By Saida Mahamed
Digital Communications Officer
Last week saw our seventh annual Social Mobility Careers Fair. Usually held at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, due to COVID, this year we moved it to a virtual platform.
The employers we had presenting on the 14th and 15th of October, some of which are long-time MTL partners and some are new partnerships, were: Foxtons, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Lidl, Peel Hunt, Lansons, HSBC, Reed Smith LLP, Ukie (with Into Games, Teazelcat Games, and CCP Games), Infinity Global, and Smart DCC.
Around 100 young people attended the event over the two days, raising their aspirations and developing their confidence, whilst getting first-hand insight into the opportunities these brilliant organisations have to offer.
One attendee with an interest in Civil Service expressed: “I have really enjoyed the Careers Fair because I have listened to employers that I most likely would’ve walked past in a [physical] careers fair. I have seen just how much they have to offer and not just in their respective field of banking or real estate, for example, but also the vast roles that they have (marketing, IT, security, etc.)”. Another young person, whose first MTL Careers Fair was this year’s, reported, “Overall I really enjoyed the Fair. I think that after months of applying for jobs and only interacting with companies via online job advertisements it really helped me humanise the job application process. It was also nice to see how much they wanted to help people in my position and gives me hope that when I do get an entry-level job, I do not need to worry about struggling with being under-qualified”.
An attendee who is hoping to join our ACE Programme was quoted saying, “It was great and very useful. Also, I feel a lot more confident going forward knowing that there is a dedicated team to helping people find a career and actually get their foot in the door.”
A Fellow, who completed our ACE Programme in August of last year and had previously attended our 2019 Careers Fair, said he was “Extremely grateful once again for the invitation and all the coordination work everyone at MTL does to make these events possible, thank you.”
This Fair, like the previous ones, aimed to bridge the Social Mobility gap by connecting young people to employers and empowering them in their journeys to great careers. In true MTL fashion, the great number of young people showed immense enthusiasm in improving their career prospects, inspiring us all. Here’s to our first-ever Virtual Careers Fair!
Being able to be a part of the magic that happens behind-the-scenes at MTL really opened my eyes to the incredible work being done. As a young person myself whose first introduction to MTL was at the 2019 Social Mobility Careers Fair, I’m extremely grateful for the life-changing experience this has been. Can’t wait for next year’s event, which will hopefully be in person!
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