This summer, ten of our alumni volunteers shared their career stories with pupils through an online event focused on employability. This session was delivered in partnership with With Insight Education, an organisation which mentors Black heritage pupils who are aiming to apply to prestigious universities throughout the UK.
As well as offering valuable insight into their own careers, our alumni volunteers were on hand to answer questions from the pupils and to offer advice. The session was a fantastic chance for the pupils to learn more about how their favourite subjects could translate into a wide variety of career opportunities in the future.
Black heritage pupils are underrepresented at many leading UK universities and have lower degree attainment rates which can negatively impact on employability and lifetime earnings. The University of Bristol is committed to tackling inequality and addressing barriers to education, and outreach programmes such as this have an important part to play in that process.
Reflecting on the online session, Christine Kinnear, Founder and CEO, With Insight Education CIC said:
“Listening to a professional talk about their career journey was truly inspirational for the pupils. In addition to broadening their horizons about the world of work, the sessions provided them with the unique opportunity to get advice on the often unspoken requirements for personal success. For example, the willingness to be flexible, resilience and the importance of self-belief. All incredibly valuable insights that will help the students to secure a brighter future.”
We’d like to say a massive thank you to the alumni who gave their time to volunteer. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, then there are many outreach activities that you can get involved with, including our flagship Bristol Mentors programme. In this initiative, University of Bristol alumni mentor students who meet widening participation criteria, providing them with career-focused support and helping to empower them to achieve.
If you would like to support our work in this area by volunteering as a speaker or mentor please do get in touch with the Bristol Volunteers Team via alumni-volunteers@bristol.ac.uk.