The Bradford business community broadens the horizon of students at the ‘OIAM Careers Expo 2024’.
On Thursday 11th July, students at One In A Million School attended the OIAM Careers Expo where they were inspired to dream about their future aspirations.
“Today’s expo, gives the students at OIAMFS a wonderful opportunity to connect with some of the charity’s Corporate Partners, and guests, who are all Bradford-based companies from across a wide range of professions including accountancy, HR, Compliance, law, financial services, manufacturing, utilities, hospitality, engineering, plumbing, and further education. The ethos behind our OIAM World of Work programme is to raise aspirations, broaden horizons and help young people navigate their choices into successful career pathways”. Craig McHugh (CES Executive, OIAM Charity).
Khalil (Year 9) “I'm thankful to the school for organising a brilliant event for us. I'm really interested in the hospitality & catering sector. I loved finding out what skills different employers are looking for. I was also surprised to know that there are a range of jobs available in Bradford”.
Maisha (Year 9) added, “I've really enjoyed today! It's been so useful speaking to all the different businesses and finding out what I want to do in the future. I loved speaking to all the people, but in particular, I think I could see myself working with Christeyns in the future”.
“There was lots of excitement and energy in the room today as our Yr9 and Yr10 students engaged with each of the exhibitor stands. It was wonderful to observe. We are committed to ensuring all our students receive the appropriate level of information, advice and guidance to enable them to make well-informed and realistic decisions about their next steps in education and careers. Today’s Career Expo has done just that!
As a school, we’d like to say a huge thank you to all the OIAM Corporate Partners, and colleagues from the Charity for making today a great success”. (Sanna Mahfooz, Careers, Teacher, OIAM Free School).
Fawziyah (Year 10) said, “I'm so grateful that I got to attend another Careers Fair in school. I love speaking to all the people because they helped me to understand what their businesses offer. I wish I could attend next year's careers fair as well!”.
Click here to read what the Corporate Partners had to say:
Felicity Green – Director and Practice Manager AWB Charlesworth Solicitors: “It was great to share our world of work with the pupils of OIAM school, to answer their questions and open their eyes to career opportunities. The students were awesome”!
Paige Hunt, Solicitor Apprentice, Schofield Sweeney: “It was wonderful to see so many students engaged and thinking ahead about their careers. I found out about the solicitor apprenticeship that Schofield Sweeney offers through a similar careers event at my college, and I am therefore passionate about making sure students are aware of the different pathways they can take into the legal sector”.
Doug Heseltine - Business Enterprise Fund: “It was great to see so many young children asking lots of interesting questions and taking a genuine interest in what we do as an organisation. It’s good to see so many thinking about potential career paths at an early age”.
Hena Arif – Christeyne UK: “It was great to be invited back again to support this year's Careers Expo. Once again, the students felt they could relate to my story and career pathway. They were amazed after I told them about my apprenticeship experience, which started when I was ONLY 15 years old!”.
Angela Senior – Aire Valley Consultancy: “I had a lovely time. The children were all very well-mannered and engaged at the event. There were a few who spent longer and came back to my stand more than once to ask more questions about the world of business. It was so inspiring to see them excited about their next chapter. Fun fact: one student used a metaphor and likened me to Gordon Ramsay... (no I wasn’t swearing!), as in, HR consultants go into businesses, sort out problems, and put things right! What a great summary of HR”!
Ross Hardaker - Brsk: “Today was a fantastic opportunity to inspire the younger generation about the world of work. We shared Brsk’ journey from its inception in Cottingley three years ago - to expanding our network to cover Bradford, Calderdale, Manchester, Lancashire, and Birmingham. We were able to showcase the diverse roles available, demonstrating that regardless of your qualifications and skills, there is always a place to learn and grow”.
Thank you to: Aire Valley Consultancy, AWB Charlesworth, Azets, Bradford City Foundation Scholarship, Bradford College, Brsk, Business Enterprise Fund (BEF), Cedar Court Hotel, Christeyns, Fleet Alliance, Mansfield Pollard, Schofield Sweeney, The Proper Plumbing Co, and United Gas & Power (UGP).
