I’ve found the programme amazing so far. It’s been so helpful and useful for me, not just in terms of my studies but personally as well.
Power2 Aspire is our structured support programme for over 18s who are currently in further or higher education and aspire to have a professional career. The programme provides 1:1 support and group workshops focusing on wellbeing, independence and employability skills.
“I joined Power2 Aspire when I moved from London to Leeds for university. Moving away from home, leaving London and adjusting to university life was a big change for me. I wasn’t sure how to manage everything — my workload, my wellbeing or how to start thinking about my future career.”
“Being able to speak to my mentor Andrew whenever I needed him was a great support system for me. Andrew gave me advice on university including how to manage workload, assignments and how to manage stress. Having him there was invaluable to me – and it still is. I’m still carrying those pieces of advice that he gave me into my second year of university.”
“On Power2 Aspire, we’ve attended several different workshops to help our career development. My favourite was the full day of employability workshop during the summer. There were several individual sessions with different companies they went through how to stand out to employers, how to network and how to put ourselves out there.”
“At this stage in my life, the employability day was particularly useful as I’m currently looking for placements for my university industry placement next year. I’ve taken a lot of knowledge from the employability workshop that day and have been using the advice in my applications.”
While on the Power2 Aspire programme, Elijah had the opportunity to intern as a Junior Administration Officer with us. He worked with our data, human resources, communications and fundraising teams which further developed his knowledge and skills.
“I learnt so many different things in the role. For example, how to manage office work and how to work efficiently. I discovered that it’s very different to working in a lecture hall or a classroom.”
The team at Power2 made me feel so welcome right from the first day. They were all super nice, conversational and helpful, especially Jennifer, my manager. It was daunting being an intern, but they all helped me through the work, always reassuring me that I was doing a good job. I’ve loved my time here.”
“As an intern, I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment after a long piece of work. One project I worked on took me three weeks to complete. It was a huge achievement for me that took a lot of hard work. It taught me to persevere and get things done. The feeling of completing it was amazing.”
“The internship will help me immensely in my career. The skills I’ve gained have significantly boosted my CV, giving me a competitive edge in the job market. I have Power2 to thank for that.”
During his internship, Elijah was invited on our team away day where our London and North West teams came together to celebrate our achievements of the year. There, Elijah had the opportunity to speak on stage with Andrew about his experience of the programme.
“The team at Power2 were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met and that isn’t an overstatement.”
“It was useful for me to know the team a bit more and how they help young people on each of their programmes. I think that when you fully understand where you’re working, it makes you want to work harder.”
“Throughout the day, I could tell how proud the team were of the work they do. They were so excited to share their work. That sense of achievement really rubs off on you and it was great for me to also share how much the Power2 Aspire programme has helped me.”
Having my mentor there was invaluable to me - and it still is. I’m still carrying those pieces of advice into my second year of university.
