Shropshire ‘Future Leaders’ careers event attracts 272 students

More than 270 year 10 students from seven schools across Shropshire took part in the second annual interactive careers event at Shrewsbury School last Friday, which was declared a resounding success.

Business ambassadors from 20 companies across Shropshire and surrounding area ran workshops for the students at the second annual ‘Future Leaders – Celebrating Shropshire’ event.

The event was a collaboration between Andrew Goff, managing director of Interactive Opportunities Ltd, Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and Shrewsbury School who are planning to involve even more schools and businesses next year. The event was sponsored by Coforge, a global digital services company which has a growing base in Telford.

They are keen to demonstrate to students the vast and exciting array of career opportunities that exist within Shropshire and  surrounding area.

Students were able to explore diverse career paths, gain practical insights and interact directly with industry experts at workshops ranging from entrepreneurship, law, agriculture, IT and cyber security to financial services, charities, sales and marketing, manufacturing, recycling and construction.

In addition, there were morning and afternoon workshops with Loud Speaker designed to help the students improve their communication skills.

Mr Goff thanked all the business ambassadors for the time and effort they committed to inspiring the students.: “It has been absolutely wonderful to see amazing, curious, young students from across Shropshire being so engaged and asking probing questions of the fantastic businesses that we have within the region,” he said

“The feedback has been really positive and the general theme running through the day was ‘where will AI feature in our future?’ There has been really good, engaged debate between the younger generation and the businesses who were impressed by the range of questions asked.”

Chris Wain, Shrewsbury School’s Head of Futures, said he was delighted that students from seven schools had attended the event and praised the employers for their engaging workshops. It was important that as many students as possible had the opportunity to meet employers.

“We have set the bar reasonably high in what we have achieved and it’s about how we grow again next year when we may want to invite 10 or more schools. There is a genuine desire for employers and schools to develop a positive relationship.”

Mark Robinson, Coforge’s vice president of delivery, said: “The opportunity to connect with young adults from a diverse set of schools has compounded my interest in developing local talent and keeping them here in Shropshire.

“These young people are being exposed to some amazing companies that have a genuine passion to do the right thing not just for Shropshire but also for the future leaders.”

Speakers included ambassadors from Halls, Coforge, 8 Financial Planning, Barclays Bank, AO Recycling, Start Tech, Morris Lubricants, Shoothill, Agrii, EVC Solutions, Lanyon Bowdler, BUY-FROM Creative Agency, Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, Makefast, Shropshire IT Recycling, McPhillips (Wellington) Limited, Aviramp, Harper Adams University, The Fedora Consultancy, Loud Speaker and Tandem Comms.

Feedback from the students was very positive. “Today has opened my eyes to a lot of businesses,” said Zach Herbert from Meole Brace School, who is thinking of following his father into a banking career.

Meole Brace Schoolmates Aimee Flynn and Izzy Jones said they enjoyed workshop by Rikesh Bhatt, of 8 Financial Planning, because he spoke about his experiences as a business owner.

“He told us to do what we are passionate about,” added Issy. “It was really inspiring. Today has been a very informative experience because it shows the number of different careers out there.”

Emmanuel Chukwuemeka, from Shrewsbury Academy, said: “The Loud Speaker workshop was amazing. It reminded me about the importance of being my authentic self. I also enjoyed the cyber security workshop.”

Carol France, business and humanities teacher at The Priory School, Shrewsbury, stressed the importance of the Future Leaders event.

“It allows the students to experience different career avenues, gives them direction and helps raise their aspirations and relate what they are doing in the classroom to the real world,” she said.

Lewis Hardie, new business development manager at Start Tech, digital IT and cyber security specialists in Shrewsbury, said: “There is a huge skills gap in our sector and we are going to need more people to fill these gaps.

“I didn’t have anybody come into my school, when I was younger, to explain what opportunities there were out there. For me to be able to give that guidance and advice in what I do is a privileged and something I really enjoy.”

Mike Davies, assistant engineering manager at AO Recycling, which recycles waste electrical and electronic equipment, said: “Because I had a bit of turbulent childhood, I want to give back to the students and show them that they are not limited by their background to what they can achieve.

“I think the Future Leaders event is fantastic and it’s really good to see the integration between the schools and the businesses.”