World Youth Skills Day is a chance to highlight the incredible skillset among young people. Here, Prominent intern and sixth form student Tori discusses her week in the Prominent team.
This week I spent five days working with Prominent PR equipping myself with invaluable skills that will reduce the barriers all students face when transitioning from school into the world of work.
As the world proves itself to be unpredictable time and time again, it is more important than ever for all young people to get a chance to gain skills to prepare themselves for the future – and there is no time better than World Youth Skills Day.
The leading goal of World Youth Skills Day is to provide young people with education and expertise to access better work, boosting employment and decreasing youth poverty.
Led by the United Nations, the day helps bring attention towards goal four of the 2030 agenda which aims to “ensure inclusive and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
Despite championing youth development, the day encourages all ages to challenge why existing systems are failing to address the needs of many young people. Specifically, why young people are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults.
This year will take place among the strenuous ongoing work for socio-economic recovery from Covid-19 pandemic – a challenge exacerbated by further problems like the war in Ukraine, climate change, and persistent poverty.
I, like many young people, were affected by the limitations of the lockdowns, causing opportunities to gain experience within work and education alike to be lost.
For that reason, World Youth Skills Day this year will provide the opportunity for the largest generation of young people in history to explore their aspirations, enlivening the abundant pool of young jobseekers.
Work experience is the best way to get a real sense of your chosen industry and demonstrates passion and interest to universities, showing motivation to get into your chosen course.
Despite school being a great opportunity to gain an understanding of the theory behind your subject, there are just some things that cannot be taught in a classroom.
My aspiration after finishing sixth form is to take a degree in business management. My research has shown the number of students applying for business courses has grown year on year, causing a highly competitive market evidenced by the 75,090 applicants in 2018.
It is fair to say the pressure is on to find a way to set yourself apart.
As the UCAS entry form looms, my teachers are constantly emphasising the importance of a compelling personal statement – something work experience perfectly contributes to.
While taking on a placement at Prominent, I have developed a range of skills which has helped me get prepared for the real working world.
Every day was a learning curve. The placement allowed me to observe the PR world next to professionals who were in the thick of it. From here I was able to gather good personal insight into what I could expect from the industry.
I’ve written a blog, shadowed on client calls, prepared social media posts, designed graphics on Canva and researched potential awards for a client.
This array of tasks alongside many more helped me realise how hugely focused PR is on client relationships and how Prominent dedicates many hours to ensure the best possible outcome for their clients.
The team at Prominent have been great at giving me a deep dive into the industry and were incredibly welcoming, ensuring I finished the week with useful skills which I could transfer into any experiences in the future.
Share this article:
Call us on: 01473 276126
Email us on: hello@prominentpr.co.uk
