Hear from Patrick Marks, who reflects on his week of work experience with us, and what he learnt about the community business sector
As a student going into my second year of A levels with an interest in doing history at University (particularly in social history), work experience at Plunkett UK was a no brainer. To help communities own their pubs, shops and various other assets, especially in rural areas, really interests me as it can rejuvenate the local economies. I understood the aims of Plunkett already going into the work experience week, but I really wanted to dig deeper into the actual process that goes on into making these community-owned businesses as successful as they are.
I live in a small village in Oxfordshire that is in drastic need of community ownership. Since the summer of 2022 our pub has been closed and the effects on the village community have been noticeable. Pubs, villages, cafés and other assets have the potential to reinvigorate life back into the community. I am lucky to live close to towns and cities with these facilities, so I could not imagine the difficulties facing rural communities and the vast positive impacts of having these “social hubs”
Patrick outside Plunkett HQ, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
The recently published Impact Report and The Future of Rural Retail Report really gave me an insight into how impactful Plunkett is. Going through The Future of Rural Retail with Membership Manager and community shop volunteer Laura Olver helped me to understand how Plunkett is helping community shops diversify their income following through on their ethos of “more than” a pub or “more than” a shop. Laura also explained the dangers facing local shops due to vast supermarket chains that dominate the sector. I learnt to appreciate how Plunkett is working hard to improve the links between the community-owned businesses and local producers, working with suppliers for the best of the community.
The whole team at Plunkett planned my week thoughtfully, particularly Head of External Affairs, David Lydiat, who set up my work experience.
I was able to gain experience in how Plunkett is well positioned to influence policy through tasks David gave me throughout the week. Researching Departments like The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and creating a mailing list of MPs who Plunkett could potentially get in contact with helped me develop the skills of parliamentary intelligence. It also gave me vital understanding in how the different committees, departments, directors and ministers operate and the chain of command of government, not just in Westminster, but also in the devolved parliaments for Wales and Scotland.
Through the wise words of Communications Manager Andrew Dubock and Comms & Marketing Officer Michael Wolverson, I learnt about how the re-branding of Plunkett has been transformative, allowing for more creativity. I also produced a post for Plunkett’s social media with statistics from the Impact Report. I really liked how Plunkett did not just give me an understanding of the procedure of making businesses community-owned but also the branding and communications side of the business.
Patrick working alongside David Lydiat, Head of External Affairs
I was also privy to a selection of meetings. I attended a Special Interest Groups EDI meeting with Community Business Manager, Diane Cameron, and Impact Officer, George Ogier. We discussed the upcoming sessions focusing on “hidden diversities” which in this case involved bringing in guest speakers to talk about army veterans and care leavers. George and Diane’s plan to make the webinars as informal as possible without filming the occasion showed to me that Plunkett cares about the people of the community and not just the setting up and running of a business.
I also attended an AGM planning meeting with Membership Manager Sarah Benn and Chief Operating Officer Kath Morrison. They helped me to understand how the Board of Trustees works and the nature of charitable enterprises.
A chat with Chief Executive James Alcock gave me a real insight into how the charity operates. James answered my many questions with great expertise (and patience) with the meeting going over an hour longer than it was meant to!
My week at Plunkett has really helped me to understand how the aims of charities are achieved and the complexities behind their work. Doing work experience at Plunkett has been extremely helpful to me. It will improve the way I conduct my work and will also help me to further develop transferable skills like being able to communicate well with others and also in regard to undertaking research projects in the future.
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