AAT Celebrates First Aspirations Employability Diploma Final of 2025

Mihnea Cojocaru and Oliver Karwowski-Lauzer in a photo with their employer, Cerys Long, Geotechnical & Environmental Associates.

The first Aspirations Employability Diploma final of 2025 marked a significant milestone in the academic year, bringing together students from six of our academies. The event, which took place at the end of January, featured Year 12 students from Budmouth, Magna, Park, Rivers, Space Studio and Wykham Park/Futures, all vying for top honors in the Trust’s innovative employability program.

The Employability Diploma is a dynamic programme designed to equip students with the skills and experience needed to thrive in the fast-changing world. The Diploma integrates power skill development with real-world business challenges, helping young people prepare for future careers across diverse industries.

A Day of Celebration and Achievement

Held at our HQ next to Heathrow Airport, the final saw students from all six schools present their projects, which ranged from well-developed marketing strategies for a fast food restaurant (Rivers) to a set of resources for non-digital play created for a local nursery (Wykham Park/Futures). 

Students demonstrated a range of skills, from communication and problem-solving to creativity and collaboration, as well as perseverance, hard graft and a willingness to learn. Park Academy students impressed everyone when they delivered their presentation smoothly without notes, the Budmouth team used gamification to spread their message through a competitive app and Magna showed everyone how to introduce a narrative to a presentation with a clearly mapped out introductory slide.

Winners and Final Remarks

After careful consideration by our panel of industry professionals, Kiran Kaur (AAT), Martin Railton (S&P Global) and Mayank Taneja (Pladis Global), the winners were announced as Mihnea Cojocaru and Oliver Karwowski-Lauzer of Space Studio, with their excellent exploration of the preparation work required at the start of a multi-million construction project, taking with them the coveted AED winners crystal, £25 in Amazon vouchers and  some sage advice from our judges, which was put into action almost immediately when Mihnea realised his body position was not helpful to the audience and adjusted where he stood to the delight of the panel.

Looking ahead, the Aspirations Academies Trust plans to develop the Employability Diploma program further, offering even more opportunities for students to engage with a wider range of people from local, national and international business, to explore careers, and develop the power skills and industry knowledge needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving job market.