"It is essential for employers in creative industries to facilitate these connections with schools and provide opportunities for young people to hear directly from employees in creative roles."
Overview
Inspiring the Future’s free online platform for schools invites volunteers from the world of work into schools and colleges from across England. They are able to connect with volunteers from a range of creative roles in various industries to inspire students and promote the diverse range of jobs and opportunities available in the creative sector.
Ricards Lodge High School planned and coordinated an impressive one day event for their sixth form as part of an end of term activity day for the whole school as part of Discover! Creative Careers Month. Working with Inspiring the Future they were able to organise multiple volunteers from creative industries speaking to their students across a day of workshops and presentations, formal and informal to 350+ students.
There were talks from a phenomenally diverse range of volunteers, including a designer of Women-specific Cricket Clothing, Head of Public Engagement at The Courtauld, a BBC Producer, and the founder of a Media company.
Number of young people reached: Over 350
Advice for similar companies/organisations
It is essential for employers in creative industries to facilitate these connections with schools and provide opportunities for young people to hear directly from employees in creative roles.
The aspirations of young people, even at the end of their full-time education as these students are closely linked to what they see every day either in the world around them or social media. Even an hour with one volunteer, presenting their role and answering questions from young people, can provide a tangible difference to a student’s future – our Inspiring the Future platform enables you to do just this.
For schools, opportunities for these interactions in the classroom are vital. Our research shows they provide young people with links between their learning and the world of work, motivate them to achieve, and give them the opportunity to gain practical insights into a wide range of jobs. Creative careers are an area where young people may understand the least about what opportunities are available to them, with these opportunities so important about challenging stereotypes around what roles in the sector are in practice.
Organising through Inspiring the Future, just as Ricards Lodge did, is easy. Simply sign up, set up an activity, and invite volunteers in your local area to inspire your students.
Can you tell us why you believe it’s important for industry to get directly involved in inspiring and informing young people about careers in the creative industries through projects like Discover?
Young people having direct access to employers in creative roles is essential to broadening their horizons and challenging perceptions about roles they otherwise would not have access to. One-to-one interactions with volunteers from the world of work can spark inspiration as students build connections with relatable people doing creative jobs, which is why Ricards Lodge thought holding their Careers Day with creative industry volunteers was important and linking it into Discover! Creative Careers Month made it even more inspiring.
As one teacher at the school said following the event ‘our students just know the standard jobs like being a doctor, lawyer and engineer, and not roles outside of them’, ‘It’s important for us to help them realise that professions aren’t linear as you can follow what you’re interested in or passionate about. Even having one person come in and talk to them one-to-one makes such a difference and broadens their thinking’.
The impact on young people from these interactions is immense, and schools value this greatly. Building these connections to help broaden thinking is key. As Year 12 students met Ann, a former BBC Producer and journalist, they heard about her role working on important live events such as the King’s Birthday and documentaries in Africa about the history of the Slave Trade. A creative role such as this may have seemed out of reach for the students, but an hour of presentation and lively discussion showed Ann was a normal person from a similar background to them, working in a ‘dream’ role she was passionate about.
Demonstrating the importance of challenging perceptions about creative roles, Ann herself said, ‘Everyone knows about jobs in TV but a lot of young people don’t know what the job I have involves...they often think that everybody who works in media is a TV presenter and they do not realise there’s a lot more to it!’. The impact is something she thinks is important, too. ‘I think if I can give any kind of insight to young people, in terms of the different jobs available and the qualities you need to get into these roles, then I should’, Ann added.
For Olivia, a Year 12 student studying 3D Design and Psychology, hearing from Head of Public Engagement at The Courtauld Institute of Art, Cathy, was incredibly impactful. Following a presentation about Cathy’s opportunities from working in art and museums across a career, she discussed aspirations with the five students in her class to provide advice. Given Olivia’s studies, finding a way to combine a passion for art and an interest in psychology seemed challenging as she ‘wants a creative aspect in her career in the future’. Cathy responded by talking about an art psychotherapist working at the Horniman Museum in South London, combining both these passions to help young people explore feelings through creativity. Olivia said she plans to go to the Museum to find out more as a result – again providing a tangible demonstration of how just an hour of face-to-face interaction with young people can potentially transform their career path.