Welcome to January's update for the Let's Build Bridges Forum, 2015. For the benefit of new members, I would like to sum up what our Forum is about, and what we will be doing this year to make it happen.
The aim of this Forum is to create jobs and career opportunities for young people and for adults. That is our purpose. Our objectives may change, to find effective ways of doing this, and to move with people's changing needs, but the overall aim of Let's Build Bridges will stay the same.
The Forum's group pages are:
I have divided our Forum into 3 main areas:
- Student-Alumni networking
- Qualified Assessment of non-graduates
- Business start ups
- Knowledge transfer
- Assessment of ability and skill
- Job creation
There are three specific examples, I would like us to focus on for this year. I have listed them in reverse order, as follows:
The Gorilla Opportunity Database for Start-Ups
Skills and qualifications are all very well, but people need jobs. While our Government will of course, be promoting job creation schemes; the single most effective way to create jobs from scratch, is through business start-ups. Two thirds of jobs may be found in the smaller businesses, so more should be created to provide them: especially in light of recent redundancies.
I believe that the solution to this, is to give entrepreneurs direct access to both the people to work with: and the new products and services to provide. This, as business people have told me, is the driving force behind any new start up.
Therefore, Marcus Claytor has very kindly designed a new kind of database, called Gorilla Opportunity; where people can upload both their concepts for new products and services: and their contact details, to work with one another:
As this database develops, I believe that it will be the foundation for a new kind of business app. If we can demonstrate how innovations and business contacts can be put together, then a new app can be developed to do this officially. Either we may develop this ourselves, through Google; or another company may do the same on their initiative.
The result, in either case, will be that entrepreneurs have access to an app that gives them a complete Toolkit to start a business with. There are as many entrepreneurs in society now, as before the Recession. They expect challenges, and do not need the motivation or the willpower to start new businesses: but I believe that what they do need, are resources like this one, to help them make it happen.
Here's the article:
http://letsbuildbridges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/a-toolkit-for-entrepreneurs.html
Marcus Claytor has done an excellent job designing the database so far, and he will take charge of the project for the business start-ups side of the Forum. The page for this on LinkedIn is:
Qualified Assessment
Non-graduates are in clear need of support for their careers. As an learning instructor told me, the challenge that young people face, is that non-graduates have the experience, but not the grades: and students vice versa. The price of higher education in the UK and elsewhere, is now a serious burden on young people's futures. For example, as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's research has shown, there are a great many young people in low paid jobs, with poor career prospects.
I believe therefore, that anyone aged 16-24, who is not in full time education or training, should have an automatic right to qualified assessment. If these young people were offered the same assessment and qualification as apprentices, I believe that they would have the chance to show their potential and prove their worth. The same goes for young job-seekers, and vulnerable young groups of young people, served by social services.
Here's how this could be done:
http://letsbuildbridges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/a-new-way-to-assess-non-graduates-neets.html
Vitor Costa and others, have kindly given support to this cause. With their help, we will find ways to introduce qualified assessment to non-graduates.
Student-Alumni Networking and The Guild Musical Theatre Group
Student-Alumni networking is a key part of the knowledge transfer between the academic and business sectors for every industry: and is also crucial for student's careers. Students are now paying customers to their universities: being asked to pay on average £9,000 a year for tuition in the UK. So we need to make every cent count.
That is why I say that every school of study at each college or university, should have its own student-Alumni network, so that students and Alumni can work as a team, sharing connections, and innovations.
Students of every discipline should have the right to work as interns and gain real experience in the industry they are studying for. Here's how:
http://letsbuildbridges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/student-internships-for-all.html
For the student-Alumni networking part of the Forum, I would like to use the specific example of the Guild Musical Theatre Group. This is an old student society of mine that I believe has huge potential to be something more.
It began about 30 years ago as a musical theatre society, but its members and Alumni have now built it up to such a level, that I think they could actually get together and form a professional arts network. Here's how:
So much of the performing arts industry relies on the personal connections between the artists, and others; that I think this would make a real difference to these people's careers.
What's more, if we prove that this kind of networking is a success, then other student societies could do the same. I am willing to bet that there are other societies like ours, that have existed for many years. Their students and Alumni could actually do a lot to form links and guarantee careers.
While the focus should still be on the main student-Alumni networks at colleges and universities, I think it is also important to tap into groups like this one, to offer students a possible Plan B, for their careers.
Conclusion
So I would like to welcome you all to our Forum's projects for 2015, and look forward to what we will achieve.
Best Regards
James M
Founder
And a belated Happy New Year to you all.
