SDG #17 Partnerships — What do you want to be when you grow up?
This article is part of a series exploring how everyday citizens can support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) locally through collective action.
Partnership across sectors
The last Sustainable Development Goal is bit of an odd-one-out, a real metagoal, as it aims to establish global partnerships to deliver all the other 16 goals. Instead of leaving it out as it is, I decided to interpret this goal a bit more freely, and talk about a great experience I had last year when I volunteered with Yes Futures.
This London based charity works with children to help them realise their potential through developing their confidence, resilience and communication skills. All this through a variety of activities, such as coaching sessions or weekend residentials full of adventures in nature. A key element of their programme is the ‘World of Work’ day, when pupils get the chance to see the ins and outs of a workplace and meet people from different professions, giving them a taste of ‘adult life’.
The importance of early exposure
These encounters are particularly important for young people. Dr Anthony Mann, OECD senior policy advisor, notes: “Young adults who recall four or more encounters with employers while at school are five times less likely to be NEET [Not in Education, Employment or Training] … yet today only 40% of young people have this kind of meaningful encounter with an employer.”
These encounters better prepare students for what comes after their time at school. They get enabled to make more informed choices, and get inspired about professions they might have never heard about. Understandably, a school might not be able to provide this full picture all by itself, hence partnerships (yes, I said it will be about partnerships after all!) between the private and public sector are crucial.
World of Work at FutureLearn
I work at largest online education startup in the UK, FutureLearn, and most of us here have a true passion for learning and all things education. We enjoy taking advantage of being in the middle of London, and opening our doors to others. We have hosted meetups and organised get togethers for our London-based learners. However the most unexpected and memorable situations happen when we welcome young students to our office.
One morning, ten excited children from Harrow primary school arrived to our office. Although they had been in the programme for a few months by then, they were surprisingly shy in this new environment. They quickly warmed up though after the office tour, seeing everyone welcoming them with a friendly wave. The flood of questions were unstoppable, as they wanted to know why there is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in the windows of the opposite office (you can’t compete with MTV in terms of office coolness!) or why we plaster the walls with colourful square papers (well, if they wanted a monologue on design thinking, they got it).
Broadening horizons
The most interesting part of the day was when we invited some of our colleagues to talk a bit about their jobs and the students had to guess their job titles. Tracey, our UX Researcher found this task probably the most amusing, as suddenly she learnt that in fact she is a ‘Kind Questioner’ or an ‘Investigator’. They also had the opportunity to ask questions about our paths to FutureLearn and it was really reassuring for them to realise that many of us had exactly the same dreams as them when we were young. One girl was particularly excited to hear that Tracey had been in a band and still pursues music as her passion, as the student had received some doubting looks about her dream to become a singer.
Impact in just a day
With these programmes aiming to raise aspirations you can always question whether you can really make an impact in just a day in someone’s life. However, I do believe that you manage to open up their worlds and plant some seeds even in such a short timespan. When they entered the building they had never even heard about the option to become a Designer or a Developer, and suddenly by the end of the day with a bit of exaggeration they all suddenly wanted to become one when they grow up. One boy asked if everyone here studied hard to get a job here, and the obvious answer put a really thoughtful look on his face.
Yes Futures has a stellar track record of making an impact on the lives of these children. After going through their six month long programme, 80% of students reported that they feel more prepared for the future and 77% were more motivated to achieve at school.
How could you get involved?
Yes Futures is always looking for host companies for their World of Work days. Their volunteers are ready to help out during the day, so that organising one is as simple as possible for the hosts. If interested, contact them at info@yesfutures.org!
