My Recommendations so far

As the plan takes shape

Based on feedback, as well as some useful insights from members of this forum, and my own thoughts on these, here are my recommendations so far:

Student Alumni-Networking

·        Students Internships and mentoring schemes could be combined, to make a formal two-way process, in which the Alumnus/adult mentors and coaches the student; and the student in turn helps the Alumnus by solving a long term issue for their business or within their profession (this can be a module/dissertation of the student’s final year of study).

·        Each school of study could have its own specific network, to connect the students with the Alumni of that profession: while still having a main network, for all students and Alumni of that university/college. This would allow students and Alumni to share detailed information on a subject, in specialised groups, but safely in confidence, and under the supervision of the University/college’s administrators.

·        Innovations developed between students and Alumni could be uploaded to special databases (see below) for trial by start-up businesses.

Assessment of Non-Graduates

The key stages to assess 16-24 year olds not in full time education would be:

·         Recommendation by an Appropriate Adult. A process could be set up, to allow any parent, guardian, teacher, employer, or official, to make a Formal Recommendation on the young person’s behalf, for him/her to be assessed and qualified for a skill.

·         School leavers; 16 year olds and above who are going straight into full time work.

·         Job seekers. As well as the normal courses offered to those seeking employment, a comprehensive assessment could be carried out on non-graduates, to give them the chance to qualify for key grades.

·         Long term unemployed. Statistics show that non-graduates between 16-24 have been hit hardest by the Recession, so full assessment should also be offered to anyone who has been actively looking for employment for more than a year.

·         Registered disabled. Any non-graduates who are prevented from working full time due, to a handicap or disability, should be offered full assessment of their skills, to allow them to adjust fairly, and give them opportunities to find the work they want.

·         Incarcerated or long term detained. All 16-24 year old non-graduates in care, detained, or incarcerated, could be fully assessed as part of their rehabilitation/treatment.

Business Start-Ups for Adults

·        A full Toolkit should be offered, for any adults aged 25+ who want to start a business.
·         In additions to the existing resources and schemes now offered, a comprehensive, all-in-one database could be developed.
·        Innovations from the universities and colleges could be included; and newly assessed non-graduates could be registered on the database as a matter of course.
·        This would allow new entrepreneurs to find not only the people they want to work with (both graduate and non-graduate); but also potential new products and services not yet produced; as inspiration for them.
·        Existing databases like Priority Jobs could be modified to accommodate this.
·         Social media networks such as Linkedin could also be approached, to build this as a new kind of network.
·        The Government could establish a national database, to include student-Alumni innovations, recently assessed and registered non-graduates; and all adults looking to start a business. This would ensure a good model for growth, and opportunities for all.

These are my recommendations for creating opportunities. I hope that you may consider implementing some of these measures, and I welcome your thoughts on them.

James M

Founder