National Careers Week 2020 – Supporting Schools

In over three decades of business development and people training,  I’ve learnt a lot about what makes a difference in the training and development of people in an organisation.  But one truth that is quite often missed is that there are other places where we can easily learn leadership and team working skills.

These are in our homes, communities, and schools. If we can only recognise these opportunities, maybe by the time our young people get into the work environment, they will be more confident and better managers, leaders and team players.

This week, I and a few other business people visited one of our local secondary schools to share our experiences in careers and business.  What a great morning.  Being back in a school after so many years was really strange if I’m honest.  It brought back lots of memories, all good I would say.  It made me think about what it was like for me at that age, what I thought about the world and my prospects for the future at that time

I thought about what difference it might have made for me if I had received this type of input from people in the business world.  I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left school. The careers that were recommended by teachers as those we should have aimed for were not what I was interested in.  You know, Scientist, Doctor, Nurse, Teacher, but none of these appealed to my interest or skills. So I left school completely clueless in the career field.

Thankfully, many, many years later everything has turned out well, but I think if I’d had an opportunity to hear from people on different career paths, I may have found my way more quickly.  So, well done to those at Beaumont Leys Secondary School. I hope that our visit, spending time talking to Year 8 students, answering their questions honestly and sharing our experiences will help them to understand that there are many more options for their career path than the few that are normally banded around.

The students were engaged, asked lots of really good questions and I’m sure saw new possibilities.

Training starts with being able to see possibilities, good examples of things we are familiar with and those we’re not. Widening a young person’s perspectives can help them aim higher more quickly or provide clarity of focus.

Schools who engage with the world of business and the wider community allow their students to seem more and dream bigger.