of these young people have lived all their lives in Whyalla, but have only seen the steelworks from a distance, so they were quite excited to be able to experience it first‐hand.
"It’s this excitement that can help encourage them to stay in Whyalla and pursue a career in industry.
“Over the past six months, we have learned as much from them as they have from us, and we look forward to using these learnings to expand the program across Australia, particularly in the communities in which GFG operates.”
Mr Samengo thanked UniSA, CSIRO, RAAF, Port Adelaide, Regional Express and all of the GFG employees volunteering as mentors for helping make the pilot program such a success todate.