5 reasons networking events for school students are great

A couple of months ago our team at Uptree (formerly Intern First) organised a professional networking event for students of an Inner City School in London and large employers from CBRE, The Guardian, Baker McKenzie and Group M. We had a student and employer panel and then a professional networking event with refreshments provided by the school. It was such a great afternoon and here’s 5 reasons why:

1. Events like this help to raise the profile of talented students that might not have the opportunity to network with professionals in their chosen industry through their own contacts. This can give young people more of an understanding of what opportunity is out there and the confidence to realise their own potential. Someone once told me that children can only aspire to what they know exists and this really resonated with me.

2. Companies have a better understanding of the different contexts that people come from and can take this into their consideration when planning their attraction strategy and budget. This is particularly of interest if a company is looking to increase diversity of applications and take action to attract more hard to reach young people.

Emmanuel, a student at school, explains that sometimes, coming from an African household, you are torn apart between what your parents want you to do and what you actually like doing.

3. Making connections to break down socio-economic barriers. Unfortunately, some recruitment has been traditionally driven by nepotism through family and friends, or an “old boys” network. This has created an unfair advantage for young people from more privallaged or well connected backgrounds. More professional connections at school level will help to break down these barriers and filter through to communities to level the playing field.

4. Empowers companies to give up to date careers advice. Each employer presented themselves, their journey into their job he or her has now and how is it possible to get there in a number of different ways. Many of the employers agreed on the fact that the students had to follow, their passion, what they were interested in and not doing what their parents were telling them do to. They explained that following your dreams in a career is really important.

Jack Sullivan who is a graduate surveyor at CBRE which is a real estate services and investment firm, explained to the students that his father did not want him to become a real estate agent either but that did not stop him. He said he went to a good University, Cass Business School and did what he loved when he graduated from Uni.

5. In the UK more and more companies are offering School Leaver Programmes and Apprenticeships, the problem is that many school leavers have not heard of these companies and what opportunities they have on offer. Running a networking event allows young people to learn more about a company and feel comfortable enough to apply to work their in the future.

Events like these are invaluable because it really help the students to discover opportunities, meet some of the best employers and comfort them in the idea that even if they don’t go to University they can still pursue their dream and have a very good job.