“I had to hold in my screams of excitement as [I was] inspired by individuals who are already doing what they love! It also allowed me to hear about their experiences and what I can work on while I’m on my way to finishing university.” - Jessie
Earlier this year we hosted our Industry Showcase series which brought together Power2 Aspire participants like Jessie with professionals working across nine industries who shared their experience and expertise.
Between January and March, we held Industry Showcases in Business & Finance, Sustainability, Social Impact & Public Service, Construction & Infrastructure, Law, Creative Arts, Technology, IT & Engineering, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Psychology.
In industries like these, you are nine times more likely to be recruited with a referral from an insider, and so, professional careers are still often closed off to young people who – through no fault of their own – lack connections in the industry.
Each Industry Showcase ended with the professional panellists sharing their contact details and encouraging the attendees to follow up and start building their connections.
Person-centred discussions
That wasn’t the only benefit for attendees as Jessie, a final-year student in Music, Technology and Performance at De Montfort University, attests. Small and intimate group sizes enabled informal and personalised conversations tailored to the career needs and interests of the students present. Some attendees, for example, wanted to know about routes into specific career paths, while others wanted to explore their career options with a sector.
Mutually beneficial relationships
As well as the value the Industry Showcases provided to programme participants, our corporate and other professional partners benefitted too. Paul Miller, credit control officer at Triodos Bank and a panellist at the Business & Finance Industry Showcase, said, “I gained from sharing with people in similar fields, seeing and hearing about how they do things, what they see as important versus what you do, challenging your own thinking, being pushed by people trying to explore what you do and why you do it”.
Turn up as you are
Fear of being behind or not being knowledgeable can prevent young people from accessing opportunities. Our Industry Showcases aimed to ease those worries. “I had concerns about not knowing enough and feeling underprepared as I approach the job market. However, the guests explained that when applying as a graduate, companies know we are at the beginning of our professional journey and do not expect us to know everything. I was delighted to hear all the insights from the guests and I felt reassured. Employers recognise our need to learn and grow within the industry. This understanding has alleviated my fears and helped my confidence as I prepare to take the next steps in my career.” – Gabriel.
Get in touch
If you’d like to provide opportunities to the young people we support. Get in touch by emailing Andrew.Brook@power2.org.
