About this project

Connected Careers was an opportunity for employers to deliver workshops that enabled learners to access the job market or to become successful entrepreneurs by teaching industry relevant skills. Several workshops were delivered throughout the day and we asked employers to give bite sized chunks of wisdom to our learners after they delivered their sessions.

Our video resources can be used to highlight the need for employers to provide advice on the whole person approach to attaining career goals. They can also be used with students to show the importance of personal development alongside improving the academic skills necessary to be successful.

Connected Careers was delivered as part of our Teach Too project with web start-up CrowdSkills. You can find out more about the Teach Too programme at the Education and Training Foundation.

Young People need to learn to network

Joshua Uwadiae, founder of Superlative Youth and Microsoft Apprenticeship Ambassador, delivered a motivational seminar to a group of young people about personal growth and the benefits of apprenticeships. His feedback to learners outlines the need for them to improve the skills needed for networking for employment opportunities and developing contacts within the industry to share ideas and values.

Young people are adept at finding new avenues for communicating with each other using emerging technologies, but lack the fundamental skills of face to face networking. It is important for training providers to provide opportunities for learners to network with like-minded individuals, especially those who have already gained industry experience, and employees of companies within the relevant sector.

Importance of breaking learning into chunks

Yejide Adeoye, founder of Logic to Create, delivered a workshop on content management systems to web development students. Our digital skills students tend to become entrepreneurs and enter the world of work initially as freelancers. We have been working with banks to deliver useful financial advice for start-ups and freelancers and Yejide's advice to employers is to deliver sessions in manageable chunks.

For many of our students freelancing is very alien, so training providers need to be mindful not to overload learners with too much information on a new topic. Several small sessions delivered by employers are preferable to a lengthy one-off session where learners invariably become lost.

Importance of building a wider CV

Catherine Sargeant, IT Service Delivery Manager at Withers LLP, discussed the need to show a wider range of personal skills, including knowledge based research and community engagement. These wider skills say a lot about the candidate's commitment to their careers as well as being well-rounded individuals.

We internally promote and match learners to voluntary positions so that they can be involved in community projects, within their subject area. Training providers should promote active engagement in the community, as well as opportunities to develop the whole person alongside academic growth.

Importance of Enthusiasm

Debra Oakaby, Business Grower and Career Influencer at Link4Growth, discusses the need for learners to hold on to their enthusiasm while developing their business ideas and accessing the job market. We know that this can be a harrowing time for learners, especially in the current economic climate. Trainers should harness this enthusiasm, nurture it and utilise it during learning. Access to employers will help to build on this enthusiasm and enable learners to visualise their goals.

Importance of continuing to learn new skills

Jayesh Manjure, from UK Power Networks, delivered a session on SAP software and was impressed by the thirst for knowledge among the learners. As training providers we focus on the curriculum and often learning is linear. It is important to be aware of emerging technologies, new workflows and software, as well as the evolution of the industrial sector in order to pass this knowledge onto learners.

Exposure to new software, emerging technologies and new methods of working is vital to staying in line with industry and will improve a learner's chances of being employed. Employers are the best placed to explain this in a real world context.

Digital Marketing and Self Promotion

Laura Jones, Senior Marketing Manager at the Home Office, delivered a seminar on digital marketing. This is another important factor when considering freelancing or entrepreneurship, since many learners will struggle growing their client base without the proper tools to promote themselves.

Opportunities to discuss and build these skills within the curriculum of digital courses is important, but also having employers explain these essential techniques to learners is invaluable. Local entrepreneurs and freelancers should also be approached to speak to learners about their journey to success, providing more opportunities for learners visualise their goals.