Local MP Alex Cunningham is encouraging schools and employers in his Stockton North constituency to register with the new free service ‘Inspiring the Future’ which is designed to help young people get access to career talks and advice from a wide variety of professionals, and aims to give state schools the same easy access to working professionals as leading independent schools.
The scheme will see tens of thousands of people from all sectors and professions volunteering to go into state schools and colleges to talk about their jobs, careers, and the education routes they took.
The programme is based on extensive research which demonstrates that:
- The more opportunities young people have to meet working professionals whilst at school the less likely they are to be NEET as young adults
- Young people from leading independent schools are far more likely to have access to career talks from working professionals than their peers who attend non-selective state schools
Inspiring the Future is the sister programme of Speakers for Schools which is the idea of BBC Business Editor, Robert Peston, who wants young people in disadvantaged schools to have the same opportunities to hear from inspirational speakers as those who attend independent schools. The idea is to level the playing field and for it to become the norm for leaders in their fields to give talks in state schools and colleges.
Last October, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition all gave school talks as part of the launch of Speakers for Schools, and in December Lord Coe launched a special London 2012 Olympics-themed week. In January this year, Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates, spoke to students at Deptford Green School in Lewisham.
Alex said:
“It is vital that children from state schools, without the networks that more advantaged children from private schools have, are able to access good career advice, and hearing from local employers, from CEOs to charities, and builders to bankers, is a great way to do this.
‘Raising young people’s aspirations and helping them achieve their potential is the responsibility of the whole community and that is why I am encouraging both schools and local employers to work together and encourage young people to think big”.
For more information and to register please go to www.inspiringthefuture.org
