This term, Future First ran a series of careers and skills workshops at Feltham Community College in the London borough of Hounslow. Future First brought in a range of inspirational former students to raise aspirations and help the students make decisions about their future careers, as well as help them make the most out of their remaining time at school.
In the careers sessions, current students got to interact with former Feltham students Attique Ul-Rehman, who works for ITV’s Online Media Department, Claire Benson, a Fire and Explosions Expert, Dr. Kalpa DaSilva, a cardiologist and Dene Robinson an Oil and Gas Engineer. During these events, students got to hear about the career paths of all four former students, what their jobs are like and how they got to where they are. This was followed by an in depth Q & A session to help students with their own choices about future courses, career paths and their next steps.
One student said of the sessions: “It was amazing to hear about their (former student’s) experiences, what type of qualities are needed for certain types of jobs, the different skills, what you can do with your A Levels and what you can do with your life!” Another student added: “It’s a good experience because it helps me realise there’s a lot I can do, I’m not narrowed down …there are wider opportunities; it widens my horizons”.
The former students enjoyed the sessions too, Kalpa said, “It was great! It bought back loads of good memories; it was fun to speak to kids who have gone through things that I’ve gone through in the past. The main thing is to give them the idea that working hard now can get them somewhere, and help them achieve something in the future”. Claire agreed, “It was really good fun today, they’re brilliant kids and they’re really enthusiastic, they asked lots of questions! I know that when I was at school I hadn’t heard of my job and because some of them have now, they may think about going into that field or something similar.”
Jay Lockwood, a teacher at Feltham Commuity College shared his thoughts about the sessions and why it’s so useful for the school: “I think it’s one of the most powerful things I’ve seen with careers because of the quality of the alumni. You just looked around the room and all the students were hanging on every word they heard. It helps them realise that there are things out there in the big wide world, which are very attainable, and makes them believe that they can do it. People from their area have done it and that should inspire them”.
We would like to thank Attique, Claire, Kalpa and Dene for giving up their time to support our work at Feltham Community College this school year. Our work is not possible without inspirational, informative and ambitious speakers, nor the incredible teachers who are so supportive of our work. Last but certainly not least we’d like to thanks the students at the school for making the most of the opportunity to talk to such a fantastic group of people. Looking forward to running more events next year!
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