NI businesses Collaborate on Industry-Led Careers Inspiration Events

by Startacus Admin

4C UR Future LIVE events set to provide young people from across Northern Ireland with an insight into the future world of work.

Exciting times ahead for 4C UR Future, the social enterprise that aims to empower young people to make more informed education and career choices, with the news that they are bringing Northern Ireland’s business community together to support the delivery of a series of industry-led careers inspiration events across the province.

Following a successful pilot in 2019, a 4C UR Future LIVE event is now set to take place in each of NI’s council areas in June. The innovative and fast-paced event uses a combination of skills games and work-based challenges, all designed and delivered in collaboration with local employers, to help young people get an insight into the future world of work. 

The LIVE events are funded and resourced by the Northern Ireland business community and are hosted with support from ten councils. The events, which are free to schools, include free transport, which is being supported by Translink.

Managing Director of 4C UR Future, Rachel Doherty, acknowledges the support of the local business community in enabling the events to scale:

“Our work would not be possible without the support of our member companies, who recognise the significant opportunities that come from working together collaboratively, and at-scale, to tackle systemic problems; helping our young people discover their own attributes, strengths, and interests, and exploring how these might align with their future opportunities.”

“The careers landscape has become increasingly complex for young people and parents to navigate, with new in-demand skills, new types of jobs, and entirely new sectors emerging, resulting in major bottlenecks in the skills pipeline; inhibiting our local businesses from growing.”

One of the games featured at the LIVE events is ‘Race To Net Zero’ which is being co-designed and delivered by NI Water and NIE Networks. With sustainability high on the agenda, the game focuses on the importance of the production of green energy and clean water.  

Edel Creery, Head of Communications & Stakeholder Engagement at NIE Networks, said: “NIE Networks’ vision is to deliver a sustainable energy system for all and we need young, creative thinkers and innovative problem-solvers to help us achieve that. The Race To Net Zero game is a dynamic and fun way to demonstrate to young people how they can get involved, showing that by collaborating with each other on the future of our energy systems, we can tackle climate change in a meaningful way. We are looking forward to meeting the engineers, designers, and innovators of the future at the 4C UR Future LIVE events in June.”

Learning & Development Manager at NI Water, Alan Moore, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with NIE Networks to bring forward our important environmental messages and as a key utility provider, we are in a unique and privileged position to help our ‘stars of tomorrow’ consciously create a better future for our community, economy, and environment as part of what is sure to be a fun and energetic event!”

4C UR Future member companies represent all of the key employment sectors in Northern Ireland. Danske Bank, Liberty IT, and FinTrU are just a few of those already on board to support the 2022 events. 

Speaking of the initiative, Corporate Banking Manager at Danske Bank, Christian Heath, said: “Young people need as much guidance as possible when considering their future career paths. One option, which is often not considered, is to think about starting your own business. Stimulating young people to think like an entrepreneur is a key driver of our game, “Like A Boss”. Encouraging and nurturing an entrepreneurial culture in Northern Ireland is vitally important to our economy – we are very excited to be part of 4C UR Future LIVE and to work with the potential business owners of the future.”

Gary Harden, Product Owner and STEM Group Chair at Liberty IT, said: “The technology sector continues to expand across all of Northern Ireland, and these LIVE events are going to be awesome. It’s a fabulous opportunity to show our young people just how exciting, challenging, fun and rewarding a career in IT can really be.”

FinTrU’s Talent Partner, Niamh Heaney, added: “As a technologically-enabled Regulatory Solutions company, FinTrU recognises the opportunities that come from working together in a collaborative environment. Along with the other member companies, our aim is to work with the students to help them identify their strengths and showcase how their skills can support their future careers in a vast array of industries.”

If you’re a business based in Northern Ireland and you’d like to get involved, there’s still time! Simply visit 4C UR Future for more details or  email info@4curfuture.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

Subscribe to our newsletter

If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.

• #careers
• #inspiration
• #event
• #students
• #schools
• #northern ireland

Published on: 13th April 2022