In March 2018 the New Anglia Enterprise Adviser Network hosted ‘Bridging the Gap’ – The New Anglia Careers and Enterprise Conference which involved over 150 delegates in discussions around the importance of effective employer engagement and career education. Our ethos, to place students at the heart of the event; starting with a ‘real life’ recruitment process we offered positions to eleven student volunteers, who helped to support and run the event.
Students reflected post event;
“I really enjoyed my interview; it was equally challenging and stimulating and gave me experience of an interview situation …. I was pleased to be able to contribute to a conference where the importance of providing young people with experiences that inspire them and raise their aspirations…was highlighted.” – Yr 13 Student, Taverham High School
“The conference was an amazing experience. I learnt so much …. The highlight of the event for me was standing up in front of so many people, being able to say I had performed as well as I could. Coming away and saying that I was so proud of myself was an amazing feeling.” – Yr 10 Student, Wymondham College
“The skills I most enjoyed using on this day were communication skills. There were points that were more difficult than others, but we dealt with it as a team; when we couldn’t find something out we used our initiative and worked together to solve problems.” Yr 9 Student, Litcham High School
“I am still unsure on what I would like to do …. I am interested in engineering and I met a female engineer who spoke to me about her life and what it takes to be a successful woman in STEM” – Yr 10 Student, Wymondham College
The students summed up the themes of the day as collaboration, inspiration and exploration. Their ask of delegates; to continue to increase business engagement with education.
The New Anglia Enterprise Adviser Network gives schools, colleges and businesses the chance to do just this. Volunteers work with education to help them increase and improve the quality of student employer encounters. Find out more here – https://newanglia.co.uk/the-new-anglia-enterprise-adviser-network/.