Year 9 Future Ready Programme Launches

In February, five Aspirations Academies were involved in the Year 9 Future Ready Programme, delivered by Speakers for Schools.

Speakers for Schools is a UK-wide youth charity dedicated to helping students gain access to career-enhancing opportunities. From eye-opening work experience with leading employers to inspirational talks with high-profile and influential professionals and authors, Speakers for Schools offer highly effective ways for 11-19-year-olds to expand their networks and develop the necessary confidence, skills, and knowledge to become better prepared for the world of work.

Future Ready Programme

This year, Aspirations Academy Trust partnered with Speakers for Schools to launch the Future Ready Programme which aims to demystify the world of work by giving young people in Year 9 the opportunity to explore an industry with the support of an employer over a 3-day period.

With a choice of six placements crafted around different industries, students had the opportunity to select an experience that aligned with their skills and interests:

• Careers in the Technology & Creative sectors with The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
• Careers in the Finance sector with LifeSmart Financial Literacy
• Careers in the Built Environment sector with AHR Architects
• Careers in the Creative/Media sector with ATG
• Careers in the Hospitality, Leisure & Tourism Sector with Ballistic Ballers
• Careers in the Public sector with Ministry of Justice

Developing employability skills

Within each placement, students had the chance to develop key employability skills – such as problem-solving, teamwork, and strategic thinking – by participating in group project work and gaining feedback from industry experts.

Throughout the 3-days, we had a total of 667 students engaging in the programme. Participating students fed back that the experience enabled them to learn about career opportunities in the industry and the skills required by employers, and to develop their understanding of the links between school subjects and careers.

What the students said 

“I liked listening to the employers talk about the industry and the kind of skills you need to do certain jobs within it. It helped me discover the subjects I could pick to work in that sector.”

“The best thing about the placement was the project work because it allowed us to unleash our creativity to come up with a solution to the project brief.”

“I really enjoyed working in a group to make our own business which allowed me to express my ideas and collaborate with my peers, testing our creativity and how well we could work in a work environment.”

Educators stated that the work experience left students feeling more informed about available jobs and pathways into future careers, and improved the students’ transferable skills such as communication and problem-solving.

A big thank you to the staff and students at Budmouth Academy, Livingstone Academy, Park Academy West London, Rivers Academy West London and Magna Academy for their fantastic engagement with this programme. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Speakers for Schools to provide fully funded career-related activities for our students.

To find out more about Speakers for Schools and their fully-funded programmes, visit: SpeakersForSchools.org