Students in Stoke on Trent have engaged with The Inspirational Learning Group as part of Wavemaker’s “DigitALL” programme, which provided the opportunity for young people to learn what digital skills are (and will be) in demand by employers in their local area.
In collaboration with Staffordshire based companies Wavemaker CIC (consortium lead), Rapuru and Framescape, TILG led on the engagement of students through the “My Digital Future” programme which involved every secondary school in the city.
“My Digital Future” is a comprehensive, employer linked and informed initiative to educate, enthuse and inspire young people about pathways and local opportunities in this burgeoning sector. Year 8 students were tasked with considering how the digital sector could transform the way that people currently work and then creating an employer brand to attract young local talent to the role.
On Thursday 20th June, the winning teams from 6 Stoke on Trent secondary schools competed in the My Digital Future finals. Students from St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy, St Thomas More Academy, St Joseph’s College, Ormiston Horizon Academy, Trentham Academy and St Peters Academy represented their schools at the event at Staffordshire University and after being welcomed to the event by TILG’s Delivery Manager Liam Btookes, students pitched their ideas to our morning judging panel. The standard of presentations was very high and our morning judges had a tough job shortlisting the top teams who would go on to present their ideas during the afternoon’s Grand Finals.
In addition to their morning pitches, students were also able to visit trade stands, take part in a campus tour and a question and answer session with student ambassadors from the University; a well-rounded experience for everyone involved!
The top 4 teams presented in front of the afternoon judging panel and Pro Vice Chancellor of Staffordshire University, Professor Raheel Nawaz, impressing the judges with their confident pitches and innovative ideas.
Huge congratulations to our winning team, “Switch It Up” from Ormiston Horizon Academy and our runners up, team “Stokiefy Six” from St Joseph’s College.
