The Workforce of the Future: Widening Participation Students and Increasing Employability, by TAP student Emily Gay

 The Workforce of the Future: Widening Participation Students and Increasing Employability

For Transforming and Activating Places

*ALL OPINIONS STATED IN THIS ARTICLE BELONG TO THE AUTHOR AND AUTHOR ALONE*

Written by Emily Gay

My name is Emily. I am a disabled, working-class student. I say this – not to put myself into pre-determined categories – but to help begin the process of carving out my place in the world around me. My disabilities and the numerous surgeries that I have undergone in an attempt to fix some of the issues meant that I was away from my peers and my local educational system for long periods of time whilst I was growing up. Whilst I was still young, I knew I wanted to go into university, to help make something of myself. This was not as easy for someone from my background as it was for other students. My hometown has low levels of participation within higher education backgrounds and so there were no closely related role models for me to look towards for guidance. Finally coming to the University of Sheffield in 2019 was, and still is, one of my greatest achievements to this day. At first, the transition into university was incredibly difficult, not made any easier by my disabilities and the environment around me, but I soon settled down. When the chance to take part in the Transforming and Activating Places (TAP) programme came about, I was initially hesitant. There was a part of my brain that told me I would have nothing worthwhile to contribute to the programme. Looking back at that time, I fear as though this is because I suffered with imposter syndrome and found it difficult to believe that I was good enough to be a part of the university, let alone having anything worthwhile to contribute to the community around me. 

When I was studying my A-Levels at college, I was introduced to an organisation offering extra tuition for disadvantaged students. This was conducted alongside help with university applications and mock university interviews. The Access Project was one of the first organisations to give me to the confidence in myself that I had enough of a chance of getting into a Russell Group university as any other student vying for a place that year. After finishing my first year at university, I received an email from The Access Project inviting me to apply for a spot on a coaching programme run by Circl. Circl are an organisation who provide leadership training for underrepresented young people and professionals within companies by teaching them how to ‘coach’ their employees and each other, as opposed to using the traditional ‘mentoring’ methodology which does not necessarily work for everyone. I was lucky to be accepted onto the programme and was paired with a team leader from a company called BenevolentAI. My partner and I gradually built up a rapport that transcended the coaching partnership we had both initially embarked upon; we became friends. The coaching programme itself was empowering, especially as someone who can be nervous to meet new people. I found I was imbued with confidence when I was working with my partner and the other professionals and Future Leaders on the course. In October 2020, I finally gained my coaching qualification. 

Completing the Future Leader programme with Circl has left me wondering what we can do, as educational institutions, to help current and future students from widening participation backgrounds stand out in the crowded jobs market. Whilst I was initially unsure of how this could happen, I realised I already had some ideas. Widening participation students are not always actively encouraged to seek out extra-curricular activities and programmes designed to help increase their employability. However, participation in programmes such as the Circl Future Leaders programme has, I feel, increased my employability levels as we can enter into the workplace already knowing what makes an effective leader as opposed to being left to try and figure it out. As a student looking at ‘what works’ within the higher education system, I believe there should be some funding ringfenced for widening participation students to actively seek out programmes that will help increase their levels of employability. Not everyone is afforded the same opportunities, this is a universal fact. But that does not mean that we have to leave anybody behind. There are organisations and programmes out there who are actively trying to give the widening participation student body more of a voice on campus and within wider society. 

Increasing employability for widening participation students does not fall solely at the feet of these programmes. There are things we can do within the national education system to encourage students into increasing their employability. Looking back at this idea of ‘what works’, I believe that there is room for bringing in tailored advice for students from these backgrounds, beginning at secondary school. Reaching out to students in secondary schools is one of the perfect opportunities to raise awareness of the challenges around obtaining employment – either there are few opportunities, or these opportunities require a young person to have years of prior experience that no employer has been willing to give them, on account of their age and perceived immaturity. By empowering young people to become more effective leaders, and giving them the same chances that their advantaged counterparts have had could lead, in a few years’ time, to the emergence of a more dedicated and ambitious student population and workforce. 

It should no longer be a question of whether a student is ‘good enough’ for higher education, but a question of HOW we can help these students achieve their potential. Everyone has potential deep inside them, and it is time that as employers, educational institutions and policy makers, we are able to sit down with the younger generations and assure them that they will not be left behind – there is space for everybody to make something of themselves. Everybody, no matter race, age, background or disability has the chance to change their lives and inspire someone from a similar place feel empowered enough to embrace the opportunities that are out there. As a student who is underrepresented within the educational system and in wider society who previously thought that there was little chance of ever ‘making’ anything of myself, I can assure you that these opportunities are out there, it is now a question of how we can best support you in reaching out for the help that is available.