The Future Ambition Board Opportunity for All group this week heard from Luke Ashman at local organisation ‘Not Impossible’ which is looking to shake up how organisations offer work experience and make access to work experience more available to all.
Luke outlined the challenges young people currently experience in accessing work experience – many don’t have connections in their chosen field, or struggle to access the resources they need to make career decisions.
For this reason, Not Impossible supports less advantaged 16–25-year-olds in finding great careers, while also simplifying the provision of work experience for employers. The organisation uses AI algorithms to provide ‘smart matches’ between the personality, value sets and interests of young people and their matched placement provider, and then works with the employer to offer a high-impact, efficient microplacement that gives an excellent taste of the type of work available.
Through Not Impossible, young people can do multiple microplacements of between an hour and a day, giving them a super quick insight into a sector so they can find out more and make connections to follow up with for more experience if they find it interests them.
Feedback from the young people who have used the placements is strong – some comment on the value of having people in the sector they want to work in rooting for them and supporting them, others found that it helped them find out about careers they hadn’t even realised existed.
The FAB group felt that Not Impossible could be a great way for more B&NES organisations to offer local young people from underserved backgrounds opportunities to learn about local employment options, and to make contacts that could support them in their careers. Attendees are now working to connect the organisation to more local businesses.
If you’d like to learn more about Not Impossible for your organisation, contact Luke Ashman.