On Thursday 1st March, Cambridge University Press opened their doors to Year 9 and 10 students from schools across Cambridgeshire to celebrate World Book Day. The event, managed by Form the Future CIC, aimed to show young people that publishing is a vibrant, creative industry with a wide variety of career opportunities available.
Heidi Mulvey, Head of Community Engagement at Cambridge University Press, said:
”Publishing is such an exciting area to be working in. We want to help young people realise how many opportunities and routes in there are, particularly now that apprenticeship openings are increasing. We hope to see some of the students back here in the near future!”.
The event commenced with a Careers Carousel, which gave the students an opportunity to meet professionals from Design, Digital, Editorial, Education Reform, Legal, Marketing and Recruitment, as well as learn more about apprenticeships and gain an insight into some of the exciting new technology that CUP have developed to enhance learning.
Sabrina Gray, Senior Lead Teacher at Trumpington Community College, said:
“It is really important to introduce students to real role models so they can see what career paths they’ve taken and that they’re not always direct or straightforward. The format of the event is fantastic as it allows the students to find out about the different areas within the Publishing sector within such a renowned organisation.”
They were then challenged to prepare presentations on everything they had learnt, including the range of possible career routes into employment and what they found most surprising or enjoyable. Many of the students were particularly interested in the creative aspects of job roles and the potential to travel!
Fay and Iraide, Year 10 students at Chesterton Community College, said:
“It’s been such an interesting day and we enjoyed learning about all the different careers and departments within Publishing – there’s much more than we expected! It’s been useful to meet people and hear first-hand about their jobs as it’s more authentic.”
Charlotte Steggall, Events & Relationship Manager at Form the Future CIC, said:
“Today was such an amazing opportunity for students from three schools to get to know some of the varied roles within Cambridge University Press. I think it was quite a surprise to a lot of the students – and the teachers – to find that many of the professionals we met today either didn’t go to university or don’t use their degrees at all. I hope that the students come away from this inspired and motivated to achieve in their futures.”
We are always keen to help businesses to achieve their educational outreach goals – whether through bespoke events such as this one with Cambridge University Press, partnerships with specific schools or providing your employees with fulfilling volunteering opportunities. Please contact us at info@formthefuture.org.uk to discuss your organisation’s requirements.
