Inspiring the Future with The Royal Warrant Holders Association
The Inspiring the Future campaign with The Royal Warrant Holders Association has been running for more than four years. The aim is simple – to support employees of companies who hold a Royal Warrant to give an hour a year to inspire young people by sharing their career story.
Our research evidence* shows that by six years old, children have already started to form opinions about what they can – or can’t – be in the future. They are influenced by what they see around them and gender, ethnicity, and social background can play a big part in this. You can help change this. Our research also shows that for young people – ‘more is more’ so the more interactions they have with the world of work, the better.
Sign up to inspire young people
The ask is simple, sign-up to Inspiring the Future and give as little as an hour a year by sharing your career story in schools or virtually.
Signing up is easy:
- Use this link to register with Inspiring the Future and complete our quick registration process adding the postcodes you can volunteer from and information about your role
- Select ‘Career Insights’ as an activity and any other activities you are interested in
- Once registered, you will receive an email with more information
- Respond to invitations from schools that will arrive directly to your inbox and use our interactive maps to search for opportunities near you
- Connect with the teacher to plan your activity, whether that’s giving a classroom talk, participating in a careers carousel with other volunteers or delivering an interactive workshop
- If you have any queries, please contact the Inspiring the Future team.
The impact you can make
On Tuesday 16 October 2018, volunteers from a range of companies holding a Royal Warrant visited Bordesley Green Primary School in Birmingham to meet the children and talk about the interesting and varied jobs they do. The feedback from the event was extremely positive with children grateful and motivated by the chance to talk with a wide range of RWHA members.
“I thank everyone for teaching me a job that I can do. I felt stuck for what I want to do but now I know what I want to do”
- 96% children learnt about lots of jobs at the event
- 87% now know girls and boys can do the same job
- 91% discovered that doing well at school can help them get a job
- 94% of the children would like to take part in the activity again
At secondary level, we know that meeting volunteers from the world of work can be really powerful. It helps students gain more awareness of the types of jobs available, potential career pathways and links to specific employers. Our research tells us that students were 25% less likely to be Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) if they did four or more activities with employers.
What you can takeaway
It’s not just the children who benefit from these interactions. Volunteers who participated felt inspired and like they had made a positive contribution.
- 97% of volunteers who attended the event felt it had been extremely worthwhile
- 88% of the volunteer who took part said it made them feel like they can a difference to young people
“I really enjoyed it and found it very rewarding. We forget sometimes, in our busy lives, what a positive impact we can have in such a simple way as talking to and engaging with children. Above all, it was fun…I couldn’t take the smile off my face”
Stuart Blissett, Cadbury
At an employer level we know that by supporting your employees to volunteer in schools you can also help with staff retention and well-being, your future talent pipeline and diversity and inclusion. If you’re interested to understand more about working with us as an employer simply contact us on enquiries@inspiringthefuture.org
