The ‘Give me 5’ is designed to combat inequality. Lower secondary school students from priority education areas all over France will have a week’s immersion in Vinci’s activities. Their five days will give them the chance to learn about five business lines, with site visits, introductions to various professions, career testimonials from employees and job-search workshops. The students will be introduced to the world of business and to the many professions they could go into, with the aim of helping them choose their future careers.
Vinci is working in partnership with the French ministry of education on the scheme.
With ‘Give me 5’, Vinci also pledges to reserve 20% of its gap year and graduate internships for students from deprived neighbourhoods. Another aspect is the development of scheme whereby every year it will supports 10 people for whom finding a job would be particularly difficult.
The ‘Give me 5’ initiative is being rolled out in connection with the president of the France’s anti-poverty plan. Last July, the government announced a measure guaranteeing 30,000 work experience placements for lower secondary school students from priority education neighbourhoods, with 15,000 placements provided by the public and private sectors respectively.
Vinci chairman and CEO Xavier Huillard said: “With ‘Give me 5’, Vinci intends to open the doors of the corporate world to young people from underprivileged neighbourhoods. As our businesses have built up lasting and deep-rooted connections in their regions, it is our role to contribute to France’s social cohesion and to go the extra mile with our CSR [corportate social responsibility] commitments. The idea is also to make future generations realise that the corporate world is a wonderful opportunity for growth, independence and success.”
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