Set 2,500 young people on a path to career success

“I’d say students should definitely come to Opportunities Ahead as it was a big eye-opener. It gives you a lot of information that you probably didn’t know before or wouldn’t think to know. Also really important stuff, like what grades or qualifications you need to get into that sort of job and it opened my eyes to different types of jobs that you might not expect you’d want to do. I hadn’t really thought about careers until recently, so I’m glad I got to come to this event,” Year 9 student at Chesterton Community College

Opportunities Ahead was buzzing, with hundreds of students from local schools meeting representatives from nearly 40 companies. Many described it as “eye opening” and they learned about careers they’d never considered, like architecture and digital marketing. They told us they were surprised to learn how many more industries offered apprenticeships as a first step, including apprenticeships that helped them achieve a degree.

Showing students the range of careers in our region and helping them learn what they need to do to be successful is what Form the Future is all about. This event was designed to provide students with exposure to companies in all the growth sectors. Parents were also welcome:

“I’ve brought my son and his friend to see what opportunities there are for them. It’s been extremely helpful – this is actually the best event that I’ve been to, to give them some ideas that are not just going on to University. Both boys want to go down the apprenticeship route and the really nice thing is, we’ve been able to speak directly to companies who are providing apprenticeships. They’ve been able to have a chance to get a vibe for what the companies are like, and I think that’s so important for them,” Debbie, parent of Year 12 student at Long Road Sixth Form College.

Ensuring all young people, whatever their background, aspire to the full range of career opportunities in Cambridge and beyond is only possible because of the support of special individuals, corporate supporters and grant-making bodies who provide the funds to support the work of Form the Future and events like Opportunities Ahead. The evidence shows that when students have encounters with four or more employers while they’re at school they’re more likely to be in employment or education when they’re 19; but arranging these interventions with a diverse range of employers takes time. The cost of arranging just one intervention is £8 per person. While we have arranged inspirational encounters for thousands of students in the Cambridge area to date, we need to keep providing access and information about the changing workplace and every year there are more students who need our support. We were delighted that your generous support helped us become full members of GlobalGiving to support our fundraising efforts. We'll keep you updated as our work continues.

If you want to receive regular updates about our events or get involved directly, please sign up for our regular newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dsH5TD or visit www.formthefuture.org.uk to see what we've got planned this Autumn. We’d love to see you at an upcoming event!