Manchester United Foundation launches DXC partnership
In an innovative collaboration, Manchester United’s official digital transformation and shirt sleeve partner, DXC, has teamed up with Manchester United Foundation to inspire and enable young people to become the next generation of leaders.
Engaging with young people, the partnership will help shape the future of work by developing their key digital and social skills.
DXC – Presenting Partner of Manchester United Foundation – will work with the club’s associated charity to introduce career possibilities in the technology sector. It will also focus on mentoring, personal development and providing innovative sessions to build social leaders of the future.
Exploring new technologies, skills and providing access to new programmes, the partnership will connect and strengthen the community by creating opportunities and empowering young people to make positive choices in their lives.
To celebrate the launch, students from seven Foundation partner schools were invited to attend a digital workshop event at Old Trafford hosted by the Foundation and DXC.
Seventeen DXC and Manchester United employees volunteered their time to host a carousel of digital and teambuilding activities, including designing an app interface, coding skills, and educating the students about emerging technologies.
Josh Green, senior financial analyst at DXC, expressed the importance of volunteering his time for the event: “I’m a United fan from down the road in Stretford, and this is my opportunity to give back to my local community, which is important to me. We really believe that this partnership can shape the lives of young people and I’m so excited to see how it develops.”
Also volunteering their time was Sam Scott, senior digital project manager at Manchester United. She said: “It was inspiring to see the students given the opportunity to use their imagination and collaborate with friends. It’s particularly special for me to see young girls engaging and enjoying themselves here today.
“We believe that if you can see it, then you can be it, so if we can help build their skills, we can show that there are lots of opportunities for them both at the club and in the digital industry.”
Callum Cairns, skills development programme lead at DXC, helped organise the event. He said: “Seeing the students’ reactions to the tasks we set them was fantastic. To see the effort they put into creating the games and the app was actually quite moving, as you can see it’s opened their eyes to something new.
“We want to show young people what opportunities are out there and potentially enable them to get their foot in the door of the technology sector. We want to give the chance for these young people to develop their own skills, whilst they’re still at school, to be in a better position to find a pathway in this career if they choose to do so.”
Callum, 12, from Great Academy Ashton enjoyed the event: “We made a Manchester United app, which I really enjoyed. Working with technology is something that I want to do, and I feel that today has made me want to go for that even more.
“Today has shown us all about the opportunities that are out there for young people, and how there will be new jobs in technology over the years. Technology is going to be a big part of our lives and careers and today has shown this.”
Callum was one of six students - selected from Stretford High School, Levenshulme High School for Girls, Whalley Range High School for Girls and Great Academy Ashton - who walked out with Manchester United's first-team players as a mascot in Thursday night's Europa League match against Omonia Nicosia.
In a special moment at the partnership launch event, DXC and Foundation staff awarded these students the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for being the most engaged with the activities and for demonstrating initiative, enthusiasm and teamwork skills throughout the day.
Excited about receiving the honour, and ahead of Thursday's match, Callum said: “It feels really good to know that I’m going to be a Manchester United mascot. I’m a United fan and I’ve always wanted to be a mascot. I can’t wait to stand next to the players; I just love them all!”
Zara, 12, from Levenshulme High School was also awarded a mascot place.
“This is not something that a lot of people get to do,” she said. “It really is an honour. Walking out with the players, seeing them one-to-one, will be amazing. I’m used to watching them on a screen, so to see them up close, I can’t wait!”
For more information on DXC’s partnership with Manchester United visit dxc.to/manutd-web.