Last week I was invited to attend a breakfast and ‘opinion-former panel event’ at the BIS Conference Centre. It was titled as above – apparently a coincidental duplication of the book of the same name (which I’m now struggling to ‘get in to’) by Ross Perlin – who sadly wasn’t able to attend.

If you’re interested, you can hear the whole event podcast here or read Psychology Magazine’s well written summary of what was discussed here

It was brilliant that Editorial Intelligence brought together many other parties with an interest in answering the question of how we should skill up young people to get jobs.

But I came away feeling disheartened. The panel were certainly accomplished and the talk was well attended but any opportunity to unite opinion and take real action was missed. When given the opportunity, skilling up young people to get jobs will best be achieved by Education and Inspiration on 3 levels. Sadly, the weaknesses of this event lay partly in the title and partly in the make-up of the panel.

1. EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE:. Simon Waugh, Executive Chairman of the National Apprenticeship Service is clearly a successful, hard working kind of guy who has probably sacrificed the pecuniary gains of executive level roles in the private sector to try and make a difference and help others in public. So no disrespect to him, but calling an event ‘Intern Nation’ and then including someone on the panel who runs an apprenticeship service only perpetuates the semantic confusion as to what an internship is – and more importantly isn’t. In case you haven’t read my rants before, here is my take on the distinction between work experience, internships and apprenticeships. Without clarification (and education), interns, ‘workies’ and apprentices will never really understand their rights and government will continue to fuel the fire with inconsistent policies:

   * Work experience: Short placements (generally 1-2 weeks) which are usually for younger people (16-18) to get a ‘taste’ of the working world and typically unpaid though we encourage companies to pay expenses.

   * Internships: 1-3 month placements, largely for undergraduates and increasingly graduates, which should be paid for legal AND moral reasons given that the company derives financial value which should be shared.

   * Apprenticeships: Apprenticeships as we see them are long term (1-2 year) paid training programmes which leave you with a vocational qualification usually in a craft or a skill. We believe they should be seen as an equal alternative to higher education. We do not believe that ‘The Apprentice’ on BBC 1 helps the classification quandry. Realistically, we would have called it ‘The Accomplice’ or more appropriately, the ‘The Attention Seeker’.

   * Jobs: What all the above should eventually result in.

2. COMPANIES NEED TO BE EDUCATED AND INCENTIVISE:. It’s a shame that someone as influential and expressive as Laurie Penny (Journalist, author and activist )seems to see the stick as the only solution to the ill justice of unpaid internships. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you?” Along with many others, she is overtly focused on naming and shaming companies that might not know any better. It would be a real shame if such companies close their doors to young people all together for fear of falling foul of bureaucracy. As I explained to ‘Jilted Generation’ author, Shiv Malik, afterwards, WEXO would far rather we all focus on the carrot of incentivising companies to offer paid internships (via the STEP schemes, proposals for recouping costs of internships from VAT etc) rather than antagonise companies with the stick and choke the supply pipeline? We might also want to remind them that the average Return on Investment of a Graduate is 500% over 3 years.
3. IMPROVING EDUCATION PER SE:. It’s The education system is this country IS partly to blame for not skilling people up to get jobs. This is as much the case as it was for the chair of the event, Brian Groom of the FT, failing to break up the childish confrontation between Citibank Head of Graduate Recruitment, Gemma Lines (I hope she concedes that the City owes the country a debt of gratitude and should sponsor other internships as well as inflating their own remuneration even at this level) and Laura Penney (in fairness it was driven by the latter). The UK’s education system has got worse and this is successively shown to be the case by numeracy and literacy statistics. Moreover, higher education (especially now that it’s paid for) should give its pupils far better careers education and include vocational experience as part of some degrees.

Strangely, the 2 panel members who were least controversial, focused least on the question in hand. This said, Martin Bright , former journalist and founder of New Deal of the Mind (who we work with on BITC’s Work Inspiration campaign) and Faye Wenman, from theTaylor Bennett Foundation, were both entertaining and informative about the good work that they do in trying to create a more meritocratic and productive society. We applaud their work (and the social enterprise, Talent to Work, that this event was ultimately launching) but look to companies and organisations with the reach and resources that we do not currently have to unite the rest of us in effecting real change.

Robin Kennedy

As I’m sure many of you are aware the apprentice has started up again; this time the junior version, and this got us thinking here at WEXO, what advice would we give to those of you starting out? An internship can often be your first real experience of what it’s like to be in a professional business environment and we have put together a few basic skills and suggestions from some experienced individuals that we think will help you shine.

In keeping with the apprentice theme, in the video below, our CEO, Robin Kennedy, interviews previous winner Tim Campbell about what he has been up to since winning the apprentice and what advice he has for young people starting out.

Tim’s main tips are dress smart, be enthusiastic and don’t worry too much about how much experience you already have. A belief in what you want to do is vital as it’s the one thing that can’t be taught. We here at WEXO couldn’t agree more. Be appreciative of the time the experienced people around you are giving you and make sure you get as much out of them as you can.

One tip that Robin suggested is getting to know everyone’s name quickly and remember it. As in life, remembering peoples names in business helps to build a rapport. One way of doing this is to offer to go and get the coffee for the office. (it is likely someone will sponsor you for this so you won’t be out of pocket) This will allow you to jot down their names, job roles and perhaps even what they look like. (don’t leave this lying around though). This will help you brake the ice and come across in a positive light. Learn the names and you’re on to a winner. Now when you ask questions, or would like to be involved with something that is going on, it is far more likely people will make time for you.

It is important to be able to do the basics well. We’d like to think that the WEXO companies won’t treat you quite like Brad in the cartoon above but, from time to time, you might find yourself doing some photo copying. Therefore make sure you know how the one in the office works. Find out how on the first day; when you are expected to be asking loads of questions, rather than looking confused two weeks in. Finally, make sure you can do what you have put on your CV. If you’ve claimed you’re a pro with Excel or can use Database don’t be surprised if someone asks you to use one of them. The most common issue is people who claim they are experts with Microsoft Office and then find themselves lost when asked to put together a Power Point presentation or an Excel spreadsheet. One quick search using the almighty ‘Google’ can almost always answer any queries you may be having. Most of all, enjoy it and keep your ears open – it’s an exciting time starting out and who knows where it might lead. Good luck!

Paul
WEXO Team

AS YOU may have noticed, your WEXO profile asks if you want to upload a video. As much as we love to see all the weird and wonderful Youtube offerings you add to your profiles, having a video CV or merely an introduction to yourself on film can massively improve your chances of making a standout application and bagging your role.

But how?!

It’s super duper easy. All you will need is either a camera that records video (lots of mini digital cameras have them nawadays) or a web cam. Either way probably the easiest way to do it is to create an account on youtube if you don’t already have one and follow the simple instructions for uploading a video. [Still confused? Drop us a line on info@wexo.co.uk and we'll help with problems you might have]

What to say?

The thought of making a video of yourself might seem intimidating, but you would be surprised just how into it you find yourself getting. Here are a couple of guideline questions you might want to answer in your WEXO video CV, but remember to be yourself, they are just a guideline:

1) Who are you? – Tell us about yourself.. e.g where you went/go to university, how old you are and where you live etc.

2) What have you done so far? What previous jobs have you done or what experience have you had.

3) What do you want to do in the future? What is your ideal job, what would you like to learn more about etc.

4) Why do you want to do it? What drives you and what appeals to you about your chosen fields?

Here is the WEXO LSE ambassador on camera in her video CV. This might give you a bit of inspiration.

Things we thought were great about Emma’s video:

1) Visuals – If you can make it a bit more interesting… do, but don’t let it distract focus.

2) Examples – Make your point, explain it and then give an example.

3) There was no singing – save it for x factor auditions!

4) It showed planning – Plan what to say before you record it and make sure there’s enough memory on your camera (as WEXO CEO, Robin, kindly demonstrated… see his video CV on his profile here).

Tip to Improve your Profile even if you don’t have a camera or web cam:

1) Try and attach your normal CV to your profiles.
2) Make sure you also complete your WEXO profiles as fully as possible. This will optimise your ranking when we search for candidates with specific skills or interests. For example this week, Mark Summers and Portland Communications are looking for people who can use indesign and Adobe After Effects, so we would search people’s profiles for these words. You get the idea.

We can’t wait to see your video CV!