“It was a spectacular experience, and I have been inspired by many opportunities for my future.”
That’s how one young person described our Community Day event, hosted by JLL at Cambridge Research Park. Held on Friday 19 June, the event marked the conclusion of Cambridge Wide Open Week (on Friday 19 June) – a week dedicated to celebrating life sciences at the home of life sciences.
We brought together 79 Year 5 and 6 pupils from Duxford Community Primary School and King’s Hedges Primary School for a day designed to open young people’s eyes to the possibilities ahead.
The event gave pupils the chance to meet professionals from a wide range of sectors and explore the different pathways available to them in the future. Through a carousel of interactive workshops, students connected directly with employers working across engineering, healthcare, technology, construction, finance and catering, helping them see how what they learn in the classroom can lead to real careers.
The impact was clear. Following the event, 96% of students said they had learned something new about careers, while 89% said the experience had made them more interested in one or more of the careers they encountered.
For many pupils, it was their first opportunity to meet professionals from such a broad range of industries in one place. The hands-on nature of the activities helped bring those careers to life, and the students were quick to share what stood out:
“I enjoyed exploring the Kier table. I am now very interested in building."
“I learnt things from PocDoc about the heart which I did not know before.”
“I was inspired by the careers and I might even do one of these careers."
“Some of the activities have inspired me to start a fun career when I am older.”
“Our digital construction team really enjoyed today. It was great to get the involvement and engagement from students, giving them a bit more insight into construction and actually looking at digital technology and how potentially gaming skills could come into it, looking at piloting drones, looking at 3D model elements with design-based roles as well.”
The event formed part of Form the Future’s wider work connecting young people with employers and helping them understand the opportunities within their local community. With 38% of pupils from King’s Hedges Primary School and 14.6% from Duxford Primary School coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, creating access to experiences like this is more important than ever.
A huge thank you to all the organisations that gave their time to inspire the next generation, including Kier Group, NatWest Group, Cambridge Clinical Research Facility, Cambridge Rare Disease Network (CamRARE), Archipelago Technology Group Ltd, PocDoc and Gather & Gather.
By bringing young people and employers together, we help make future careers feel real, relatable and possible.
If you think your company could inspire the next generation, please contact our Business Development Manager, Gwen Bergius, at gbergius@formthefuture.org.uk or visit our partners page for more information.