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Inspire the next generation

24 Jul 2014

One hour, once a year to make a difference

Inspiring the Future

University staff can get involved in two programmes to inspire youngsters to build a fulfilling future – in just one hour, once a year.

Inspiring the Future aims to bring about a significant culture change: that children – whatever school they attend, whatever their background – get the chance to meet people from all backgrounds and gain first-hand insights into different jobs and the routes into them.

Research shows clearly how beneficial this kind of employer interaction in schools is for young people, both in terms of preventing young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), as well as a positive impact on future career path.

Inspiring the Future – funded by Department for Education seed money to launch the Education and Employers Taskforce and more than ‘match funded’ by employers and NGOs – is a free service for state schools and colleges.

It asks people from all sectors and all backgrounds, from apprentice to CEO, from architects to zoologists, to sign up and pledge just one hour a year to talk to young people about their job and career path.

The programme also has an Inspiring Women campaign, which recognises the additional challenges faced by girls regarding gender stereotyping in the world of work.

Research also shows that over half of young girls in the UK do not feel they have enough positive female role models. Inspiring Women aims to provide girls with a range of positive female role models from across all sectors of employment.

Over the next few months it aims to get 15,000 women to give an hour a year to go into a school or college near to where they live or work, to talk with 250,000 girls about their career and experiences in life. Women working full-time or part-time, for large multinational or self-employed, from stay-at-home mums to the recently retired.

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