Students at Harrow College have been visited by business volunteers and employees from a number of leading organisations in an initiative aimed at providing the young learners with an insight into working life and the actions they can take now to benefit their future careers.
The event took place over a week (20-24 Nov) with the employees visiting students during class time at both the Harrow on the Hill campus and the Harrow Weald campus. Students listened intently as the guests spoke about their journeys from education to employment.
Companies represented at Harrow College during the week included NHS, Lancome, Investec Bank, Royal Mail, Lloyds Banking Group, Yves Saint-Laurent, Royal Bank of Scotland and more. Many of the speakers gave tips on what the students could do now. Networking was a recurring topic with student being encouraged to grow their contacts and connections from all walks of life using the LinkedIn online social networking tool. Others spoke about the importance of developing skills, taking opportunities and building work experience to successfully climb the career ladder.
Michelle Carrington, a HR Professional and one of the guest speakers said; “It’s really important for young people to meet and speak to real people in work and to hear first-hand about the journey required to transition from education into employment”.
The event was delivered by Working Knowledge - a social enterprise that exists to open the eyes of business to the young talent available locally. Working Knowledge have many years’ experience of partnering with the Further and Higher Education sectors to support the education of full time learners through employer engagement.
Speaking at the end of the week which students described as being ‘inspiring’ and ‘motivating’, Lee Janaway, Head of Learner Services, Experience & Employment at Harrow College said:
“Harrow College is focused towards providing students with the skills, knowledge and experiences that will prepare them for their future employment aspirations. Therefore we are excited to work with Working Knowledge again this year to bring in Business volunteers into all curriculum areas to share their knowledge and experiences with our students. Stage 1 of this activity has seen 70 business volunteers come into the college and we hope to maintain these working relationships throughout the year and draw upon their expertise to the benefit of our student.”
Click here for more on Careers and Employability at Harrow College.