We are involved in a fantastic project called My Futures.

 The project is all about:

• Raising aspirations
• Broadening horizons
• Challenging stereotypes

Each half term focusses on a different theme linked to careers and future pathways. During each session, children will attend a live online event with three special guest speakers, alongside pupils from local schools within our Educational Hub.

The sessions are fun and interactive. Children will:

• Ask questions to the guest speakers
• Guess what jobs they do
• Hear how they got into their careers
• Learn that there are many different routes into work

The project is based on research from the Drawing the Future report by UCL, which found that children’s career ideas often form very early and don’t change much as they grow up. The research highlighted that:

• The jobs chosen by 17-year-olds often reflect ideas formed at age 7
• Gender stereotypes start at a young age
• Family, TV, radio and film have a big influence on children’s choices
• Many children have little access to real-life career role models
• Children’s aspirations don’t always match future job needs

Some interesting facts from the research include:

• 36% of 7-year-olds base their career ideas on people they know
• Only 1% know about a job because someone has visited their school
• When asked to draw a firefighter, surgeon or pilot, 92% of drawings showed men

As part of MY Futures, children will also take part in fun “golden envelope” activities and begin to learn about the skills and qualities needed for different jobs – such as teamwork, problem-solving and resilience – not just job titles.

We also link professions to skills, so children can understand how skills are transferable. This website explains how we do this.

Skills Builders

Alongside this, we hold a yearly ASPIRATIONS DAY, where children dress to show what they aspire to be when they are older. Children are given fun activities to do during the day and there are prizes to be one for how well the children articulate what they want to be and why.

How you can support at home?

You can help support this project by:

• Talking with your child about the sessions and asking what they found interesting
• Encouraging them to ask questions and be curious about different jobs
• Challenging stereotypes if they arise (for example, reminding children that anyone can do any job)
• Sharing your own experiences of work or training, or talking about jobs within your family or community
• Have a look at the Skills builders website as we use this to help children understand the skills they need to work.