Last week we participated in the Young Citizens Work Experience Festival as part of Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival, at Newcastle Racecourse. It was a four-day event that presented an opportunity to get young people from across the North East thinking about the future of work and what it looks like for them.
The festival marks the latest in our series of careers and sustainability sessions aimed at schoolchildren. Last year, as part of our Social and Sustainability Promise, we:
- Delivered careers and interview sessions to Year 10 students across North Tyneside
- Participated in the North Tyneside Learning Trust’s (NTLT) career scheme, which included mock interview and careers speed-dating events at senior schools across the county
- Brought our expertise in water to Marden High School and supported them with their Climate Action Fortnight.
Altogether last year we delivered interview skills workshops to over 450 Year 10 students in the North East. The Young Citizens Work Experience Festival was a fantastic opportunity to build on that work, with a variety of new workshops exploring what the future of work looks like for them. This enabled us to work with and build new relationships with a diverse range of schools across the North East and open up conversations on how we can continue to add value to those schools.
Tapping into the knowledge of future generations
In line with the Innovation Festival, we were keen to bring the sprint experience to the younger generation and throughout the week we welcomed students from Consett Academy, Longebenton High School, North East Futures UTC, Lord Lawson and many others, to put forward their thoughts on how they would like the future of work to be.
Within that, we tackled topics designed to encourage and improve Skills Builder skills such as critical thinking, creativity, positivity and communication. Questions included:
- What are your fears about the workplace and what could employers do to overcome those fears?
- Why should we go to work - what motivates us?
- Can you map out what your future career looks like?
- What are the golden rules for how AI should be used at work?
We’ll use the responses from the young people to publish a short report on their views about the future of work.
Find out more about how we help local schools, or read our latest Social and Sustainability Report here.
